Joel Osteen Podcast - The Power of Your Bloodline | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: April 12, 2024

Because of what Jesus did on the cross, you don't have to live bound by anything that was passed down to you. Your new, spiritual bloodline overrides any bondage in your natural bloodline. 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.Your words have the power to change your life. When youSpeak the Blessing,you wake up dreams and unleash divine favor. Our April offer will show you the keys to speaking faith-filled words that invite the transformation you are looking for. Request your copy today, https://bit.ly/3TSkDQU. 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.

Hey, it's so great to have you with us on the podcast today. We love you guys. We're praying for you and just believe you'll be blessed and encouraged. So all the best to you. God bless you. It is always a joy and honor to come into your homes each week. And we want to let you know that we love you guys. And we may not know you by name, but we are believing for God's very, very best for you.

And I know when you draw nigh to God, God will draw nigh to you. He has good things in store for you. So you just know that we're praying for you. every single day. And if you're in our area, I hope you'll stop by and see us. I say it often, but these are the finest people in all of Houston right here at Lakewood. We'd love to have you be a part of our service. Thanks for tuning in, though. I like to get started with something funny each week. And I heard about this man that died, and he left his wife $20,000. After the funeral, she told her friend, I'm totally broke. The friend said, what do you mean? You said you had $20,000.

What'd you spend it on? She said, well, I spent $5,000 on the funeral and $15,000 on the memorial stone. The friend said, wow, that's some kind of stone. How big was it? She held up her hand and said, three and a half carrots. Hold your Bibles up and say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am.

I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the Word of God. I boldly confess, my mind is alert, my heart is receptive, I will never be the same. In Jesus' name. God bless you. We've been talking about the legacy we're leaving and how our choices can affect generations to come.

And some of you struggle with things right now that have been passed down to you. When you look back in your family line, you can see mediocrity, addictions, insecurity, low self-esteem. and unfortunately, now you have to overcome those same things. And we've all heard that saying, well, he's just got bad blood. And really, there's some truth to that. What's in our bloodline is extremely important. And we have to realize we all have a natural bloodline made up of our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, but we also have a spiritual bloodline.

And the good news is our spiritual bloodline can overreact. our natural bloodline. And the scripture talks about when we came to Christ, all things have become new. The old has passed away. In other words, we have entered into a new bloodline. And when you really understand all God's done for you and you begin to act on it, then you can rise up out of any adversity and you can overcome any negative thing from your past. There is power in your spiritual bloodline. And David said there in Psalm 139, verse, Verse 13, God, you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb.

Verse 16 says, all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Notice David is saying that God saw us before we were ever even born. Before Adam and Eve, before Abraham, before your grandparents, God knew you. In other words, your parents didn't just get together and decide to have a child. You were preordained to be here before the foundation of the world. See, God is the great architect of the universe. He's planned everything out. It's not a coincidence that you're here today.

God looked out and said, I'm going to choose this person to live in this generation and that person to live in that generation. God prearranged for you to be here at this. particular time in history. And how we should feel this sense of destiny, how we should feel this sense of value. I know too many people today, they're going around with low self-esteem, insecure, feeling inferior. They've been through disappointments. Somebody hurt them. Or maybe they made some mistakes. And now they're just kind of drifting through life. No dreams, no goals, no enthusiasm. The problem is they don't understand their sense of value. I found that the enemy

works overtime in this area. He'll use negative experiences or any kind of rejection to try to lower our self-worth. He wants us to be insecure. Insecure about our personalities, insecure about our looks, insecure about our abilities. He'll constantly bring up the past, remind us of everything we've ever done wrong. His goal is to just keep chipping away from every possible angle to try to steal our sense of value. We have to understand our value should not be based on how somebody else has treated us or on how perfect of a life we've lived or even on how successful we are. Our value should be based solely on the fact that we are children of the Most High God.

We have been called. We have been chosen. God has hand-picked us. No, we're not perfect. We make mistakes. We all have weaknesses. But the fact is, that doesn't change our value in God's eyes. We are still the apple of his eye.

We are still his most prized possession. And sometimes, you know, religion tries to beat people down, make you feel bad about yourself. You've done this. You failed here. You didn't treat this person right. You didn't raise your kids as good as you should have. And a lot of people just swallow that junk, hook, line, and sinker.

They go around feeling bad about themselves, low self-esteem, unworthy. Their attitude is, man, God could never bless me, Joel. I've made too many mistakes. I blew it. No, God knew that you weren't going to be perfect. Let me tell you, you are no surprise to God. Won't you lighten up and give yourself a break? Why don't you quit beating yourself up over everything you've done wrong?

after all, you can't change the past. If you've made mistakes, just say, God, I'm sorry, I repent, help me to do better next time. Then you've got to learn to just let it go and move on. Because if you hold on to it, you open the door to guilt and condemnation. And before long, you'll be going around with a poor, old me mentality. Man, I don't deserve anything. I'm just a weak worm of the dust. No, you're not a weak worm of the dust.

You are a child of the most high God. You have been called, you have been chosen, you have God's royal blood flowing through your veins. Why don't you hold your head up high and put your shoulders back and start acting like a child of Almighty God? Friends, you've got to believe in yourself and believe that you have something to offer this world that nobody else has. You've been made in the image of Almighty God. That means you're not like another animal, a dog, a cat, a horse. No, the scripture says that God breathed his life into you. You are a person of destiny.

You didn't just happen to show up in the year 2006. God was thinking about you before you were ever even born. And it says he has meticulously made everything about you. Some of you are always finding fault with yourself. Well, I wish I didn't look like this. I wish I had her personality and I wish I had his talent. No, God made you like you all. on purpose. You are an original. Quit being negative and critical toward yourself and start enjoying

yourself. I hope you take this in the right sense, but I like being me. I know I'm not perfect. I know I have areas I need to improve. But overall, I enjoy being myself. I realize I am valuable to God. And you may have some things that you wish you could change, but you can't stay focused on that. You've got to take what God is given you and make the most of it. You are valuable to God. I heard somebody put it like this. If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If God carried a wallet, your photo would be in it.

He sends you flowers every spring. He gives you a sunrise every morning. He could live anywhere in the universe, but he chose to live in your heart. You are God's most prized possession. And understand this. We have everything we need to live a life of victory. It's in our spiritual bloodline. It says in Ephesians that God has equipped us with every spiritual blessing. Notice it's past tense. God has already done it, but it's not going to do us any good unless we believe it and start acting on it. And every day,

you should make positive declarations over your life. You should say things like, I am blessed. I am forgiven. I am prosperous. I am healthy. I am attractive. I am creative. I am wise. I am all that God has made me to be. You need to declare that over your own life.

Get that down in your spirit. Friends, you are not created to be average. You weren't created to barely get by. You were created to excel. You were created to be the head and not the tail. The Bible talks about how we should rule and reign in this life. And I know you may have a lot to overcome in your natural bloodline, addictions, bad attitudes, inferiority. But thank God, because of what Christ has done, we've stepped into that new bloodline.

Now you don't have to be bound by all the bondages of that past. Well, you say, Joel, man, I hadn't gotten any good breaks in life and my parents struggled with these same problems and people haven't treated me right. And I just kind of think this is my lot in life. No, don't ever believe that lie. Your lot in life is to be a victor and not a victim. Your lot in life is to be happy, to be healthy, to be whole. And you may have a lot to overcome in that natural bloodline, but let me encourage you, your spiritual bloodline looks very good.

Your father spoke the worlds into existence. He could have chosen anybody, but he chose you. He equipped you. He approved you. not only that Jesus has defeated the enemy for us he's come that we might live his abundant life and I love that scripture in Galatians it says if we belong to Christ we are Abraham's seed

and heirs according to the promise that means we can all experience the blessings of Abraham and if you study Abraham's life you'll find that he was prosperous he was healthy he made good choices he had God's blessings in favor no matter what you've been through in the past, no matter how many mistakes you've made, you need to know right now on the inside of you, you have the seed of Almighty God. Your attitude should be, I may have a lot to overcome.

People may have tried to push me down. Maybe I didn't get any good breaks, but that does not change who I am. I know I am a child of the most high God. I am chosen. I am set apart. I am approved. I am equipped, I am anointed, I am well able

to fulfill my destiny. And then you should go out each day expecting good things, expecting God's blessings in favor. You cannot focus on who hurts you and what you don't have and all the mistakes you've made. Get out of that victim mentality

and get over into a victor mentality. This is a new day. God has planned out all your days for good and not evil. Well, you say, Joel, I don't really see that happening in my life. I've had so much adversity. But if you'll keep pressing forward, if you'll keep believing, God is so good, he says he'll take that negative and he'll turn it around and use it to your advantage. Remember, we are called overcomers. That means we're all going to have things to overcome.

You can't have great victories without first having great battles. You'll never have a great testimony without going through a few tests. And when the going gets tough, the tough have to get going. Some of you're in difficult times right now. But remember this. The enemy always fights you the hardest when he knows God has something great in store for you. And so if you've had unfair things happen to you, people lie about you, people cheat you, well it says in Isaiah that God will bring you out with twice what you had before. If you're in tough times like that, you need to start declaring, I'm coming out of this thing with twice the joy, twice the peace, twice the honor, twice the promotion. Every single day when you get up, you need to declare 2006 is going to be a year of victory in my life.

I'm expecting God's unprecedented favor. That's what I'm declaring over every single one of you that the best is yet to come. You hadn't seen anything yet. Promotion, favor, increase. They're all on its way. And you've got to do your part and stay in agreement with me. Amen. Listen, I quoted the scripture last week from the book of Timothy, where Paul said, the faith I see in you, Timothy, it first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and now I can see it in you. Now I was thinking about how there's no mention of the fathers there. No doubt these ladies were single parents, but because of their faith, because of their life of excellence, they made a difference. And I know there are a lot of single parents these days,

and some of you go through struggles that we know nothing about, working hard, coming home, cooking dinner, raising your children, fighting loneliness. You may not think it's ever going to change, and you could never fulfill your dreams and desires. But God sees your sacrifice. He sees you going the extra mile. And sometimes you don't feel like you can keep going on, but let me just encourage you, you have on the inside of you the power of the most high God. You have been called, you have been chosen, you have been set apart before the foundation of the world. And just like these two ladies, Eunice and Lois, know this, God has equipped you. You may be raising another Timothy.

Who knows what your son or daughter may do? Your sacrifice will be well worth it. You're making a difference. When those old negative thoughts come telling you that you can't do it and it's never going to get better, you've got to cast that junk down and just say to the enemy, do you know who my father is? Do you know what kind of bloodline I come from? I am destined to live in victory.

I am created to overcome. I've got the blessings of Abraham. Friends, there's power in your spiritual bloodline. I was reading the other day about these famous race horses, the kinds you might see at the Kentucky Derby. I never realized how much went into making one of these horses. I always thought that somebody was just out riding their horse one day, and they discovered he was fast and gifted,

and he ended up in the race, but it's much, much, much, deeper than that. These are not ordinary horses. These are thoroughbreds. And these horses have been carefully studied and carefully bred for generations. I mean, they may go back 50 or 60 years to check the bloodline. It's no coincidence that they end up in the Kentucky Derby. And what's interesting is in horse racing, there's a person called the bloodstock agent. And he basically spends his whole time focused on the bloodline. He'll go back years and spend months and months studying a particular line of horses. They'll examine how the father did and how long his stride was and how fast he could run and his size on and on. With each generation, they'll gather all this information. See,

they understand winners don't just randomly happen. It's in the blood. That's why these horses are very different than an ordinary horse. They have generation after generation after generation of winners on the inside. And do you know how much it can cost to breed a racehorse with one of these world champion thoroughbreds? Just simply to breed, it can cost up to a half a million dollars. There's no guarantee that that little colt will win. Nothing's set in stone. In fact, when that newborn colt comes out, his legs are all wobbly. He can barely even stand up. His eyes are glazed over. And I'm sure those owners think, man alive, we have wasted our money.

This horse couldn't win anything. He looks like an average, ordinary horse. But no, they know on the inside, in his blood, he's got a part of this champion and that champion and this champion and that champion. He may have a dozen world champions on the inside. See, it's all in the blood. That's why they're not necessarily concerned about his present weakness. They don't really care what color he is or how pretty he is or even how large he is.

They know deep down on the inside he has the blood of a winner. And friends, it's exactly the same with you and I. It doesn't matter what we look like on the outside. Some of us are pretty and some of us look like my brother. But you know what? It doesn't matter what we look like on the outside. It doesn't matter what color we are. it doesn't matter how many weaknesses or flaws we have.

You need to know on the inside of you right now, you have the DNA of Almighty God. You come from a long line of champions. You think about this, your heavenly father spoke the worlds into existence. Your elder brother defeated the enemy. Even think about some of your natural ancestors. Moses parted the Red Sea. There's great faith in your bloodline. David, a shepherd boy, defeated Goliath.

There's courage in your bloodline. Samson pushed down a building. There's supernatural strength in your bloodline. Daniel sat there in the lion's den and didn't get harmed. There's divine protection in your bloodline. Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of the temple. When all the odds were against him, there's determination and persistence in your bloodline.

You think about Esther, she put her life on the line to save God. people, there is sacrifice and heroism in your bloodline. On and on we could go. What I want you to see is that you come from a bloodline of champions. You come from a bloodline of overcomers. You are not ordinary. You're a thoroughbred. And it doesn't matter what your present condition looks like. You need to know on the inside of you, you have the blood of the winner. On the inside of you, there are seeds of greatness. Some of you today, you believe, you believe, leave that lie that, man, you don't have what it takes. You've gone as far as you can go. You come from the wrong side of the tracks. No, you need to take a better look at your bloodline.

On the inside of you right now is champion after champion after champion. You are the seed of Almighty God. You've got to quit focusing on your weaknesses. Quit looking at your present condition. Get a bigger vision for your life. Understand as far as God is concerned, he's already seen you up there at the winter circle. He's already seen them. putting the roses around your neck. That's what David was talking about when he said, God, all of my days you ordained

before I even got here. In other words, you may have just shown up 30 or 40 or 50 or 60 years ago, but God's been working on you a long time. He's had you planned out way, way before that, and you are extremely valuable. You are not

ordinary. You come from great stock. You've been destined to live in victory, destined to overreact. Destined to overcome, destined to leave your mark in this generation. Sometimes you hear people say, well, he's just got good genes. He just comes from good stock. Let me tell you, you come from superior stock. God brought you out of his very, very best. And what's interesting is to most people, these famous race horses, they don't look any different than another ordinary horse. I mean, overall, they may have a few more muscles, but the average person can't tell them apart. See, the

difference is in the blood. That's what makes them extremely valuable. Same way with us. The scripture says, we overcome by the blood of the land, the word of our testimony. Because of what Jesus has done, every one of us are thoroughbreds. When you say, Joel, you don't know the life I've lived. Man, I've failed here and I've made mistakes over there and I've still got this addiction. Listen, that doesn't change your bloodline. Doesn't change what's in you. Some of you do not realize how valuable you are. You don't realize the price God has paid. As I said, too many people are going around with no dreams, no goals. They're not excited about life. You need to recognize what you have on the inside. It says in 1st Corinthians that you were bought with a very high price. God gave his very, very

best for you. He gave his only son. Please don't go around thinking that you don't have a future. There is a champion on the inside. It's in your blood. I remember one time years ago, my father went to this meeting at a friend of our church here in town. It was on an off night, and Daddy was a little late, so he just snuck in and sat on the very back row. A few minutes later, this young man came in and sat down not too far from him. And Daddy noticed that that young man looked very, very distraught. His heart went out to him. He was concerned about him, and Daddy thought to himself that after the service, he would get with him and try to encourage him, help him in some way.

but in the middle of the meeting, the young man got up and left. And Daddy felt so strongly about it, he got up and went looking for him. He looked all over the front lobby, couldn't find him. Went out in the parking lot, searched and searched, still couldn't find him. He came back in, and he was just about to give up. The daddy decided to check the restroom. He was standing there. My father was around the sink area, and he could see there are a few other people in there,

so he just waited. And sure enough, a few minutes later, this young man came out. and he looked kind of surprised to see my father. And Daddy said, I know you don't know me, and I don't really mean to get in your business, but I'm very concerned about you. And I want you to know that God loves you and you are extremely valuable to him. All of a sudden, these big tears begin to flow down his face. He said, my life is so messed up.

I'm addicted to so many drugs that I can't take it anymore. And I decided to come to church one last time. and then I was going to go home and take every pill that I could possibly find. It's interesting. He told later how he had seen my father sitting down the road. He didn't know who Daddy was, but he was very impressed by the dress shoes Daddy was wearing. Those shoes just left an impression in his mind. And when he went out there, he knew Daddy was coming after him.

And he said he tried everything he could do to get away. But he said, everywhere I looked, those same shoes kept come following after me. Daddy went on to tell him basically what I'm telling you. It doesn't matter where you are right now. You have seeds of greatness on the inside. You are a thoroughbred. The enemy may be trying to pull you down. You may have made mistakes.

You may have failed a thousand times. But understand, that does not change your value in God's eyes. And you are not here on planet Earth by accident. God has a plan and a purpose for your life. He has an assignment for you to do. And it's not just to drift around in mediocrity. I'm convinced this is why so many people are not happy. They never really get into their destiny.

Long story short, my father and that young man prayed together. And that night was a turning point in his life. That was a time of new beginnings. And today, more than 30 years later, that man is a pastor of a church here in town. He has thousands of members making a difference all over the world. But so many people are like that young man. They don't realize what they have on the inside. Somebody has to remind them of their value. You may have made mistakes, but don't stay down, get back up and go again. God is a God of second chances. Doesn't change your bloodline.

Doesn't change what's in you. A lot of times society, when we make bad choices, when we go through failures, it just wants to ride us off and push us down. But understand God is not that way. God sees your potential. He knows what you're capable of. He's the one that made you. No matter what you've been through in the past, you can still do great things. It's in your blood.

You come from a long line of champions. I want you to go out of here today knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are a thoroughbred. You are extremely valuable. So much so that the creator of the universe designed you himself. And he has programmed you

with everything you need for victory. Every day you should say things like, I have what it takes, I am more than a conquer, I am smart, I am talented, I am an overcomer. Understand it's in your blood. And you may have a lot to overcome in your natural bloodline,

but always remember your spiritual bloodline is more powerful than your natural bloodline. You have been handpicked by Almighty God. You are not ordinary. You have his royal blood flowing through your veins. Why don't you put your shoulders back?

Hold your head up high. You've been called. You've been chosen. You've been set apart before the foundation of the world. You were made to live in victory. My prayer today is that you'll really understand your value and that you'll shake off inferiority, shake off insecurity, shake off that can't do it mentality.

You are a can-do person. I don't believe today I'm looking at ordinary people. I'm looking at thoroughbreds. I'm looking at more than common. I'm looking at overcomers. I'm looking at victors and not victims. It's in your blood. 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 repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior. Friends, if you

prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed out. When God created the world, he did it specifically with you in mind. He used his words. He spoke everything into existence. Light. Oceans and dry land. Plants. Sun and stars. Animals. and woman. Your words have that same creative power. If you want to know what you're going to be like five years from now, listen to what you're saying about yourself. You are prophesying your future. Too often, we don't realize we're defeating ourselves with our words. I'll never get healthy. I'm not attractive. This dream's impossible. Instead of limiting your future, why don't you start

blessing your future? If you'll change your words, you can change your world. I have a new book called Speak the Blessing. It will help you to speak positive, faith-filled words. There are declarations in it that you can make over your family, your health, your finances, and your future. When you get your words aligned with what God says, you'll see his favor in greater ways. Azar thank you for your gift of any amount to the ministry this month. We want to send you, Speak the Blessing. Send your words in the direction you want your life to go.

You can begin to enjoy a life filled with freedom, joy, health, success, and creativity as you discover the authority and power of speaking God's word. Yes, speak the blessing will unlock life-changing possibilities that are unlimited. When you declare what God says about you, I'm strong, I'm healthy, I'm favored, you are blessing your life. I hope you'll request your copy today. Remember, you can watch the services live online every Sunday, download our daily podcast, watch on YouTube, listen on SiriusXM. We'll keep you encouraged and inspired. Be sure to request your copy of Speak the Blessing today.

Visit Joel Osteen.com or call 888-567 Joel. Our homecoming weekend is this Saturday and Sunday. Some of you have never been to Lakewood. This is a perfect time. We'd love to meet you. We'd be honored to have you and your family.