Joel Osteen Podcast - The Power Of The Soil | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: July 23, 2024

Like a seed needs good soil to grow, you need a healthy environment to become who God created you to be. When you choose the right friendships and mindsets, your gifts and talents will flourish. 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.God wants to release His goodness and favor over you. Now is your time to break free from stress and walk fully in His blessing. Our July offer, 55 Ways to Be Blessed and Not Stressed, gives short, powerful readings packed with God’s promises! Request your copy today,  https://bit.ly/4cxwUAz  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. God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. And if you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you we'll make it feel right at home.

I like to start with something funny. and I heard about this husband and wife. They'd been arguing for a long time about who should make the coffee in the morning. The husband thought it was the wife's job, but she just didn't agree. After several heated debates, she finally told him,

I can prove it to you from the Bible that it's the man's job to make the coffee. He said, what are you talking about? Nothing in the Bible about the man making the coffee? She said, sure there is. She opened her Bible and pointed to the book of Hebrews. 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 the power of the soil. You can have a good seed that's healthy and strong. It's full of potential. But if it's not planted in good soil, it's not going to become what it was created to be. The problem is not with the seed. A scientist could study the seed, run test. They would find that it's full of life.

If it's an apple seed, it has apples in it. If it's a rose bush, it has blossoms in it. But if it's planted in soil that's full of rocks, weeds and thorns. It may grow some, but it's not going to produce what it should. It may survive, but it's not going to be healthy. It's the same principle in life. You're a seed. You are full of gifts, talents, potential. But if you plant yourself in unhealthy soil, if you hang around friends that compromise and pull you down, if you're in an environment that's limited with people that tell you what you can't, become, you won't see the growth that you should. Not because there's something wrong with your seed.

You're made in the image of God. The problem is with the soil. The rocks, the thorns, the weeds are choking the life out of your seed. Jesus told a parable about a man that sowed seed on good ground, and it produced a great harvest, many crops. Another sowed seed on rocky ground. Didn't produce too much. Another sowed it on ground where the weeds and the thorns kept the seed from growing. All the same seed, what made the difference was the soil. The thorns are things like friends that keep causing you to compromise. The weeds are those co-workers that sit around in gossip all day. The rocks are those family members that tell you how you can't break that addiction.

If you hang around negative people, they're choking out your seed. Those friends you're tempted to party with. They may be fun. They're popular. But what you can't see is they're a weed. They're keeping you from flourishing. The environment you put yourself in is extremely important. No matter how good the seed is, it's dependent on having good soil.

You have to be selective with, whom you give your time, energy, and attention. Because people are contagious. You're going to catch what they have. If your friends are prejudiced, you're going to become prejudice. If your friends have limited thinking, they don't have any goals, no motivation, that narrow-minded mentality is going to rub off on you. You're going to become like the people you continually associate with. Don't hang around people that don't have anything you want. If they're not making you better, if they're not inspiring you, causing you to grow, then you need to make some changes. You need to pull up those weeds. Quit hanging around thorny friends, people that bring out the worst in you, talk you out

of your dreams, cause you to compromise. Their negativity is contaminating your soil. your destiny is too great to waste it with people that are not adding value to your life. Well, Joel, what if I hurt their feelings? What if you miss your destiny? What if they choke out your seed? What if they keep you from blossoming? I've heard it said, it's not enough to just focus on self-development. You have to focus on soil development, on what's around you, on what's influencing you,

on what you're spending time and attention with. Are you putting your seed in good soil? Or is it being contaminated by what you watch, by what you think about, by who you're spending time with? What you're unwilling to walk away from is where you'll stop growing. If you know a person is pulling you down, but you won't make a change, then you'll get stuck where you are. Your seed can't grow in bad soil. If you don't get rid of the wrong people, you'll never meet the right people. Here's the key. God will never ask us to give something up without giving us more back in return. And sure, you may go through a season of being lonely, but what will happen is God will

give you new friends, better friends, people that push you up instead of pulling you down. In the scripture, God told Abraham to leave his country, leave his relatives, and go to a new land. Abraham left. He headed out, but he took his nephew Lott with him. He was only supposed to take his immediate family. Before long, Abraham and Lott had a disagreement. There was strife and arguing between their herdsmen. Then Lott moved to a different place and got in trouble. Abraham felt responsible, so he had to go rescue him. He spent all this time and energy involved in a problem that he should have never had if he would have left Lott in the first place. Some of the challenges we face are because we didn't leave who God told us to leave.

What's interesting is the name Lott means veil or covering. When you leave Lott, when you leave what you know you're supposed to leave, the veil will come off. You will see things you've never seen, new friendships, new opportunities, new talents, new levels. Are you holding on to what God asks you to let go of? Someone, something that's pulling you down, keeping you from your best.

Your seed can't flourish in a negative environment that's keeping you from growing. And when I say leave, I don't mean you have to go make a big announcement. Hey, you're contaminating me. I'm done with you. I simply mean

little by little starts spending less and less time within. If you have a bunch of weeds, it's choking out your dreams, your vision, your character. At the office, that person you eat lunch with, this is always complaining about the boss, jealous of co-workers, mad at their spouse. I say this respectfully, they're a weed. They are contaminating your soil. They're keeping you from flourishing. And yes, they're made in the image of God, they can change, but until they do, you shouldn't let them pollute you. I'm nice to everyone, but I don't spend my time with everyone. I'm selective about who I allow in my life. I don't spend time with negative, critical, jealous, small-minded, can't do it, bitter people.

I value what God has given me too much to put my seed. in bad soil. We have a responsibility. God has given you a gift. He could have created anyone to be alive at this day and time, but he chose you. Your seed is full of potential. Your seed has greatness in it. Your seed can set a new standard for your family. Your seed can break generational curses. What God has given you is extremely valuable. Now do your part. Keep your seed in good soil. I have a row of bushes around my house. For years, they've been healthy and green, just as lush as can be. But several months ago, we noticed a few of them, all next to each other, started to look like something was wrong. They were a little shriveled up and not as

green as they should be. A couple of weeks later, they were all dead, about 15 feet out of a long row of bushes. The landscaper came out. First thing he said, said was, let me check the soil. He ran some test and found that the soil in that area had become contaminated. We had to dig it out and replace it. Now the new plants are just as healthy as the others. But sometimes we wonder why we feel kind of like we're shriveled and we're not growing. God, why aren't you doing anything? Check your soil. Has it become contaminated? Who are you spending time with? What are you giving your attention to? You can't watch the news all day and live a positive, faith-filled life. After about 20 minutes,

you'll be depressed. Pay attention to your environment. What are you taking in all day? A man told me how he drove an hour each way to work for 20 years listening to talk radio. It was a political station where they're debating politics and people arguing, being disrespectful, and he would get so wrought up, so mad. By the time he got to work, he was sour. Nobody wanted to be around him. He didn't even like himself. He had turned into a bitter, angry man.

One day he was flipping through the channels and came across our serious XM station. He heard me speaking and couldn't turn it off. That was over a year ago. He said, Joel, I'm a different person. I'm happy. I'm friendly. People even asked me, what happened to you?

What was the problem all those years? His soil. That negativity was choking out his joy, his faith, his victory. We have enough negative things in life that we have no control over. Be selective about what you do have control over. Driving to work, put on something uplifting, music that inspires you. Listen to a message that builds your faith. Keep your seed in good soil. At home, don't leave the television on all day, chatter, noise in the background. That's your soil. This is the reason some people aren't growing. They're talented. They have potential, but their soil has become contaminated. You have to protect your seed. I know a professional football player that was diagnosed with cancer. It only been in the league a couple years.

His dream came true. Then he was hit with this diagnosis. He didn't fall in. He didn't fall in apart. He didn't get bitter. He still lives at home. He told his mother that he didn't want anyone using the word cancer in his house. He didn't want that word down in his spirit. He knew if he was in a depressed environment, I feel sorry for me. You may not make it atmosphere. He wouldn't get well. His attitude was, I am healed. I am whole. I will play football again. I will fulfill my destiny. is bigger than what I'm facing. What was he doing? Creating an environment of victory. He was keeping his seed in good soil. Two years later, he was back in the league. When you face difficulties more than ever, you need to keep your mind filled with thoughts of faith. You need to surround yourself with people that

speak hope and life, people that will agree with what you're believing for. You can't afford to have people that are negative, discouraged, telling you how you may not make it. I don't know. My grandmother died of that same thing. Do yourself a favor. Stay away from people like that. Don't let them pollute your soil. One time Jesus went to pray for a little girl that had died. And when he arrived at the house, everyone was weeping and so upset. He told them that she wasn't dead. She was just asleep. They begin to laugh and make fun. Jesus asked them all to leave the room. Only one that stayed were Peter, James, and John.

He spoke to the little girl and she was healed. Why did Jesus make them leave? He could have healed her in front of everyone. He's God. He was showing us the importance of having the right environment. People, if you allow them, can talk you out of your dreams. Their doubt and negativity, can rub off on you. You have to set some boundaries. I love you, but I'm not going to let you poison me.

I have a destiny to fulfill. I'm going to love you from outside the room. This is what happened with the Israelites. Moses sent 12 men to spy out the promised land. Ten came back and said Moses, we don't have a chance. There are giants in the land. Compared to them, we felt like grasshoppers. The other two spies, Joshua and Caleb, had a different report. They said, Moses, we are well able. Let us go in at once and take this land. But the negative report from the majority, from the 10 spies begin to spread throughout the whole camp.

Before long, all 2 million Israelites were discouraged, complaining, saying Moses, let's go back to Egypt. Let's just go back to being slaves. God had promised them the victory, but they never did make it in because their soil was contaminated. That seed couldn't grow in that negative environment. The people you surround yourself with are extremely important. Don't hang around. Can't do it people. Not able to people. Yes, I know God promised you, but I don't see how you can get well. how you can meet the right person, how you'll break that addiction, stay away from people like that.

Find Joshua, find Caleb, not people that will throw water on your flame, but people that will fan your flame. People that will join their faith with yours and say, hey, if you believe, count me in, I'm going to believe with you. When Henry Ford had a dream to make a car with an engine, he started developing it, but everyone told him it wouldn't work, that it wasn't a good idea. He was about to stop when Thomas Edison came to see him. They had never met.

They introduced Mr. Ford as the man trying to build a car that would run on gasoline. Edison's eyes got big. He hit his fist on the table and said, you've got it. A car that has its own power plant, that's a brilliant idea. Henry Ford would tell how that conversation and that friendship is what kept him going. None of us would be driving a Ford if he had not found that good soil. The critics, the naysayers are a dime a dozen. Ten of the twelve spies were negative. That's about average. 80% will tell you what you can't do.

You have to find the 20% that will tell you what you can't. do. The majority most of the time won't see what you see. They won't encourage you. You have to find the minority. And I believe that one reason I'm seeing God's favor is

because I've been in good soil. A lot of it I can't take credit for. Wasn't anything I did. It was simply the goodness of God. I was raised by parents that always told me what I could become in a loving, faith-filled

environment. I saw my father believe for big things break barriers that he was raised with. He came out of poverty and he lived with this, all things are possible mentality. Years before my father passed away, Victoria would tell me that one day I was going to pastor the church. And that seems so odd. I used to think, what is she talking about? I can't get up in front of people. But year after year, she told me what I could become.

When my father went to be with the Lord, I was able to step up. Why, my seed had been in good soil. My sister Lisa worked behind the scenes 17 years with me. She was the head of our volunteers, and she would assist my father during the services and make sure that he had what he needed. The Sunday, after my father died, I was sitting in my father's seat about to go up to minister. Lisa was sitting behind me where she all.

always sat. She said that God spoke to her down in her heart. He said, just as you served your father, you were to now serve your brother. For the last 18 years, that's what Lisa has done. She's helped me, encourage me. She could have been jealous. God, I wanted to be promoted. I don't want to serve him. I want him to serve me. Thank you, Jesus. Instead, she celebrated me. What am I saying? I didn't get here by myself. I got here because I had good soil all around me. People that believed in me, people that cheered me on, people that encouraged me. Here's what I'm saying.

Your soil is just as important as your seed. You may have had just the opposite. People that didn't support you. Instead of telling you what you could become, they told you what you couldn't do. The good news is that doesn't have to stop you. Your seed is still alive. If you will get it in a different environment with can-do people, with possibility thinking, with friends that inspire you, then your seed will take root and begin to blossom. You can still reach the fullness of your destiny.

This is what Elijah did. He was out working in the fields, a farmer, no doubt from a limited background, didn't look like he had much of a future. but the prophet Elijah came by and called out to him. Elisha saw something in Elijah that he wanted. He saw the favor on his life. How Elijah was doing great things, he connected with him. He thought that's good soil. That's where I need to keep my seed.

For years, Elisha served Elijah. He waited on him, would bring him food. He wouldn't leave him. In fact, three times, Elijah tried to get Elisha to go do his own thing, but he wouldn't do it. When Elijah was taken to heaven, Elisha received a double portion of his anointing. If Elisha would have stayed out in the fields, in that limited environment, with the friends he grew up with, he would have never seen the double.

He had to get his seed in the right soil. You need people in your life that are further along than you. you. People that have a bigger vision that are more successful, more well off. In one sense, people that are out of your league. You have to be exposed to new levels before you can go to new levels. If you're the smartest one in your group, your group is too small. If you're the most successful, you need to get a larger circle. Don't be intimidated by people that are further along. Be inspired. Find some good mentors. Connect with dreamers. People that have a bigger vision, glean from them. That's good soil. A friend of mine feeds a million children a day. He supports charities that help

these underprivileged children. His goal is to feed 10 million a day. When I'm around him, I'm inspired. It makes me dream bigger. I think, God, you did it for him. You can do it for me. What is that? My seed getting in good soil. Does your vision increase around your friends? Or does it decrease? Do you leave challenged, motivated, inspired? Are you discouraged, negative, drained? I'm not saying that every friend will inspire you, but you should have one or two that light a fire on the inside, that push you forward. If you only invest in people at your same level, you'll get stuck there. Find a mentor, somebody that's gone where you want to go. Just as the wrong people will pull you down, the right people will pull you up. In Acts chapter 3, a crippled man had been lying by the temple gate for years asking for money. Peter came along and said, I don't have any money, but in the name of Jesus, rise and walk. Nothing happened. The man looked at Peter like, what do you mean, rise and walk?

walk. I'm crippled. I've been this way my whole life. I can't walk. This could have been the end of the story. Peter could have thought I did my part. It didn't work. But the scripture says Peter took him by the right hand and lifted him up. As he did, the man's legs were instantly healed. Notice, Peter wouldn't let the man stay down. He didn't give him a choice. He prayed for him and then pulled him up. You need some friends like Peter that won't let you stay down. When you're in the pits,

when you can't get up by yourself, not people that will get in the pit with you. Let's tell sad stories together. Let's feel sorry for ourselves. No, people that will pull you out of that pit. People that love you so much, they won't let you stay addicted.

They won't let you stay depressed. They won't let you miss your destiny. Not just people pray, but they pull you up. And I know that's why many come out here and many of you listen, because you know we're always going to lift you up. You may be down,

but we're not going to let you stay down. We're going to tell you, get up, there are new levels. You've been hurt, get up. God has beauty for those ashes. You lost something, get up. God's about to restore. You went through a disappointment. Get up.

A new beginning is coming. You're still single. Get up. The right person. on the way. You're struggling in your finances. Get up. God's going to open the windows of heaven. You need people that will pull you into your destiny. Like this man, sometimes you can't go to the next level without somebody pulling you up. If you're crippled in some area, so to speak, and you surround yourself with people just like you, there's nobody to help you up. You have to get around somebody stronger, somebody more successful, somebody free so they can lift you. Lame people can't help lame people up.

Addicted people can't help addicted people up. Maybe you need to change who you're spending time with. God has some Peters waiting for you. He's ordained people already to lift you up. People that are destined to pull you up. Don't sit around in some kind of dysfunction with other disfunction. with other dysfunctional people the rest of your life. Your seed can't grow in that soil.

Stay away from people that are enabling the dysfunction. Get away from people that tell you where you are is where you're always going to be. Don't believe that lie. Your seed is still alive. When it hits the good soil, you're going to see things happen. You never dreamed what happened. You're not going to stay addicted.

Freedom is coming. You're not going to stay addicted. struggle in your health your whole life, wholeness is coming. That lack, not having enough, is not your destiny. In good soil, you're going to see abundance, overflow more than enough. Now do your part.

Start pulling up the weeds. Get rid of those thorny friends, people that are pulling you down. Be selective with what you will give your attention to all day. If you will keep your seed in good soil, I believe and declare you're about to blossom. Peter is about to show up and pull you to a new level. Increase, promotion, freedom, healing, wholeness, the fullness of your destiny. In Jesus' name. And if you receive it,

can you say amen today? I'd like to give 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 I make you, my Lord and Savior. If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church. Keep God first place. Sometimes the stresses of life can feel like you're just getting by. God wants to bless us, but how do you move from barely enough to just enough to more than enough?

We all face difficulties and people that are hard to deal with. You can't eliminate all the stress. But if you'll handle it the right way, you don't have to live stressed out. Much of our frustration is we're trying to control things that we can't control, letting things stress us that don't have to. I'd love to send you by new book, 55 ways to be blessed and not stressed. I'll show you practical things you can do to live more peaceful and enjoy each day. You can move from stressed to blessed and fully realize God's goodness, favor, and blessings.

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, life-transforming resource, 55 ways to be blessed and not stressed. With this book, you'll not just see one pathway forward, but 55 powerful, life-changing ways to kill the stress and give life to a life of blessing. These 55 promises will open God's floodgates and release double the impact. of his divine direction, opportunity, and blessing every day.

Now expect, declare, and receive a blessed, not stressed, over the top outpouring in your life. How much time are you spending worried, upset, and frustrated? Life is too short to live stressed. If you'll make some simple adjustments, you can live blessed and not stressed. Victoria and I want you to know we're praying for you, that you'll experience peace and joy and see your dreams come to pass. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Your generosity is impacting lives all over the world.

Remember, you can watch the services online Sunday mornings, download our daily podcast, listen on SiriusXM, YouTube, social media. But until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of 55 ways to be blessed and not stressed today. Visit joelosteen.com or call 888-567. Joel