Joel Osteen Podcast - Speak Faith Into Your Future | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: December 5, 2024

Your words have creative power. If you want to see victory, start by declaring it over your future. 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.Dream it! Write it! Speak it! Expect it! With inspiring scriptures, daily reflections, intentional goals, personal writing space, and inspiration from Joel, our December offer will help you believe bigger and receive God's promises, https://bit.ly/3OfcB0T! 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 and thanks for supporting the ministry. We believe you're going to have an awesome 2024, healthy, productive, and favor-filled. God bless you today and enjoy the message. Well, God bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes. We love you. If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you, these are the finest people in all of Houston, Texas, right here at Lakewood. We'll make you feel home. Come on out and see you sometime. Thanks for tuning in. Thanks again for coming out today. And I like to get started each week with something funny. And I heard about this mother. She was making breakfast for her young boys. Ryan was five and Kevin was three. They began to argue over who should get the first

pancake. The mom saw this as an opportunity to teach them a lesson. She said, boys, boys, if Jesus were here, he would say, let my brother have the first pancake. Ryan, and turned to his younger brother and said, okay, Kevin, you be Jesus. Hold up your Bible and 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 about speaking faith into your future. Our words have creative power. Whenever we speak something out, either good or bad, we are giving life to what we're saying. Too many people go around saying

negative things about themselves, about their family, about their future. Things like, I'll never be successful. This sickness is going to get the best of me. Business is so slow, I don't think I'm going to make it. Flu season is coming. I'll probably get it. They don't realize they are prophesying their future. The scripture says we will eat the fruit of our words. That means we're going to get exactly what we've been saying. Here's the key. You've got to send your words out in the direction you want your life to go. You cannot talk defeat and expect to have victory. You can't talk lack and expect to have abundance. You will produce what you've been saying. If you want to know what you're going to be like five years from now, just listen to what you're

saying about yourself. With our words, we can either bless our future or we can curse our future. That's why we should never say, I'm not a good parent, I'm unattractive, I'm clumsy, I can't do anything right, I'll probably get laid off. No, those thoughts may come to your mind, but don't make the mistake of verbalizing them. The moment you speak it out, you allow them to take root. There have been plenty of times where I've thought something negative,

and I'm just about to say it, but I'll catch myself and think, no, I'm going to zip it up. I'm not going to speak defeat into my future. I'm not going to speak failure over my life. I'm going to turn it around and speak favor into my future. I'm going to declare

I'm blessed. I'm strong. I'm healthy. This is going to be a great year. When you do that, you are blessing your future. I remember when our architects told us that it was going to cost $100 million to renovate this place, the former compact center. After I got up off the ground, I thought, that's impossible. I could never raise that much money. There's no way that's going to happen. The thoughts were there, but I knew better than to verbalize them. My attitude was, if I'm going to prophesy my future, I'm going to prophesy something good. I'm not going to say what I feel. I'm not going to say what it looks like in the natural. No,

I'm going to say what God says about me. My declaration was, God is supplying all of our needs. He is Jehovah Jira, the Lord our provider. This may seem impossible, but I know God can do the impossible. Where God gives vision, he always provides provision. I made sure. I made sure. I'm a lot of you. I made sure. It's sure to have a report of victory. Proverbs 1821 says life and death are in the power of our tongue. What are you saying about your future? What are you saying about your family? What are you saying about your finances? Make sure the words you are sending out are in the direction you want your life to go. If you're a baseball fan, you probably know who Jose Lima is. During the 1990s, he was a star pitcher for the Houston Astros. One season, he won 20 games, was considered one of the best pitchers in the

league. But something interesting happened. When the Astros moved from the Astrodome to their new ballpark downtown, the fence in left field was much closer than the fence in the Astrodome. And of course, this favors the hitters, makes it more difficult on the pitchers. The first time Jose Lima went to the new ballpark, he stood on the mound. And when he looked at the first time, looked out into left field and saw how close the fence was. The first words out of his mouth were, I'll never be able to pitch in here. The fence is way too close. Do you know he went from being a 20-game winner to being a 16-game loser? It was one of the biggest negative turnarounds in Astros' history. What happened? He prophesied his future. Those negative thoughts came, and instead of ignoring them,

he made the mistake of speaking them out. When you speak it out, you are giving life to your faith. To what it says in Proverbs, we are snared by the words of our mouth. I remember growing up, there was a gentleman that used to work for our church. He owned his own company, and he and his men would come over and take care of the grounds, make repairs. He was a very nice man, kind and friendly, but he always had a negative report. Every time I talked to him, him, he told me how hard life was and how business was slow and how some of his equipment wasn't working and he was having problems at home and one of his children was acting up on and on. I saw him twice a week for probably 10 years. I cannot remember one time that he did not have a

negative report. And I'm not making light of his situation. The point is he was prophesying defeat. He was cursing his future. He didn't realize he was being snared by the words of his mouth. And what's interesting, when he was about 55 years old, he got very sick. He spent the next two or three years in and out of hospitals. He ended up dying a very sad and lonely death. I couldn't help but think about that's exactly what he had talked about his whole life, how he wasn't going to make it and how hard life was.

He got what he was calling in. You may be in a difficult time right now, but let me challenge you. Don't use your words to describe the situation. Use your words to change the situation. Declare victory, declare health, declare favor, declare abundance. You are giving life to your faith by what you're saying. All through the day, we should go around saying, I have the favor of God. I can do all things through Christ. I'm blessed. I'm strong. I'm healthy. When you do that,

you just blessed your life. You just spoke favor into your future. If you get up in the morning, feeling the blas, don't ever say, this is going to be a lousy day. I don't want to go to work. I'm tired of dealing with these children. Now get up and say, this is going to be a great day. I'm excited about my future. Something good is going to happen to me. You've got to send you, your words out in the direction you want your life to go. Maybe you've been through a disappointment. A relationship didn't work out.

You didn't get the promotion you were hoping for. But instead of complaining, saying, well, I should have known it. I never get any good breaks. Just my luck. No, your declaration should be. I know when one door closes, God's going to open up another door. What was meant for my harm, God's going to use to my advantage. I'm not only going to come out.

I'm going to come out better off than I was before. Have a report of victory. Here's what I've learned. You believe what you say about yourself more than what anybody else says. That's why on a regular basis, we should say, I'm blessed, I'm healthy, I'm strong, I'm valuable, I'm talented, I have a bright future. Those words go out of your mouth and come right back into your own ears. over time they will create the same image on the inside. I was reading about this doctor in Europe.

He had these patients that were very sick. And they had been treated by traditional means, but they had not gotten any better. And so he gave them a very unusual prescription. He had them say three or four times an hour, I'm getting better and better every day in every way. Over the next few months, he had remarkable results. many of those patients that had not improved with traditional medications, all the sudden, they

begin to get better and better. What happened? As they heard themselves saying over and over, I'm getting better, I'm improving, my health is coming back, those words begin to create a new image on the inside. Before long, they started seeing themselves strong, healthy, and whole. and once you get a picture of it on the inside, then God can bring it to pass on the outside. And some of you would see your life go to a whole new level if you'd just zip up the negative words and start speaking faith and victory into your future. I know people that are always tired and run down. You know what they're constantly saying?

I'm so tired. I just don't have any energy. They've talked about it so long it's become a reality. Do you know the more we talk about something, the more we draw it in? Just like you're feeding it. If you get up in the morning and just talk about how you feel, how you're tired, and how you're not going to make it, you're defeating yourself. You're digging your own hole. No, don't talk about the problem.

Talk about the solution. In fact, the scripture says, let the weak say I am strong. Notice it doesn't say let the weak talk about their weakness. let the weak call five friends and discuss their weakness. Let the weak complain about their weakness. No, it says in effect, let the weak say exactly opposite of how they feel. In other words, don't talk about the way you are. Talk about the way you want to be.

If you get up in the morning, feeling tired and lethargic, instead of complaining more than ever, you need to declare, I am strong in the Lord. I am full of energy. My strength is being renewed. This is going to be a great day. When you do that, it'll not only change how you feel. It'll change your attitude. You won't go out with a weak, defeated, victim mentality. You'll go out with a victor mentality, with a spring in your step, a smile on your face, with your shoulders back. Those words can literally help lift your spirit and cause you to see yourself and your circumstances

in a whole new light. But the reason many people have low self-esteem and a poor self-image is because they're constantly saying negative things about themselves. I'm unattractive. I'm overweight. I'm slow. I'm not talented. I'll never get promoted.

They've heard that so much. Now it's ingrained on the inside and it's setting the limits for their life. I had a gentleman tell me after service last week. Joel, I'm a terrible father. I've made a lot of mistakes. I always knew I wouldn't be a good parent. I told him what I'm telling you, quit saying you're not a good father. Quit speaking defeat over your life. As long as you're saying it, you're allowing it to happen. I said, you may not be a good father right now, but you need to start declaring and calling yourself a good father. As you make these positive declarations, it'll over time begin to change the image on the inside, and you'll become exactly what you're declaring.

But as long as you've convinced yourself that you're not a good parent, you've made too many mistakes, and you're too old or you're too young, or you're too washed up, that's going to keep you from rising any higher. One of the best things I could ever teach you is don't be against yourself. In life, we already have enough things against us. People, circumstances, negative thoughts, criticism. The last thing you need is for you to be against yourself. I know people, they're always putting themselves down, beating themselves up, finding fault with everything that they do. And they wonder why they don't have any joy, why they don't have any victory. It's because they're against themselves. Let me challenge you. Don't ever say another negative word about

yourself. You may feel like you're the worst parent in the world. Doesn't matter. Don't say I'm not a good parent. Put a watch over your mouth. Don't ever say, I'll never lose this weight. I'll never get out of dead. I'll never be successful. Joel, I'll never, I don't have what it takes. No, zip that up. And instead of talking about the way you are, start talking about the way you want to be. That's what faith is all about. And understand. It is just as wrong to criticize yourself as it is to criticize someone else. When you criticize yourself, you are criticizing God's very own creation. You might as well look up and say, God, you didn't do a very good job with me.

No, you may have areas to improve in. We all do, of course. But the way we do it is not by being hard on ourselves and saying, I'm a terrible parent. I can't do anything right. I'm just a loser. Now, if you talk like that, it's going to make you do worse. You need to change what you're saying about yourself. Now, I wonder what would happen if we would take five minutes a day and make positive declarations

over our life. Before you leave the house, look at yourself in the mirror and say, I'm talented, I'm creative, I'm healthy, I've got a good personality. People like to be around me. some of you women have never once said, I'm beautiful. You men have never said, I'm handsome, I'm attractive. You're too busy focused on your faults, comparing yourself to a coworker, feeling inferior because you don't look like the girl on the cover of the magazine

that's been airbrushed and touched up and skinnyed up and trimmed up. She's got 27 people working on her, styling her hair, doing her makeup, bringing her different clothes, the perfect lighting, the perfect angles, wind blowing through her hair. I mean, even my brother Paul might look good if he had that much help. Here's what I'm saying. Just as you are, you are beautiful. You are one of a kind. You are a masterpiece. You are a prize possession. When you wake up in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror, instead of getting depressed, Instead of saying, oh man, look how old I look. Look at this gray here. Look at these wrinkles. Now, you need to smile and say, good morning, you beautiful thing. Good morning, you handsome thing.

Good morning, you blessed, prosperous, successful, strong, talented, creative, confident, secure, disciplined, focused, highly favored child of the most high God. Get it on the inside. Speak faith over your future. I talked to a gentleman a couple years ago after the service. He had lost 150 pounds. He looked fantastic like a different person. He was beaming with joy. I asked him how he did it. He explained how growing up he had a very defeated mindset. For years he had gone around saying, I'll never lose this weight. Everybody in my family is overweight. I'm not disciplined. I'm not focused. I just don't have what it takes. Those negative words, had created the wrong image on the inside. He saw himself as a failure. One day, he heard me talking about speaking victory over your life. He took it to heart. Every morning and all through the day, he started declaring, I weigh what I should weigh. I'm thin, I'm healthy, I'm disciplined, I'm focused. I have what it takes. At the time he was saying it, not one thing he was saying was true. But he understood this principle. He was

prophesying his future. He was sending his words out in the direction he wanted his life to go. And no, it didn't happen overnight, but little by little, he became exactly what he had been saying. My question for us today is, are you sending your words in the direction you want your life to go? Are you speaking defeat or victory into your future? Your life is moving toward what you're constantly saying. There's a strong. There's a story. story in the scripture about this lady. She had been sick for many years and she'd spent all of her money going to different doctors trying to get better. Didn't help. She continued to get worse. One day, the scripture says she heard that Jesus was coming through her town. The scripture says she kept

saying to herself. What was she saying? I'll never get well. I can't believe this is happening to me. No, she kept saying, when I get to Jesus, I know I will be. be made home. Notice she wasn't talking defeat, she was talking victory. Right in the middle of the difficulty, she was prophesying something good. Over and over, day

after day, she just kept saying healing is coming my way. Brighter days are up ahead. When Jesus got to town, she started making her way toward him. As she kept speaking these words of faith, she got closer and closer. Finally,

she could see Jesus, but it was very crowded. The people were packed all around him. Looked like it would be impossible. But instead of complaining, she just kept speaking these words of faith, this is my time. This is my moment. Things are changing in my favor. You know the story. She pressed through the crowd. When she touched the edge of Jesus robe, instantly the scripture says, she was made whole. But notice the principle, whatever you're constantly saying, you are moving toward. If you're always saying, you're always saying, I'll never get out of debt. This economy's too bad.

You're moving toward debt, lack, and struggle. If you're saying, my marriage isn't going to last, we just don't get along. You're moving toward a breakup, separation. If you're saying this sickness is going to be the end of me, I don't think I'm going to make it. You're moving toward mediocrity and defeat. But if you'll just send your words out in a different direction, your life will start going in a different direction. your life will start going in a different direction. When you say I'm blessed, you're moving toward blessing.

When you say I have the favor of God, you're moving toward increase in promotion. When you say this is going to be a great day, I'm excited about my future, you're moving towards supernatural opportunities, divine connections, explosive blessings. How about this? When you say, I'm going to break this addiction. I am not going to live bound by this alcohol, by these drugs, by this anger, by these bad habits. When you talk like that, you're moving toward freedom. You're moving toward breakthroughs.

You're moving toward total victory. Pay attention to what you're saying about yourself. Your life is moving in that direction. That's why I encourage us to get up every day and say, this is going to be an Ephesians 320 decade. God is doing exceedingly abundantly above and beyond. You talk like that and you're moving toward unprecedented favor. You are paving the way for God to take your places that you've never even dreamed of.

Friends, there's incredible power in what we're saying. With our words, we are sealing our destiny. I talked to a well-known actor the other day. He's an older gentleman. He was very down on himself, down on his future. He said, Joel, I'm just a has-been. Nobody's interested in me anymore. I never get offered any good roles.

I've peaked and it's all downhill from here. I said, sir, don't speak that defeat over your life. God has greater victories in your future. The scripture says the favor of God is for a lifetime. That means if you're still breathing, you have God's favor. It says in Proverbs, the path of the righteous, It's brighter and brighter. Your future is supposed to get better and better.

This man was in his late 80s, but I reminded him, look at Betty White. She's doing pretty good. I knew Art Link Letter. At 98 years old, he still traveled the globe and spoke hundreds of times each year. Quit saying, I'm washed up. I'm just a has-been.

I've seen my best days. You know, your declaration should be my greatest victories are still in my future. My greatest accomplishments are still out in front of me. I am the righteous, so I know my path is getting brighter and brighter. I know God's favor is not just for a season. He promised it's for a lifetime, so I'm expecting something good. You've got to get an agreement with God. He has an awesome plan for your life. The victories God has in your future are going to make the ones you've seen in the past. past pale in comparison. But here's the key. With our words, we can stop God's best plan from

coming to pass. If we go around talking lack, defeat, how we don't have what it takes, we're too old, we're too young, those negative words will keep us from rising higher and really experiencing the fullness of what God has in store. This is what happened to a young man in the scripture. His name was Jeremiah. God said, him, Jeremiah, I have chosen you to be a prophet to the nations. I've called you to do something great. When Jeremiah heard this, he was very young, very afraid. He said, God, I can't do that. I can't speak to the nations. I'm too young. I wouldn't even know what to say. God answered him back and said, Jeremiah, say not that you are too young. Notice God immediately stopped his negative words. Why

was that? God knew if Jeremiah went around saying I'm too young, I don't have what it takes, I'll never be able to do this, he would get exactly what he was saying. God knew those words have created power and it would stop

him from his best plan. So he simply said, Jeremiah, stop saying that. The scripture goes on to tell how Jeremiah changed what he was saying. He went on to become a great prophet to the nations. In the same way. God has called every one of us to do something great. He's given you gifts, dreams,

goals. He's put desires on the inside. But it's easy to do like Jeremiah and say, God, I can't do that. Too old, too young, made too many mistakes. Come from the wrong family. I don't have what it takes. But God is saying to us what he said to Jeremiah, stop saying that. Don't curse your future. those negative words can stop God's best plan. Our declaration should be, I will become everything God's created me to be. I am well able to fulfill my destiny. Friends, you are prophesying your future.

Pay attention to what you're saying about yourself. Learn to bless your future and not curse it. Remember, we are moving toward what we're constantly saying. Get up every morning and say, this is going to be a great day. Blessings are chasing me down. The favor of God is surrounding me. Goodness and mercy are following me.

Opportunities are coming my way. I'm excited about this day. When you do that, you're calling in favor, calling in increase, calling in promotion. Some of you have spent years calling in defeat, calling in lack, calling in bad breaks. Thank God, today is a new day. if you will change your words, you can change your world.

Let me challenge you. Put a watch over your mouth. When the negative thoughts come, and they do come to all of us, and you're tempted to speak them out, just catch yourself and say, no, I'm not going to give life to this defeat by speaking it out. If you will train yourself to only speak victory, to only bless your future,

then you will see God show up and do amazing things. He will open doors that no man can shut. He'll turn negative situations around. You'll accomplish your goals and dreams. And I believe and declare you will become everything God's created you to be. And you will have everything God's intended for you to have. Amen. Do 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 that you've never dreamed of.