Experience The Fullness Of His Love | Victoria Osteen

Summary

Joel Osteen Podcast Episode Summary Episode Title: Experience The Fullness Of His Love | Victoria Osteen
Host: Victoria Osteen
Release Date: December 28, 2024

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Introduction: The Foundation of a Flourishing Relationship

In this heartfelt episode of the Joel Osteen Daily Podcast, Victoria Osteen shares an intimate glimpse into her enduring relationship with Joel Osteen, emphasizing the transformative power of truly experiencing God's love.

Personal Beginnings
Victoria begins by recounting the early days of her relationship with Joel, highlighting how mutual friends played a pivotal role in bringing them together.

"When Joel and I first started dating many years ago, we had a mutual friend. And I didn't know this at the time, but my friend was talking behind my back with Joel..."
[01:18]

From Hearing to Experiencing God's Love

Hearing vs. Knowing
Victoria draws a parallel between her relationship with Joel and one's relationship with God. She illustrates how merely hearing about God's love is insufficient; one must actively experience and develop that relationship.

"Too often we sit on the sidelines of life because we hear something is good, but we don't allow it to develop a confidence in us, to pursue what is good..."
[02:15]

Barriers to Deepening Faith
She addresses common misconceptions that prevent individuals from fully embracing God's love, such as feelings of unworthiness or the belief that one must "clean themselves up" before approaching Jesus.

"Maybe you heard about Jesus when you were young, but there are just some areas of your life you cannot pursue him..."
[03:10]

The Story of Mercy: John 8 Revisited

Jesus and the Adulterous Woman
Victoria delves into the biblical account from John 8, where Jesus encounters a woman caught in adultery. She meticulously breaks down the scene to extract profound lessons on mercy and judgment.

"Jesus was teaching one afternoon near the temple... When he began to kneel down, I can only imagine her heart beginning to flutter in her chest..."
[04:05]

Demonstration of Mercy
She emphasizes Jesus' compassionate response, contrasting it with the harshness of the law of Moses. Jesus' actions—kneeling, writing in the dirt, and ultimately declaring, "Go and sin no more"—highlight the essence of divine mercy over condemnation.

"He looked at the woman and said, 'I don't condemn you either. Go and sin no more.'"
[07:30]

Implications for Personal Faith
Victoria interprets this story as a model for personal transformation. She encourages listeners to move beyond merely hearing about God's love to actively experiencing His mercy, which empowers them to overcome sin and live purposefully.

"Grace gives us the power to stand against sin, the power to say no to sin."
[09:20]

Empowerment Through Divine Love

Breaking Free from Condemnation
Reaffirming the episode's central theme, Victoria assures listeners that God's love is unconditional. She dispels fears of judgment, urging individuals to open their hearts fully to experience genuine freedom and healing.

"He wants to convince you that there is power to turn that thing around and go another way. He wants to strengthen you..."
[10:30]

Call to Action: Embrace and Experience
Victoria closes her sermon with a powerful invitation to listeners: transition from merely knowing about God's love to actively experiencing it in every facet of life. She encourages embracing God's forgiveness and stepping into a life filled with purpose and strength.

"If you're here today, I want to tell you Jesus isn't condemning you... He wants to strengthen you and give you the power you need to live the life he's called you to live."
[10:55]

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Conclusion: Embracing the Fullness of His Love

Victoria Osteen's message serves as a profound reminder of the difference between hearing about love and truly experiencing it. By sharing personal anecdotes and biblical insights, she encourages listeners to deepen their relationship with God, moving beyond superficial understanding to a transformative, empowered faith.

Final Encouragement

"Let’s go from just hearing about the love of God to truly developing and experiencing the love of God."
[10:50]

This episode is a testament to the enduring power of love—both human and divine—and serves as an inspiring guide for anyone seeking to cultivate a more intimate and impactful relationship with God.

Transcript

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[Victoria Osteen]

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[Joel Osteen]

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[Victoria Osteen]

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.

When Joel and I first started dating many years ago, we had a mutual friend. And I didn't know this at the time, but my friend was talking behind my back with Joel. She would say things like, she likes you. She told me she did. And Joel would say, well, tell me what she said. What did she think about our first date? He began to question her and she began to tell him, just keep doing what you're doing. She really likes you a lot. See, he began to hear how much I liked him at the very start of our relationship, and so it gave him the confidence to pursue this relationship. And as he began to pursue a relationship with me, he found out something very important. He found out that I liked him too. A lot. So as we continued with our relationship, discovering things about one another, learning things about one another, and it began to grow and it began to flourish. And 29 years later, it's still growing and it's still flourishing. You see, Joel went from here hearing that I liked him to experiencing that I liked him. He went from hearing to literally knowing by my words and by my actions. And too often we sit on the sidelines of life because we hear something is good, but we don't allow it to develop a confidence in us, to pursue what is good, to pursue those things that we want. It's like that, with the love of God, your family, your friends. Maybe you heard about Jesus when you were young, but you know what? There's just some areas of your life you cannot pursue him. You've let him in maybe a little bit, but there's areas that you think, I don't want him to get to know me. In that area, he may not like me anymore. You feel condemned. Sometimes people think they need to clean themselves up, they need to fix themselves up nice and shiny before they can develop a relationship with Jesus. Well, they know that he loves them. They've heard it, but they've never taken the next step. Or maybe they have served God. But like I said, there are those doors that they just won't open. And you know, when that happens, our relationship doesn't deepen and strengthen. We don't develop all that we can in the relationship. Listen, if I shut some doors to Joel and wouldn't let him in, there would be some problems. But I had confidence that he wasn't going to judge me. He knew I wasn't judging him. We were in this together and we love each other and we developed it. And that's what we have to believe about the love of Christ. God does not condemn you in Jesus Christ. He loves you in Jesus Christ there is no door that you cannot open to Him. There is no sin too great. There is nothing that you've done that he will not forgive you for. The Bible says when you were yet sinners, he came and gave his life for you see, before we were ever even knew him, he already fell in love with us. So let's go from just hearing about the love of God to truly developing and experiencing the love of God. If you're sitting here today and you've got some condemnation or some shame, can I tell you, that is not Jesus. That is the accuser and Jesus is not the accuser. There's a story in John 8 that exemplifies this so very well. Jesus was teaching one afternoon near the temple and the scribes and the Pharisees, that's the religious leaders of that day, dragged a woman to him in front of everybody and said, jesus, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law of Moses, it says that such an act and such a woman should be stoned to death. I'm sure they came. They came with stones in their hand and, and dragging that woman along, they stood her there at Jesus feet. I can only imagine the hush, hush that came over the crowd because they said, jesus. What do you say about this? The Bible says that he kneeled down. Now, wait a minute. That woman is standing there, I can only imagine, as she has her eyes glued to Jesus to see what the verdict is. When he began to kneel down, I can only imagine her heart beginning to flutter in her chest, thinking, oh, no, what is he gonna do? Is he gonna pick up a rock? Is he gonna start this execution right now? Because, see, we read that story quickly, but when it's happening to you, it's happening in slow motion. You got time to think about it. Why else would he bend down if he wasn't gonna pick up a rock? Can you imagine that going on in her mind? But the scripture says that he knelt down and he began to write in the dirt. Then he stood up again and he looked at those accusers, and he said, those of you without sin, you cast the first stone. He looked at them and then he knelt down again. The scripture says that one by one, one by one, they begin to walk off from the oldest to the youngest. You know, that's just like Jesus. He gives you time to think about it. He tells you something, and then he gives you time to think about it. He stood up again, looked around. There was no one. Just he and the woman. Can you imagine that woman standing there still trembling? She's standing there thinking what just happened. You know, the law that they talked about was the law of Moses. That was. Was given to Moses by God. And it was written on tablets of stone by God's own finger, was written on Mount Sinai. Jesus, when he knelt down, we don't know what he wrote. He didn't come to abolish the law. The scripture tells us he came to fulfill the law. And I find it quite interesting that the same law that was written by God's finger, he sent his son to write something else with his finger in the dirt. And that was mercy. We don't know what he wrote, but it had to have been mercy. Because he looked at that woman and said, where are your accusers? Is there anyone here condemning you? She said, no, sir. And he said, I don't condemn you either. He said, go and sin no more. As she stood face to face with mercy, she went from hearing about Jesus. Everybody in the town knew about Jesus. They had heard something about him. She probably heard, yes, he performed some miracles. Yeah, he's a nice man. But she went that day from hearing about Jesus to experiencing the love of Jesus. She went from hearing, knowing this love, standing face to face with mercy. Can you imagine that day? Her heart was opened in such a way that when she walked off, she didn't walk off condemned. She walked off convinced this is a man of love. This is a man that just touched me. I mean, mercy opens the door of our heart for repentance. He told her, go back and sin no more. I'm empowering you and I'm strengthening you by my mercy and my grace to stand against sin. You see, grace does not give us a license to sin. Grace gives us the power to stand against sin, the power to say no to sin. That day, Jesus was in a very intimate place with that woman, a part of her life she wouldn't want no one to see. But everyone saw and they saw Jesus not pick up a rock, but take his own finger and write mercy in the dirt. If you're here today, I want to tell you Jesus isn't condemning you. Rocks, they hurt. Jesus love, it heals. Know today if anybody's throwing rocks at you, if there's condemnation in your mind because there's areas of your life you really don't want to expose to Jesus, know today that he is not going to condemn you. He wants to convince you that, yes, there is power to turn that thing around and go another way. He wants to strengthen you and give you the power you need to live the life he's called you to live. Amen. Amen.

[Joel Osteen]

What if what you imagine came to pass? What if what you asked for turned out greater than what you can see? What if you could plan for God's best in your life?

[Victoria Osteen]

We all have hopes and dreams and things we're believing for. But what God has in store for you is more than you can imagine. When you start the year off in faith believing for greater things, that's when God will exceed your expectations. We'd love to send you our 2025 more to imagine planner. You can write down your dreams and goals, plus use it for your everyday activity and reminders.

It is so important to feed yourself hope and faith on a daily basis. This planner is not only a calendar, but it's filled with inspiration and scripture to help you stay encouraged and keep believing for what God has put in your heart.

He sees your faithfulness, how you're being your best each day. You're going to see the goodness of God in new ways in 2025 as.

[Joel Osteen]

You support the ministry this month with a special year end gift of any amount. We would like to bless you with the more to imagine 2025 planner. With the new planner, you can start each day writing down the fresh vision God gives you. Whether it's appointments, daily tasks or long term desires in your heart, let each note be a testament to your faith. Included are hand picked scriptures and uplifting reflections to empower you as you walk this faith journey with Jesus one day at a time.

[Victoria Osteen]

Joel and I are standing in faith with you that 2025 will be a year of far and beyond favor for you and your family.

We pray for you every day for God's very best and we want to thank you for your prayer and support, especially your year end gifts. You are impacting people all over the world. Remember you can watch the services online every Sunday morning, download our daily podcast listen on Sirius XM or watch our YouTube channel and the new Joel Osteen streaming television network 24 hours a day. Until we see you next time. Have a very Merry Christmas.

[Joel Osteen]

Be sure to request your copy of the more to imagine 2025 planner today. Visit Joel Osteen.com or call us toll free.

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