Joel Osteen Podcast - The Secret to Solving Problems

Episode Date: July 12, 2020

Sometimes the key to your breakthrough lies in helping someone else reach theirs. When you bless others, God will make sure to bless you.Your best days are still ahead, and together we can make a difference in this world with the message of God's hope and love. To give visit JoelOsteen.com/GiveHope 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.

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See terms and conditions at UNES. See you. Now it's time to go be a blessing. Look around. Where is a need you can meet? Go pray for that neighbor that's not feeling well. Go encourage that coworker that's struggling. Go help that friend accomplish their dream. As you're helping others, you may not be able to see it, but God is helping you. He's lining up the promotion, the breakthroughs, the healing. You can't sow a seed without leaping harvest. Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for downloading our podcast. We enjoy spending this time with you. I know you're going to leave encouraged and inspired. Make sure you subscribe to get new messages every week and follow us on social media to stay connected. We appreciate your support. It helps

keep the ministry going. Enjoy the message. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. If you're ever in our area, please stop by. Be a part of one of our services, I promise you, we'll make you feel right at home. But I like to start with something funny, and I heard about this pastor and song leader that weren't getting along, and it started to spill over into the services. One Sunday, the pastor talked about the importance of being a giver. Afterwards, the song leader got up and led the song, Jesus paid it all. The next week, the pastor talked about not gossiping, watching your tongue.

The song leader got up and led. I love to tell the story. Another week he talked about being willing to change. The song leader got up and led, I shall not be moved. The pastor was so frustrated, he resigned. Told the congregation, Jesus brought me here and Jesus has taken me away. The song leader then led, what a friend we have in Jesus. 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 secret to solving problems. We all face challenges and things we're believing will turn around, a child that's off course, a sickness we're dealing with, a dream that seems impossible. born. We've been praying, believing, but nothing is changing. But sometimes God won't allow you to solve your own problem. The secret is you have to help someone else solve their problem. You have to take the focus off yourself and be good to others in your time of need. As you sow that seed, that's what's going to bring the harvest that you're waiting for. But you'll be tempted to think, I can't help them, Joel. I have my own problems. I need to spend my energy to try to fix my situation. But if you'll take your hands

off of your problem and be good to someone else, God will put his hands on your problem and make things happen that you couldn't make happen. While you're working on their situation, God is working on your situation. A friend of mine struggled for many years with his teenage son. It was like they were on different wavelengths. He tried his best to be loving, kind, understanding. They just didn't get along. Invariably, it ended up in an argument. Everything was so contentious. He had prayed about it, quoted scripture, asked God to help him, but nothing was getting better. He was the coach of the neighborhood baseball team. There was a young man on his team that came from a single parent family. He wasn't doing good

in his schoolwork. When this father learned that, he took that young man under his wing. He started bringing him home from baseball practice with his son, and he would help him do his homework. He tutored him, mentored him, became a father figure in his life. That young man looked up to him, admired him in a great way. About six months after this father started doing that, his relationship with his own son began to improve. They got closer, started doing things together. Today, They're the best of friends. You can't keep them apart. The secret to solving his problem wasn't in praying more, wasn't in working harder.

It was in helping someone else solve their problem. The scripture says when Job prayed for his friends, his healing quickly came. Don't you know how many times Job prayed for himself when he wasn't feeling well? God, please restore health back into me. God please free me from this pain and that's good. That's releasing your faith. I'm simply saying don't stop there because there are times your breakthrough is connected to helping someone else get their breakthrough. Now maybe you've been praying diligently, standing in faith so strong, but nothing is improving. Now it's time to go be a blessing. Look around. Where is a need you can meet?

Go pray for that neighbor that's not feeling well. Go encourage that coworker that's struggling. Go help that friend accomplish their dream. As you're helping others, you may not be able to see it, but God is helping you. He's lining up the promotion, the breakthroughs, the healing. You can't sow a seed without reaping a harvest. When I was 10 years old, Lakewood was in an auditorium that held a thousand people. The church was growing. We needed to expand the building. My father asked the congregation to be praying about what they could give toward it.

There was a small Spanish-speaking church about six blocks down the road from Lakewood. They had started construction on a new building. It was an auditorium to hold a hundred people. My father noticed that the construction had stopped. For several months, no one was working. He didn't know anyone there. He had never met the pastor. But one afternoon, leaving Lakewood, he pulled in and talked with some people. They told how they started construction but had complications. It was costing more than they thought. Now they had run out of funds and the building was just sitting there indefinitely.

Well, my father was believing to raise the funds to expand Lakewood. We needed the finances. but he told the congregation, instead of giving money for our building, he was going to take up an offering for their building. Lakewood gave the finances, it was enough to finish their auditorium. In the natural, it didn't make sense.

We needed the finances. We had the problem. But my father understood this principle. When you help solve somebody else's problem, God will help solve your problem. Now sometimes it's not going to make sense. Proverbs says it is possible to give away and have more. It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything.

God's ways are not our ways. Everything in you will say, stay focused on getting out of my problem. Joel, I can't help others until this problem is solved. No, helping others is what's going to cause that problem. to turn around. Giving your time, energy, resources, that's what's going to open the windows of heaven and cause your dream to come to pass. You would have thought giving away those funds would have kept Lakewood from expanding the building. It was just the opposite. The funds came in for the foundation. We paid it all. The funds came in for the steel, the lights, the chairs, the sound

system. The building was built debt-free. No, delays, no complications, and not just that building. Over the years, my father built building after building, expansion after expansion. He paid cash every time. He never lacked resources, never lacked the funds. I believe it all started when he helped that Spanish church. He had a need, he had a problem, he didn't just pray about it, he didn't just believe, he helped solve someone else's problem. When you make sacrifices to help other people's dream come to pass, God will make sure your dream comes to pass. Don't live only focused on yourself. My goals, my problems, my trouble at work, get your mind off yourself and go be a blessing. Sow a seed. Doesn't have to be finances. You can

so encouragement. Go visit that loved one in the hospital, cheer them up. Call that friend and speak life into their dreams. Take that elderly neighbor dinner each night. Make an extra plate for them. The scripture says, when it's in your power to do good, don't withhold it from others. That means when you know you can be a blessing, you have the resources to help that person in need. You can teach them the skills that you've learned, don't put it off. When you help solve their problem, you're not just being good to them, you are setting a miracle in motion for yourself. When you show favor, the scripture says, favor will come to you. And here's the beauty. When you help others, what you give is going to come back to you, but not in the same proportion, press down, shaking together,

running over. My father helped that Spanish church that one time but the blessing from that obedience is still coming. When you're in a difficult time more than ever you need to look for opportunities to do good. When your dream seems impossible find someone and help their dream come to pass. It's good to pray, believe, work hard,

but some things are not going to happen if you're only focused on yourself. As you bless others, God will bless you. As you show favor, favor will come to you. The last Sunday that we had services at our old location, I was driving down the road that final time leaving the services, feeling so grateful for all that God had done. My mind was flooded with good memories and overwhelmed with where God was taking us. I looked up and saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky. It's as if God was smiling on us, saying this chapter is finished, but another great chapter is beginning. About that time, I passed that small Spanish church that my father and Lakewood had helped over 40 years earlier. Their little sign outside said,

thank you, Lakewood, for giving us our building. My mind flashed back to that time when I was a little boy. I wondered, would I be going to the compact center if my father had not helped them in their time of need? Would I be seeing the favor, the growth, the influence? Daddy could have thought, we got big problems. We need it more than they do. We have all these challenges, but he didn't withhold the good when he had the opportunity.

Much of this comes down to trusting God. Joel, I can't help somebody else. I got my own problems. I can't give away what I need for my dreams. I'm counting on that. When you give your time, your energy, your resources, your talent, you will never end up with less. That is a seed you're sowing that's going to keep coming back to you. I am reaping a harvest from seeds of obedience that my parents sowed 50 years ago.

When you live a life of generosity, making sacrifices for others to come up high, fire. That's not only going to impact you for the good, it's going to impact your children, your grandchildren. Those seeds are going to keep on producing. Second Kings 19, King Hezekiah was on the throne of Israel. He was one of David's descendants. The Assyrian army had surrounded the people of Judah and were about to attack. They were much bigger and stronger. Hezekiah didn't stand a chance. Isaiah, the prophet, told, him, the Assyrian army will not enter Jerusalem. They will not shoot their arrows over the city wall, but they will return home in defeat. That night, the angel of the Lord destroyed 185,000 of the

enemy troops. The rest of them went back home, just like Isaiah prophesied. Hezekiah was so thrilled. I can imagine he wondered why God blessed him in such a way, and why he showed us. He him so much favor. Isaiah said in verse 34, Hezekiah, God didn't do this because of anything you did. He protected you for the sake of his servant, David. This was 305 years after David had died. Yet those seeds of obedience, seeds of being good to people, were still producing in their family line. Every time you help someone in need, it's not only going to help you, but you are storing up blessings for your children. Every time you help solve someone's problem, every time you make sacrifices to help them go further, you're sowing a seed not only for you to go further, but for those that come after you in your family line to go further.

Like Hezekiah, they will see blessings, favor, protection, because you made decisions that honored God. In the scripture, Joseph had a big problem. As a teenager, God gave him a dream that he would be in leadership and do great things. But his brothers were jealous of him. They didn't like his big dream. They threw him into a pit. They were going to tell their father that he was eaten by a wild animal. They ended up selling him into slavery.

Joseph worked for a man named Potiphar in Egypt. Even though Joseph had a big problem, even though his dreams were shattered, what did he do? Sit around in self-pity, blaming God. No, in the midst of that problem, he started helping Potterfer with his problem. He ran his whole household, organized all his staff, made sure the grounds were clean, the property's secure, the supplies in place. Instead of just focusing on his problem, he was being good to someone else.

At one point, Joseph was falsely accused and put in prison. Surely now he would be bitter, discouraged. But in the prison, two of his cellmates had a problem. They had a dream and didn't understand what it meant. Joseph didn't say, too bad for you, I'm depressed. I don't want to be here. I don't like you anyway. He said, I can interpret dreams. Let me help you with your problem. He interpreted their dreams. One of the cellmates was released from prison. Two years later, the Pharaoh, the leader of the country, had a dream that he didn't understand. The former cellmate said, I know someone that can interpret dreams. Joseph came before the Pharaoh and told him how the dream had to do with. with the food supply and how there were years of famine coming and how important it was to store

up grain and get everything prepared for the drought. Pharaoh looked at him and said, Joseph, you're the right man for the job. Nobody could do it better than you. He made Joseph second in command of Egypt. What was Joseph doing for Pharaoh solving a problem, strategically getting everything lined up using his talent, his skill, his expertise, to help the people that were holding him captive. He was so excellent that people from other nations came to study his operation. I'm sure Joseph was grateful to be out of prison, to have this influential position, but he still missed his family.

Deep down, he thought he would never see his father again, whom he loved so much. He'd already accepted that it was too late. But as he was helping Pharaoh with his problem, back home in Israel, his brothers were loading up their camels about to head to Egypt to look for food. They had heard the only place that had supplies was at the palace where Joseph was in charge. Notice what was happening. While Joseph was working on Pharaoh's problem, God was working on Joseph's problem. He couldn't see it at the time. everything looked just the same.

But what Joseph didn't know was the camels were coming. His brothers were on the way. I can imagine one evening there was a knock on the palace gates. The guards looked outside and saw this caravan of camels.

They asked the people what they wanted. They said they were looking for food. One of the guards went to Joseph, said there's a group that just arrived. They want to purchase some grain. It was late in the day. Joseph was tired. He was about to say, tell them to leave.

Don't bother us. But for some reason, he changed his mind and went out to meet them. He couldn't believe it. It was his brothers. You would think that Joseph would want to get revenge. The truth is, he was so grateful

to see them. He was overwhelmed with emotion. They didn't recognize him. Eventually, he told them who he was, and they all wept together. He asked them if their father was still alive. They said that he was. All those years Joseph spent working on other people's problems,

doing the right thing, even when it wasn't fair, that whole time God was watching. God sees your faithfulness. He sees you helping others when you need help. He sees you encouraging that friend when you need encouragement, praying for that neighbor that's not, well when you're fighting an illness may seem like nothing is happening but God is working what you can't see is the camels are being loaded up what you thought would never happen is

still on the way Joseph's father and whole family came to Egypt to live with Joseph his father thought that Joseph was dead Joseph thought that his father had already passed now the two of them are embracing, weeping. It's a dream come true. Joseph's problem is finally solved. It didn't happen the way Joseph thought. He didn't go back home to Israel, but his family came to Egypt. They were able to enjoy all the blessings and honor that God had given Joseph. But none of this would have happened if Joseph would have lived in groan. I'm not going to help this man, Potipher. I've got my own problems. Not going to help these prisoners. They've never done anything for me. I'm not going to interpret the Pharaoh's dream. Use my expertise to run the food supply. They need to do something for me.

But Joseph understood this principle. When you're working on someone else's problem, God is working on your problem. It may seem like you could never get well, never break the addiction, never accomplish your dream. It's been too long. But if you do like Joseph and just keep being good to people. Keep helping solve their problems. Keep helping their dreams come to pass. What you can't see is the camels are coming. What God started, he's going to finish. It's going to surprise you. There's going to be a knock at the door. You didn't see it coming. Like when Joseph's brothers showed up unexpectedly, healing is going to come to you unexpectedly. Freedom from addictions. Unexpectedly. Freedom from addictions. Unexempted.

unexpectedly, suddenly the right person finds you. Suddenly that door of opportunity opens. You thought it was too late, but the whole time you were helping others, the camels were en route. God has not forgotten about you. Those seeds you've sown have not gone unnoticed. Those times you've come to church,

served in the kids' ministry while you had problems at home. Those times you've sung in the choir, ushered, prayed for others when you were fighting an illness, you could have stayed home. God, when you do something for me, then I'll be my best, but you just kept being your best, kept making sacrifices to help others, giving away what you really needed for your dreams. Get ready for some surprises. Get ready for God to show out in your life. Get ready for something that you haven't seen.

It's going to be unusual, uncommon, and it's going to thrust you into your life. destiny. When I worked for my father here, those 17 years doing the television production, my goal was to make my father look the best that I could. When I started, I didn't have a lot of experience, so I found the best lighting consultants, the best camera people. The first year, we hired an older gentleman that used to produce the Today Show. I was with him every minute. He trained me how to put the program together. I would spend hours trying to improve the lighting and making sure the platform looked the best that it possibly could. At one point, we were going to remodel the platform area. We had some top designers

come in to help us. We were going to make a new podium as well. So I had them mock up a temporary podium just so we could check the size and see how it fit my father. I had him come down and he stood behind it and we looked at it on camera and made several adjustments. I wanted it to fit him just right. I wanted the stage area to be as perfect as can be. When we finished the remodel, it looked so beautiful on camera. I was so proud. It made my father shine. A year later, my father went to be with the Lord. I never dreamed one day I would be standing behind that podium. one day I would be the one on that beautiful platform. I thought I was building it for my father. Really, I was building it for me. When you're helping other people, you think you're doing them a favor.

Really, you're doing yourself a favor. As you help someone else shine, God is going to make sure that you shine. As you help others come up higher, God will cause you to come up higher. That's a seed, your soul. going for where you're going. My friends Rob and Laura Koch, pastor a great church in Austin, Texas. Years ago, their 16-year-old son was killed in an automobile accident. It wasn't easy, but they didn't get bitter. They didn't give up on life. They kept moving forward. Eventually, they started a charity in his name called the Caleb Foundation. They built hospitals, schools, orphanages, done great work all over the world. At one of their orphanages in Haiti

called Caleb's house, some young men grew up there and were about to graduate from high school. They were going to bring a few of them to Austin to be interns at their church. One of those young men that came noticed Rob and Laura's daughter.

They started dating, ended up falling in love. A few years ago, their daughter married the young man that grew up in the orphan that they started in Haiti, all birthed out of the loss of their son. But what if Rob and Laura wouldn't have reached out to help others in their time of need? They could have been bitter. We're not going to help somebody. We lost our son. We're in pain. Somebody needs to help us. Instead, their

attitude was, yes, we're hurting, but God, we know when we help others, you will help us. We know when we work on their problems, you'll work on our problems. They started sowing all these seeds, taking care of orphans, giving an education to the less fortunate, being good to people, without expecting anything in return. When they built that orphanage in Haiti, they never dreamed their son-in-law would grow up there. They never dreamed he would marry their daughter and become a part of their family. When you're helping others, you think, you're just doing good for them, but you don't know what God is up to. You can't be good to others without God being good back to you. You don't know the favor and blessings that are connected

to you helping others rise higher. I wonder how much we miss by living ingrown. We only focus on what we lost and how we've been hurt and God, I've got this big problem. You've got to help me. Go be a blessing. Your miracle. is waiting for you as you help others. Sometimes the reason you can't solve your problem is because what you need is found in solving someone else's problem. As you help them succeed, like with Rob and Laura, your son-in-law will show up. Things will happen that you weren't expecting. And I know many of you have been doing this, going out of your way to be good to others, making sacrifices to help solve their problems.

Get ready. The camels are coming. What you've been praying about is already en route. I believe and declare those seeds you've been sowing are about to come back to you, press down, shaking together, running over. It's going to be more than you can imagine. Promotion, breakthroughs, healing, the right people,

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 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 and keep God first place. so much for listening to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to keep you encouraged and inspired all through the week. Help us to continue to share the message of hope with those all around the world. Visit Joel Osteen.com or click the link in the description to partner with us today. We hope you'll share this message with a friend and be sure to follow us on social media. We're praying for you. I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you next time. before, people are turning to the church for their mental health struggles. Unfortunately,

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