Joel Osteen Podcast - Receiving God's Mercy | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: September 15, 2023

God already paved the way for you to live in victory, but you have to do your part and act on it. Instead of feeling guilty over past mistakes, receive the mercy He offers you today.  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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You and your dog are close, like watch each other go to the bathroom close, but you could be even closer with Barkbox. Every month, Barkbox brings dogs and their humans together with original toys and delicious treat. Sign up now at Barkbox.com slash iHeart. Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast 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. God bless you. What a joy it is to come into your homes today. We're here at Minute Maid Park, the home of the Houston Astros,

but you know what? We're celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And so we thank you for tuning in. And if you're ever in the Houston area, I hope you'll stop by and see us. We'd love to have you at one of our services, and I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks for tuning in today. I like to start with something funny each week,

and I'll tell you one of my favorite ones. This man called up the church all for you. and he asked the church secretary. He said, I want to speak to the head hog at the trough. And the church secretary, she was kind of offended. She said, if you mean the pastor, then you're going to have to call him pastor, but you may not call him the head hog at the trough. He said, well, okay, I was just going to make a $10,000 donation to your church.

She said, hold on. Porky just walked in. All right, come on, hold up your Bibles and say it like you mean it. Are you 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'll be taught the Word of God. I boldly confess, my mind is alert, my heart is receptive, I will never be the same. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living seed of the Word of God. I'll never be the same, never, never, never, never, I'll never be the same in Jesus' name. God bless you. You sound great as usual. I want to talk to you today about learning to receive the good things that God has in store.

And really, God has already done everything he's going to do. He paid the ultimate price through the death, the burial, and the resurrection of his son Jesus. And he has made a way for each one of us to live in victory. But we have to do our part and really start believing it and start acting on it. And all through the Bible, there are so many promises of what God has already done. It says in Ephesians that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Past tense, he's already done it. Says in Colossians, that God has made us worthy. Our sins have already been forgiven. The good news is there is mercy for any mistake we will ever make.

But the problem many times is we're not acting on it. And so instead of receiving God's mercy and receiving forgiveness and moving on, we just go around all guilty and condemned, trying to pay God back, feeling bad about ourselves. Well, you know, I just don't deserve anything good. No, we've got to learn to receive what God has already done. I know when I first started ministering, before I would come out to speak, I would pray and pray, God, please give me your anointing. God, please help me, please God. But one day I found in the Bible that God has already anointed us. He's already given us his power and ability.

You don't have to beg God for that. You've simply got to start acting on it. Now before I come out, I just boldly declare, I am anointed. I am well able to do what God has called me to do. See, I don't have to pray about that. I don't have to beg God for that. I've just got to rise up and receive it by faith. And really, begging God doesn't get his attention.

In Matthew chapter 15, this lady came to Jesus, and she was all upset and crying. and she began to beg and beg, Jesus, please, please, heal my daughter. Jesus, please, come to my house. I'm begging you, Jesus, please. On and on, she went. And it's kind of interesting, Jesus didn't pay any attention to her. He just basically ignored her. This went on for a long time. And finally, when she realized that wasn't getting her any place, she decided to quit begging, and instead she started worshiping him. No doubt she started saying, thank you, Father, for your mercy. Thank him for his

goodness. And man, when she did that, that got God's attention. Jesus stopped right there and sent healing to her little girl. The point is, you don't have to beg God to bless you, or beg God to help you, or even beg God to forgive you. You simply need to ask in faith and receive it. Start acting like it's done. I know plenty of people today, they're living all guilty and condemned. They're always praying, please God, forgive me for that mistake I made. Please God, I'm just so sorry. practically every day they are begging God to forgive them for something they did a year ago. Now, please understand, God forgave you the very first time you asked. Quit being a beggar and start receiving God's mercy.

Start receiving his forgiveness. If you don't, you'll go through life guilty and condemned trying to pay God back for all your mistakes. I know so many people today, they live with this weak worm of the dust mentality. They don't feel like they deserve to be blessed. They've made too many mistakes. They've done too much wrong. But no, you need to know that God has already made you worthy. And the scripture says, you've got to put on your robe of righteousness.

One translation says, put on the breastplate of God's approval. Notice, it's something we have to do. It's not going to automatically jump on you. Every morning when you get up, you need to boldly declare, God approves me. God is pleased with me. I am accepted. I am forgiven. made worthy. The picture I want you to have today is that God is smiling down on you. You are the

apple of God's eye. God is not out to get you. God is not going to try to pay you back for all of your mistakes. His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. Why don't you start receiving it? Why don't you start receiving God's forgiveness? Too many people today go around feeling wrong on the inside. They've got this nagging feeling down in here. Well, you say, Joel, what about the mistakes that I've made. No, that doesn't change what God has already done. And God is not pleased maybe with everything you do, but you need to know God is pleased with you. You do not have to live guilty and condemned. And I don't mean this to sound wrong, but many times this goes against everything that religion has taught us. Religion, when you make a mistake, especially, they want you to

feel bad about yourself. And I hate to say it, but a lot of times religious people will be the first ones to kick you when you're down and to condemn you. Don't ever get God mixed up with religion. God is for you. God is on your side. No matter what you have done, God wants to give you a new beginning. He's a God of second chances. My prayer today is that you'll begin to feel God's love in a greater way. You'll get rid of any feelings of guilt and condemnation, unworthiness. Really, the message of Easter is a message of hope. God didn't come to condemn us. He came to save us. And sure, we all make mistakes. We all do certain things that we wish we could do over,

but God sees our hearts. He knows we're not perfect. He can see the desire you have to please him. If you've made some bad choices in life, please don't go around feeling wrong about yourself. God has already made you worthy. And it wasn't because of anything you did or didn't do, it's because of what Jesus did.

He shed his blood that we might live an abundant life. And really, it doesn't bring any glory to God, for us to go around begging him for something that he's already done. I challenge you, quit being a beggar and start being a believer. Start acting like you're a child of the most high God. That means you need to put your shoulders back, need to hold your head up high, and just boldly declare, I am blessed, I am forgiven, I am redeemed, I am worthy, I am a new creature, I am more than a conquer, I am the head not to tell.

See, it says there in Hebrews 416, Let us come boldly to the throne of grace To obtain mercy and find help in our time of need. Notice God doesn't say, Come to me with a weak, defeated, pitiful attitude. He doesn't say, come to me, thinking about all your failures and how unworthy you are. No, God says, you come to me with boldness.

You come to me with your head held high knowing that I'm a good God and I want to help you. He says, in effect, come to me knowing that you are the apple of my eye, knowing that I want to be good to you. And really, the only way you're going to go to God boldly is to know that you're righteous. You've got to know that God is pleased with you.

Know that your sins are forgiven. Know that God has good things in store. You will never rise up in your authority as long as you have some kind of feeling of inferiority. And there's nothing the enemy would love anymore then for you to go around thinking about your faults and weaknesses, all the mistakes you made last week, and all the times you messed up last month.

No, don't even go down that road. Quit dwelling on what you've done wrong and start dwelling on what you've done right. You may not be all you're supposed to be, but at least you can thank God you're not what you used to be. We all make mistakes. But you know what? You need to learn to just be quick to repent.

Say, God, I'm sorry, forgive me, help me to do better next time. But then don't stop there. Take it one step farther. Say, Father, now I receive your mercy. Now I receive your forgiveness. See, you should not go around feeling guilty and condemned like you've got to pay God back for your mistakes. When you do that, all you're really saying

is the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross wasn't quite good enough, so let me do a little bit more. No, the good news is the price has been paid in full. You don't have to add your part to it. Simply learn to receive that mercy. receive God's forgiveness. It says in Proverbs 281 that the righteous are as bold as a line.

The only way you're going to have the boldest God wants you to have is to know that you are righteous. Because when you know who you are in Christ, when you know that God is smiling down on you, when you know your sins are forgiven, that's when you're going to hold your shoulders back and have the boldness and confidence

that God really wants you to have. And when I say that we've been made righteous, I'm not saying that we're perfect. I'm not saying that we don't make mistakes. But if you have a heart after God, and I know you do or you wouldn't be here today, if you have a desire to please him, then you have been made righteous.

You have been born into God's very own family. You did not do anything to earn this righteousness. It's simply a gift, and you've got to learn how to receive it. I can tell you, this is one of the main areas people struggle in. So many people, they just feel wrong on the inside. Like they don't deserve anything good,

and they just got that weak worm of the dust mentality. I know people, they've made mistakes in the past, and they have prayed and asked God to forgive them. They're very sincere. They've done that part, but they're still holding on to all the guilt. And they let that old black cloud follow them around everywhere they go. But as long as we're living guilty and condemned, we will never experience the good things of God.

God works where there's an attitude of faith. He works when we have an expected heart. if you've made mistakes in the past don't fall into that old trap and you know just man i don't deserve anything i'm such a lousy old sinner god's never going to bless me no put your shoulders back and go to god with boldness your attitude should be i may have made mistakes but i have repented i have received god's mercy and i refuse to wall around in guilt and condemnation i know because of what jesus did 2,000 5 years ago i am forgiven i am redeemed i am made worthy. I know his mercies

are new and fresh every single morning. See, you've got to shake off the old rags of guilt and condemnation and start putting on your robe of righteousness. If we're going to be all God's created us to be, we've got to have a boldness about us. One time I was praying at this big event here in town, and there were several

other ministers there with me, and the man that went right before me, he's a very well-respected leader in the community and a very fine gentleman, but he prayed about the most depressing prayer that I think I've ever heard. He said, God, you know how unworthy I am to even stand up here before you. God, you know what a wretched sinner I am and I don't deserve your goodness. And God, how could you even use anybody like me on and on?

Man, by the time he got finished, I felt like I needed to go repent. I felt like I was about that tall. I just wanted to hang my head in shame. No, let me ask you, how can we expect God's blessing? How can we expect his goodness if we go around feeling wrong about ourselves? I wanted to ask him afterwards, did you really mean what you prayed? You said you were weak, you were defeated, you were an old sinner, you were unworthy. Listen, I'm not going to declare that kind of junk over my life.

I'm going to put on my robe of righteousness. I know God approves me. I know God is pleased with me. I know that I have been accepted. I have been made worthy. Well, you say, Joel, we're just all old sinners. saved by grace. No, the truth is, we were old sinners, but when we came to Christ, we're not sinners anymore. We are sons and daughters of the Most High God. We have been changed. We've been

born into a new family. We are new creatures. Sure, we may sin every once in a while. You may make some mistakes, but that doesn't make you a sinner. You've got the very nature of God on the inside of you. And you have got to start seeing yourself differently. And you need to have the right concept of God. I remember Daddy used to tell about this guy by the name of Clyde. And he had so many problems. He always was making mistakes here and there,

living upset and frustrated. Nothing in his life was right. One day he is complaining and complaining. God, why the bad things always happen to me? God, why can I get ahead? God, why is it always me? He said, this voice boomed out of the heavens and God said, I don't know, Clyde.

There's just something about you that really ticks me off. And you know, a lot of people think about God like that today. They think God's kind of mad at them. He's disgusted. They've made mistakes, so surely God's paying them back. But the good news is God is not like that. God is not out to get you.

God is not looking for some reason to slam you down. That is the wrong concept of God. You need to know God is on your side. Your sins have already been forgiven. All you've got to do is accept it. You don't have to carry around that old heavy, load of guilt and shame. Why don't you let it go? Start enjoying the life God intended you to have. Jesus paid an incredible price that we might be free from guilt, condemnation, all these feelings

of unworthiness. And please understand, God is not keeping a running record of all of your mistakes. The very moment you repent, God does not remember it anymore forever. Now let me challenge you, stop remembering what God has already forgotten. Why don't you let the past be the past? Why don't you start receiving God's mercy? I know this. You will never receive the new things God wants to do in your life as long as you're holding on to the old. You've got to quit dwelling on your mistakes and failures. Quit looking back at all you've done wrong. As long as you're looking back, you will never go forward. And the scripture says forgetting what lies behind and pressing forward to the good things God has in store. Do you know who

who keeps bringing up your past, it's the enemy. He's called the accuser of the brethren. There's nothing he would love anymore than for you to go through life, focused on your past, guilty and condemned, feeling wrong, feeling unworthy like you don't deserve anything good. That's why many times when you first get up in the morning, the first thoughts that will come to your mind are all the mistakes you made last week. Now don't even go down that past. Let the past be the past. Receive God's mercy. It's fresh and new every single morning. And some of you today, you're way too hard on yourself. Quit beating yourself up over every mistake that you made. Give yourself a break. You're learning. You're growing. God's not finished with you. You're a work

in progress. If you always are blaming yourself and living condemned, you will never go forward. When you make a mistake, ask for forgiveness and move on. Don't wallow around feeling depressed. month after month, let it go. See, God forgives you immediately. The real question is, will you forgive yourself? Will you receive God's mercy? Will you let the past be the past? I know people today, they have gone through some kind of disappointment, some kind of failure, maybe a divorce, some kind of setback. And you know, the only thing that's keeping them in mediocrity is the fact that they just will not forgive themselves. They don't have any problem forgiving anybody else. They'll forgive their spouse, their parents, their neighbors, but they just can't seem to let go of the guilt.

And they're always blaming themselves, living so condemned. But really, the first step to being free is you've got to be willing to forgive yourself. It doesn't matter what you've done. There's no sin that's too difficult for our God. No failure, no mistake, no setback. I know some of you today, you're just kind of sitting on the sidelines of life. You've had some broken dreams, and you're just convinced that God is mad at you. He in your life, is all washed up, but you need to know God wants to give you a new beginning. He wants the next part of your life

to be better than the first part. If you'll get rid of all the guilt and quit blaming yourself all the time, I believe those new doors will begin to open up. I know this is exactly what my father did. Daddy was married at a very early age. And unfortunately, wasn't one of the best

choices that he made, and it didn't work out. His dreams were shattered and he thought for sure his days in ministry were over. Didn't think he never have another family. It was the darkest hour of his life. And Daddy told how one of the most difficult things for him to do was to forgive himself. He was so tempted to just hold on to the hurt and pain. He was tempted to just go around continually blaming himself. And he could have easily let that one setback keep him from moving forward and really fulfilling his God-given destiny.

He had to be willing to receive God's mercy. And Daddy took that step of faith and he forgave himself. And as he did that, God began to restore back to him. God began to give him a new beginning. It was after all that that he met my mom and God gave him a new family. They started Lakewood and Daddy had over 50 years in ministry. He ended up touching the world. But none of that would have happened had he not been willing to forgive himself. I'm not saying it's okay to take the easy way out.

But you know as well as I do, you cannot unscramble eggs. What's done is done. No matter whose fault it was, you need to read. receive God's mercy, receive its forgiveness, and keep pressing forward. I know some of you are here today, kind of like my dad. You've been through a setback. You've been through a disappointment. But I really believe if you'll take this to heart and forgive yourself and receive God's

mercy, then your best days are going to be right out in front of you. Only God can take all the negative and turn it around and bring you out better off than you were before. The darkest storm will always give way to the most beautiful sunrise. God has a new beginning in store for you. Keep your head held high. Forgive yourself and learn to receive his mercy. And remember, God looks at our hearts.

I think about my own children. They make mistakes. They're not perfect. But as their father, I can see their hearts. And it's one thing if they had an evil heart, they were defiant and they wouldn't listen to anything I said, but they're not like that. And sure, they do things I don't always agree with.

They don't always respond in the way I would like, but I don't just write them off. and say, you guys have blown it, man, you made a mistake. I'm never going to help you. No, they're my children. I can see their heart. I know their heart down deep is to please me. The scripture says in 2 Chronicles 16, 9, that God is looking for people to bless whose hearts are turned perfect toward him. Notice, God is not going to bless the people that have a perfect performance or the people that never make a mistake. God is looking at our hearts. My children, even though they make mistakes, even though they're not perfect, they know, because their heart is right, they are the apple of my eye. They know they are my pride and joy, and they know how to come boldly to their father. When they come home from school, they don't even ask. They go straight to the refrigerator, give me something to eat. They know that's a part of their privilege.

They're a part of the family. Some of you, it would bring God great joy today if you just start acting like you're the apple of his eye. if you just go boldly to him and start acting like he's really pleased with you. See, I want you to get rid of all these rags of guilt, condemnation, unworthiness, and start putting on your robe of righteousness. Learn to receive the good things God has in store. It's funny, I've said to my children many times, let's go up to the toy store today.

I just want to buy you something special. And do you know never once have they said, no, daddy, I just don't deserve it. I made a mistake last week, and I really did. really need to pay for it. No, little children know how to receive. We as adults, we think, I've got to pay for it. I've got to earn it. Let me work for it. But no, you've got to receive as a little child. And God is saying to us on this resurrection morning, here's my mercy, receive it. Here's my forgiveness, receive it. Here are my blessings. We receive them. We say, wait a minute, Joel, I don't think I deserve it. Let me at least pay for it. No, it's a free gift. It's a part of being in

the family. You've got to learn. to let God be good to you. The other day, we took our little son Jonathan up to the store to buy a guitar. He'd been one one for a long time, and so we decided to just surprise him, and we went up there, and we came home, and he was so excited. He gave me a great big hug. He said, Daddy, I love you so much.

Thank you so much for my guitar. Then he said, by the way, Daddy, when can we go back and get that new keyboard? See, Jonathan knows how to come boldly. He's not shy. He knows how much I love him. He knows I delight in doing good things for him.

And as a father, it makes me happy when I can do things to make him happy. And parents, you can imagine how you would feel. If your kids went around all the time thinking, you know what, I don't deserve anything, I make so many mistakes. Nobody's pleased with me. I'd break your heart. But that's exactly

what we do to God when we allow the enemy to heap all this guilt and condemnation on us. And we go around feeling wrong on the inside about ourselves. Some of you've been living under that heavy load, way too long, it's time for you to get free today. The price has been paid in full. Why don't you start really receiving God's mercy? I think of the story of the prodigal son. He made so many bad

choices. He left his home and went out and wasted all of his money. He ended up so low and so desperate, he was eating the food that he had been feeding to the hogs there in the hog pen. Finally, he decided he's just going to go back home. He thought even the servants in my father's house are living better than I am today. Maybe Daddy will just hire me back as one of those servants. You know the story. He went back. When he got close to the house,

his father saw him a long way off. He took off running. He went and gave his son a great big hug. He's so excited to see him. But then the son started to explain, Daddy, I've really blown it. I've wasted all my money. And I know I don't deserve any of this.

But maybe you can just take me back as one of your servants. His father said, no way. You are not my servant. you are my son. You will always be my son. No matter what you ever do, you will always be a part of this family. The father said to his servants, go kill the fatted calf. My son's come home. We're going to have a celebration. He said, somebody, go put the best robe on his back. Get the family ring and put it on his finger. See, that's the message of Easter. There is forgiveness for any sin. There is mercy for any mistake. No matter what you've done, God still accepts you.

approves you. You have been made worthy. You remember the time when Jesus had just been baptized and he was coming up out of the waters and a loud voice boomed out of the heavens. And God said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. I believe that's what God is saying to each one of you today. You may have made some mistakes. You may have made poor choices like the prodigal son. But listen to these words. Let them sink deep down into your spirit, man. God is saying, you are my beloved son. You are my beloved daughter in whom I am well pleased. Let me challenge you.

Start putting on your robe of righteousness. Get up every morning and say it to yourself, God is pleased with me. God approves me. I am forgiven. I am worthy. Remember, you do not have to beg God for something that he's already done.

Simply learn to receive it like a little child. Friends, God has a great life of victory in store for every one of the world. of you. No matter what you've done, no matter what you've been through, let today be a time of new beginnings in your life. Don't go around with that old weak worm of the dust mentality. You are a child of the most high God. Hold your shoulders back and go boldly to the throne. If you do that, you will be free from guilt and condemnation. I know God will begin to pour out his blessings. You'll rise higher and you'll experience the victories that he has in store. Amen. How many of you

receive it this morning? Can you give the Lord a shout of. praise 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. Keep God first place. He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed of. 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. No one likes to talk about money. Am I saving enough? Can I buy a house? Am I paying too much in taxes? Will I be able to retire? What if you could unlock insights about your finances in less than five minutes with a clear picture of where you stand today and where your money can work harder? Now you can. Visit facet.com to take the free quiz and get your financial wellness score today. That's facet.com. This ad is sponsored by Facet. Facet Wealth Incorporated is an SEC registered

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