Joel Osteen Podcast - Stop Listening To The Accusing Voices | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: October 11, 2024

Don't let guilt and condemnation keep you from becoming everything God created you to be. Receive His mercy for your past mistakes so you can step into the new things He has for you. 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.Good things are en route to you! But if you’re holding on to the old, there’s no room for the new. Our October offer will teach you how to make room for God to bless you in ways you never thought possible! It's time to Empty Out the Negative and be filled with blessings! https://bit.ly/3XE45Nf 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 20-24, healthy, productive, and favor-filled. God bless you today and enjoy the message. God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. We love you. We come with good news each week.

We know God rewards the people that seek after him. That's you, or you wouldn't have tuned in today, or you guys wouldn't have come out. So we just bless you today. if you're ever in our area, please come by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you it will make you feel right at home. But thanks for tuning in today. I'd like to get started each week with something kind of funny. And about this time last year, Eustonians had a terrible time evacuating the city because of Hurricane Rita. Somebody sent me the new and improved Houston area evacuation plan. So in case we have a hurricane,

here's what you've got to remember. Hispanics are to take I-10 West to San Antonio. Cajuns are to take I-10 east to Louisiana. Yankees are to take I-45 north to Oklahoma, and Aggies are to take the 6-10 loop. 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 not living under condemnation. Too many people go around feeling bad about themselves and one reason is they're always listening to the wrong voices. The enemy is called the accuser of the brethren. There's nothing he would love

any more than for us to live our lives guilty and condemned. And throughout life, will bring accusations against us, telling us what we didn't do or what we should have done. He'll remind us of all of our past mistakes and failures. You lost your temper last week. You should have spent more time with your family. You came to church, but you were late. You gave, but you didn't give enough. There's this accusing voice that comes to us all. Many people just swallow it, hook, line and sinker, go around guilty and condemned, feeling wrong

about themselves. Just when they're about to get over it, another accusation comes to mind. And if we make the mistake of receiving these accusations, we'll go through the day without the joy, without the confidence, not expecting anything good. And I know people, they've made mistakes, they've gone through failures, but instead of receiving God's mercy, instead of letting it go and pressing forward, that voice tells them, you blew it, you messed it. You messed up. You. You messed up. They live guilty and condemned. I've seen people that have faults and weaknesses. We all do, but they're so hard on themselves. Instead of believing that they're growing, instead of believing that they're improving, that voice tells them, you can't do anything right. You'll never break this

habit. You're just a failure. They end up living negative and critical toward themselves. And it's because they receive all the accusations that come to mind. When they wake up, they wake up, up in the morning, a voice is telling them what they did wrong yesterday and how they'll probably do something wrong today. But if we're going to live in victory, we've got to learn to put our foot down and say, no, I'm not going to dwell on that junk anymore. I may not be perfect, but I know I'm growing. I may have made mistakes, but I know I am forgiven. I've received God's mercy. And sure, there are things that we all wish we wouldn't do, but we don't have to beat ourselves up over it. I may not have a perfect performance, but I know this, my heart is right.

And God is a God of hearts. As long as you're doing your best, as long as you have a desire to do what's right, you can be assured God is pleased with you. And the fact is, we all have weaknesses. There are times we all do things that we know in our hearts we shouldn't do. And it's normal to want to get down on ourselves and live a little defeated. After all, we're we don't feel like we deserve to be happy. And we have to prove that we're really sorry. But no, we've got to learn to just receive God's forgiveness. We've got to learn to receive his mercy.

Don't allow those condemning voices to play over and over in your mind. All that's going to do is keep you negative toward yourself. And if you have a bad attitude towards yourself, it's going to hinder you in every area of your life. And some of you have fallen into that trap today believe in all these negative things toward yourself, receiving all these accusations. Things like you're not as spiritual as you should be. You didn't work hard enough last week.

Or God can't bless you because of your past. No, those are all lies. That's the accuser at work doing his best. Don't make the mistake of dwelling on that. Even in smaller things, I know sometimes when I walk off of this platform, the first thought that comes to my mind was Joel, that just wasn't any good today. Nobody got anything out of that. You practically put them to sleep.

Listen, I've learned to shake that junk off. I just turn it around and say, no, I believe it was good. I did my best. And I know that at least one person really got something out of it. I did. I thought it was good. See, as long as we're doing our best, we don't have to live condemned. even when we make mistakes, even when we fail, there's a time to repent, but there's also a time to shake it off and press forward.

Don't live your life in regrets. Don't go around saying, well, I should have done this. Should have gone back to college, Joel. I should have spent more time with my family. I should have taken better care of myself. No, quit condemning yourself. That may be true, but it doesn't do you any good to go around putting yourself down. Let the past be the past. You cannot change any of that, but you can change today. And if we make the mistake of living guilty today, because of something that happened yesterday, we're not going to have the strength we need to live this day in victory. So important to live in the now. I like what the apostle Paul said. He said, the things I know I should do, I don't. And the things I know I shouldn't do, I end up doing. He even struggled in this area. And here he wrote,

more than half of the New Testament. That tells me, God is not displeased with me just because I don't perform perfectly 100% of the time. I wish I did. I don't do wrong on purpose, but we all have weaknesses. One thing I have learned

is to not beat myself up over it. I don't live condemned. I don't listen to the accusing voice. I know God is still working on me. I know that I'm growing. I know that I'm coming up higher. and I have made up my mind, I'm not going to live condemned in the process. That old accusing voice will come to you and tell you, hey, man, you lost your temper last week in traffic.

Our attitude should be. That's okay. I'm growing. Well, you said some things yesterday you shouldn't have. Yes, that's true. I wish I wouldn't have, but I repented. Now I know I'm forgiven. I'm going to do better next time. Well, what about that failure you went through two years ago in your relationship, in your business. No, that's in the past. I've received God's mercy. This is a new day. I'm not looking back. I'm looking forward. When we have this kind of attitude, we take away all the power of the accuser. He can't control us when we don't believe his lies. Some of you today, you need to shake off that old guilty feeling. You need to quit listening to the voice that's

telling you, God's not pleased with you, man. You've got too many weaknesses. You've made too many mistakes. Know as long as you're pressing forward, you can know with confidence, God is pleased with you. When that old accusing voice comes telling you that you've blown it, you don't have much of a future,

God couldn't bless you, you're so undisciplined, don't you dare just sit back and agree with that. Don't you dare think, yeah, that's right, Joel, you don't know my life, you don't know what I've done. No, you need to start talking back to the accuser. You need to rise up in your authority,

say, hey, wait a minute, I am the righteousness of God. God has made me worthy. I may have made mistakes, but I know I am forgiven. I know I am the apple of God's eye. I know God has great things in store for me. The scripture tells us to do this. It says in Ephesians, to put on the breastplate of God's approval. That's one of the most important pieces of our armor. Think about what the breastplate covers. It covers our heart. In other words, the way we think about ourselves. If you're going around with that old gnawing feeling on the inside, thinking, man, I don't have much of a future.

I've blown it too many times. God couldn't be pleased with me. I can tell you this. You're listening to the wrong voice. That's the accuser. You need to start getting up every morning and saying with confidence, God is pleased with me. God approves me.

God accepts me just the way I am. see you are not a surprise to God. God is not up in the heaven scratching his head thinking man alive, what did I get myself into? I never dreamed they'd have that many problems, never dreamed he'd have that many weaknesses. No, God made us. He knows everything about you and he still approves you. He is still pleased with you. You may have faults, but you are still the apple of God's eye. You may not be where you should be, but at least you're not where you used to be. Quit condemning yourself. The scripture tells

us in Philippians, he that began a good work in you will continue to perform it until it's perfectly complete. God is still working on us. Why don't you take the pressure off yourself? Why don't you give yourself the right

to have some weaknesses and to not perform perfectly 100% of the time? None of us do. We all make mistakes. And when you do, don't sit around guilty for two or three weeks. Immediately go to God and say, God, I'm sorry. I repent. Help me to do better next time.

And then here's the key. This is where we miss it most often. Then you have to receive God's forgiveness. You have to receive His mercy. I know people that ask God to forgive them every day for something they did three years ago. They have asked for forgiveness 500 times for the same thing. They don't realize God forgave them the very first time they asked. The problem is they didn't receive the forgiveness.

They didn't receive God's mercy. And they just keep listening to the accusing voices. You blew it. God can't bless you. You know what you did back in 2003. No, why don't you quit receiving the accusations and start receiving God's mercy? Why don't you start receiving God's goodness? Why don't you get up every morning and say, Father,

Thank you that your mercy endures forever. And I may have made mistakes in the past, but I know nothing I've done is too much for your mercy. I may have even made mistakes yesterday, but I know this. Your mercy is fresh and new every single morning, so I just receive it by faith today. Some of you, if you would get a hold of this truth,

it would break bondages that have held you back for years and years. quit listening to the accusing voices. Quit going around feeling wrong about yourself. If you're living your life condemned, that's telling me you're not receiving God's mercy. A lot of times we kind of think, well, Joel, I don't feel like I deserve it. I don't feel like I'm worthy.

But listen, that's what grace is all about. None of us deserve it. It's a free gift. We're not worthy in ourselves, but the good news is God has made us worthy. You may have made mistakes. you may have faults, but you are not a weak worm of the dust. You are a child of the most high God. Get back up again. Put your shoulders back. Make up your mind. You're not going to listen to the

accusing voice anymore. You're not going to live your life guilty and condemned. Well, Joel, I got a lot of hangups, got a lot of addictions, a lot of things to overcome. Who does it? We all have areas we need to improve in. But God is not focused on what's wrong with you. He's He's focused on what's right with you. He's not looking at all your faults and weaknesses. He's looking at how far you've come. He's looking at how much you're growing. Some of you have fallen into this trap and believe these lies for years and years.

But you need to put your foot down today and say, you know what? That's it. I'm not living condemned anymore. I'm not going through life feeling guilty and unworthy. I know I am the righteousness of God. And there is no mistake I've made. that's too much for what Christ did on the cross. I've repented, I've asked for forgiveness.

Now I'm going to take it one step further and start receiving God's mercy. If you want to really be bold, start believing for more of God's favor in your life. Start believing that your best days are not behind you, but that they are in front of you. I think about as a parent, we don't focus on what our children do wrong.

Our child can strike out a thousand times at the Little League field. But we'll go around bragging about the one hit they got all year long. I know even with our son Jonathan, he's 10 years old. Somebody asked me about him. I immediately think about all the things I love about him. I'll tell you, he's smart, he's talented, he's funny, he's got a quick sense of wit. The other day, I mentioned in my sermon that most people only use 10% of their mind.

He leaned over to Victoria and said, Mom, I'm above average. I use 11%. I thought he's got his dad's sense of humor, his dad's athletic ability, his dad's good looks. I'm still trying to figure out what his mom has given him, but Jonathan's not perfect. He makes mistakes, but as a father, I help him overcome. It's my joy to teach him, to train him, to help him come up higher. That's the way God is with us. Why don't you quit being so down on yourself? What if Jonathan came in one day and said, Daddy, I just don't feel like I deserve your blessings anymore. I don't feel like I'm worthy. You know, back when I was three years old, I told that

lie. Back when I was four, I bit my baby sister. Now, if he said something like that, I would check his temperature. That boy knows how to receive. He knows he's loved. He knows we want to bless him. I'll never forget. A couple of years ago, we bought him a guitar, and we got home and got it all set up. A few minutes later, he came over. He came over. He came over. He said, and he came over and gave me a big hug. He said, Daddy, thank you so much for this new guitar. And by the way, when do you think we could get my new keyboard? I mean, he's not shy. But really, it would do us all good to have this same kind of boldness. The scripture tells us here in Hebrews 416, let us come boldly to the throne of grace. Why? To receive mercy for our failures. Don't go to God like a weak worm of the

dust. Oh, God, I blew it again. lost my temper, yelled at my kids, I know I don't deserve anything. No, if you want to receive from God, you've got to come to him with boldness. You've got to get rid of the poor old me attitude and go to him like Jonathan did us. God, I know you love me. God, I know you want to bless me. I've made mistakes. I'm asking for forgiveness and I'm receiving your mercy. And then go out expecting good things. Go out expecting God's blessings in favor. I don't know about you, but I'm bold enough to believe that God is smiling down on me right now. I'm bold enough to believe that I am a friend of Almighty God. I've already accepted the fact that I don't perform perfectly all the time,

but I know my heart is right. I believe to the best of my ability, I'm doing what pleases him. That means I don't have to listen to the accuser. I don't have to live my life condemned. when I make mistakes, all I have to do is go to God, ask for forgiveness, then receive his mercy, and keep pressing forward in life. And I want you, too, to experience this freedom. It comes when we get rid of the accuser. Some of you today, you're constantly beaten down. A lot of it is because of what you've been through in life. Sometimes it wasn't even your fault. Somebody mistreated you. Somebody rejected you. But the enemy loves you. Love you. Love you. to turn that around and tell you that there's something wrong with you. He loves to twist it.

I've seen it with people that grew up, mistreated. They weren't even old enough to know what was going on, but the enemy tells them, you brought this on yourself. It's your fault. Or especially in relationships that don't work out, he'll always tell you you're to blame. You're not good enough. You're not attractive enough. You didn't try hard enough. No, have you ever thought, about that other person may have had some problems. Quit receiving all the accusations. Quit allowing the condemning voices to take root. Keep you guilty. Keep you from your new beginning. I mean, I know people that are practically addicted to guilt. They don't know what it's like to feel good about themselves, to believe they're forgiven, to believe that they have a bright future in store.

It's like they got all these skeletons in their closets. Joel, you don't know what I've done in my past. you don't know what I've been through. They internalize all the guilt, the shame, the blame. But you need to understand when you came to Christ, when you received his forgiveness, God cleaned out all of your closets. He doesn't remember your mistakes, your sins, your failures. My question is, why don't you quit remembering it? Why don't you quit listening to the voice of the accuser? I love the story Jesus told about the prodigal son. This young man made a lot of mistakes. told his dad that he wanted his share of the inheritance, his money. He left home and went out and lived a wild life, partied all the time. And eventually those poor choices caught up to him. The money ran out.

He didn't have anything to eat, any place to stay. And he ended up working in a hog pen feeding the hogs. He got so low, so desperate, he had to eat the hog food just to stay alive. I mean, he had hit rot bottom. But one day, sitting in that filth and shame. He said to himself, I will arise and go back to my father's. Best decision that he ever made. When you make mistakes, when you go through failures and disappointments, don't sit around in self-pity. Don't go month after month condemning yourself, rejecting yourself. The first step to victory is to get back up again and go back to your fathers. This young man headed home. I'm sure in the back of his mind, he thought, I'm just wasting my time. My father's never going to receive me back. He's going to be so

put out with me. I've made so many terrible choices. I can imagine he tried to talk himself out of it three or four times along the way, telling himself, I'm such a failure. My father will never forgive me. But the scripture says, when the father saw him a long way off, that tells me the father must have been looking for him. The father must have gotten up early. The father must have gotten up early. every morning and said to himself, maybe today will be the day my son comes back home. Morning, noon, and night, the father was on the lookout. When he saw his son, he took off running toward him. Couldn't wait to see him. This is the only picture of God running in the Bible. What's God run into? One of the disciples, one of the apostles. God's not running to a famous religious leader.

He's running to a young man that needs mercy. He's running to a person that's made mistakes, a person that fell. When the father got there, he embraced his son. He hugged him. I can imagine he spun him around a couple of times. He was so happy to see him. But the son, he just hung

his head in shame. The accuser was working overtime on him. He said, Dad, I've really blown it. Made some terrible decisions. And I know I don't deserve any of this, but maybe you can just take me back as one of your hired servants. I'll work out in the fields for you.

you. The father would have nothing to do with that. He said, what are you talking about? Are you kidding? You're my son. And some of you today, you think that God could never forgive you. You've made too many mistakes, blown it too many times. But let me assure you, nothing that you've done is too much for the mercy of God. And God is not looking to condemn you. He's not looking to chew you out like this young man. he stands before you with his arms held open wide. He's looking way down the road, and the moment you take one step toward him, God will come running towards you.

Why don't you come back home today? Some of you have been away for a long time, living guilty and condemned, feeling like God could never make anything out of your life, feeling like he could never use you. But no, today can be a new beginning. God has mercy for any mistake that we've ever made. The father said to one of his servants, go get the best robe and put it on my son.

One translation says, put the robe of honor on him. And if you could just receive that today, you may have made mistakes, gone through setbacks, but God doesn't just want to restore you. He doesn't just want to give you a new beginning. He wants to put the robe of honor on you. That's just the way our God is. In other words, even when we make mistakes, even when we make mistakes, even when we we bring the trouble on ourselves, God is so good, he will not hold that against us. He will still

receive us back and make something great out of our lives. The only way this is going to happen, though, is if we have the right attitude. We cannot go around weak, defeated, feeling unworthy, and expect to have God's best. And you may not be where you should be in life, but don't sit around in self-pity. Don't sit around guilty and condemned. You've got to do like this, man and say, you know what? I'm going to arise and go back to my father. In other words, I'm done with living guilty. I'm done with living condemned. I'm going to get up out of this and start receiving God's mercy. Let me tell you, this will take faith because everything in you will say, hey man, you're just a hypocrite. You know what you've done. You know the mistakes you've made.

You really think God's going to bless you. You need to shake that junk off, put your shoulders back and say, I don't think so. I know so. I know God is a good God. I know his mercy is bigger than any mistake I've made. So I'm going to start receiving his mercy and expecting good things in my life. I want you to have this new attitude free from guilt, free from condemnation, and most of all, free from the accusing voice. How long has it been lying to you telling you that you are washed up? You've made too many mistakes. Those are. are all lives. God still has a great plan for your life. You may have missed plan A, but the good news is God has a plan B, a plan C, a plan D. Why don't you come back to him today? Why don't you shake off

the condemnation and start living like a child of the most high God? My parents told how when my brother Paul was just a small boy before any of us, other kids were around, they would put Paul in bed at night, and then they'd go get in their own bed. And their room was just a few feet down the hall real close there. My parents every night would say good night, Paul. Paul would say good night, mother, good night, daddy. But one night, for some reason, Paul was a little bit afraid. And after they had said their good nights, a few minutes later,

Paul said, Daddy, are you still in there? And my father said, yes, Paul, I'm still in here. Then Paul said, Daddy, is your face turned toward me? somehow that made Paul feel more secure, made him feel better knowing that my father's face was turned toward him. And I want to tell you today, God's face is turned toward you. The good news is God's face will always be turned toward you. Doesn't matter what you've done. It doesn't matter how many mistakes you've made. Some of you used to be excited about your life. You used to serve God with your whole heart, helping others coming to church. But along the way, you went

through failures, disappointments, setbacks. And now that old accusing voice has been keeping you down, discouraged, guilty, condemned. You need to know today that God is running towards you. He is not a mean condemning God. He is a loving, merciful, forgiving God. Still got a great plan for your life. And you know what? God can restore anything that's been stolen. You may have failed a thousand times, but the good news is God has still not run out of mercy. Why don't you receive it today? It all starts by changing your attitude. You've got to quit being negative towards yourself. Quit receiving all the accusations and start receiving God's mercy. Don't go around feeling wrong about yourself. Freedom comes when you get rid of the accused.

And I'm asking you today to stop dwelling on the lies about your past and on the lies about what you're not. If you'll quit listening to these condemning voices and instead start putting on the breastplate of God's approval, knowing that God is pleased with you, knowing that you're forgiven, knowing that he's got a bright future in store, when you do that, you take away all the power of the accuser. And you too will experience a new sense of freedom. I believe you'll live the life of victory God has in store. if you receive it, can you say amen 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 you places that you've never dreamed up. Sometimes the circumstances of life can be overwhelmingly negative. What should we do when we experience these kinds of negative reports and realities? Our life is like a container. It can only hold so much. When we allow negative things in like worry, guilt, and unforgiveness, that's taking up space for the good things that belong to you.

That's why I wrote my book, Empty Out the Negative. I'll show you how to get rid of what's limiting you so you can live a victorious, fulfilled life. When you make room for joy, peace, and faith, God will feel you a fresh and anew. As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount to the ministry this month, Joel and Victoria would like to send you this powerful book, Empty Out the Negative, Empty Out Fear, and Replace It with Faith. My doctor, he said, I went in there and there is no cancer in your body. Empty out a hurt-filled childhood and replace it with confidence. So I took what Joel said, and I physically replaced them with I am strong, I am worthy.

I started saying those over and over and over. Empty out broken relationships and find renewed love. In a world that's just so full of so much noise and negativity and hatred and just to come and have so much encouragement filled into you. You know, it's something I've never had my whole life. Are you holding on to things that are weighing you down? It's time to empty that out so you can live a positive, faith-filled life. Joel and I pray for you every day.

We're believing for God's very best for you and your family. You know, we appreciate your prayers and your support. Your generosity is impacting so many lives. Remember, you can watch the services online every Sunday morning. Download our daily post. podcast, listen on Sirius XM, watch the new Joel Osteen Network streaming on television. But until we see you next week, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of Empty Out the Negative today.

Visit Joelosteen.com or call 888-567 Joel.