Joel Osteen Podcast - Something You've Never Seen | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: March 27, 2024

Are you ready for God to do something in your life that you've never seen? It's time to get your hopes up. God is about to show you unprecedented favor. Believe big! Believe for more! Our March offer,This Time Next Year: Believe Big Journal, combines faith-building stories from Scripture with space to record your own reflections of the amazing things God is doing in your life. Be reminded each day that the God who breathed life into you is a more-than-enough God! Request your copy now, https://bit.ly/3IebX0B.   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.

Victoria and I are always honored to have you on the podcast. We're praying blessings in favor over you and your family. We appreciate your support and just being a part of the ministry. We love you. You know we're praying for you and we believe God's best in your life. Well, God bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes. And if you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services.

I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks so much for tuning in today. And thank you again for coming out. I like to start with something funny, and I heard about this archaeologist from New York. He dug down 10 feet and found traces of copper wiring dating back 100 years. He concluded that New Yorkers had a telephone network over 100 years ago. Not to be outdone, an archaeologist from California dug down 20 feet and found copper wiring dating back 200 years.

He concluded that Californians had a man. massive communication network a hundred years before the New Yorkers. Upon hearing this, Bubba from Texas dug down 30 feet on his farm and found absolutely nothing. He concluded 300 years ago,

Texans had already gone wireless. Hold up your Bible. Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess, my mind is alert, my heart is receptive, I will never be the same in Jesus' name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about something that you've never seen. I grew up in a minister's home, and we always had church in auditoriums and traditional sanctuaries.

That's what everybody did. But in 2005, God gave us this beautiful facility. now we have church in a former sports arena. That's something that I had never seen. I worked 17 years behind the scenes at the church doing the television production and I thought that's how I would spend my life. But when my father went to be with the Lord, I was suddenly thrust into this position. Now instead of being behind the cameras, I'm in front of the cameras. That was something I had never seen. In 2009, the New York Yankees were about to open their new baseball stadium. One of their staff members called and asked if we would come and hold a night of hope, the first non-baseball event in the new stadium.

Out of all the entertainers, musicians, artists in the world, they called a minister. That was something I had never seen. I want you to get this down in your spirit. God is about to do something in your life that you've never seen. I'm not just sharing another message. I'm speaking prophetically. God is about to take you where you could not go on your own. God is about to show your favor in ways that you've never imagined.

It's going to be unprecedented, out of the norm, unlike anything that you've seen. Maybe you've struggled in your finances for years. can't seem to get ahead. One step forward, two steps backwards. No, God is about to show you abundance like you've never seen. He's about to increase you to where you have overflow. You lend and not borrow, not burdened down by debt and lack. Some of you have fought depression, discouragement, your whole life. That dark cloud follows you around. You think that's the way it's always going to be. No, take heart. God is going to show you joy like you've never seen. That spirit of depression,

discouragement is being broken. God is going to release a new happiness, a passion that you've not experienced before. Maybe you've struggled with an addiction, a bad habit for a long time. Be encouraged. God's going to show you freedom that you've never seen. Some of you have felt a little insecure, intimidated, like you don't quite measure up. You think that's the way you'll always live. No, God's about to show you a confidence, a boldness where you can step into the fullness of your destiny. God is saying creativity like you've never seen.

Promotion, opportunity like you've never seen. Healing, restoration, favor like you've never seen. That's the promise God made in Exodus 3410. I will do great things that I've never done before anywhere on earth. we've all seen God's goodness in the past. Every one of us can say God has blessed us, promoted us, protected us. But what God is about to do is going to be unprecedented. Now all you've got to do is say, yes, Lord, this is for me today.

I'll receive this into my spirit. See, your mind will try to talk you out of it. Tell you all the reasons why it's not going to happen for you. You're too old, too young. too many mistakes, don't have the education. If you were just a different nationality, if you just knew the right people, no, listen, God is not limited by your age, your education, your connections, your resources. In spite of what you have or don't have, you need to get ready. God is about to show you something that you've never seen. He's about to take you where you could not go on your own.

John chapter 9, Jesus was traveling through a village. He saw a man on the side of the road that was blind. He went over to this man. The man didn't call out to Jesus. He wasn't like blind Barnabas that said, please Jesus, have mercy and heal me. This man was just quietly sitting there and Jesus went to him. And throughout the scripture, there are examples where people used their faith, reached out to God, and they received their miracle. The woman with the issue of blood fought her way through the crowd touched the edge of Jesus robe.

She was instantly made whole. The lepers cried out, Jesus, please heal us. Jesus healed them. An army captain came and said, Jesus, if you'll just speak the word, my little daughter at home that's so sick, she'll be healed.

Jesus spoke and the daughter was well. These people all initiated their miracle. They reached out in faith and saw God's goodness. But God is so merciful. He's so loving. There are times like with this blind man, even when we don't have the faith. Even when we don't reach out, God reaches out to us. If it would have just been dependent on our faith, on what we believe, on what we're asking for, Jesus would have never stopped to help this blind man. He didn't show any signs of faith. just sitting there, minding his own business, yet Jesus went to him. He had been blind since his birth, never seen before. This is much different than someone that had sight at one time,

then becomes blind. At least they would have a memory of what things look like. This man, blind since birth, had never seen a sunset, never seen a flower, never seen a person. He had nothing to draw upon having never seen before. And it's interesting, Jesus didn't say anything to him. He didn't try to figure out if he had faith, try to figure out what he believed. Jesus simply made mud, put it on the blind man's eyes, told him to go wash it off in the pool of Salon. Some friends led him to the pool. He washed it off and his eyes were instantly open. He could see perfectly clearly. I could imagine for the first time he looked out

and saw the puffy clouds in the sky. For the first time he looked down and saw a beautiful flower. No doubt he ran home as fast as he could for the first time saw his children, his wife. That night he looked up

into the sky. For the first time saw the stars twinkling. The moonlight glimmering off the lake. What happened? God showed him something. thing he had never seen. God wants to do the same thing for you. Some of you think that you've reached your limits and gone as far as you can go. The medical report doesn't look good. Now you've settled there. You've been single a long time. You don't think you'll ever meet the right person.

Or you took a step of faith, but the business, the charity, the project didn't make it. Now you don't see how you could accomplish your dreams. But like with this man, even when we we don't have the faith. Even when we think it's impossible. Joel, it's too late. I tried. I failed. It's never going to happen. No, God is going to come looking for you and show you his favor like you've never seen.

God wants to give you some first times. For the first time, you're free from pain, healthy, whole, strong. For the first time you have more than enough. You're not struggling. You're into overflow. For the first time your whole family's serving God. For the first time you're living in the house of your dreams. For the first time you're running the whole office. You thought you'd always be working for people.

Now you've got people working for you. You need to get ready. God has some first times in your future. Part of this shift, God is going to show you something that you've never seen before. You may not have faith for it. It may seem too far out. that's okay. God's going to come looking for you. He's going to get you to where you're supposed to be. It's going to be bigger than you imagine. It's going to be unprecedented, something that you've never seen.

That means if you've seen it in the past, that's good. Be grateful. Always thank God for what he's done. But what God is about to do is greater than what you've seen. When God gave us this beautiful facility. This was Ephesians 320, exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond. This was more than I could ever imagine. In fact, I'm still amazed every time I pull up to this facility. I still get goosebumps when I go over to my old seats right over there where I watch the Rockets play basketball for years. But as amazing as this all is, I realize what God is about to do is going to supersede anything he's done in the past. When God shows you something that you've never seen,

it's going to boggle your mind. The reason God doesn't just rely on our faith is because some of what he's going to show you is so far out, so amazing, so rewarding, you couldn't have faith for it right now. Like this blind man, God is so good even when we don't believe. Even when we don't have the faith,

God will show up and do it anyway. Before Jesus healed the blind man, the disciples asked Jesus, who sinned this man or his parents that would cause him to be born blind? Jesus said, nobody's sin. He was born this way so the works of God could be manifest. In other words, when that baby was born, God already knew exactly when he was going to heal him. there was a time already set by the creator of the universe. Now at that appointed time, God opened his eyes and showed him something that he had never seen. In your life right now, there are set times. God has already established the date when he's going to do something unprecedented in your life.

You don't have to worry. You don't have to be discouraged because it hasn't happened yet. You don't have to give in to doubt and think, oh, I'm never going to get well, never accomplished a dream, never get married. No, those moments of favor are already established in your future. If you'll just keep honoring God being your best, you will suddenly come into one of your set times. God will do something out of the ordinary. You didn't go after it. It came to you. You didn't even have the faith for it. What you were praying about was only a fraction of what God had in mind. One scripture talks about the faith of God. Normally, we think about our faith and how we need to pray big and believe big and take the limits off of God. And that's important. We should do that. But God has things in your future, set times that he's already established that are so big, so amazing, so rewarding, God knew you couldn't have faith for it right now. If you would have told me a few years ago that one day I would be up in front of people and have the platform

that I have, I would have said, thank you for believing in me, but you've got the wrong person. God knows there are things in our future that we won't have the faith for, but that doesn't stop God. When you run out of faith, there's a secret weapon. It's called the faith of God. When God releases his faith, you can be certain doors will open that should not have opened. talent will come out of you that you didn't know you had. The right people will search you out. Healing, promotion, increase will show up in ways like you've never seen before. I know some of you think, well, Joel, I don't have much faith. That's okay. The faith of God will get you to where you're supposed to be. When your faith is low, don't worry. You have a friend

that will never let you down. When you have doubts, don't worry. He has faith. When you don't think it's going to happen, that's all right. He's got you covered. The faith of God will make up for your lack of faith. That's what the scripture means when it talks about having faith the size of a mustard seed. Mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds you can find. God was saying even when your faith is low, when you're discouraged, when you have doubts, God doesn't cancel his plan for your life. God doesn't disqualify you and say, come on man, you need to have more faith. No, that's when the faith of God kicks in. These moments of favor that have already been established in your future,

they're not solely dependent on your faith. The faith of God is going to cause them to show up. You think about Peter. He was on the shore by the lake early one morning, cleaning his fishing nets and putting away all of his gear. He'd been out fishing all night. He wasn't a disciple yet. He was a rough man.

He used rough language. Not somebody we would consider to be a person of faith. Jesus asked to borrow his boat and he taught the people in the crowds there. Afterwards, Jesus said to Peter, go launch out into the deep and you'll catch a great number of fish.

That's how Jesus was going to pay him back for using his boat. But Peter said, Jesus, we've been fishing all night. Nothing is biting. Besides, this is not the right time to fish. Jesus said in effect, Peter, I control the fish. There may not have been fish out there earlier, but I can guarantee you there are fish out there now. Notice, Peter didn't have any faith,

but that didn't stop God. Jesus didn't say, Peter, I'm trying to help you, but you're such a doubter. No, even though he didn't have faith, Jesus said, that's all right. The faith of God will make this happen. When your faith is low, when you find it hard to believe, when doubts are bombarding your mind, don't worry, God is not only full of mercy, he's full of faith. His faith will hold you over until your faith can be strengthened. Peter got out there and caught so many fish that his boat began to sink. God showed him something that he had never seen. He'd been out fishing on that lake for years. times he knew when to fish, where to fish, what to use. But this day, something happened that was unprecedented out of the norm. In the same way, you can be going to work,

doing the same thing, the same way. Everything looks just normal, ordinary. But then you come into one of these set times, these moments of favor. You weren't expecting it. You didn't have the faith for it. You didn't deserve it. But like Peter, suddenly a good break, a promotion, a healing, restoration. It's more than you could imagine. It's overwhelming. It's something you've never seen. That wasn't your faith. That was the faith of God. Right now, in your future, there are these moments of favor that are going to catapult you to a new level. Some of you have been facing a sickness a long time and you don't really know if you have the faith to get well. that's okay. God has you covered. When you come into this moment of favor like the blind man,

sickness doesn't have a chance. Health, healing, wholeness will flood your body. God can do what medicine cannot do. You may think that you could never get out of debt. You tried, you keep having setbacks, you've settled there. That's all right. The faith of God is at work in your life. There are moments of favor that are going to thrust you into abundance. I read about this couple. They had both lost their jobs and all kinds of things had come against them. And unfortunately, they were about to lose their house. They had done everything they could to try to get the funds but just hadn't worked out.

They started selling off their possessions, little here and a little there. They got so desperate, they decided to sell all of their furniture, everything inside and out. Patio furniture, lawnmower, washer, dryer, everything. They put it on eBay, had pictures of it all. Somehow word got out that the reason they were selling was to try to pay their mortgage and save their house. A lady in another state bid $20,000. Her bid by far was the high bid. Nothing else even came close.

They accepted her bid. When they went to make arrangements to have the furniture shipped, the lady said, I don't want your furniture. That's a gift you can have to keep your house. They had never met the woman, never talked to her, never seen her. That was a moment of favor. They didn't have faith for it. That was the faith of God saying, I'm going to show you something that you've never seen. I'm going to call somebody out of the blue to be good to you. You may be facing situations. You don't know how it's going to turn out, how you could accomplish your dreams. That's okay. God has it all figured out.

He's already lined up the right people, the right opportunities, solutions to problems. Just like with this couple, at the right time, you're going to come into your moment of favor. And it's going to cause you to overcome, cause you to step in to the fullness of your destiny. I talked to a gentleman out in the lobby not long ago. He was in town for treatment at MD Anderson, the can't. cancer hospital and he had some kind of tumor in his stomach area. Gone through chemotherapy, but that hadn't helped. Now they were going to try surgery. It was very risky, but this was his only option medically speaking. His whole family was here, a wife, son, two beautiful daughters,

and they were weeping as he was telling the story. We prayed and asked God to make a way where we couldn't see a way. He said, Joel, I'm trying to have faith, but I'm so worried. I'm so afraid. Almost like he was apologizing. I told him what I'm telling you. When your faith is weak, the faith of God is strong. When your faith is low, the faith of God is high. You have somebody standing in the gap for you. The scripture says Jesus is at the right hand of the Father constantly praying for us. It's one thing to have me pray, a friend pray, a friend pray, a prayer partner pray, that's all great. But don't ever forget the Son of God, the one who raised from the dead, the one who defeated our enemies, the one who speaks worlds into existence,

he's praying for you right now. This man came back a couple of weeks later with his family. When they took the final x-ray before the surgery, they couldn't find the tumor anymore. That surgeon said that in 16 years, He had never seen anything like that. This man had big tears running down his cheeks. He said, Joel, I didn't even have faith. My mind was filled with doubts. Yet God did the miracle anyway. That's the way our God is. He knows we're human. We get discouraged. We have doubts. But I've learned you don't have to have great faith in order for God to do something great. You can have small faith. and God will move a mountain. You don't have to have strong, invincible, unwavering faith. I hope you do. But even if you don't, if you'll just keep honoring God, keep being your best, then his faith will make up for your lack of faith. That's what Paul said in Romans 220. The life I live now, I live by the faith of the Son of God. Paul wrote over half of the New Testament,

overcame incredible odds. He was saying, I didn't make it just by my own faith, my own strength, my own determination. I had a secret weapon. I fulfilled my destiny because of the faith of God. You may be facing a situation today that looks impossible. Your health, your finances, a relationship. All the odds are against you, but be encouraged. The faith of God is at work in your life. There are moments of favor God has already established in your future. God is not only going to bring you out,

he's going to do something unprecedented out of the ordinary, something that you've never seen. I know this mom she was praying for her son trying to get him in church year after year, but he just wasn't interested and he was on the wrong course,

running with the wrong crowd, and started selling drugs. It seemed like the more she pray, the worse he got and the more discouraged she became. He ended up in jail. This mom was so heartbroken. These thoughts bombarded our mind saying, no use praying. It's too late. Your prayers aren't doing any good. She was so discouraged that she found it hard to pray. But even when we don't believe, even when we're tempted to give up, the good news is God doesn't give up. That's when his faith kicks in. One Sunday morning, her son in the jail was watching television in this common area.

Another inmate came in and they began to argue over what they were going to watch. They started wrestling over the remote control trying to get it away from each other. About that time, this huge inmate walked in, stood about six foot six, had huge muscles bulging out of his shirt, looked like a professional football player, walked over, grabbed the remote controls, me that thing. I'll decide what we're going to watch. Started flipping through the channels, and he came across our program and stopped. He said, we're going to watch Joel. Well, her son, he turned around to walk out of the room. He thought, I'm not going to watch some TV preacher. He's already mad. This big inmate grabbed him by the shirt, pulled him down,

said, sit down. You're going to watch with me. I like that guy. He'd make a good usher. They started, I'm only kidding, ushers don't get any ideas. They started watching the program. This young man began to feel God's love, presence like never before. He started weeping. Right there in the jail, that big inmate led that young man to Christ. Do you know that young man is at our services all the time now sitting next to his mother? God did something that she had never seen.

he walked in to one of those moments of favor God had already destined for his life. For the first time, now her son is in church. My message for us today is get ready. God has some first times for you. For the first time, you're totally out of debt. For the first time, you're healthy, whole strong. For the first time your whole family's serving God.

For the first time you meet the right person. you fall in love. You may not see how this could happen. That's okay. The faith of God is going to get you to where you're supposed to be. What God is about to do is going to be bigger. It's going to be more rewarding. It's going to be something that you have not seen. Now, I declare and believe over each one of you favor like you've never seen. Creativity like you've never seen. Opportunity, healing, restoration, vindication, joy, victory like you've never seen. In Jesus' name, if you receive it, can you say amen today? We'd 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 you places that you've never dreamed of it starts with just a tiny seed from it tender bud sprout the miracle of new life blooms and thrives but how do you experience the same miraculous and extraordinary growth in your own life Sometimes our life is limited because we're believing too small. Faith is like a seed. When you believe, all things are possible. That's when you'll see new growth, opportunity, and healing.

We don't have to figure out how it's going to happen. All we have to do is belief. There may not be a way in the natural, but our God is supernatural. We'd like to send you our new, this time next year, Believe Big Journal. It'll help you to enlarge your vision and stretch your faith. Where would you like to be a year from now? Who knows what God will do in 2024 if you'll take the limits off of him

and believe for the great things he's placed in your heart? Azar thank you for your gift of any amount this month. We want to send you the this time next year Believe Big Journal, along with our new Believe Tea. As you begin to believe big, you'll see God move in powerful ways. The impossible made possible. Growth, provision,

and new opportunities will burst forth above and beyond which you can ask or imagine. Also, for the first time ever, we want to present you with our new Believe T-shirt, created exclusively by our friends at CopperFit for the viewers and partners of Joe Lohsteen. We invite you to wear and declare what you are believing God for in 2024. It's a gift from Copperfit as they extend their support of the message of hope. Many of you have watched us a long time, but you've never been to Lakewood. We have a perfect time. We're calling it Homecoming Weekend, April 13th and 14th.

We'd love to meet you. I'll introduce you to my family. You can see the facility and enjoy a service. We'd be honored to have you. We'll make you feel right at home. Remember, you can watch the services live online every Sunday. Download our podcast. Watch on YouTube.

We'll keep you inspired and encouraged. Be sure to request your copy of This Time, next year, Believe Big Journal and the Copper Fit Believe T-shirt as our gift of thanks today. Visit joelowstein.com or call us toll-free.