Joel Osteen (0:00)

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Victoria Osteen (0:34)

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Joel Osteen (0:42)

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Victoria Osteen (0:43)

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Joel Osteen (0:47)

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Victoria Osteen (0:50)

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Joel Osteen (1:34)

Hi, this is Joel in 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 great to be with you today and I hope you'll stay connected with us during the week through our Daily podcast, our YouTube channel social media. We'll keep you encouraged and inspired. I'd like to start with something funny. I heard about this teenager. He'd just gotten his driver's license. He asked his father about borrowing the car. His father said, son, I'll make a deal with you. If you'll bring your grades up, read your Bible every day, and cut your hair, I'll let you borrow it. He came back a few weeks later, asked about it again. Father said, son, you brought your grades up. You've been reading your Bible, but you still haven't cut your hair. The son said, dad, I've been thinking Moses had long hair. Samson had long hair. Even Jesus had long hair. The Father said, yes, son. And they walked everywhere they went. 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 freedom in the fire. In the national park in California, there are these huge sequoia trees. They stand over 300ft tall. They can live over 2,000 years. They're magnificent trees. On the branches, they develop a cone. Inside that cone are the seeds to produce new sequoia trees. What's significant is those seeds are locked up in the cone. They don't just naturally come out. Over time, the seeds can be in the cone hundreds of years, never produce a tree. The only way the cone will open is through fire. Lightning will strike. The heat from the fire will cause the cone to open. The seeds are able to germinate and become what they were created to be. But I always saw fire as a bad thing. Oh, man, there's another fire in the forest. Not realizing the fire was all a part of God's plan. It's how he designed nature to work. One article talked about how people tried to put out these natural fires for years as quickly as possible, not realizing that was doing more damage to the forest. Now there were no new trees. The fire was necessary for new growth. In the same way, there are seeds that are locked up in you. Seeds of favor, seeds of greatness. Seeds of purpose. The only way they'll come out is through fire. We don't like the fire. Being uncomfortable going through things you don't understand. Business slowed. Friend walked away. Medical report wasn't good. It's easy to get discouraged. Water down your dreams. But God won't allow a difficulty unless he has a purpose for it. There is potential locked up in you that will only come out through adversity. There are gifts and talents that you won't discover without going through times when it's uncomfortable. David said, God enlarged me in my distress. He didn't say, God enlarged me in my good times. Enlarged me when everyone was celebrating me. He said, God enlarged me When I faced a giant twice my size, God enlarged me. When King Saul was trying to kill me, God enlarged me when my own father didn't believe in me. It was in that fire that David Discovered talent that he didn't know he had in the fire. He stepped into courage, favor, greatness that he would have never known had he not felt the heat, the pressure, the adversity. You may be in the fire now, thinking, God, what's going on in my life? This trouble, this child that's off course, this medical situation, it's setting me back. No, the truth is it's setting you up. What you can't see is God is enlarging you. You're about to step into new levels of your destiny. You're going to see new growth, new opportunity, new talent. It couldn't happen without the fire. You may not see it yet, but there's favor in that fire. There's promotion in that fire. There's freedom in that fire. The fire is opening up things that you would have never seen. Don't fight the fire. Stay faithful in the fire. I've learned God will not mismanage your life. He knows how much fire, how much heat, how much pressure you can handle. He controls the thermostat. If that fire was going to take you out, he wouldn't have allowed it. You are well able. You are strong in the Lord. You are full of can do power. Keep the right perspective. That fire is not going to burn you up. It's releasing you into new levels. The fire is all a part of God's plan so you can become everything you were created to be. That's why Peter said, don't think it's strange when you face fiery trials. He could have said, when you face difficulties, adversities, but he used the word fiery. God was saying, sometimes I'm going to let you go through the fire, through things you don't understand, things that are not fair. You'll be tempted to get bitter, upset, but trust him in the fire. He's ordering your steps. He's still in control. He wouldn't have allowed it if it was going to stop you. That fire is opening up seeds to your destiny. Levels you could never reach without the fire. Sometimes forest rangers will do what's called a controlled burn. They'll set a fire on purpose to burn off the underbrush. They carefully study and plan exactly what needs to be burned. When difficulties come against us, can seem like things are out of control. I lost my main client. I was diagnosed with this illness. The pandemic. Inflation, gas prices. It feels like a wildfire. But can I encourage you? You're in a controlled burn. God has you in the palm of his hand. He sees what you're going through. He knows who hurt you, what you didn't get, what wasn't fair. He wouldn't have let you get in the fire if he wasn't going to bring you out of the fire. The good news is you're not going to come out the same. The enemy meant it to stop you, but God only allowed it so he can promote you. The fire is a sign that you're about to bloom. You're about to blossom. You're going to discover talent, potential favor that you've never seen. Don't believe the lies that the fire is out of control. You'll never get well. You'll never meet the right person, never get out of this trouble. That fire is coming to an end. Before the fire ever started, God set the boundaries. He planned how long, how much, how hot, the strategy. That's not a random fire. That's a control fire. The enemy is not in charge of your life. He cannot do whatever he wants. You are God's property. You belong to the Most High. He created you. He breathed life into you. He planned your days for good. And yes, we all go through the fire. But God has a comeback for every setback, healing for every hurt, mercy for every mistake. You're not doing life on your own. In the scripture, Satan wanted to test Job. But God had a hedge of protection around him. He couldn't just go and put Job into fire. He had to ask God for permission. This shows us that everything is a controlled burn. The enemy can't touch you without God's permission. Job was a good man. He honored God. But he went through all this trouble. Lost his business, lost his health, lost his family. He got so discouraged, he sat down among the ashes. His wife said, job, just curse God and die. She was very encouraging. At one point, Job got his passion back. He looked up to the heavens and said, I know my redeemer lives. He was saying, God, I trust you. I don't understand it. It doesn't seem fair, but I know you're still in control. God not only restored Job, gave him his health back, but he brought him out with double. Job had twice the sheep, twice the cattle, twice the joy. The scripture says Job went on to live 140 years and enjoyed his children and grandchildren. Maybe like Job, you're sitting in the ashes looking at what you lost, what didn't work out, what you're up against. You could easily live discouraged. Feels like a wildfire. The truth is, it's a controlled burn. God wouldn't have allowed it if you weren't Going to come out better. There are seeds of increase, seeds of healing, seeds of destiny that are about to open. Yes, it was unfair. But when you come out on the other side, like job, stronger, healthier, more confident, you're going to say, look what the Lord has done. There was freedom in the fire. There were new levels in that fire. David said, we went through the fire, and you brought us to a place of great abundance. Notice the abundance is on the other side of the fire, on the other side of the trouble, the breakup, the loss is an abundance of joy, an abundance of strength, an abundance of resources. The fire is necessary to see the fullness of your destiny. When my father went to be with the lord Back in 1999, I was thrown in the fire. I didn't like it. My whole world was turned upside down. My father and I were best friends. I'd worked with him for 17 years. Now he was gone. Everything felt like it was out of control. But looking back now, I realize it was a controlled burn. I was uncomfortable. I was disappointed. What I couldn't see is there were seeds of my destiny opening up in that fire. Seeds that had been locked up in that cone. Gifts, talents that would have lied dormant without the heat. I didn't think I could get up in front of people. I'd never ministered before. But I discovered ability that I never knew I had. When my father passed, I suddenly had the desire to step up and pastor the church. I never wanted to before. For 36 years, he tried to get me up here. Then overnight, it changed. Some things can only be released in the fire. I wish I could tell you that you'll reach your destiny with just good breaks, good education, doors opening, people being for you. But that's not reality. God uses closed doors, disappointments, betrayals, even loss. In one sense, we've all been in the fire, the pandemic. People have lost, loved ones couldn't be together. Business, struggled, loneliness. But God wouldn't have allowed us to go in the fire if he didn't have something better coming. Don't water down your dreams. Don't quit believing this fire is a sign that new growth is coming. You're about to bloom to see favor. You haven't seen doors open that you could never open to go places that you've never dreamed. Joel, it didn't happen for me. I've been in the fire a long time. Nothing has worked out. Don't judge your situation too soon. Your time is coming. God has not forgotten about you. He sees you doing the right thing. When it's hard, he sees you being good to people that are not good to you. He sees you taking the treatment, not complaining, raising those children, nobody thanking you. There's about to be a shift, a turnaround. You've been faithful in the fire. Now you're about to see favor in the fire. You're coming into great abundance, great opportunities, great relationships, great fulfillment. I was 8 years old playing baseball with some friends in my backyard. And the ball accidentally went over the fence into the neighbor's yard. They owned this German shepherd that was huge. He was the meanest dog ever created. If you looked at him, he would start to growl, show his teeth, like he's going to tear into you. We were terrified of him. Fortunately, they kept him in a fenced in area in their backyard. A 20 foot square chain link fence. Had my friends give me a boost and I looked over the fence. I could see the dog was in his cage looking the other way. He's about 50, 60ft away. And I very quietly climbed over the fence and I walked to the ball as gently as I could. Right when I got to it, the dog turned and saw me. He jumped on his feet, growling ferociously. He ran toward the gate, bumped up against it and it opened. Somebody didn't close it properly. I nearly passed out. He took off running to me 90 miles an hour. I took off toward that fence the whole time praying the sinner's prayer. God, forgive me of my sins. I'm about to come see you. I got to the fence. I was small, about four feet tall. It was a six foot wood fence. I grabbed the top with one hand, all in one motion. I jumped as high as I could. Somehow I jumped over that six foot fence right before the dog got to me. It's amazing what you can do when you're put under pressure. When the fire is turned up, seeds you've never tapped into begin to open up. They say white men can't jump. That day I got off the ground, y'all, you'll discover potential, courage, strength, creativity. That only comes out in the fire. Now, you may not have an angry dog chasing you. Maybe it's a boss that's hard to get along with, or you're dealing with a sickness, a setback in your finances. What you do in the fire matters. How you respond in the pressure will determine whether you come out better or whether you get stuck. You're not going to understand everything that happens. Life's not always fair. Sometimes it feels like a wildfire. Nothing's working out. You have to remind yourself it's a controlled burn. God allowed that fire not to defeat you, but to promote you. In the scripture, three Hebrew teenagers wouldn't bow down to the king's golden idol. And he was furious. He told them if they didn't bow. He was going to have them thrown into a fiery furnace. They still wouldn't bow. They could have been upset. God, we're doing the right thing now. We're about to be thrown into a fire. Why is this happening? No, they understood this principle. That it was a controlled burn. It looked like the king was in charge. The truth is, he was a pawn in the hands of God. God is not just in control of your life. He's in control of your enemies. The guards tied the hands and feet of the teenagers up. And threw them into the furnace. That fire was so hot, the guards were killed. That should have been the end. But God won't let you go in a fire that he can't bring you out of. If it's not your time to go, you're not going to go. The king looked in the furnace window and said, didn't we throw three men inbound? I see four men loosed, and one looks like the son of God. What's interesting is the teenagers couldn't see the fourth man. The only ones that could see it were on the outside. When you're in the fire, you may not see what God is doing. You don't think anything's changing, nothing's improving. But you can be sure the fourth man is in there with you. The beauty of our God is he never let you go in the fire alone. The king couldn't believe it. He had them brought out. The first thing he said is, from now on, we're all going to worship the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So sometimes you go through the fire. So other people will see the hand of God on your life. They'll see the cancer couldn't take you out. The bad break didn't defeat you. The betrayal didn't stop your destiny. The scripture says the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. To much higher positions in Babylon. The enemy sent the fire to destroy them. But notice how God works. He turned it around and used it to promote them. Now you may be in the fire. Now, odds are against you. Seems like the sickness, the trouble, the bad break is going to limit your life. What you can't see is there's a fourth man in there with you. When you come out, people are Going to see you in a new light. Seeds that have been locked up for years are opening up. Seeds of promotion, Seeds of influence. Seeds of honor. We pray God, keep us out of the fire. It's hot, it's uncomfortable. But you can't reach your full potential without the fire. The late 1950s, my father was pastoring a growing church. They just built a beautiful new sanctuary, held 1,000 people. He was on the state board for his denomination. Life was good. My sister Lisa was born with something like cerebral palsy. And the doctors told my parents she would probably never be able to walk or feed herself. They were devastated. My father went to a hotel downtown to pray and read the scripture. He saw how Jesus went around healing people, how when you believe, all things are possible. He came back to his church with this new message of faith and victory. He thought they'd be so excited, but it was just the opposite. Fit into their tradition, their denomination. There was so much opposition, contention, he had to leave the church. For years, he had poured his heart and soul into those people. My mother had lifelong friends that never spoke to her again. He never dreamed he would be put out of his own church. He could have been upset. God, why did this happen? But I've learned don't put a question mark where God put a period. Some things we're not going to understand right now. The scripture says God makes all things beautiful in its time. Give it some time. My mother and father went out and started Lakewood with 90 people. On Mother's Day in 1959, instead of the beautiful new sanctuary, they had an old rundown feed store that someone let them borrow. People said it would never last. But 63 years later, here we are, still going strong. But my father was very disappointed at the time. Felt like a huge step backwards. But what looks like a setback is really God setting you up. When you get in the fire, it's because new seeds are going to come to life. New talents, new opportunities. My father couldn't see it at the time. Going through the rejection was painful. But if he would have stayed in that limited environment, he would have never blossomed. That fire was necessary so he could step up to who he was created to be. Don't fight the fire. There's favor in the fire. You may not be able to see it yet, but the fourth man is in there with you today. My sister Lisa is perfectly normal. God healed her.