Joel Osteen Podcast - Understanding Your Value  | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: May 16, 2024

Don't let the opinions of others determine your self-worth. Your value comes from being a child of the Most High God. 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.Three minutes. Every day. Before your feet hit the floor, set your mind on things above with Joel’s new devotional, 3-Minute Mornings. Our May offer contains 365 days of favor and freedom. Put God first place, and you’ll see breakthroughs you couldn’t make happen. Request your copy today, https://bit.ly/4di5pMO.  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. Well, God bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes. We love you and we're believing for God's very, very best in your life. If you're ever in our area, come out and be a part of one of our services here at Lakewood. I promise you it will make you feel right at home.

But thanks again for tuning in. I like to start with something funny each week, and I heard about this man. He was the only Protestant in a large Catholic neighborhood. And every Friday during Lent, while all of his neighbors were eating cold fish, he would be in his backyard grilling a steak. They just couldn't stand the temptation, and they decided to try to convert him to Catholicism. He finally agreed, the priest sprinkled water over him, and said, you were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, but now you're a Catholic.

The next year, on the first Friday of Lent, the neighbors smelled the same smell in the air. They rushed to his house. He was in the backyard sprinkling water over his steak, saying you were born a cow, you were raised a cow, but now you're a fish. All right. Hold up your Bible. Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the Word of God, I boldly confess, my mind is alert, my heart is receptive, I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want to talk to you today about how valuable you are. One of the greatest needs we all have is to feel a sense of self-worth. Deep down, we need to know that we're important, that our life matters, and that we have something great to offer. But so often, we base our self-worth.

on our looks, on what we've achieved and what we own and how perfect of a life we've lived. The problem with this is those things can change. If you're basing your self-worth on your looks, your accomplishments, your popularity, then if that goes down, your self-worth will go down. If you base your sense of value on how somebody else treats you and how they make you feel, then if they hurt you, if they disappoint you, very likely you'll turn it on yourself and think there must be something wrong with me. He wouldn't have left me if I was pretty enough.

They wouldn't be treating me badly if I had a better personality. Or I wouldn't have gotten laid off if I was just more talented. No, the problem is you're getting your self-worth from the wrong places. We should not receive our value from how somebody else treats us or what we own or what we've accomplished. our value should come solely from the fact that we are children of the most high God. The value God put in you is permanent. Nothing you can do or anyone else can do can ever change that value.

And I've seen how the enemy works overtime in this area. He would love for us to go through life insecure. Insecure about our looks, about our personality, about our abilities. He will use hurtful things that people have seen. said. Disappointments, rejections, unfair situations to try to lower our sense of self-worth. If we're not careful, we'll go around blaming ourselves, internalizing every bad thing that happens. I've seen people that were mistreated when they were growing up, and somehow they still think it was their fault. They were children. They didn't have any control over it, but those lies

come saying, it's because you're not good enough. That's why they left you. It's because you didn't measure up. That's why you didn't get your appearance approval. That recording is constantly playing in the back of their minds. Failure, loser, not talented, not attractive, not valuable, not lovable. No, you've got to turn that recording off. Somebody may have hurt you, but don't internalize it. Don't go around blaming yourself.

You're not at fault. They had the problem, not you. They may have rejected you, but the good news is God accepts you. He has already approved you. Psychologists tell us that our self-worth comes from what we think the most important person in our life thinks about us. For children, most likely, that would be their parents. As adults, that could still be a parent or a spouse, a friend, a mentor. But the problem with this philosophy is that people are all human.

People can disappoint us. They can say things or do things that bring heartache and pain. If we're only receiving our value from them, over time, we're going to feel less and less valuable. Because sooner or later, they will say something that cuts like a knife. Or they will show by their actions that were not really that important. But the key to really understanding and maintaining a true sense of value is to let your heavenly father be the most important person in your life. base your sense of value on what he says about you.

When you make mistakes, people will try to make you feel guilty or like you're all washed up. But God says, I have mercy for every mistake. Get up and go again. Your future is brighter than your past. People will tell you, or sometimes make you feel like, you're not talented, you're not attractive, you don't have anything special to offer.

But God says, you're amazing, you're beautiful, you're one of a kind. people can disappoint you, reject you, even say things that can wound your spirit. If you're only receiving your value and your worth from them, you'll go through life, feeling inferior, feeling insecure with little self-worth. But if you will learn to receive your value from your Heavenly Father and listen to what he says about you, then you'll go around feeling accepted, approved, redeemed, forgiven, confident and secure. You will feel extremely valuable. And that's exactly the way God wants you to be.

Says in Ephesians 2.10, you are God's masterpiece. Do you realize a masterpiece is not mass produced? You didn't come off an assembly line. You're not average. You're not ordinary. You've been custom made. You are one of a kind. And of all the things God created, what he is the most proud of, is not the spectacular solar system, not the magnificent sunsets, not even the amazing animals. The creation that God calls his masterpiece is you. You are his most prized possession. He created you in his very own image. And he looks past all those other things and he looks right at you and says, there's my masterpiece. That's my son. That's my daughter. That's what brings the most joy to my heart. One thing that creates value is who the owner is.

I have a baseball bat at home that I purchased for $30 at the sporting goods store. But I read where one of Babe Ruth's old baseball bats sold for over $100,000. What was the difference? They were both wood bats, both 34 inches long. The difference is who the owner is. I have a handkerchief that I paid less than $5 for. But I read where one of Elvis's handkerchiefs sold for over $300,000. What was the difference?

Was his covered with jewels and rubies and diamonds? No, his was covered with his sweat. The difference was whose sweat it is. Throughout life, we need to constantly remind ourselves, I am valuable not because of what I do or don't do. Not because of what I have or don't have. not because of who I know or don't know. I am valuable because of who my owner is.

And it is not my parents. It is not my spouse. It's not my boss, not even the government. No, the creator of the universe breathed his life into each one of us. He fashioned us. He formed us. He gave us our personality. He intricately made everything about us.

We may not be perfect. We may make mistakes. Other people may try to push us down, make us feel less valuable, but we know the truth. Our value comes from the fact that we are children of the most high God. We know who our owner is. There was an article in a medical magazine that talked about how these researchers calculated how much money the human body was worth. They added up to the best of their ability all the enzymes and hormones and cells,

tissues, everything contained in the body. Their conclusion was the average size person is worth approximately $6 million. You've heard of the $6 million man. Well, I'm looking at $6 million people today. Some of you, you didn't even realize you were a multi-millionaire. You need to put your shoulders back. Hold your head up high. Go out with a new spring in your step. No, you didn't just win the lottery, but your Heavenly Father put $6 million worth of assets on the inside. The good news is

you didn't even have to pay taxes on it. Friends, you are extremely valuable. Think of it. That's just an average size person. Some of you are worth $9 million. That's a new way to look at it. You're not overweight. You're just more valuable. Years ago,

a good friend of ours, Jesse Barrow, Farrfield signed a contract to play baseball for the New York Yankees for two million dollars a year. One morning he was walking in church and my father saw him and Jesse always dresses very nice. Daddy said, Jesse, you look like a million dollars today. He said, excuse me, pastor, how about two? Somebody says to you, you look like a million dollars? Just say like Jesse, excuse me, how about six? I want you to understand your sense of value. I've discovered one of the greatest of value is rejection. It's hard on our self-esteem to not be wanted. It's very painful to be told you're not good enough. You're not tall enough. You're not talented enough. You're not attractive enough.

We just don't need you here. I remember growing up, I played baseball all through Little League and junior high. I was very good. I was a second baseman. I always made the All-Star team. Like any Little League player, I dreamed of playing second base in the big leagues. but when I got to high school, it was a whole new level of talent. I came from a very large high school. There were 800 people in my graduating class. And back then, I was very small. I grew six inches after high school.

And so I tried out for the baseball team, along with 150 other young men, for 20 positions on the team. Now, I'll never forget the day the coach called us into the gym to tell us who made the team. He began to call out the names one by one. I didn't hear my name, but I was sure I was going to be next, or next, or next. The more names he called out, the lower I sunk.

He finally said, all right, here's the last name. He called it out, and it wasn't my name. I was so disappointed. He told me later, Joel, I'd love to have you on the team. You're just too small. You're not big enough. Over the next few weeks, few months, those words rang out in my mind again and again. You heard what the coach said.

You're too small. there's something wrong with you. You're not good enough. Have you noticed how the negative voices will always play the loudest? If you don't take control of your thought life, then every hurt, every criticism, every

derogatory comment will play again and again. I was tempted to be insecure, to feel inferior, to lose my confidence. But I had to keep reminded myself, he may have said I'm too small, but I know God made me like I am on perfect.

He may have said I'm not good enough, but God says I'm a masterpiece. They may have rejected me, but God says he accepts me. Says in 1 Peter 2.9, you have been chosen by God himself. I like that. People may leave you out. People may overlook you, but always remember, the one who matters most chooses you. One translation says, you've been hand-picked by Almighty God. that means you weren't randomly chose.

God on purpose looked at you and said, I choose him. I choose her. They're my son, they're my daughter. That's who I want on my team. People may tell you, you're just too small. God says you're just the right size for me. People may make you feel like you're not talented. We don't need you.

You don't have anything to offer. God says you are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are talented. You are creative. You are anointed. You are smart, you are intelligent, you are amazing. God chooses you. And whenever we feel that sting of rejection, instead of getting down on ourselves and losing our sense of value,

our attitude should be, I may be disappointed. This may hurt, but I'm not going to sink down into self-pity and start thinking that there's something wrong with me. I know the one who matters most. The one who controls the universe handpicked me. Now I may not have been chosen by the coach, the boss, or a friend, but I was chosen by the most high God, and he says that his plans for me are for good and not evil to give me a future and a hope. If you will keep this attitude of faith, God will always give you the last laugh.

He'll get you to where you're supposed to be. No, I didn't get chosen for the baseball team that year. My dreams are playing second base didn't work out. you know 30 years later, I did stand at second base at Yankee Stadium. I wasn't playing baseball. God had something else for me to do. But what am I saying? People may reject you, but God accepts you. He's already chosen you, and he's the one that matters most. And I know some of you have gone through more than your share of unfair situations. Our hearts go out to you. But here's what I've learned. Even though life is not fair, God is fair. God is fair.

and if you will not internalize the blame, go around thinking there's something wrong with you, but instead start seeing yourself as handpicked by God, valuable, lovable with something great to offer, then God said he will pay you back double for your former shame. That means he'll make the rest of your life twice as good as it would have been if that would have never even happened to you. But you've got to dig your heels in and say, I am not going to be. going to allow what somebody did or didn't do to me still my destiny and cause me to go through life feeling not good enough, not talented, not attractive. No, I realize I'm a child of the most high God and my value doesn't come from people or accomplishments. It comes from my creator.

So I'm not going to go around thinking that I don't measure up blaming me all the time. No, I'm going to put my shoulders back. I'm going to hold my head up high. I'm going to live. I'm going to live. live with confidence. God said he will take what was meant for my harm and use it to my advantage. I love the scripture. It says, God will give you beauty for your ashes. You may feel like you have ashes right now. You've been through a loss, a disappointment, rejection, betrayal. I know that pain is real. It's easy to sink down into self-pity and kind of feel like you're all washed up. But if you can just shake that off and press forward in faith, God promise. is beauty is coming your way. What is beauty? New beginnings, new friendships, new opportunities.

Beauty represents new levels of God's goodness and favor. This is what the Israelites had to do. They had spent years in slavery. They were so beaten down, not just physically, but emotionally. They were constantly told that they weren't good enough. They didn't measure up and they couldn't do anything right. Over time, they allowed that to steal their sense of value. After 430 years, God brought them out of slavery. And just as they were about to enter into the promised land, God said something very significant in Joshua 5, verse 9. God said, this day, I have rolled away the reproach from Egypt off of you. The word reproach means blame, shame, and disgrace. Notice, they couldn't go into the promised land feeling inferior, insecure, guilty with low self-worth. God had to roll

away the reproach. God is saying before you enter into your promised land, you've got to get rid of the blame, the shame, the disgrace. You may have made mistakes. People may have done you wrong. Life may not have treated you fair, but you cannot afford to sit around in self-pity. Blame in yourself. Blame in others. Living guilt. feeling like a failure. You may have ashes, but God wants to swap them for beauty. Whatever your Egypt may be, a failure, a disappointment, a bitter divorce, a friend that betrayed you, God is saying to you what he said to them, this day, not tomorrow, not next week, not six months from now, no, today God is rolling away the reproach from you. My question is, will you receive it? Will you

let go of your failures. Will you forgive the people that hurt you? Will you quit dwelling on your disappointments? Will you quit thinking that you're washed up and not valuable? Bottom line is, will you start seeing yourself as the masterpiece God created you to be? Before you can make it into your promised land, before your dreams will come to pass, you've got to let go of the shame, the blame, the disgrace. Whether you caused it or somebody else doesn't matter, let it go today. God has beauty in front of you. He has a promised land filled with increase, promotion, happiness, wholeness.

It's all in your future, but you've got to get in agreement with God and let him roll away the reproach. That simply means put on a new attitude. Quit allowing what somebody said about you to steal your self-worth and make you feel inferior. Just shake that off and say, no, no, no. I am a masterpiece.

and they may try to make me feel small. They may try to push me down, make me think that I'm not worth anything, but they don't realize I'm a $6 million man. I'm a $6 million woman. Or he may have walked out on me, told me that I was not good enough, not attractive enough,

but it's his loss, not mine. He doesn't realize I'm a $6 million girl. I'm a $6 million woman. Or they may have told me I'm too small that I don't have what it takes, but people don't determine my destiny. God does. And I know he's already equipped me with everything I need to succeed. What am I saying? Don't allow other people to determine your worth and value. And those disappointments, the failures, they'll always play the loudest. But you've got to put your foot down and say, not anymore. I'm letting it go. I'm not going to go

through life beating myself up, feeling like I'm all washed up. God said he'd give me beauty for my ashes. I'm not holding on to the ashes. I'm looking for the beauty. I know my best days are still up in front of me. I have with me today a brand new, perfectly crisp $100 bill. How many

of you would like it? Every one of you. But what if I wotted it up into a tight little ball and now it wasn't perfectly crisp? It was all wrinkled and crumpled. Would you still want it? Sure you would. What if I took it out in the parking lot? You guys are greedy.

What if I went out the parking lot, put it on the ground, and stomped it with my foot. And now it got dirty. There was a little bit of oil and grease there. And now it's not only wrinkled and crumpled, but it's stained and soiled. Would you still want it? Yes, you would. Why is that? Its value never changes.

$100 is $100, whether it's pretty or ugly. Whether it's spotless or soil, whether it's perfectly crisp or battered and torn. That's exactly the way God wants us to view ourselves. We go through challenges. At times we feel like we've been dropped, we've been stomped, we've been stained, we've been soared. That's when the negative thoughts come saying, you've made too many mistakes.

Man, you're not worth anything. There's nothing good in your future. No, just like that $100 bill, you never lose your value. That value the creator put in you is permanent and no person, no mistake, no difference. disappointment, no injustice, no failure, not even all the forces of darkness can take your value away. But so often we view our value more like an automobile. When you purchase a new car, you know how the moment you drive it off the lot, it goes down in value.

Year after year, it gets less and less valuable. If you were ever in a wreck, if the car was in an accident or a flood, its value is further reduced. It may look great on the outside, but if it's been reaping, painted, rebuilt, restored, its value will never be the same. It's permanently diminished. And in life, at times, we go through wrecks. In other words, we have disappointments and setbacks. A relationship didn't work out. But understand, unlike that automobile, your value didn't go down because you went through a divorce. Your value didn't diminish because somebody did something wrong to you. Your value didn't decrease because you had a personal failure and you had to be rebuilt and restored.

No, just like that $100 bill, you never lose your value. You may have some dirt on you today. You may have a few wrinkles, but you are still a masterpiece. You are still God's most prized possession. Now, you've got to put your shoulders back, hold your head up high, and start seeing yourself as the masterpiece God created you to be. Quit beating yourself up. over past mistakes. God's already forgiven you. Why don't you forgive yourself? Quit dwelling on all the people that hurt you, all your disappointments. God has beauty for your ashes, but you've got to let go of the ashes before you'll ever receive the beauty. I heard a interesting story about three trees, an olive tree, an oak tree, and a pine tree.

Each of these trees had a dream to be used for something great in life. The olive tree dreamed of becoming a finely crafted treasure chest. It wanted to hold gold and silver and precious jewels. One day a woodsman came. Out of all the other trees in the forest, it cut down this olive tree. He was so excited. But over time, he realized they weren't making him into a beautiful treasure chest. They were making him into a manger to hold him.

dirty, smelly animals. He was so disappointed, he felt worthless. The oak tree had a dream of being used for a huge ship that would carry kings across the ocean. The woodsman came, cut him down, but over time he realized they weren't making him into a huge ship. They were making him into a small, seemingly insignificant fishing boat. He too felt worthless. The third tree was a pine tree. It lived on the top of a huge mountain. Its dream was to always stand tall and remind people of God's glory. But in a split second, a bolt of lightning shattered its dream and it came tumbling down. The woodsman came and carried it off to an old pile of wood. All three of these trees felt worthless, rejected. None of their dreams had come to pass. But God had other plans.

Many years later, Mary and Joseph couldn't find any place to give birth to their little baby. So they went to a stable and Jesus was born. They placed him in a manger. It was the olive tree. It wanted to hold precious jewels, but it ended up holding the greatest treasure of all time. Jesus grew up. One day he needed a boat to cross to the other side of the lake. He didn't choose a huge fancy.

his ship, he chose a small fishing boat. It was the oak tree. It wanted to carry kings across the ocean, but God had other plans. It ended up carrying the king of kings. A few years later, the Roman soldiers went over to that pile of scrapwood where the pine tree lay. They picked up the pine tree. He thought for sure they were going to cut him up into firewood. But instead, they cut it into two distinct pieces and formed a cross. Jesus was crucifference. Jesus was crucifed. on that pine tree. And still even today, that once discarded pine tree is pointing people to God's love and mercy. And friends, your dreams may not have turned out exactly like you'd hope, but keep your head held high. You never lose your value. You don't know what God's up to. He still

has a great plan for your life. He can take what was meant for your harm and use it to your advantage. I'm asking you today to not go around feeling washed up, feeling like you don't have any value. No, your best days are still out in front of you. And other people may overlook you. They may leave you out, but remember, the one who matters most chooses you. Let him, your heavenly father, be the most important person in your life. This day, he has rolled away the reproach. And if you will start seeing yourself as the masterpiece he created you to be. shaking off the blame, the shame, the disgrace. God said he'll take you into your promised land.

You'll see his blessings in favor. And I believe and declare you will live that life of victory that he has in store. Amen. Do you receive it today? 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 of. Three minutes. Can such a small amount of time make a big difference to your day?

To turn worry into confidence, frustration to hope. Defeat to victory. Maybe you just need a boost of faith. When we put God first place, and get our thinking in line with his, even a small seat of time can make a huge difference. We have a new resource called Three Minute Mornings. Start your day the blessed way.

My challenge is when you wake up, before you leave the house, take three minutes to speak blessings over your life and to declare God's favor. Get your mind going in the right direction. When you do that, you're setting yourself up for a blessed, victorious day. As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any size to the ministry this month,

Joel and Victoria would like to send you this just-released, life-giving new daily devotional. Before your feet hit the ground or go out the door, have your heart experience a bit of heaven. Set your mind on the things above with our new three-minute mornings devotional. With this new 365-day devotional, three-minute mornings, you'll experience God showering down his favor, like never before. You'll focus on the better that is coming and fully realize the freedom of not

worrying about tomorrow. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day. Thank you so much for your prayer and support. You're making a difference all over the world. Remember, you can watch the services online every Sunday morning, download our daily podcast, listen on Sirius XM. But until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of three minute mornings today, visit jolosteen.com or call 888-567 joel