Joel Osteen Podcast - Your Destiny Supersedes Your Mistakes | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: March 28, 2024

When we make a mistake, it’s easy to feel like we’ve missed God’s plan for our lives. But nothing you’ve done is a surprise to God. He’s already prepared a comeback for that setback.Believe big! Believe for more! Our March offer,This Time Next Year: Believe Big Journal, combines faith-building stories from Scripture with space to record your own reflections of the amazing things God is doing in your life. Be reminded each day that the God who breathed life into you is a more-than-enough God! Request your copy now, https://bit.ly/3IebX0B.  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.

Great to have you on the podcast today. Victoria and I are praying for you and just believing for God's very best. I believe that this month is going to be an amazing month for you and your family. Keep that expectation in your heart and see what God will do. Well, God bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes. We love you. I know God has great things in store for each one of you.

He rewards the people that seek after him. If you're ever in our area, stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you we'll make you feel right. at home. Thanks for tuning in. Thanks again for coming out. I'd like to start with something funny and I heard about this minister. He was walking down the street and he came upon this group of young boys surrounding a small dog. He asked what they were doing. They explained that they were having a contest and whoever could tell the biggest lie would get to keep the dog. The minister launched into a 10-minute sermon on lying, starting with, don't you know lying is a sin?

and ending with, when I was your age, I never told a lie. There was complete silence. Just when he thought he'd gotten through to them, the youngest boy spoke up and said, all right, give him the dog. All right, hold up your Bibles. 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. 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 your destiny supersedes your mistakes. None of us are perfect. When God designed the plans for our lives, it wasn't dependent on us never making a mistake or never

taking a wrong turn. God knew we would all make mistakes. He doesn't have just one way, to get you to your destination. He has many ways. He has detours, shortcuts, bypasses. God has already calculated the entire route for your life. The good news is nothing that you've done, no mistake that you've made or ever will make is a surprise to God. He's already got it figured out. He's arranged comebacks for every setback. He has grace for every weakness. He has mercy for every failure. But so often, when we make mistakes, we get down on ourselves and think, if I had just not messed up my marriage, where would I be? If I'd just listen to my parents, not hung around this crowd, I wouldn't have these addictions. Or if I'd

just finished college, if I'd have just been more discipline. It's easy to feel like we've missed the best plan for our lives. That's when we get discouraged and stop pursuing our God-given dreams. But understand, just because you made a mistake or failed in some way, that didn't cancel God's plan. God never disqualifies us. He never says, go sit on the sidelines. You've blown it too many times. You've got too many weaknesses.

No, God always gives us another chance. Some of the great people in the Bible made very poor choices. It looked like they would never get on the right path. The Apostle Paul started off as a murderer. He was the one giving his approval when they were stoning Stephen to death. Yet Paul's destiny was bigger than his mistakes. He ended up becoming a great leader in writing over half of the New Testament. What am I saying? Our mistakes, our failures, our poor choices don't have to keep us from our God-given destiny. In this scripture, it talks about the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now, I can understand how he's the God of Abraham. Abraham is the father of our faith.

I can understand how he's the God of Isaac. Isaac was extremely obedient, even willing to be sacrificed. But when it says he's the God of Jacob, that doesn't make a lot of sense. Jacob was a cheater. He went around deceiving people. He stole his own. brother's birthright. Jacob had plenty of faults and weaknesses. Jacob made plenty of poor choices. Yet God is called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What was God saying? I'm not just the God of perfect people. I'm not just the God of people that never make a mistake and do everything right. I'm the God of people that have failed. I'm the God of people that have faults. I'm the God of people that have faults. I'm the God of people that have even made wrong terms in life. The key was Jacob had a heart to do what's right.

He was willing to change. He let God make him and mold him. You may have made a lot of mistakes. You think God is not the least bit interested in you, but God is not pushing you aside thinking, keep them away from me. They're just too messed up. I'm embarrassed by them. If they were just as good as Abraham, just as obedient as Isaac. No, God is saying, I'm still your God. I'm the God of William, the God of Frankie, the God

of Susan, the God of Carmen. I am the God of imperfect people. You may have failed a thousand times, but God did not write you off. He did not cancel your destiny. He has already calculated another route.

He still has a way to get you to your final destination. My challenge is, since God didn't write you off, don't write yourself off. Quit beating yourself up. When you make mistakes, repent and keep moving forward. If you fall down, get back up and go again. I know people that feel like they've wasted years of their lives because of poor choices, years in a relationship that was toxic, years with an addiction,

years at a job where they weren't fulfilled. But you have to realize nothing you've been through has been a waste. It has deposited something on the inside. It's helped make you into who you are. It may have been meant for your harm, but God has a way of using it to your advantage. You may think it's a dead end,

but if you'll stay in faith, you will see God begin to open up a new route. It'll turn out to be another step toward your God-given destiny. And the truth is, God knew we wouldn't all be as, blameless as Abraham. We wouldn't all be as obedient as Isaac. Some of us would be like Jacob, who didn't tell the truth all the time, or like Peter, who was hot-tempered and denied Jesus,

or like David, who failed morally, or like Elijah who got depressed and ran from his enemies. God knew we would all have times of failure, times of poor choices, but he's saying, I'm still your God. And some of you are beating yourself up, thinking that you've blown it too many times. You could never be what you could have been. You need to let this take root. Your destiny is bigger than your mistakes. When God designed the plan for your life,

he took into account every failure, every setback, every poor choice. And in his supernatural way, he has already devised a plan to get you to where you're supposed to be. Now, you've got to do your part and shake off the guilt, put your shoulders back, hold your head up high, and say, I may have failed, but I know

he's still my God. He still calls me by name. He's still got a great plan for my life. He's still directing my steps. He's still surrounding me with favor. So I'm not going to settle here. I'm not going to give up on my dreams. I'm going to keep pressing forward, knowing that my destiny is bigger than my mistakes. The key is not that your performance is perfect, not that you your behavior is perfect, but that your heart is perfect toward God. God is more pleased with someone with a right heart that makes mistakes every once in a while than someone that performs perfectly all the time with a wrong heart. The condition of our heart is extremely important. And when you get up each day with a desire to please God, down deep, you want to do what's right. When you make mistakes,

you don't get stuck in a rut, but you work with God to change. You're willing to make adjustments, to receive correction so you can grow and come up higher. Then just like Jacob, when you do that, God will lead you through detours and shortcuts and bypasses and he will get you to your final destination. Your destiny can supersede those poor choices. But so often we get our identity mixed up with our performance. You ask someone, who are you? A lot of times they'll tell you, I'm a salesman, I'm a minister, I'm a coach, I'm a teacher. No, that's not who you are. That's what you do. And the problem with this kind of thinking is when it's in the negative. I hear people say, I'm an alcoholic. I just can't beat it. No, that's what you do. That's not who you are.

But if you keep thinking that way and talking that way, it will become so ingrained on the inside that you'll convince yourself, that's who you are, and it'll keep you from rising higher. I had somebody tell me last week, Joel, I'm a drug dealer. He was embarrassed by it. He didn't want to live that way. I told him what I'm telling you. That's not who you are. That's what you do. You are a child of the most high God. You have a destiny to fulfill. Don't let your performance change your identity. If you were to ask Jacob back then, who Who are you? He'd have said, I'm a cheater, I'm a deceiver, I'm a liar. No, that's what he did. But God looks beyond our behavior, beyond our performance, and God sees us for who we really are,

a person of destiny created in his image with a purpose to fulfill. You have got to separate what you do, especially when it's negative, from who you are or it will limit your life. Those thoughts of guilt and condemnation will keep you from God's best. Really, you can't even receive God's mercy if you're feeling all beat down and like you don't measure up. You've got to shake that off and say, no, this is what I did. I failed at my marriage, but I am not a failure. I'm struggling with alcohol, but I am not an alcoholic. I'm a child of Almighty God, and I know my destiny is bigger than my mistakes.

So I'm going to receive God's mercy and move forward with my life. I think about Moses. As a young man, he had a big dream in his heart. He knew God had called him to help deliver the people of Israel. He started off great. He was passionate, enthusiastic. But one day, he saw someone mistreating one of the Israelites. And in his zeal to fulfill his purpose, he went over and killed that man. He made a mistake. His heart was right, but his actions were not right. I believe that's the way you are today. You wouldn't be watching. You wouldn't be here today if you didn't have a heart to please God. That doesn't mean that we never make a mistake. We never have a bad day.

We never think a wrong thought. No, none of us are perfect in our actions, but our heart can be perfect toward God. Down deep, you want to do what's right. You want to be a great parent. You want to overcome an addiction. You want to improve. That's what it means to have a heart

that's perfect toward God. That's the way Moses was, but he made this mistake. Someone saw him. He had to run for his life. He ended up spending 40 years on the backside of the desert. He went through a detour. He missed plan A, but the good news is God had plan B. God didn't say too bad, Moses.

You blew it. You had your chance. No, if you will stay in faith, your destiny will supersede those poor choices. 40 years later, when God was ready for someone to deliver his people, he didn't go find a younger man. God didn't go find someone that had never made mistakes, someone with a perfect record. He went right back to Moses and said, hey, Moses, I haven't forgotten about you. That mistake didn't cancel your destiny.

I'm ready for you now. It's your time. Go out and deliver my people. Now, I believe that God is saying the same thing to us. You may have made mistakes, miss good opportunities. It looks like the dream has died, like the promise will never come to pass. But God is saying, get ready. Just like I did for Moses, I'm about to open up a new door.

I'm about to unleash my favor. That setback that was meant to destroy you is a setup for a comeback. That failure that's clouded your future is not the end. It's a new beginning. Rise up in faith. It's your time. Your future is calling out to you. It's saying, come and get me.

I'm filled with increase. Filled with vindication. Filled with restoration. It's a future filled with God's blessings and favor. Well, you say, Joel, I've just blown it so many times. I had this major setback. I don't see how I could ever get to where I'm supposed to be. Now, take this in the right way.

You're not that powerful. What you're saying is my mistake is too big for God. God. I've thrown God for a loop. I'm sure God is in the heaven shaking his head, saying I never dreamed he would do that. He ruined my plan. No, God knew every mistake we would ever make. He knew every wrong turn and he's already calculated a new route. He's already got your detour figured out. The scripture says God knows the end from the beginning. He already knew when we were going to turn left, even when he said darn right. He knew, and we were going to hang around someone, even though he warned us, they would be a bad influence. God knew every poor choice. The good news is he's already planned a way

to get you back on his best path for your life. That's what happened to Jonah. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh. He had very clear instructions. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do. But Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh. He had his own plans, and he went in the exact opposite direction. God told him to go left, and he went right. He ended up in the middle of a huge storm. He was on a boat, the winds were blowing, the waves were crashing over the side. It looked like it was going to be the end of Jonah's life. The truth is, every one of us has done what Jonah did before.

We knew, God said, stay away from that person. They're going to be trouble. but we hung around with them anyway. We knew we were supposed to bite our tongue and not say something, but we didn't listen. We said it anyway. That's what Jonah did. He did totally opposite of what God asked him to do.

Here's what I love about God. God never gives up on us. We may turn our back, but God doesn't turn his back. We may ignore God, but God doesn't ignore us. We do our own thing, get ourselves into trouble, but God doesn't sit back and say, too bad. I tried to warn you, it's your problem. Get yourself out of it. No, God is full of mercy. One time when our son Jonathan was just a little boy, maybe three or four years old, he loved to climb trees.

We have some big oaks in our backyard, and every once in a while, when we were out there, he'd climb those trees, and I would be there to catch him in case he fell. There was this one branch that was about five or six feet off the ground, not very wide, and he could climb up there by himself and hang off of it. And of course, I would be there to set him down when he was finished. But I always told him, Jonathan, don't ever go out here and climb these trees. And especially don't want hang from this branch. It's too high if Daddy's not here to help you get down. One day I was inside watching the ballgame on television. I heard these screams coming from outside.

Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. I looked out the window. And sure enough, Jonathan was hanging from that branch, holding on for dear life. And you know, it's funny. I didn't think, well, he got himself into the tree. this mess. He can get himself out. I told him not to do it. He knew better. Of course not. As a father, I took off running 90 miles per hour and I rescued him right before he fell. He wiped his brow and said, Daddy, what took you so long? But that's the way God is. We think, I've made this mistake.

God surely forgotten about me. I'm stuck out here holding on for dear life. It's going to be a long fall. No, God has not forgotten about you. He had the solution before you even had the problem. Why don't you dare do like Jonathan and rise up with boldness and say, God, I need your help. I'm asking for your mercy. I made this mistake. It's my own fault. I knew better.

But God, I believe your mercy is bigger than any mistake I can make. God said in Jeremiah, call under me and I will answer you. That's what Jonah did, sitting in the belly of the well, The scripture says he called out to the Lord in his trouble and the Lord answered him. Don't you know, it took a lot of boldness, a lot of nerve for Jonah to ask God for help? Most people, when they make a mistake, they think, I can't talk to God. I can't ask him to help me. He's the one that tried to get me not to do this.

Not Jonah. He knew how to come boldly. His attitude was, yes, I brought this trouble. on myself, but I know God is so merciful, so good, so loving, so forgiving, he will help me get out of this. And when we make mistakes, we should not run from God, we should run to God. That's what it says there in Hebrews 416. Let us come boldly to the throne of grace. Why? To obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. The key is you've got to come with boldness. those thoughts of guilt and condemnation

will try to steal your confidence and tell you that you don't have a future and you don't deserve it. You've made too many mistakes. You've got to shake that off and say, no, I know I don't deserve it, but God, I believe it's because of your mercy. When you do that,

you will see God's hand of favor begin to restore you and help guide you back to the best path for your life. Here's what I've learned. When everything looks like It's out of control. God is still in control. Jonah's whole world was in turmoil, turned upside down.

He was on the boat in the storm. He admitted to the captain that he was the problem, and they threw him overboard. It looked like the end. It looked like he wouldn't make it. But it just so happened, there was a big fish going by. And it just so happened the fish was hungry. It just so happened the fish liked white meat. just so happened the fish didn't chew him up. It just swallowed him whole.

Jonah rode that tube like he was at Waterworld. What am I saying? We are in a controlled environment. Even when it looks like your circumstances are chaotic and out of control, always remember God is still in complete control. God was the one that caused the fish to be there at the right place at the right time. That wasn't a coincidence. Here's what I love. Jonah made the mess, but God in his mercy cleaned it up. Jonah brought the setback on himself, but God had already arranged his comeback.

Some of you today are so down on yourself because of mistakes you've made and you're not where you want to be in life, but you've got to shake that off. God knew every poor choice, every difficulty, and he's already planned your comeback. Jonah went through a detour, took them a little bit longer, but bottom line, is because he called out to God, because he believed God not only rescued him, but God got him to his final destination. That's what I want you to get in your spirit. Failure is not final. Mistakes don't have to keep us from our destiny. God's plan can override every setback. Your world may be in turmoil today, in a relationship, in your finances, in your health.

But know this. God doesn't want to just rescue you and get you. you out to where you're barely making it holding on for dear life. No, God still wants to get you to your final destination. God's plan for your life didn't go away when you made that mistake. The promise he put on the inside didn't die because you had some personal failures. The dream in your heart didn't get aborted because you went through a detour. Just like Jonah, God has already planned your comeback. Now, you've got to do your part and quit beating yourself up. Quit going around thinking you've blown it too many times

and you're just all washed up. No, shake that off and come with boldness to the throne of grace. Just say, God, I need your mercy. I need your help. I need your favor. God, I know you can still get me to where I'm supposed to be.

It's like the navigation system in my car. I can program it to take me to a certain location. And all along the way, the announcer will give me instructions. turn left in a quarter of a mile. Take this freeway three miles. Exit in one mile. But sometimes I don't follow the directions. I may miss a turn, stop to get gas, go another way.

But the announcer doesn't come on and start yelling at me. Saying, what in the world are you doing? I told you to turn left. You ruined my plan. No, the moment I get off course, the computer, that GPS system immediately starts recalculating another plan. Within a few seconds, it will give me new directions. It's the same way with God.

When you have a heart to please him, you may miss an exit, you may make a wrong turn, but God has already recalculated another route. He's still going to get you to where you're supposed to be. And I'm not saying to use this as an excuse, to just live however we want to live. I'm talking about when you get up with the desire to honor God each day, but you make mistakes from time to time. You're not perfect. God understands that. And like that GPS

system, he's already recalculated another route. Like Jonah, he's not going to let you drown. He'll have the big fish waiting for you. And some of you today, you need to just receive God's mercy. You've convinced yourself, you've blown it too many times. You could never fulfill your destiny. No, you may have missed plan A, but God has a plan B, a plan C, D, E, F, G. You got to shake that off and say, yes, I blew it, but I know my destiny is bigger than my mistakes, and if God did it for Jonah, he can do it for me. Even Abraham, the father of our faith, I was bragging on him, but Abraham wasn't perfect. He made mistakes. He had a child with someone that was not his wife. He lied and told a king that his wife was his sister. Yet the scripture says he

did not waver in his faith. Having a child out of wedlock in my mind would be wavering. Lying, not telling the truth, that seems like it's wavering to me. Yet in God's eyes, he did not waver. I'm convinced it's because his heart was right. When he made mistakes, he repented and he didn't walla around in guilt and condemnation. He didn't sit around in self-pity, thinking that he had blown his future. He shook it all. and kept pressing forward knowing that his destiny was bigger than his mistakes. Twenty years later, he saw that original promise come to pass. Isaac was born. What am I saying? Even when we make mistakes, we don't have to settle for second best. Some of you are convinced

that you could never accomplish the original dream God put in your heart. You pushed it down and convinced yourself. You don't deserve it. It's never going to happen. But God is saying, if you will shake that all and get rid of any feelings of guilt and unworthiness and press forward with a pure heart, then just like God saw Abraham as unwavering, God sees you as unwavering, and God doesn't even remember those mistakes. God is not holding anything against you. Why don't you quit holding something against yourself? Why don't you let it go and say if Abraham lied, if Abraham had a child out of wedlock, and God said he didn't waiver, then God, I believe you've not only forgiven me for every mistake, but you see me as not

wavering, and you will help me to fulfill the best plan that you have for my life. You've got to get your fire back. Don't drag through the day, focused on your missed opportunities, how you should have finished college, and you should have spent more time with your family. Listen, you can't do anything about the past, but you can do something about your future. let go of every regret. Get rid of all the condemnation and start being your very best today. Nothing that's happened in your past has disqualified you from the bright future God has in store. 40 years later, Moses saw his promise come to fulfillment. That tells me you're never too old.

It's never too late and the mistake was never too big. Nothing that you've done can supersede the destiny that God, has already ordained for your future. Get in agreement with God. Shake off everything that's holding you back. If you will rise up in faith with a pure heart toward God, then even when you make mistakes, God will take that stumbling block and turn it into a stepping stone. He'll take what was meant to harm you and use it to increase you. And just like Jonah and Moses and David, you will fulfill your destiny, overcoming every mistake, and you will become everything that God's created you to be. 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.

If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible. Bible-based church, keep God first place. He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed out. It starts with just a tiny seed. From it, tender bud sprout. The miracle of new life blooms and thrives. But how do you experience the same miraculous and extraordinary growth in your own life? Sometimes our life is limited because we're believing too small. Faith is like a seed. When you believe, all things are possible. That's when you'll see new growth. opportunity and healing.

We don't have to figure out how it's going to happen. All we have to do is belief. There may not be a way in the natural, but our God is supernatural. We'd like to send you our new, this time next year, Believe Big Journal. It'll help you to enlarge your vision and stretch your faith.

Where would you like to be a year from now? Who knows what God will do in 2024 if you'll take the limits off of him and believe for the great things he's placed in your heart? you for your gift of any amount this month. We want to send you the this time next year Believe Big Journal, along with our new Believe Tea. As you begin to believe big, you'll see God move in powerful ways. The impossible made possible. Growth, provision, and new opportunities will

burst forth above and beyond what you can ask or imagine. Also, for the first time ever, we want to present you with our new Believe T-shirt, created exclusively by our friends. at Copperfit for the viewers and partners of Joe Lohsteen. We invite you to wear and declare what you are believing God for in 2024. It's a gift from Copperfit as they extend their support of the message of hope. Many of you have watched us a long time, but you've never been to Lakewood. We have a perfect time. We're calling it Homecoming Weekend, April 13th and 14th.

We'd love to meet you. I'll introduce you to my family. You can see the facility and enjoy a service. we'd be honored to have you. We'll make you feel right at home. Remember, you can watch the services live online every Sunday. Download our podcast, watch on YouTube. We'll keep you inspired and encouraged.

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