Joel Osteen Podcast - The Power of Remembering | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: August 23, 2024

Our memory has incredible power. When you choose to remember the good things God has done, you're making room for the new blessings He has in store. 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.Dispel worry and gain newfound hope! This August, we are offeringPower Up: A 21-Day Action Plan to Transformative Thinking.Receive the truth about what God says about you and transform your thoughts from Day 1. Take a step up toward powerful living today, https://bit.ly/46jp0ZX! 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.

Hope you're having a great summer. Know that we're praying for you, and we know God has awesome things in store. So great having you with us. Enjoy the message today. God bless you. It is always a joy to come into your homes each week. We come with good news. We know God is on your side.

God rewards the people that seek after him. I believe that's you. You wouldn't be tuned in today. So thank you and come out and see us. If you're ever in the Houston area, please stop by. Promise you will make you feel right at home. But thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started each week with something kind of funny.

And I heard about this group of elderly ladies way up in their 80s. They were driving down the freeway, and this police officer pulled them over. He said to the driver, ma'am, do you realize you're only going 35 miles an hour? And she said, officer, that's what the sign says. And he kind of chuckled. And he said, no, ma'am, that's the number of the freeway. This is Highway 35. He said, by the way, what are those ladies in the back seat look so terrified?

That little old lady grinned and said, because we just got off Highway 95. Hold up your Bible. Say it with me today. 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. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living seed of the Word of God. I'll never be the same, never, never, never, I'll never be the same in Jesus' name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about the power of remembering.

The Bible clearly tells us there are certain things that we should forget, but there are also certain things that we're supposed to remember. And if we'll use our memory for the right purposes, it'll create faith. It'll bring hope. It's when we use it for the wrong purposes. It keeps us negative and discouraged. Our memory has incredible power. If you sit around thinking about some sad event, even though it may have happened two, three years ago, before long, you're going to feel sad. You're going to feel discouraged. You'll feel that same emotion. On the other hand, you may be at home one day all alone, and all of a sudden you think about something your child did. A tender moment, a hug, a kiss, a funny story. That memory will bring a smile to your face.

It'll bring that same warmth, that same joy. What made you happy? Right memories. What made you sad? Wrong memories. And I can't find one place in the scripture where it tells us to remember our disappointments, to remember our hurts, our pains, our failures. No, again and again, it tells us the thing we're supposed to remember

are all the great things that God has done for us. In other words, remember the time God spared your life from that accident. Remember when you got that promotion, even though you weren't the most qualified. Remember how God turned your child around. Remember how he set you free from those addictions. We should constantly remember the great thing. things God has done in our lives. That's what the Psalm has said here.

Psalm 7711, I recall the many miracles God has done for me. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about them. Notice he said they should constantly be in our thoughts. The problem we have many

times is we are remembering what we should be forgetting. Our disappointments, our hurts, our failures, and we are forgetting what we should be remembering. our victories, our successes, the times that God has brought us through. It's interesting in the Old Testament, God commanded them to have certain feast, certain celebrations. And one of the main reasons was so they would not forget what God had done. And so several times a year, they'd all stop what

they were doing, everybody would take off, and they'd go celebrate how God brought them out of slavery, or how God defeated this enemy, or how he protected them over there. They'd, they'd were commanded, they were required to remember. In another place it talks about how they put down what they called memorial stones. And these stones, or large markers, were to remind them of specific victories. And every time they went by them, they would remember what God had done. This memorial stone is for when God brought us out of bondage. This stone is for when He healed our children.

This stone is for when God supernaturally provided for our needs. And having those memorial stones helped it to stay fresh in their memory. That's what we need to learn to do. Let me ask you today, are you taking time to remember your victories? Are you taking time to celebrate what God has done in your life? Have you put out any memorial stones? Well, Joel, I've got so many problems. I've got so many obstacles.

No, one way to build your faith, one way to keep you encouraged, is to go back over your life and remember the great. great things that God has already done. Remember the time that God made a way for you when it looked like there was no way. Remember the time when you were so lonely, so down, yet God brought

somebody into your life. Remember when it was so dark, you didn't think you'd see another happy day, but God intervened. He not only turned it around, but he gave you joy for your morning. He lifted you up out of that pit of despair, gave you a new beginning. Here you

are today, happy, healthy, whole. if you start remembering things like that, you start recalling how God has healed you, protected you, guided you, blessed you. If you'll get that deep down on the inside, you'll have a new attitude. You won't go around thinking, well, I wonder if I ever get out of this mess.

I wonder if God's ever going to work in my life. No, you'll be saying, I know if God did it for me once, he'll do it for me again. I've seen him do it in the past. I know he's going to do it in the future. really it would do us all good on a regular basis to go back over the major victories in our lives, the major successes, and just one by one, thank God for what he's done.

Remember the day your children were born. Remember how God gave you that job. Remember when God brought that person into your life. You fell in love, you got married, you got a great family today. Remember what God's done for you. I do it often. I think about the time that I walked into a jewelry store, right here in Houston, Texas, in my early 20s,

minding my own business, and outwalk the most beautiful girl that I'd ever seen. It was Victorian. I thought to myself, God, you just answered my prayers. We dated for a year and a half, and she couldn't keep her hands off of me, so we got married.

At least that's the way I remember it. But I don't take that for granted. I know that wasn't a coincidence. That wasn't a lucky break. That was God directed my steps. That was God causing me to be at the right place at the right time. When I remember that, that reminds me that God is in control of my life. That reminds me that God has me in the palm of his hand.

That lets me know if God was directed my steps back then, you know what? God has directed my steps even today. And see, when we learn to recall the good things God has done, helps us to stay in an attitude of faith, helps us to stay grateful. I mean, it's hard to go around complaining when you're constantly thinking about

how good God's been to you. It's hard to get negative and to get off into unbelief when you're always talking about God's blessings and favor in your life. Well, Joel, if God would do something like that for me, if he'd bring me a beautiful wife, if he'd bring me somebody great,

no, God has done something for every one of us. Most of the time, we just need to go back and remember where we came from. Some of you at one point, you were so negative. You were living all depressed and defeated, but look at you today. You're rising higher. You know you're a victor and not a victim.

Some of you, at one point, you were so broke, you couldn't even pay attention. But look at you now. You're prospering. You're increasing. You got a good job. Some of you, years ago,

you had all kinds of addiction. and bad habits. You were strung out on this, bad attitude, hot-tempered, but God supernaturally delivered you. Today, you're healthy and whole. You need to remember how God set you free. Remember where you came from. That's one of the best ways to keep yourself encouraged. And you may not be as far down the road as you would like, but when you look back and remember, at least you can say, hey, God, you brought me this far. I know you're not going to stop now. You're going to get me to where I need to be. And I believe, Every one of us today can tell of a time when God supernaturally protected us.

You can tell of a time when God opened up a door for you. God calls you to be at the right place at the right time. And sometimes we take these things for granted. Some people don't even realize that was God at work in their life. We need to understand there's no such thing as a coincidence. When something good happens to you, be sensitive. Recognize that's God. Learn to recall it often.

It's like that guy I heard about. He was driving around and around in a crowded parking lot, trying to find a parking space. And he finally got so frustrated. He said, God, if you will give me a parking space, I'll come to church every Sunday. Right then, immediately, this car backed out on the front row. He pulled in.

Then he said, God, never mind, I just found one. Too often, that's what we do. We forget, God is the giver of all good things. God is the one that caused us to get that, quote, lucky break. He's the one that caused us to be at the right place at the right time. How many times have we been driving on the freeway, and we said to ourselves, man, that car almost hit me. Now the split second, and I would have had an accident.

That wasn't a coincidence. That was God's hand of protection. I know one time right after I had gotten married, I was driving on the freeway by myself. It was a Monday afternoon. It had been raining really hard for 15 or 20 minutes. When I went to change lanes, my car hydroplained. There was a big puddle in the road, and my front tires lost traction. I was driving in the second lane from the left, and when I lost control, I was headed

straight toward the concrete barrier in the center. And I hit that thing going about 50 miles per hour, really hard. And when I did, it catapulted me back spinning across the freeway. And let me tell you, I didn't have time to pray. I didn't have time to quote the 91st song. I didn't have time to call the 24-hour prayer hotline. All I had time to say was Jesus. Just simply Jesus.

And I'll never forget, as I was spinning back across that freeway, I came to a point where I was looking at the headlights of this 18-wheeler. I mean, I was facing the wrong direction. It looked like I could reach out and touch his front grill. Couldn't have been five or six feet away. I just kind of closed my eyes. I kind of thought that was it. But somehow, some way, I ended.

up in the ditch on the other side of the freeway. I had crossed six lanes of traffic during rush hour in Houston, Texas, and nobody had ran into me. Well, after I got stopped over there, I noticed that this 18-wheeler, the man that almost hit me, he had pulled over, and now he was

backing up. Took him about 10 minutes to get back to where I was, and the gentleman finally got out. The first thing he said was, boy, you must be living right. We kind of laughed. I said, what do you mean? He said, I don't know how I missed you. You were right in front of me. And I tried to swerve, but my rig is fully loaded. I couldn't do it. And so I just braced myself and got

ready for the collision. And he said, I know this sounds kind of odd, but right at the last moment, I felt this pocket of wind pushed me into the other land. And I thought to myself, you know, he's calling it a pocket of wind, but I know that's the angel of the Lord. That's God's hand of protection. That's another memorial stone that I can put out in my life. I know if it were not for the goodness of God, I might not be here today. Could have been killed, could have been crippled. But once again, God showed up and made a way when it looked like there was no way. I don't take that for granted. I remember the great things God has done in my life. And I love how in the Old Testament they celebrated their victories. They had these big feasts. They had dancing and

music and singing, these festivals. Can you imagine today? You're having a big party at your house. Music is going. Everybody's having fun. One of your neighbors comes over. He says, hey, what kind of party you have? Super Bowl party?

Wedding party? Birthday party? You tell them, no. We're just celebrating what God has done. Five years ago, he spared my life in an accident. We're having a party. Or maybe 10 years ago, God set me free from so many addictions.

So we're just celebrating it tonight. Or how about 25 years ago, God healed my mother of terminal cancer. So we're just taking this time to thank him right now. A lot of people today, they're partying, but we need to learn to celebrate the great things God has done in our lives. When we really learn to focus on God's goodness, we'll get up each morning with a smile on our face, a spring in our step. We'll go through that day full of praise, full of Thanksgiving. My father used to tell about this old country farmer. He was always shouting and rejoicing.

Just had that song of Thanksgiving coming out of his heart. He was kind of a radical praiser, like some people I know. And his friends were always giving him a hard time about why he was so happy and why he was always smiling. One day he was out walking with his mule. And those friends came up and they say, hey, we just can't figure you out. You never look like you're in a bad mood. you're never down and depressed, you're always so happy. What is it with you?

He said, let me tell you what it is. Years ago, I was an alcoholic, had so many addictions, messed up in my marriage, my kids wouldn't talk to me, no joy, no peace. But one day, I got down on my knees, and I asked God to help me. And little by little, he began to change me.

He broke the addictions off my life. He restored my marriage, gave me a new sense of purpose, filled me with his joy and his, peace and today I'm free, I'm happy, I'm whole. The more he talked about it, the more excited he got. Finally, he said, guys, God's done so much for me. I just can't keep quiet. Will you do me a favor?

Hold my mule while I shout. And really, that's the way we need to be. When we think about all God's done, we think about his goodness and mercy, think about how he's healed us, restored us, guided us. Our attitude should be, I just can't keep quiet. Will you hold my Chevy while I shout. And I realize we all face

obstacles in life, but what I'm saying today is one of the things that helps us to get past the difficulties is we go back and we remember the great things God has done. That's a key to staying in faith. Remember your victories. Remember your successes.

Remember how God turned it around. And know this. If God did it for you once, he'll do it for you again. We might as well be happy today. I believe every one of us can look back in life. and we can testify to the faithfulness of God. You may have been through difficult times, but you can say with me, I'm still standing.

I've still got a smile on my face. I'm still excited about my future. Most every one of us, we would not be here if it were not for the goodness of God. And I'm asking you to get your memorial stones out today. Learn to recall often how God has blessed you, guided you, protected you, led you, healed you. In fact, the scripture tells us we should be so filled with gratitude that we tell these things to our children, to our grandchildren.

We're supposed to pass down the goodness of God. In other words, you call your children in, you say in effect, this memorial stone is for when God spared my life on the freeway. This is for when God healed my mother. This is for when God called my father to preach, lifted him out of mediocrity, did something great with his life. What are you remembering today? What kind of memorial stones do you have out? Some people choose to only remember the pain, the disappointments, the heartaches, their failures. They're always focused on the negative.

Oh, Joel, it's so hard, my back's hurting. Child's off course, dishwasher broke, dogs depressed. No, quit dwelling on that junk. It's only going to make you more depressed. Start thinking about all the times that God brought you through. Think about that time where you were so tired and worn out.

You didn't think you could go on. But God renewed your strength, restored your vision, gave you a new beginning. Here you are today. Still going strong. Think about the time. It didn't look like your plan was going to work out. It didn't look like you'd get that new position.

Or maybe it didn't look like you'd qualify for that new home. But all of a sudden, God intervened. He showed you his favor. People went out of their way to help you. Everything fell into place. Don't take that for granted. it may have happened 10 years ago. That's okay.

Recall it often. Well, Joel, if God would just do something big in my life, no, if you're not choosing to do it now, then no matter what God does, you will find some excuse not to do it. That's what the children of Israel did. God did so much for them. He supernaturally brought them out of slavery.

He sent plague after plague on their enemies. The amazing thing was they were living right among them. Those plagues never bothered them. God eventually brought them out. delivered them from years of bondage and abuse. And as they were leaving, you know the story. They came to a dead end at the Red Sea. Pharaoh changed his mind.

He was chasing after them. They looked as good as dead. It looked pretty hopeless. But God supernaturally parted the Red Sea, drowned their enemies. Now they're headed toward the promised land. You would think they would be so grateful, so excited, so full of faith.

But what's amazing to me is how quickly they got discouraged. how quickly they started complaining. It wasn't any time before they were saying, Moses, what are we going to eat out here? What are we going to drink? There's not any food. We're in the wilderness. We may starve to death.

Now, you would think, since they just saw God part the Red Sea, they just saw miracle after miracle, surely they would be convinced that God was going to take care of them. You know their problem? They forgot what God had done. They were so busy focused on their present problems,

they forgot about all the miraculous things that God had done in the past. And it's one of the few times in the Bible where it talks about God getting angry. Notice God didn't get angry at a bunch of sinners. He got angry at people that took for granted his goodness. He got angry at people that were not being grateful for what he had done. I don't know about you, but no matter what comes my way in life, instead of complaining about it, instead of thinking, well, I'll probably never get out of death. I'll probably never get out of this mess.

I don't see how my dreams are going to come to pass. No, instead of doing that, I'm going to go back and remember all the red seas that God has parted in my life. I'm going to remember how God spared my life on the freeway. I'm going to remember how God gave me a beautiful wife. I'm going to remember how God healed my mother.

I'm going to remember how, against all odds, God gave us this beautiful facility, the compact center. Let's remember what God has done. Let's don't do like they did. we have to make a decision. We're going to recall the good things God's done in our lives. And I would encourage you to keep a notebook,

something like a diary or a journal. When something happens that you know is God, you know God opened up a door, you know God spared your life, or you know God spoke to you, you were down and God quickened to Scripture, lifted your spirits. Well, write that down.

It would do us all good to have a record of the good things that God has done for us. and I found if you don't write it down, it's very easy to forget it. I know the other day I was in the lobby talking to a gentleman. He was explaining this certain situation. And he said one particular phrase that gave me clear insight. It gave me clear direction.

He didn't even realize he had said it. I didn't make a big deal about it. But on the inside, it was like a bomb went off. I knew that was God speaking to me, giving me the answer that I needed. And so I went home and I wrote it down. I thought, here's another example. of how God is directed my steps. Over the years, I've had

several dreams at night that I knew were from God. When I got up the next morning, first thing I did, typed it out, put it away in my files. I don't want to forget that. 50 years from now, I'll pass it down to my grandchildren. It's another way of saying here's something that God is doing

in our family line. And it may not always be something big, just something little. But you know it's God, you bump into somebody. They introduce you to another person, and that leads to you getting a new client. Write that down. Maybe you're driving down the freeway.

See a billboard and you get an idea, you take it to the office. They like it. It leads to a promotion. Recognize, that's God at work in your life. Write that down. And then on a regular basis, you need to get that notebook out

and read about all the great things God has done in your life. You're talking about encouraging you? When you start reading about how God opened up this door for you, protected you over here, restored you here, healed you there, that's going to build your faith. Learn to meditate on these good things. And especially in our times of difficulty, especially when we're tempted to get discouraged,

we need to get that notebook out and read it again and again and again. Get it deep down on the inside of you. If you do that, you will not go through the day discouraged and defeated. You will know that you know that you know that God is in control of your life. He's got you in the palm of his hand, and he's going to, bring you through with the victory. This is what they did back in the Old Testament. You remember how they used to

always carry around their staff? Really, that staff was more than a walking stick. It was more than just something to keep the wild animals away. Back in those days, they were a nomadic people. They were always on the move. And of course, they didn't have paper and files

and computers like we have today. And one of the ways they kept important records and important events is that they would carve that on their staff. They would etch it in there. That was their personal record. For instance, on this date, we defeated the Amalekites. On this date, my son was born.

On this date, God gave us water out of a rock. On this date, God delivered us out of bondage. Their staff was literally a record of their history with God. Think about when Moses parted the Red Sea. What did he do? He held up his staff. He was saying, God, I thank you for all you, you've done in the past. And I hold this staff up remembering how time and time again you've

delivered us. Supernaturally, you've worked in our lives. And we just thank you that you're going to do it again. They were remembering the good things God had done. That staff was kind of like their journal. You remember when David went to face Goliath. He didn't just take a slingshot and some stones. The Bible says he took his staff. Why? Because his staff had his history with God. No doubt on that staff he had etched in there. On this date, I killed a lion with my bare hands. God gave me that victory. On this date, I killed a bear all by myself. When he went to face Goliath, he made sure he took his staff because that reminded him how much God

had helped him in the past. And I can imagine just before he went out to fight, he read over it one more time. His attitude was, God, you did it for me back then, and I know you're going to do it for me now. And some of you today, you need to get your staff out. You're facing some big obstacles in your life. Instead of sitting around, getting depressed, wondering how it's ever going to work out, you need to start meditating on how far God's already brought you. Start dwelling on your victories.

Start thinking about the times you've killed the lion and the bear, so to speak, in your own life. And I don't know, maybe there were a few lines that David didn't kill. Maybe there were a few bears that got the best to him, but you notice he wasn't talking about it. He wasn't sitting around thinking, oh yeah, Goliath's pretty big. And one day I did get beat up by Josiah's sister. No, his mind wasn't focused on that. He was focused on his victories.

He was meditating on how God had helped him in the past. You know the story. He went out there and defeated Goliath. And I'm sure it's that in his staff. He put that in his journal. Here's another thing that God has helped me to do. I want to encourage you today to get your staff out. Start remembering the great things that God has done.

in your life. You may not be as far as you would like, but when you look back, you need to remember how God has led you, protected you, promoted you, increased you all along the way. Don't take that for granted. When something good happens, you know it's from God, write it down. And then get that book out again and again and again and read over that. Meditate on it. Get it deep down on the inside. Friends, there's power in remembering. And if you'll use your memory for the right purposes to recall your victories, recall your successes, recall what God has done, then that's going to build your faith.

No matter what comes against you in life, just like David, you'll rise above it. You'll know if God did it for you once, he'll do it for you again. Amen. Do you receive it 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'll repeat. pen 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 out. Our negative thinking can short-circuit God's power

and blessing in our lives. When you say, I always seem to worry, I can't forgive what was done to me. I pray, but it feels like God doesn't hear. I won't have enough to provide for me and my family. How do you overcome this type of negative thinking that limits you from God's best? Our thinking sets the limits for our life. Every morning you have to power up your mind, get it going in the right direction by dwelling on what God says about you. When you think thoughts of faith, hope, and victory, you'll tap into blessing and favor that belongs to you. I'd love to send you my newest book.

It's called Power Up. I'll show you how to delete negative thoughts and focus on the promises rather than the problems. You can discover God's unprecedented power in your life. 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 life-altering resource. Power Up, a 21-day action plan to transformative thinking.

God wants to power up every area of your life. Your relationships, career, finances, health, he wants to bless it all. But sometimes negative thinking can short-circuit the truth. This resource reconnects those power lines, providing the free flow of God's eternal promises. Remember, wherever you're at, whatever you're facing, you can make the choice to power up and access God's promises. When your mind is going in the right direction, your life will go in the right direction. start powering up each day and watch what God will do. Victoria and I want you to know that we pray for you and your family.

We appreciate your prayer and support. Your generosity is impacting so many lives. Remember, you can watch the services live online every Sunday morning. Download our daily podcast, watch our YouTube channel, listen on SiriusXM. But until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of Power Up, a 21-day action plan to transformative thinking. Today, visit Joel Osteen.com or call us toll-free.