Joel Osteen Podcast - Living Cause Driven | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: January 8, 2024

The next level of your destiny is connected to helping someone else. When you get involved in a cause that’s bigger than yourself, you’ll see God’s favor over your life in new ways. 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 so much for listening to the podcast. We have a new resource. It's a 2024 daily devotional. We'd love to send it to you. It'll help you start the day off right. You will love this devotional. And know this.

We are praying for you and we are believing for God's very best for you in 2024. Well, God bless you. It's great to be with you today. And I hope you'll stay connected with us throughout the week. We have a daily podcast that you can download. You can go to our YouTube channel, watch the messages anytime, or you can follow us on social media. I promise you this, we'll keep you encouraged and inspired. But thanks for tuning in.

Thanks again for coming out. I like to start with something funny, and I heard about this husband and wife. They were celebrating their 60th birthdays together when an angel suddenly appeared and said God was going to grant them each one special request. They were so excited. The wife said, my request is that we'd be able to. travel all over the world. And poof, when the smoke cleared, she had tickets in her hand. Her husband put his head down in shame. He said, my request is that I would be married to a woman 30 years younger than me. And poof, when the smoke cleared, he was 90 years old. All right, that's what he gets.

Here we go. Y'all, 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 living cause driven. There should be something we're involved in that's bigger than ourselves. And it's good to have personal goals and dreams, things we want to accomplish. But if you're only focused on yourself, you won't reach your high.

highest potential. You were created to help someone else, to be a blessing, to lift the fallen, to encourage those that are down, to fight for those that can't fight for themselves. You need to have a cause that you're passionate about, some way that you can make the world a better place. It may be to volunteer at the women's shelter, to mentor those young men, to do repairs for the elderly neighbors. Maybe your cause is to support great organizations, to help build that children's home, to fund the ministry, to pay the single mom's rent. The cause may be to break the addiction so your children don't have to deal with it, or to come out of poverty and lack to set a new standard for your family.

When you live cause-driven, you'll do things that you normally wouldn't do. You'll get up early. You'll make sacrifices. You'll show up when you had other things to do. You're committed to the cause. You don't wake up in the morning. I think I don't feel like going to work. I don't want to deal with these problems. Your attitude is, I'm on a mission. I have an assignment. It's not just about me. Somebody needs what I have. Somebody's counting on me. I'm going to be a positive force for good in my neighborhood, in my family, on my job. And the reason some people are not happy is they're ingrown. As long as you're only focused on you, you're not going to be fulfilled.

Look around at how you can be a blessing. When you give your time, energy, resources to care for the hurting, to lift those that are disadvantaged, to help bring their dreams to pass, you will see God's favor in new ways. Are you waiting for God to bless you when God is waiting for you to be a blessing? The next level of your destiny is connected to helping someone else.

David was 17 years old, out in the shepherd's fields, taking care of sheep. It looked like he was stuck there. He didn't come from an influential family. He didn't have an important position. All the circumstances said he would live an average, ordinary life, never do anything great. One day his father asked him to take lunch to his brothers. They were in the army in another city. He could have said, Dad, I don't want to do that.

I'm not an errand boy. I'm busy with these sheep. Find somebody else. He could have refused, but this small act of obedience, doing something kind for his brothers, going out of his way to be good to them is what led to his destiny. Don't discount the small things you can do for people, bringing them a cup of coffee,

giving them a ride home, making dinner for that neighbor that's not well, staying late to help train that coworker. These small acts of obedience can lead to big blessings. When David arrived in the city, gave lunch to his brothers, he heard Goliath, the Philistine giant, taunting the Israelites. For 40 days, he came out twice a day in the morning and the evening and shouted threats. When the Israelites heard them, they were terrified. They ran away afraid.

But something rose up in David, a holy anger. He said, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? He asked what would be done for the man that killed Goliath. David's older brother overheard what he was asking. He was critical of David. He could sense the favor on his life. He said, David, what are you even doing here? What have you done with those few sheep you're supposed to be taking care of?

He would say, David, you can't do anything about this giant? Look how small you are. David could have been offended, argued. Instead, he answered back in verse 29, is there not a cause? He was saying, you may be afraid. You may be passive, but this giant is not going to dishonor, my God.

This is a cause worth fighting for. Something was birthed in David at that moment. A fire, a passion to bring Goliath down. And what took David from the shepherd's fields into his destiny was a cause. He was willing to get involved in something bigger than himself. He didn't have to care. He could have dismissed it, but David stood up for something that in one sense didn't have anything to do with him. He wasn't in the army.

Goliath wasn't taunting him. He could have gone back home and lived an average, ordinary life. but when you fight giants for someone else, when you stand up for those that can't stand, you're not just helping them. That cause is going to launch you into your destiny. David took his slingshot, slung that rock, defeated Goliath. Eventually he took the throne of Israel. What's interesting is the crown was in the cause.

Without the cause, he would have never become king. like David, your crown is going to be found in a cause. Your promotion, your breakthrough, your dream coming to pass is going to be found in being a blessing. Are you fighting for anyone other than yourself? Are you taking risk, stepping out in faith, helping them to rise higher? When your cause driven, you'll see some giants come down. You'll see promotion, doors open, the right people show up. Thousands of soldiers saw Goliath day after day, but David was the only one that had a cause.

He didn't have the size, the training, the experience, but he believed God was going to show out. He expected to defeat Goliath. He expected to stand victoriously. When you have a cause, you'll believe for big things. You'll pray bold prayers. You'll expect giants to come down. when the compact center came available, I thought, God, this is not about just us. This is about advancing the kingdom.

This facility will set a new standard. It will be an example of your greatness. I had a boldness to fight for something way bigger than me. Three years earlier, I was running camera. I was working in production. But when you have a cause, you'll believe you can accomplish what seems impossible. that you can overcome what looks insurmountable. Find your cause.

Fight for someone that can't fight for themselves. Get involved in something bigger than you. That's where your crown is. That's where your greatness is going to come out. David could have been satisfied in the shepherd's fields, satisfied with an ordinary life. I don't want to have to get out of my comfort zone. People may criticize me.

There may be big giants. I'll just play it safe. safe is not your destiny. Average is not what you're called to be. Take on some giants. Believe to advance the kingdom to set new standards. God didn't give you that talent, that personality, that courage just to go to work, make a living, feed your family.

You are called for a cause. You are gifted for a cause. You are healthy for a cause. You have influence. You are anointed for a cause. Don't just build your kingdom, build his kingdom. Get involved in making a difference. Where are some giants you can bring down?

Where are some people you can lift up? It's nothing worse than to come to the end of life and realize you never saw your crown. You never took your throne. It wasn't in the average. It wasn't in the routine. It was in the cause. It was in doing something out of the ordinary,

getting involved in something that wasn't about you, making your neighborhood better, blessing that co-worker, bringing down a Goliath, that's when you'll see your crown. I've made up my mind, I'm not going to live comfort-driven, I'm going to live cause-driven. When we're comfort-driven, we don't have to stretch, make sacrifices, take any risk. When I'm comfort-driven, I'm not going to be criticized, talked about, have opposition. The problem is you'll never reach your destiny if you live comfort-driven. As long as David was in the shepherd's fields, minding his own business, satisfied, he was average.

He was ordinary. Had he not been willing to run that errand to take lunch to his brothers, he would have never taken the throne. Don't miss the small things. Had he let his brother discourage him, make him upset, bitter, he would have missed his destiny. If he'd have thought Goliath was too big, I'd love to help, but I'm afraid. man, he's twice my size. He would have never become the king. The cause has to be bigger than the giant.

The cause has to be bigger than the opposition. Bigger than how you feel. You may be outnumbered. What you're up against is stronger, more experience. Don't worry. You and God are a majority. They cannot stand against our God. Like with David, there are giants waiting for you.

When you defeat them for others, doors to your destiny will open. When you find your cause, the king is going to come out. When your dream is connected to helping others, to making your community better, to lifting those that were down, you thought you were just helping them. You didn't realize you were helping yourself. And so many of you do this. You support the ministry. You attend, your watch, you volunteer, you serve in the community. A lot of times it's on your day off. You could be doing something for yourself, but you're investing in others. God sees your sacrifice. He sees you helping when nobody is giving you credit, getting up early to pick up the friend,

cooking an extra meal for that neighbor, spending your vacation serving at that orphanage, get ready, your crown is coming. You've been fighting for others. Now God is about to fight for you. The king is going to come out of the cause. You're going to see doors open. You never dream would open, favor, influence, opportunity, all because you fought for someone else. You got involved in something bigger than yourself.

A friend of mine grew up in a small town in Kentucky, and they were poor and didn't have too much. But from the time he was a little boy, he had a desire to help children in need. He saw on the television where you could support a hungry child in another country

for $15 a month. He didn't have any money but at eight years old, he started mowing lawns in the neighborhood so he could help. He needed the funds, but he was living cause-driven, fighting for someone else. When he could have been out playing, he was mowing lawns, making sacrifices for someone he would never meet. And that seemed like a nice thing to do, a compassionate person, but it's more than that. When you tap into your cause, there's a crown that's connected. By the grace of God, he was able to attend college.

In the summers, he would take trips overseas with doctors to help care for these children like he supported. He ended up going to medical school, became very successful in his practice, all the while doing what he could to take care of children. One of his medical suppliers heard how he supported children, asked if he needed anything. They started giving him all kinds of medicines,

vaccines, antibiotics, it grew and grew to where he had to get a warehouse to contain it all. Today, our friend, Dr. Todd Price, his wife Sue, have given over a billion dollars

in medical supplies to children around the world. His organization has treated over 60 million children for parasites. He told me from the time he was a little boy, he always prayed

that God would send a wealthy person to help those children in need. He said, I never realized I would become that person. The scripture says, when you help the poor, when you feed the hungry, when you lift the fallen, then your light will break forth like the dawn. Your healing, your abundance, your breakthrough will come. Dr. Price didn't have to help those children. He didn't have to take risk, use his vacation time to travel around the world, stay in little villages. He could have enjoyed a nice average life, but he would have never seen God's favor like he's seen. He would have never been this fulfilled. He discovered the cause was connected to the crown. The cause opened doors to

his destiny greater than he ever imagined. I realize we're not going to all go around the world, not all going to start big organizations, but there's someone you can fight for. There's something you can do outside of yourself that makes your community better, makes your school better, makes your family better, find your cause, and you'll find favor. This is what Nehemiah did. He was a cup bearer to the king. He wasn't in management. He didn't have wealth or influence. He had an ordinary position. He heard how the walls of Jerusalem had been torn down, how the city was unprotected. He was living a thousand miles away. He could have thought, that's their problem.

I can't do anything about it. But something came alive on the inside. He knew he was supposed to rebuild those walls. How could he do it? He had no money, no staff, no influence. When your cause-driven, you'll pray bold prayers. You'll believe for the impossible. You'll expect doors to open.

I've learned what God orders he pays for. When it's to advance the kingdom, when it's to bring about positive change, the resources will be there. The right people will show up. You don't have to figure it out. All you have to do is believe. Nehemiah asked the king for permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. You can imagine asking your boss for six months off to go to a personal project.

You would think the king would say, excuse me, you're on my payroll. I need you to be here. but for some reason the king agreed. He said, fine, you can go. If that wasn't enough, Nehemiah said, I need another favor. I'm going to need protection. Will you give me a letter addressed to all the cities I have to travel through so they won't harm me? The king agreed. He said, one last thing, King, I don't have any materials to rebuild this wall. I need a letter from you asking the lumber mills to give me what I need. The scripture says the king, the king, King granted Diomiah his request because the favor of God was on his life.

It's good to ask for yourself, but when you're asking for someone else, when you're taking a stand for those that can't, when you're kingdom-minded and not just me-minded, God will show out in your life. What's holding some people back is they're only focused on their goals, their dreams, their projects. Why don't you invest some of your time, energy, resources in someone else. Fight their giants, help their dreams come to pass, mentor their child, care for them as they come through that illness. That cause is connected

to your crown. That's what's going to open new doors to your destiny. Defeating Goliath, someone else's giant is what took David to the throne. It's good to have your dreams, it's good to have your goals, but you need to be a part of something bigger than just you. David would have stayed in the shepherd's fields if he didn't find his cause. Nehemiah would have lived an ordinary life had he not found his cause. When he went to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls, he had all kinds of opposition. The city wouldn't give him permits. The critics tried to stop him. Bandits came and fought him. It was one thing after another. But when your cause driven, you don't go by how you feel. You're not moved by the opposition.

you're on a mission. You have an assignment. The cause helps you to say focus, persistent, determined. It should have taken Nehemiah years to finish rebuilding it, but he did it in just 52 days. I believe there are some Nehemiahs in here today. There are some David's watching. You could live an ordinary, average life, but you're fighting for others. You're investing in things bigger than yourself, making sacrifices to help those around you. You can't help others without God helping you. That cause doesn't come by itself. It's connected to a crown. You're going to see favor that you've never seen. You're going to come out of ordinary into the uncommon, unusual, resources that your family has never seen. Influence, opportunity like you've never imagined.

the greatness God put in you is going to come out of the cause. It's not about finding your crown, it's about finding your cause. Where is a giant you can defeat? Where is a lunch you can take to your brothers? Where is a wall you can rebuild? If you'll find the cause, the crown will come. What's interesting is the walls of Jerusalem had been down for over six decades. God could have had a king rebuild them, a governor, the arch,

army, the prophets, but God chose a cup bear, an ordinary person. The cause brought the greatness out of Nehemiah. Without this cause, we wouldn't be talking about it. Without a cause, David wouldn't have become the greatest king that ever lived. I'm asking you to find a cause. Live for something bigger than yourself. The greatness will come out when you help others, when you build their dream, when you support advancing the kingdom. well Joel I didn't come out this morning to hear about helping others I want to know how I can be blessed this is how you'll be blessed this is how your greatness comes out this is how you'll discover your crown is there not a cause sometimes the cause is to improve yourself so that your family and those that come

after you will be better off my father was raised very poor his family lost everything during the Great Depression. He grew up with a poverty mindset, never able to drink a full glass of milk, just a small portion, then they'd pour water in it. But at 17 years old, he gave his life to Christ, the first one in his family. He felt a calling to become a minister. His parents tried to discourage him. They told him, all he knew how to do was work on the farm. If he left, he wasn't going to make it. But the cause has to be louder than the naysayers. What God puts in your heart has to be stronger than the negative chatter. My father, he made up his mind at 17 that his children would never be raised in the poverty

he was raised in. He had no money, no transportation, no experience, but he left the farm with a cause. He went out and started ministry. He knew very little about the Bible. He'd only been to church for several times. He called Job Job. He preached his first message on Samson. At the end, he realized he'd been calling him Tarzan. He didn't have much training, but he had a cause. I'm going to honor God with my life. I'm going to break this stronghold of poverty. I'm going to set a new standard for my family. He didn't have a ride. He had to hitchhike. He didn't have a church. He preached in the prisons, in the senior citizens' homes. He didn't have a big, organization supporting him. First offering he ever received was an apple. There were plenty of times

he was tempted to get discouraged, feel like it would never work out. But he would ask himself, is there not a cause? When you live cause driven, your focus is not on how you feel, not on what people are saying, not on what's not working out. Your focus is on the cause. I'm not just fighting for me. I'm fighting for my children. I'm fighting to take our family to a new level. He kept going when no doors were opening. He stayed in faith when people were against him. He kept being his best when it was taken longer than he thought, cause driven, not feeling driven, not circumstance driven. And as he kept doing the right thing, faithful year after year, he came into his crown. He saw favor like no one in his family had seen. He broke that spirit of

poverty. God opened big doors, started Lakewood. pastored here almost 40 years, made a great difference with his life. How did he step out of the ordinary into the uncommon? He had a cause bigger than himself. He didn't just think about him. He thought about his family. He thought about how he could be a blessing to others. He invested his life in something bigger than himself.

And being cause driven is what's going to help you stay determined and stay focused. when Jesus was about to be crucified, he didn't feel like going through with it. He was in such distress, so discouraged that his sweat drops of blood. We think he won the victory on Calvary, but really the victory was won in the Garden of Gassimony. That's where he made the decision to stick with it. He prayed three times, Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. All of his emotions said, give up. His feelings said, don't go through with it.

His mind said, it's not worth it. If he had not lived cause driven, we wouldn't have salvation. In the darkest time, he made a decision, this is not about me. This is about helping others. This is about fulfilling my purpose. The scripture says, the angels came and ministered to him. In those difficult times when you're trying to break the addiction, trying to keep your marriage together,

trying to take your family to a new level. You'll be tempted to think, it's too hard. It's been too long. This pressure is too much. You're in the Garden of Gassimony. You have to do like Jesus, make the decision that the cause is worth it. The scripture says he endured the pain of the cross, looking forward to the joy that was coming.

Because he was focused on the cause, he was able to endure the pain of the moment. when it's the most difficult, the good news is that means you're close to your crown. You're close to your breakthrough. You've come too far to stop now. God didn't bring you here to leave you. Dig down deep. Stay determined.

Stay focused. Keep doing the right thing. It's not just for you. You're doing it for your family. You're doing it to advance the kingdom. If you'll keep fighting for someone else, like with Jesus, the angel. the angels are going to show up to strengthen you. God sees you giving, helping others, being good to people,

taking on their giants. You didn't have to. Nobody would have faulted you, but like Nehemiah, you answered the cause. You stepped up to make a difference. Now get ready, the king in you is about to step out. Your crown is about to show up. I believe and declare you're coming out of the ordinary,

into the uncommon. God is about to favor you in a new way. Promotion, influence, divine connections, dreams coming to pass, addictions being broken, strongholds coming down, the fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name. And if you receive it, can you say amen today? I'd like to give 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.

We'd love to give you some new information on your walk with the Lord. Just text the number on the screen or go to the website. I hope you'll get into a good Bible-based church and keep God first place. It's January. Time to renew my faith. It's January. It's time to start a new season. It's January.

There is no better time than now to set the course of our year ahead. The beginning of the year is a great time to start a fresh and anew. To let go of negative things of the past and to get ready for the new things God has in store. Every January, we create a new devotional calendar that will help you throughout the year. When you start the day off in faith, grateful for what God's done and making positive declarations over your future,

you're setting the tone for a blessed day and a victorious year. This devotional will help you get your mind going in the right direction so you can go out each day in faith, knowing that God is in control and that his plans for you are for good. I'd love to send you a copy.

As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount this first month of the year, we would like to send you a copy of our brand new 2020, 365-day devotional calendar. Do you want to set a faith course for your life in 2024? Do you want to see your life take off in new directions of influence, favor, and provision in the year ahead? Using this devotional calendar is as easy as one, two, three.

One, wake up with an expectancy in your heart. Two, reflect on the daily scripture verse and devotional from Joel. Three, capture God's promises to you on journaling lines for writing and reflection. Be sure to request your copy of the 2024 devotional calendar available this month by simply visiting us at Joel Osteen.com or calling 888-567 Joel.