Joel Osteen Podcast - Sunday is Coming | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: November 23, 2023

One lesson we can learn from the resurrection of Jesus is that God will always finish what He started. It doesn’t matter how much time has passed. He is faithful to His promise.Your best days are still ahead, and together we can make a difference in this world with the message of God's hope and love. To give visit JoelOsteen.com/GiveHope.From challenge to victory, from heartache to hope, from frustration to favor—it’s only a prayer away. Kick-start your prayer life this November with Praying With Confidence: Guided Prayers for Life's Moments.  Request your copy now and carry inspiration wherever you go https://bit.ly/40sQglR.   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. We believe you're going to finish 2023 strong. 2024 is even going to be greater. Thanks so much for being with us and enjoy the podcast. God bless you. Always a joy to come into your homes. We love you.

We pray for you every single day. We're believing you're going to have a blessed, prosperous, supernatural year. If you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of our services. I tell you often, but these guys are the finest people in all of Houston right here at Lakewood. We'll make you feel right at home. Thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started with something funny, and I heard about this kindergarten teacher. She was trying to explain to her students about self-esteem.

So she said to her class, anyone who feels like you're dumb, please stand up. She didn't think anybody would stand, and she'd make the point how no one is dumb. But about that time, little Johnny stood up. She thought, oh, no, now what am I going to say? She said, now, Johnny, do you really feel like you're dumb? He said, no, ma'am, I just hate to see you standing there all by yourself. 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 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 how Sunday is coming. As we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, I think about how when they crucified Jesus on that Friday,

it was the darkest, most painful, discouraging day of his life. In fact, it was so bad earlier he had sweat great drops of blood. It looked like it was over. It looked like his enemies had gotten the best of him, but God had other plans. They put him in the grave on Friday celebrating their victory, but Sunday morning was a different story. The grave could not

hold him. Death couldn't contain him. The forces of darkness couldn't stop him. On the third day, he came out of the grave and he said, I was dead, but now I am alive forever more. One principle that the resurrection

teaches us is that God God will always finish what he started. No matter how dark it looks, no matter how long it's been, no matter how many people are trying to push us down. If we will stay in faith, God will always take us from Friday to Sunday. He will complete what he starts. You may feel like it's Friday in your life right now. You have some major obstacles in your path.

You don't see how you could ever accomplish your dreams or how you could be well, how that legal situation would ever resolve. And the negative thoughts are telling you, it's over, just accepted. It's never going to get any better. It may feel like Friday, but my encouragement is Sunday is coming. God is a faithful God. That promise he put in your heart that you're going to be well, that you're coming out of death, that your family will be restored,

that you're going to have a supernatural year. God has every intention of bringing that promise to pass. pass. He's called the author and the finisher of our faith. God will never start something that he cannot finish. When God put the dream in your heart, a dream to write a book, a dream to start a business, a dream to be in ministry, the good news is God already has a completion date. God can already see it done. You may not see how it can happen, may be taken a long time, all the odds are against you, but if you'll just keep believing, keep praying, keep being your best, then God promises he's going to finish what he started. He's going to take you from Friday

to Sunday. That means your children may have served God when they were younger, but now they've gotten off course. They're not doing what's right. Well, God is saying, get ready. They're coming back. It may be today, maybe next month, maybe next year, but it will happen. God finish. is what he starts. Maybe you have a dream to get out of debt, to pay off your house, to be free from that burden of lack, but it looks like it's impossible. Business is slow, the economy's down, you've gone as far as your education allows, but God is saying, I'm not limited by those things. I've got resurrection power. I can give you one break that will thrust you to a new level. I can open up doors that no man can shut. I can bring talent out of you. I can bring talent out of

you that you didn't know you had. I can cause people for no reason to go out of their way to want to be good to you. You keep believing and you're going to come in to supernatural increase. Maybe you're single and you have a desire to meet somebody. You've been through a couple relationships that didn't work out. Now it's been a long time. The thoughts are telling you, you're never going to meet anybody. You're washed up. You had your chance. No, God is saying, I've already got the right person picked out. I'm lining up things in your favor. I'm causing you to be at the right place at the right time. You will see that promise come to fulfillment. Friends, God finishes what he starts. What is it in your life that you used to be excited about? Are there dreams that you push down,

goals that you've let go up? Too often, because it's taken a long time, we've been through some disappointments, we become complacent. And we start accepting the fact that, that it's probably not going to happen for me. First place we lose the battle is in our own mind. We think, I could never start that business, Joel. I don't get any good breaks. I could never get a new house. I can't even sell my old house. I'll never go back to college. I don't have the funds. No, just because you gave up doesn't mean God gave up. God never aborts a dream. That dream he put in your heart may be pushed down by disappointment. by setbacks, by failures, by rejection. But know this, the seed is still alive. The promise is still in you.

You need to fan that flame. Get your fire back. It may look like it's dead, but the fact is it's not buried, it's planted. That means it's coming back. Our attitude should be. It may be taken a long time. I had some bad breaks. I don't see how it could happen, but I know God already has the completion date. So I'm not going to give up on my dreams. I'm not going to go through life with no goals, no enthusiasm, no passion. No, I'm getting my vision back. I'm going to get up every morning with expectancy. It may be Friday, but this I know, Sunday is coming. It's interesting. The last thing Jesus said on the cross was it is finished. It certainly looked like the end. It looked like it was over. But I believe that wasn't just a statement of fact. It was a

a statement of faith. He was saying to his father, I've done my part. I've fulfilled my destiny. Now I've got total trust and confidence in you that you're going to finish what you started. Even though it looked like the end, in reality, it was only the beginning. When it looks dark in your own life, things aren't going your way. Dare to make that declaration of faith just like Jesus. It is finished. What you're really saying is God, I know. know you're going to turn this situation around. I know you're going to heal my body. I know you're going to restore my family. I know you're going to give me the breaks that I need. Don't go around complaining. Speak victory over your circumstances. If you have a contract that needs to close,

doesn't look like it's going to happen. Father, thank you. It is finished. This house is going to sell. This agreement is going to go through. This new client is going to be mine. If you have debt in your life. You need to start announcing to that debt, it is finished. Look at that house payment. It is finished. Look at those college loans. It is finished. Look at those unpaid bills. It is finished. Or maybe you're struggling in a relationship. Having difficulties at home. Don't go around thinking, oh, man, I'll never get out of this mess. Why did these people treat me like this? No, go through the house saying, it is finished. Your husband asked, what did you say? I said, you are finished. I mean, it is finished.

Say it by faith. I heard a story about this young couple. They were Americans doing missionary work in Mexico. 22 years old, their dream was to help the less fortunate to bring God's message of hope to the Mexican people. So they left the comforts of home. They were raising their three small boys in a foreign land. This was back in the 1960s.

One Sunday, while they were here in the States visiting family, they came to a service at Lakewood. It was very small back then, just a couple hundred people. Beforehand, they met my parents and talked for a moment. During the service, my dad told a little of their story, and at the end, he received an offering for this young couple. And the first group there at Lakewood gave this couple a check for $600. They were so excited, so appreciative.

They went back to Mexico and used that money to start a Bible school. Two years later, the husband was tragically killed when his small plane crashed. As you can imagine, it was a dark day in this young lady's life. It was definitely Friday. It looked like her dreams had died. Now she was a 24-year-old widow, raising three boys all under the age of four. She could have easily come back to the States and given up on that dream. People would have accepted that.

But she didn't do that. She understood this principle. She knew that God always finishes what he starts. She knew that even though it was Friday, Sunday was coming. So she stayed there and continued on the Bible school. Over time, she noticed how one of her sons had an incredible gift for music. He could sing, play the piano. He had a natural gift of communication.

Long story short, her son and our friend, our Spanish pastor, Marcos Witt, went on to do great things. Marcos, our friend and her son, Marcos Witt, went on to touch all of Latin America. He fills up these huge stadiums. He's won multiple Grammy Awards. What happened? Sunday came. God completed what he started.

That's what the scripture says. Philippians 1 verse 6. Be confident of this. He that began a good work in you will bring it to complete. Notice, we're supposed to be confident. That means talk like it's going to happen, act like it's going to happen, plan like it's going to happen, think like it's going to happen. Not any of this. I don't know if my son's ever going to straighten up. The more I pray, the worse he gets, Joel. No, be confident. Yes, he's making poor choices right now, but I know he's going to turn around. I know it's just a matter of time before he gets back on the right track. That's confidence. That's your faith speaking. Not. I thought I would get married. I thought I'd meet someone, but it's been so long. I don't know. Maybe I'm just supposed to be single. You've got to be confident that God's going to finish what he started. Instead of speaking defeat, you need to be saying, I know God's going to bring somebody great into my life. I can't

wait to meet them. They may be in this building right now. Quit looking around. One translation says, be confident, God will bring you to a flourishing finish. That means God's not only going to finish what he started, but it's going to turn out bigger and better than you ever imagined. Marcos's mom had a dream to touch her community, but now because Sunday came through her son, she's touching the whole world. God didn't just complete the promise, but he brought his mom out to a flourishing finish. I know a young lady named Dawn, we grew up here. We grew up here. together in the church. And after she and her husband got married,

they had a dream to have a baby. They tried and tried, went through all the fertility treatments with no success. Year after year went by. At that time, Dawn was the head of our children's ministry. When my father went to be with the Lord and I took over as pastor,

she had already been believing to have that baby for over 20 years. I didn't talk to Dawn that much. Just hello every once in a while. But one day we were in a meeting together. about the children's ministry. She made the comment, I've got a good assistant trained

because when I go to have my baby, I'm going to be out for a little while. After the meeting, I asked my sister Lisa, she was in it as well if Don was pregnant. I thought I had missed something. Lisa kind of laughed and said, no, she just still believing for this baby. And me being the great man of faith that I am,

I thought, Dawn, you have been believing for this child forever. Maybe God wants to do it another way. you should adopt children. No, Dawn had a made-up mind. The promise was in her. She was confident that it was going to happen. That's why you should not let other people talk you out of your dreams. God didn't put the promise in them. He put the promise in you. Only you really know what God put in your heart. And instead of complaining, Don would go around, just thanking God that one day that promise would come to pass. Twenty-nine years later,

Dawn went to the doctor for a checkup. He said, congratulations. You're not going to have one baby. You're going to have twins. God brought her to a flourishing finish. I know some of you are thinking, God, please don't flourish me that way. But I love the fact that God does not abort dreams. And some of you, at one time, just like Dawn, you knew you were going to get well.

You knew you're going to have that baby. You knew you're going to overcome that problem. But now, because it's been a long time and you don't see anything changing, you're tempted to think that it's not going to happen. No, get back in agreement with God. Start thanking him that he is bringing those promises to pass. And even when it looks like a dream has died, know this. God can resurrect dead dreams.

Just like He raised Christ from the dead, God can breathe new life into your marriage, new life into your finances, new life into your health. Instead of being discouraged, go around. all through the day saying, Father, thank you that you're going to finish what you started in my life. This is one reason we miss God's best. We give up on our promises too soon. We have to learn to trust God's timing. Most often it doesn't happen as quickly as we would like. There's always going to be a period of testing. Are we going to get discouraged? Are we going to start complaining? Are we going to make decisions that will hinder the promise. I think about David and how when he was 17 years old,

he was anointed to be king, but he did not take the throne until he was 30. I'm sure during those 13 years, there were plenty of times he was tempted to think it wasn't going to happen. I'm sure he was tempted to get frustrated, to even feel like a failure, thinking, God, did I hear you wrong? I thought you said you're going to do something great with my life, but nothing is going my way. Here he was almost 30. Year after year had gone by, he saw no sign of the promise coming to pass. David had to fight the same negative thoughts that we do, thoughts that we're telling him, it's not going to happen.

David, you heard God wrong, just accept it, just settle where you are. The battle was taking place in his mind. To make matters worse, one day a man by the name of Nabel insulted David and his men. They had been protecting Nable's property. David told his men to go ask Nable for some food and water. And when they did, Nable was extremely rude. He said, I'm not going to give you guys anything. I never ask you to protect me. Just get off my property. When David heard this, it set him off. He was ready to let Nable have it. He told his men, pack up, we're going to go wipe out Nabel and everyone that's even halfway associated with him.

And I don't believe that it was so much what Nabel did. That wasn't some huge offense, but it was magnified by the fact that David was already frustrated that his promise had not yet come to pass. He knew in his heart he was chosen to be a king, but he's out there living in the wilderness like a pauper. Now he's distracted. He's lost his focus, and he's about to make a decision that will hinder his destiny. Now, as he's headed toward Nable's property, God sent a young lady by the name of Abigail. Abigail was a wise woman.

She was Nable's wife. She met David on the road, had gifts in her hand. And she said, David, why are you going to blow your whole kingdom on such a fool like my husband? Are you going to allow him to stop you from doing? and what God wants you to do. You are our next king. You are destined to do great things. Are you going to blow it on something so small such as this? She not only talks sense into David, she spoke victory into his future. She reminded him who he was and the promise God put in him. At that moment, David turned around,

said, you're right, I've got a destiny to fulfill. The promise is still in me. And I'm not going to get frustrated and make decisions that I'm going to regret later on just because the promise has not yet come to pass. David passed that test. I've learned that God will always send you an Abigail before you give up on a dream. Many of you know that you've got the promise in your heart. You know you've got a great future, a future filled with hope, with faith, with blessings, with promotion. But the problem is right now you're not seeing any of that. You're tempted to get discouraged, tempted to be frustrated, maybe even tempted to make decisions like the dream is never going to come to pass. But today, God sent me to be your Abigail. I want to remind you of who you are and what you

have on the inside. You are a child of the most high God. You have seeds of greatness on the inside of you. you have royal blood flowing through your veins. You have been crowned with glory and honor. You are destined to leave your mark on this generation. It may not have happened yet, but the promise is still in you. Don't be careless towards your future. Don't make decisions that you're going to regret later on. It's easy in the heat of the moment like David to want to blow somebody off.

It's easy to just want to walk out of it. a marriage. It's easy on the Fridays of your life when business is slow, when it's taken a long time, when everybody's promoted except you to just think, man, I'm never going to get ahead. I'm just going to start goofing off like everybody else at work. This marriage is never going to last. I'm going to try something else. I'm never going to get well, Joel. I'm just going to accept it. Now, listen to the Abigail God sent you. You will get well. You will be promoted. You will be restored. you will be vindicated. You will see your dreams come to pass. It may be Friday, but Sunday is coming. And when it's time for God to promote you, to vindicate you, to restore you, all the forces of darkness cannot stop it from happening.

God's looking for people that have a made-up mind, people that will trust his timing. It usually does not happen overnight, but it will happen. Abraham waited 20 years. He saw that promise come to pass. He had his son. Moses waited 40 years. He came into his promise. He helped deliver God's people. You say, Joel, I've been waiting for a year and I don't see anything happening. No, something is happening. Right now, God is working behind the scenes in your life. He is arranging the right people, the right breaks, the right opportunities. And sometimes the reason it's taken longer is because even though you're ready, somebody else that's involved is not ready yet. The scripture says at the appointed time, the promise will come to pass and it will not be

one second late. When is the appointed time? It's when God knows it's best for you. When you understand this principle, it takes all the pressure off. It's a very freeing way to live knowing that as long as we stay in faith, God will release His His favor, his increase, his restoration, his healing at exactly the right time in our lives. That means I don't have to be frustrated because it's not happening as fast as I would like. I don't have to be worried because I don't see anything changing. I am confident that God will finish what he started. I may not see it happening, but my report is it's on its way.

It may be today, next week, next year, five years, 25 years, that's okay. I'm staying in faith. I know God is not only going to bring the promise to pass, but he's going to bring us out with a flourishing finish. I think about my brother Paul. He told how ever since he was a little boy, he had a desire to do medical missions in Africa. He went there when he was 12 years old with my father and made such a lasting impression on him. He went back again as a college student with a group from the university and they spent a month there in the summer. helping the underprivileged people. Paul went on to graduate from medical school, become a surgeon. For 17 years, he practiced surgery in Arkansas, very successful. He worked his way all the way up to the chief of surgery. But still, he and my sister-in-law, Jennifer, had this overwhelming desire to do

medical missionary work. And so they sent off for applications to different missions organizations. But every time they went to fill them out, just didn't feel right. They just didn't. They just just didn't think it was the right timing, and so they put it off. They delayed it. In 1999, our father went to be with the Lord. After Daddy's memorial service, Paul was driving back home to Little Rock, and he heard God speak to him, not out loud, but an impression right down in here. He said, Paul, I want you to give up your medical practice and go back to Lakewood and help your family with the ministry. In the natural, it didn't make a lot of sense. Here he had trained all those years in medicine. It looked like it was just the opposite of what he had in his

heart. He was having to give up the thing that he loved the most. He came back and for 10 years he's helped us pastor the church. Last year, a group of doctors were going over to Africa from the ministry. They invited Paul to go. He felt good about it. So he went. He got to the little clinic. They put him in the operating room. He hadn't done surgery in nearly 10 years time. But he said, it was just like riding a bike. It came back to him like he'd never even stopped doing it. He was so excited. He came back home and got his whole family and went back over to the clinic and spent three months there.

This time he was doing surgeries that he'd never even done before. The end of that three-month period, one night, Paul went outside, all alone. He looked up in the African sky, and all the sudden it hit him. He was living his dream. he was doing exactly what God put in his heart as a little boy. God brought that promise to pass. What am I saying? You can trust God with your dreams.

Sometimes you may feel like you have to put the thing you love the most on the altar. Times you may feel like you're taking a detour, going in the opposite direction. But know this. God has a plan. He's got it all figured out. Be patient. It may take some time. Paul first felt that desire at 12 years old.

He felt it again at 22 when he went back as a college student. And today at 75, he's as happy as can be. You remember, I am his younger, better-looking brother. But I know every one of us has dreams and desires that have not yet come to pass. Maybe there are things in your heart you've never told anybody about. Know this. God knows. He's the one that put them there. Don't get discouraged because you don't see anything. anything happening, just keep being your best each day. Keep being a person of excellence and integrity.

Keep being good to other people. Every day you do that, you are passing the test and you are one day closer to seeing the promise come to fulfillment. It says in Psalm 106, talking about the people of Israel, they did not wait for God's plan to unfold. In other words, they missed their promise because they got discouraged. They started complaining. They didn't think it would ever happen. Don't let that be you. Stay in faith. When it's taken a long time, know that God's plan is going to unfold. It may look like the end.

It may look like you've got to give up the thing you love the most. But recognize that is only a test. When you give it up, God will always give you back something better. On the Fridays of your life, when things aren't going your way, you have to keep reminding yourself that Sunday is coming. Your resurrection is on its way. Now I want you to be confident of this, not wondering, thinking, well, maybe this will happen for me, Joel. I don't know. I've made a lot of mistakes. Been a long time. No, you've got to know beyond a

shadow of a doubt. No matter what it looks like, no matter how many odds are against you, God is going to finish what he started in your life. That dream he put on the inside, the promise that's in your heart, it is still alive and well. And if you'll get up each day in faith, live with expectancy, then I believe and declare you're not only going to see your dreams and promises come to pass, but it's going to be better than you expected. God's going to bring you to a

flourishing finish. Amen. Do you receive that today? I know you do. 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 of. Sometimes life can make you feel like you were just living in the dark.

Even your prayers don't feel like they're making it to heaven. But God is listening and his light is about to shine. We know God is all powerful that he can answer any prayer. but sometimes we don't know what to pray. We don't think we deserve God's goodness. Maybe we're inconveniencing him or he has more important things to deal with. But God is concerned about every detail of your life.

He's waiting to hear your prayers. I have a new resource called praying with confidence, guided prayers for life's moments. When you face challenges or obstacles that seem too big, you'll find prayers that will build your faith, prayers that will move the hands of God. There are prayers you can pray for peace and comfort, prayers for your family and hell, prayers for your dreams and goals. As you make these prayers your own, pray with confidence, that's when you'll see the creator of the universe go to work.

I hope you'll request your copy today. With a gift of any amount this month, we would like to immediately send you a copy of praying with confidence, guided prayers for life's moments. In this new resource, Joel shares how to pray. You need a breakthrough when you need strength. Yes, when life's moments happen and you're not sure how to pray, praying confident prayers will put you on the right path. You'll enter new seasons in your prayer life that will turn challenges to victories, heartache to hope, frustration, to newfound favor.

Be sure to request your copy of Praying with Confidence, guided prayers for life's moments today. Visit joelosteen.com or call 888. 567, jaw.