Joel Osteen Podcast - Silencing The Voice Of The Accuser | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: April 4, 2024

Too many people let the voice of the accuser condemn them over past mistakes. But the moment you asked God for forgiveness, He forgave you. Because He’s not holding anything against you, you're free to move forward from any past mistake. 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 visitJoelOsteen.com/GiveHope.Your words have the power to change your life. When youSpeak the Blessing,you wake up dreams and unleash divine favor. Our April offer will show you the keys to speaking faith-filled words that invite the transformation you are looking for. Request your copy today, https://bit.ly/3TSkDQU.  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.

Always great to have you with us on the podcast and have a new book out called Speak the Blessing. Talking about speaking words of faith and hope and victory over your life. I know you'll enjoy it. But blessings to you today and enjoy the podcast. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. We love you guys. We pray for you every day and just believing for God's very best in your life.

When you're ever out in the Houston area, stop by and see us. We love to have you be a part of one of our services. but thanks for tuning in. Thanks again for coming out this morning. I always like to start with something funny. And I heard about these three men that were traveling together, a Hindu priest, a Jewish rabbi, and a televangelist. They stopped at this farmhouse for lodging. And the farmer said, I only have room for two in the house. Someone will have to stay in the barn. The Hindu priest said, I'll do it. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. He said, I can't stay out there. There's a cow. And cows are sacred. in our religion. The Jewish rabbi said, I'll do it. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

He said, I can't stay out there. There's a pig, and that wouldn't be kosher. The televangelist finally said, all right, I'll do it. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. It was the cow and the pig. All right, 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'm. Today, I'm a little. 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 silencing the voice of the accuser. Too many people go around feeling bad about themselves. When they make mistakes, instead of receiving God's mercy and moving forward, they listen to the voice of the

accuser. And it's constantly reminding them how bad they are and how they blew their diet and lost their temper and how they're never going to measure up. Before long, they're carrying a heavy load of guilt and condemnation. I talked to a young lady that felt so guilty because she gave her baby up for adoption. She was a teenage mother. It's been 10 years now and she's still so down on herself. She said, I feel a ashamed. Like I'm a terrible mother. I don't know what was wrong with me. What's the problem? She's listening to the voice of the accuser. And now she's carrying a heavy load of guilt that's trying to destroy her future. Guilt is like being on a treadmill. You're constantly working and struggling and sweating, but you're not going anywhere. It drains your strength, your energy, your enthusiasm.

guilt will keep you from having good relationships. It can affect you not only emotionally, but eventually even physically. I know people that have had nervous breakdowns because of guilt. Year after year, they've carried the heaviness. Now it's worn them down to where they can barely even function. Friends, guilt is a dead end street. You may have made mistakes and done things that you're not proud of, but the moment you ask for forgiveness, God, gave you. It says he will not remember our sins anymore. If God doesn't remember them, that tells me when the accusing voice comes, reminding you of what you've done wrong, how bad you are, trying to make you feel guilty, condemned, unworthy. That's a sure sign it's not God. That's the

accuser trying to sour your future. You can do one or two things. You can believe those lies, dwell on them, let it weigh you down. Or a much better decision is to rise up in faith and say, no, thanks, I'm not going there. I realize I've made mistakes. I'm not perfect, but I know this, I'm forgiven. God's not holding anything against me. And if God doesn't condemn me, then I'm not going to condemn myself. There's a difference between God's voice and the accusing voice. When we make mistakes, as believers, we will feel a conviction on the inside. We will feel guilty. Our conscience will tell us that's not right. That's the spirit of God convicting us. The right thing to do is repent, ask for forgiveness, and go forward. The moment we do that,

God doesn't remember the mistakes. He has no record of it. It's not on a secret database somewhere, he totally lets it go. But this is exactly when the accuser goes to work. Even though God has forgotten about it, the accuser will try to keep us feeling bad about ourselves.

He'll remind you of everything you did wrong, how bad it was, and how you just need to sit on the sidelines. His goal is to deceive us into living condemned, feeling unworthy like we don't deserve to be blessed. You've got to be keen enough

to recognize that is not God's voice. That is the accuser trying to sour my future. That's the accuser trying to dump another load of guilt on me, trying to keep me feeling wrong about myself. But I know better. I don't have to listen to his lies. I believe what God says about me. I'm forgiven.

I'm redeemed. My past is erased and my future is bright. By not dwelling on those lies, you silence the voice of the accuser. Some of you have been living with guilt for years. It's a nagging feeling on the inside, like a dark cloud that follows you around, telling you, you've blown it too many times.

You should have spent more time with your children when you were raising them. You're just not disciplined enough. Listen, those thoughts will dog you for a lifetime unless you rise up and put a stop to it. Just like you can use the remote control to change the channel on the television, you can change the channel in your thought light. When those accusing voice comes, reminding you of a mistake you made, bringing up a failure of the past,

whether it was 40 minutes ago or 40 years ago, you need to immediately change the channel. Don't dwell on it. Have the attitude, I refuse to live my life condemned. I may have made mistakes, but I can't do anything about the past. I can do better next to. I can do better next time, but I am not going to drag yesterday's failures into today. I know I am forgiven, and God is not looking at what's wrong with me. He's looking at what's right with me. When we have this guilt and condemnation, it's like we're carrying around a heavy load. Everywhere we go, let me get my bag of guilt. Hang on, let me get my bag of condemnation. Just second, before we leave, I've got to pack up my bag of regrets.

my bag of failures, my bag of mistakes. No, today, we are going to unload all the baggage. Like the airlines tell you, only two bags per customer. I've got an announcement, new rule around here, no bags per customer. We're going to go out of here lighter. The scripture says, when you know the truth, it will make you free. The truth you're hearing today is you don't have to carry the guilt. You don't have to listen to the accuser.

You don't have to try to pay God back for mistakes you've made. The price has already been paid. When you make a mistake, that accusing voice comes saying, you've blown your future. Nothing good is in store. You just got to pay it back by living depressed and defeated. No, you shake that off and say, I know the truth. The price has already been paid 2,000 years ago on the cross at Calvary.

I don't have to pay again. I'm not going to go around living guilty, condemned. feeling unworthy, ashamed. No, I know I've been redeemed. God's mercy is bigger than any of my mistakes, so I'm going to press forward with my head held high, knowing that my best days are still out in front of me. Friends, I'm asking you to unload the baggage. Get off the treadmill. You're not supposed to go through life feeling bad about yourself. Don't drag the regrets of yesterday into today. You can't do anything about your past, but you can do something about your future. Receive God's mercy and keep moving forward. I read about these three men. They were carrying

two sacks, one on the back and one of the front. Someone asked the first man what was in his sacks. He said the sack in my back is filled with all the good things that have happened to me. The sack in the front is filled with all the bad things that have happened. He was constantly focused on the bad, couldn't even see the good. They asked the second man. It was just the opposite response. He said the sack in the back is filled with the bad things. The sack in the front is filled with the good things. At least he could see the good and not focus on the negative. But with both of the sacks being so full, it still weighted him down and made life a burden.

The third man was asked, and he told how the sack in the front was filled with all of his accomplishments, his victories, the good things, and the sack in his back was totally empty. He had cut a hole in the bottom of it. That's where he put all his mistakes, his failures, the guilt, the shame, the condemnation. He explained, because the sack in the front is full and the sack in the back is empty, it keeps me moving forward. I'm weighted toward the front, and it acts just like a cell and naturally pushes me ahead. That's what happens when we focus on the right things. It moves us in the forward direction.

So many people today are focused on their mistakes, their failures. They carry them around everywhere they go. They wonder why they don't enjoy life is because they're weighted down. Why don't you do like that third man and cut a hole in the bottom of that negative bag? Why don't you let go of the things that are doing nothing but slowing you down and making you feel bad about yourself? Life is too short to go around carrying things that we don't need. And one way we know that guilt and condemnation is not from God is because it doesn't help you improve.

It doesn't make you do better. When we go around feeling wrong about ourselves, we are much more likely to make another mistake. I've seen people that blow their diet. They get so down on themselves. They think, oh, I've already blown it once today. Let me just eat this bowl of ice cream. They get up the next day so condemned, so guilty. they think what's the use. I'm so undisciplined. I'll never lose this weight. They lose their passion. They

give up on their goals. It's because guilt doesn't make us do better. It makes us do worse. You should not spend time thinking about what's wrong with you, but rather about what's right with you. I told that young lady that gave up her baby for adoption, look at you. You're beautiful, you're talented, you're successful. You've got a great job. Why are you still so down on yourself? That is over and done. See, there's a right way to handle guilt. Repent. As for forgiveness, move forward. The wrong way is to hold on to it for a week, a year, or a lifetime. There are some things that we cannot undo. You can't unscramble eggs. You cannot relive yesterday, but you can be your best today. Don't let the accuser say.

your future any longer. Start dwelling on what's right with you, not what's wrong with you. Have you noticed how human nature is drawn toward the negative? I can have a hundred people tell me after service. Joel, that was a great message. I really needed to hear that. But then one person will say, I don't know if I really understood that point. I'm not really sure I agree with you on that. I used to go home, depressed, discouraged, feeling like a failure. I've learned now to shake it all. somebody doesn't like it. My attitude is, I can't help it if there's something wrong with you. I don't know about you, but I feel good about who I am. And I am not going to let one bad report cancel out a hundred good reports. In the same way, don't let one weakness that you have or one

mistake that you made cancel out all the other great things about you. You may have made a lot of wrong choices, But you've also made a lot of right choices. Look at you today. You're sitting in church. You're honoring God. You're giving. You're serving. You've got a heart to do what's right.

Focus on your good qualities. Focus on your victories. Get off the treadmill of guilt. It's not taking you anywhere. Some of you have been guilty about something that happened a long time ago. Years and years and years. And it's stealing your joy and you're down on yourself, feeling condemned. Listen, that has soured your own.

life long enough. Don't live another moment in regrets. It may have been your fault, but that's what mercy is all about. You've got to rise up and say, this is a new day. I'm unloading the baggage. I am done feeling wrong about myself. I'm done going around condemned. I focus long enough on what I've done wrong. I'm going to start focusing on what I'm doing right. But for most of us, it's very difficult to accept the fact that God forgives us so easily. When we make mistakes, we think we have to pay. So we get discouraged, no joy down on ourselves. And sure, we should be remorseful when we do wrong.

We should be genuinely sorry and not just flippant like it's no big deal. But we don't have to spend month after month wallowing around in guilt and condemnation. I know people that did something wrong years ago. No, but they're still asking God to forgive them. They've probably asked for forgiveness for the same thing a thousand times. They don't realize God forgave them the very first time. The problem is they have not received God's forgiveness. They think they have to show God how sorry they are by giving up their joy and paying some kind of penance.

And so they live defeated, discouraged. And they beg and beg, God, please forgive me. God, I'm so sorry. Please, God. No, let me challenge you today. Don't be a beggar. Be a believer. Believe God forgave you the very first time.

You don't have to keep asking, receive God's mercy, and just keep moving forward. I read about this nine-year-old boy named Sam. He was visiting his grandparents. They lived on a big farm. Sam had a slingshot that he loved. And all during the day, he'd go out in the woods and shoot at different targets. He practiced and he practiced, but he wasn't that accurate. One evening, he heard the dinner bell.

As he was walking toward the house, he saw his grandmother's pet duck sitting by the pond. He never dreamed in a million years. He could hit it, but he pulled the slingshot back, let the rock fly, and believe it or not, it hit the duck square in the head, and the duck fell over dead. He felt terrible. He panicked. He ran over and got the duck and secretly buried it behind the woodpip. as he was walking toward the house, he realized his 12-year-old sister, Julie, had seen the whole thing take place.

That night after dinner, the grandmother said, Julie, I'd like you to stay and help me do the dishes if you don't mind. Julie said, grandmother, I'd love to, but Sam said he wants to do the dishes tonight. She whispered in his ear, remember the duck. Sam went over and did the dishes. the next morning the grandfather was going fishing. He invited both of the children to go. The grandmother said, I really need Julie to stay here and help me do some chores.

Julie said, Grandmother, Sam said he'd like to stay with you and help you out today. She whispered in his ear again, remember the duck. Sam stayed and did the chores. Julie went fishing with her grandfather. After a couple of days of doing both his and his sister's chores, Sam finally had had enough.

He went to his grandmother and said, grandmother, I'm so sorry, but I got to tell you something. I didn't mean to. I accidentally killed your pet duck. The grandmother gave him a big hug and said, Sam, I know you did. I was standing at the window. I saw the whole thing take place, and I've already forgiven you. I've just been waiting to see how long you would let Julie make a slave of you. Can I tell you something today? God was standing at the window. He has seen every mistake, every failure, every weakness. The good news is he has already forgiven you. He's not holding anything against you. He's just waiting to see how long you're going to let the accuser make a slave of you. How long are you going to live guilty and condemned?

How long are you going to keep asking for forgiveness for the exact same thing? My declaration is no more. This is a new day. We're going to rise up like Sam and say enough is enough. I may have made mistakes. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not going to let the accuser manipulate me into living life depressed, thinking that I've blown my future, trying to pay a debt that I don't have to pay. I'm going to go to my father and say, here I am. I've blown it. I've made mistakes, but I know you're a God of mercy. You restore, you forgive. So I'm going to get my joy back. I'm going to get my vision back. And I'm not going to let one mistake or a series of mistakes to keep me from pursuing my God-given destiny. What am I saying? Don't let the accuser

manipulate you anymore. You know the truth. God was standing at the window. He's already forgiven you. He accepts you. He approves you. He approves you. Now rise up in that freedom. Unload the baggage. Leave the guilt behind. That's what it says in Romans 8, verse 1. There is no condemnation when we're in Christ Jesus. Here's the key.

When we walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Notice we're only not going to be condemned when we're in the spirit. In other words, when we make mistakes, if we're in the flesh, we beat ourselves up. we lose our passion, we feel unworthy, we live depressed and defeated, trying to show God that we're sorry. When we do that, we will be condemned. We'll feel a heaviness. We'll miss God's best. But when we're in the spirit, we say, yes, I made mistakes. It was my fault, but I know the moment I asked for forgiveness. God not only forgave me, but he doesn't remember it, so I'm not going to fall into the trap of guilt. I'm going to move forward. That's when

we're not condemned. When we don't listen to the accuser's lives, when we don't walla in defeat, when we don't carry the heavy load of guilt, but we keep moving forward in life. I love the story of the prodigal son. The young man took his inheritance and left home and went out partying, living wild, undisciplined, making terrible choices. He blew his whole inheritance. He lost it all. Now he had no money, no place to stay. It got so bad, he ended up working in a hog farm feeding the hogs. He was so desperate, so hungry, he even had to eat the hog food just to stay alive. But one day, as he was sitting in the hog pen, guilty, condemned, ashamed, depressed,

something rose up on the inside. He thought to himself, even the servants at my father's, house, live better than this. And here I'm a son sitting in the hog pen, wallowing in defeat and mediocrity. He made a statement that changed his future. Without this statement, we would hear no more of this young man. He said, I will arise and go to my father. He was saying, yes, I've made mistakes. I brought the trouble on myself, but I'm not going to let one bad season of my life ruin the rest of my future, I will arise. Maybe today you've made some poor choices. You're not where you want to be in life. The accusing voice keeps telling you, it's your fault. Too bad. You brought it

on yourself. If you're going to be restored, if you're going to fulfill your destiny, it's not up to God. It's up to you. You've got to do like this young man and say, I may be down, but I'm not going to stay down. I've made mistakes. It's my fault, but I know the secret. I will arise. I will arise and go to my father. I believe one reason this young man could arise is because deep down, he knew who he was. He knew what family he belonged to. When you understand your position, you can change your condition. When you understand that you are a child of the most high God, God breathed his life into you. You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed, unworthy. No, you were created to rule, to reign, to be victorious. Your condition may be way down

here because of poor choices, mistakes you've made. You don't feel like you deserve it. You don't feel like you're worthy. But you've got to shake that off and say, I understand my position. I know who I am, a child of Almighty God. Now, I may not feel like I deserve it. I may not feel like I'm worthy. but I know because of what Christ did, he made me worthy. He took my guilt so that I can be free. So I'm going to arise and go to my father. That's what this young man did. And when the father saw him coming way down the road, the father took off running toward him. He gave his son a big hug, put a ring on his finger, a robe on his back. He said to his servants, let's celebrate. My son has come back home. God will do the same thing for you. When you make that decision that you're going to

shake off the guilt, shake off the condemnation, and say, I'm going to move forward with my life. When you make a move, God will make a move. He'll come running towards you with mercy, forgiveness, restoration, favor, increase. God can still get you to where you're supposed to be. But so often, when we make mistakes, the accusing voices go into overdrive, telling us that you can't ask God for help. It was your fault. You would be a hypocrite. You brought this trouble on yourself. No, this is when mercy comes in. When we do wrong, we ask for forgiveness. God forgives us. But when you really understand who you are, you won't just ask for forgiveness. You'll take it one step further and ask God for his mercy. Mercy says, God, I believe you will bless me in spite of these mistakes.

That's what Jacob did. He had lived his life as a cheater, a deceiver, doing people wrong. One day, he decided he wanted to make things right. He got tired of living that way. He went down to the brook so he could be alone. The scripture talks about how the angel of the Lord appeared under him in the form of a man. Jacob and the angel begin to wrestle. It went on all night.

And Jacob said to the angel, I know who you are, and I'm not going to let you go until you bless me. When the angel saw how determined Jacob was and how he wasn't going to give up, he reached over and gave Jacob God's blessing.

Jacob left there a different person. God even changed his name from Jacob to Israel. Israel means Prince with God. But can you imagine the nerve of Jacob? Don't you know that took a lot of boldness? Here he had practically lived his whole life making poor choices.

Deceiving, cheating, lying. He should have felt overwhelmed with guilt, condemnation, all washed up. But somehow he had the confidence to not only ask for forgiveness, but he said, God, I believe you will bless me in spite of the way I've lived. Surely God would say, Jacob, what are you talking about? Are you crazy? You don't deserve to be blessed, not even really forgiven. I'm not going to bless you. No, God said in effect, Jacob, I love the fact that you know who you are. My child, redeemed, forgiven, made worthy. You not only ask to be forgiven, but you ask for my mercy. And Jacob,

if you're bold enough to ask, that I'm bold enough to do it. That's the kind of faith that gets God's attention. Not when we drag around guilty, condemned, feeling wrong on the inside. No, it's time for us to arise and go to our father. God is not the one condemning you. That is the accuser. Change the channel. Stop dwelling on those thoughts. You may have failed, but God's mercy never fails. The sad thing is, most people accept the condemnation quicker than they accept God's mercy. Don't let that be you. shake off the guilt, shake off the negative mistakes from the past. Don't go another minute in regrets feeling bad about yourself. The moment you ask for forgiveness, God forgave you.

Now, you do you apart and unload the baggage. Remember our new rule around here? No bags per customer. That means leave the guilt right where you are. Don't take it with you. We'll put it in the dumpster for you. leave the bag of regrets, leave the bag of failures, leave the bag of condemnation right where you are. Friends, if you will learn to silence the voice of the accuser, then guilt and condemnation cannot weigh you down.

You will live a life of freedom, rising higher, overcoming obstacles, accomplishing dreams. And even though you make mistakes, I believe and declare you will still fulfill your God-given destiny. Amen. How many of you receive it 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 you've never dreamed up. When God created the world, he did it specifically with you in mind. He used his words.

He spoke everything into existence. Light. Oceans and dry land. Plants. Sun and stars. Animals. Man and woman. Your words have that same creative power.

If you want to know what you're going to be like five years from now, listen to what you're saying about yourself. You are prophesying your future. Too often, we don't realize we're defeating ourselves with our words. I'll never get healthy. I'm not attractive. This dream's impossible. Instead of limiting your future, why don't you start blessing your future?

If you'll change your words, you can change your world. I have a new book called Speak the Blessing. It will help you to speak positive, faith-filled words. There are declarations in it that you can make over your family, your health, your finances, and your future. When you get your words aligned with what God says, you'll see his favor in greater ways. Asar, thank you for your gift of any amount to the ministry this month. We want to send you speak the blessing. Send your words in the direction you want your life to go. You can begin to enjoy a life filled with freedom, joy, health, success,

and creativity as you discover the authority and power. of speaking God's word. Yes, speak the blessing will unlock life-changing possibilities that are unlimited. When you declare what God says about you, I'm strong, I'm healthy, I'm favored, you are blessing your life.

I hope you'll request your copy today. Remember, you can watch the services live online every Sunday, download our daily podcast, watch on YouTube, listen on SiriusXM, we'll keep you encouraged and inspired. Be sure to request your copy of Speak the Blessing today. Visit Joel O'Sene.com

or call 888-567, Joel. Our homecoming weekend is this Saturday and Sunday. Some of you have never been to Lakewood. This is a perfect time. We'd love to meet you. We'd be honored to have you and your family.