Narrator/Announcer (0:00)

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Joel Osteen (0:16)

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Narrator/Announcer (0:45)

Kids scattered across time zones Christmas morning Facetime hits different than being together, but distance doesn't have to mean disconnected. So I created a new tradition. Delivered on December 1, everyone gets a Christmas cactus plant from 1-800-Flowers.com. the plant blooms all holiday season long, reminding them of my love even when I can't be there. Order your Christmas cactus today before it sells out or choose from other holiday bestsellers. Up to 40% off at 1-800-flowers.com sxm. That's 1-800-flowers. Com sxm.

Joel Osteen (1:15)

Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry.

Narrator/Announcer (1:21)

If you enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend?

Joel Osteen (1:25)

We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes, and if you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. I like to start with something funny, and I should mention this was sent to me by a woman. But according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer, male reindeer lose their antlers at the start of winter. In early November, female reindeer keep their antlers all the way till spring. This means all of Santa's reindeer, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be female. She goes on to say, we should have known only a woman could drag around a fat man wearing a red velvet suit all over the world in one night and not get lost.

Joel Osteen (2:25)

Ladies, you're cheering a little too much, but here we go. 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 it's going to happen quickly. We all have things that we're believing for. We've been patiently waiting, thanking God, praying, but we don't see anything improving. It's easy to get discouraged and accept that it's going to be this way a long time. We just have to endure it. But God said in Isaiah 60, I am the Lord. When the time comes, I will do it quickly. God has ordained certain moments in your life where he's going to do a quick work. It's going to happen much faster than you thought. You may not see anything changing. It doesn't look like you're any closer to what you were believing for than you were last year. But when you come into your time, God is going to do it quickly. It's not going to be a long, drawn out process. You're going to see a rapid turnaround, a sudden breakthrough, a speedy recovery. It may look like it's going to take a long time for you to get well, to break the addiction, to meet the right person. No, get ready. It's going to happen sooner than it looks. It's going to be unusual, out of the ordinary. You're going to know it was the hand of God. It should take you years to get out of debt, years to accomplish your dream in the natural, that's true. But when you come into one of these destiny moments, it's going to happen in a fraction of the time. Every thought may tell you it's permanent. It's never going to change. No. God is saying to you today, I'm going to do it quickly. It's going to happen suddenly. Now get in agreement with God instead of thinking of all the reasons it's not going to work out. Turn it around, Father. Thank you for a quick work. Thank you for a sudden turnaround. Thank you for a speedy recovery. When God brought the Israelites out of slavery, they headed toward the promised land. The pharaoh who had just let them go, changed his mind and decided he wanted them back. So he sent 600 of his fastest chariots, some of his strongest warriors, to try to recapture them. The Israelites. These 2 million people were at a dead end at the Red Sea. They had nowhere to go. It looked like they would be recaptured. But Moses held up his rod and those waters parted. The Israelites walked through on Dry ground. When Pharaoh's men came chasing, the waters closed up. They were all drowned. Psalm 114 gives us insight into what happened. Verse 3 says the red Sea saw the Israelites coming and hurried out of their way. When you come into your time, don't worry. Enemies are going to hurry out of your way. That addiction, the depression, the anxiety, it's not permanent. It's about to hurry out of your way. It's going to happen quickly. You didn't see any sign of things changing. Nothing looked any different. Then suddenly the waters part. Suddenly your health turns around. Suddenly the door opens. God knows how to take things that look permanent and quickly change them. When God told Moses to hold up the rod and the waters would part, I can imagine he was tempted to reason it out. God, what do you mean? These waters have been like this for years. You would think if the Israelites were going to somehow get across, it would take months for the waters to recede, become less and less. Maybe God would send a big drought. But when God spoke to Moses, nothing looked any different. Everything in his mind said it's impossible. It would take months or years of a drought. God, we only have a few hours before we're going to be recaptured. But God doesn't always do things on a normal timetable. He specializes in doing a quick work. He knows how to speed things up. What could have taken years. In one moment, God caused the winds to blow the waters back. They hurried out of the Israelites way. Now you may have obstacles in your life that look permanent, but God is about to have them hurry out of your way. It's not going to happen gradually, on a normal schedule like you were expecting. It's going to happen quickly, out of the ordinary. Things that you've been struggling with. Fear, anxiety, a challenge in your health, that child that's off course. When you look at the waters, nothing looks any different. You know God is telling you a breakthrough is coming, but you don't see any sign of it. You want to believe, but your mind is telling you there's no way. But just like those waters hurried out of the Israelites way, those obstacles are about to hurry out of your way. Now you may have had that illness a long time. The prognosis doesn't look good. Receive this into your spirit. It's about to hurry out of your way. That legal trouble looks permanent. That financial difficulty, that situation at work seems like there's no end in sight. Now get ready. God's about to do a quick work. Lack, struggle, debt is about to hurry out of your way. It's going to happen suddenly. It's going to be a rapid turnaround. That's what happened for us here at Lakewood. When we acquired the compact center, a company filed a lawsuit to try to keep us from moving in. They said we violated the deed restrictions. Our attorneys told us it could be tied up in the courts for years. When we looked at the waters like with Moses, nothing looked any different. A year had gone by. The other side wasn't about to budge. They had no contact with us. Looked like it could be that way for another 10 years. But one day, out of the blue, the other side called and said they wanted to meet. Our attorney said it was probably a ploy, just trying to distract us. We met with them and in a couple of hours they agreed to drop the lawsuit and let us have the building. When it's your time, God knows how to have enemies. Hurry out of your way would have been one thing. If we'd have won the lawsuit after 10 years, we would have been grateful. But God is not going to let the opposition delay you from your destiny. He has already scheduled your destiny moments. It may feel like you're falling behind. The opposition is holding you back. Stay encouraged at the right time, that adversity is going to hurry out of your way. Red seas can't keep you from your purpose. God knows how to part those waters. Legal situations, companies that seem bigger, stronger. They can't stop God's plan for your life. It may feel like you're stuck. You don't see anything improving. Don't worry. God knows how to do a quick work. It can happen suddenly. The scripture says God hastens his word to perform it. That word hasten means quickly, speedily, in a hurry. And I'm not saying that we don't have to wait. There are things that take time. But what I'm saying is when you don't see anything happening, it looks like what you're up against is never going to change. When you come into your destiny moment, God will do it speedily, quicker than you thought. You'll accomplish a dream in a fraction of the time. That obstacle looks permanent. Suddenly it turns around. That's God hastening His word. Second Kings, chapter 7. The Israelites were surrounded by the Syrian army. They had cut off the Israelites food supply. Now the people were starving. Just a matter of time before they died. Every circumstance said it was permanent. The enemy army was bigger. They had more equipment. All the odds were against the Israelites. But there were four lepers sitting outside the city gates. They thought, we have nothing to lose. We're going to die anyway. Let's go down to the Syrian camp and see what they're doing. While they were walking toward the enemy, the scripture says God calls the Syrians to hear the sound of speeding chariots and galloping horses, the footsteps of a vast army approaching. The Syrian king thought the Israelites had hired several armies to attack them. Verse 7 says the Syrians panicked and fled into the night, leaving all their horses, tents and belongings. What was that? God causing their enemies to hurry out of their way seemed impossible. The Israelites didn't have a chance. They didn't have food, equipment, supplies, strength, experience. But God is not limited in by what you don't have. He's not intimidated by how big the opposition is, by how bad the medical report looks, by what the financial statement says. God multiplied the sound of these lepers footsteps and caused this huge army to flee for their lives. They left in such a hurry, they didn't even take their belongings. They didn't even grab their tents. God knows how to quickly get rid of the opposition. Don't be discouraged by how permanent the obstacle looks or by how much bigger it seems than you. You have an advantage. The most high God is on your side. He knows how to cause your enemies to hurry out of your way. Not gradually, not over a few months. You're about to see some things quickly turn around. Problems suddenly resolved, enemies rapidly defeated. What's interesting is while the lepers were walking, they didn't know what God was doing. They couldn't hear what the enemy was hearing. Everything seemed normal to them. But God was doing something supernatural. You don't know what God is up to right now. While you're believing, while you're doing the right thing, everything may seem just the same. But God is talking to your enemies. He's causing them to hear what he wants them to hear. The Syrians didn't say to the lepers, okay, we'll leave. Just give us a few months to pack up our belongings. Give us some time to relocate. We need to find new property. They left suddenly, in a panic. They were so afraid, they fled for their lives. And some of the obstacles you're up against may seem like they have the upper hand. The sickness is bigger. You've had the addiction a long time. Feels like that trouble has you surrounded. But when it's your time, like with them, it's not going to leave gradually. It's not going to improve. A little here, a little there. It's going to leave suddenly, like it's in a panic, like it's fleeing for its life. Well, Joel, this sounds encouraging, but I don't believe it's going to happen quickly for me. I've been dealing with this for a long time. You're right. It won't happen for you. This is for believers. This is for people that will let the seed take root. People that will dare say, God, I agree with what you said, that you will hasten your word to perform it. Lord, I believe for a quick work. I believe enemies are hurrying out of my way. I believe I'm going to see a rapid turnaround. Friend of mine worked for this company where his supervisor wasn't treating him right. He was jealous of him. My friend had a great attitude. I never heard him complain. He just kept doing the right thing, even though this supervisor would try to discredit him and make him look bad. This went on for several years. The supervisor was in his early 40s, been with the company almost 20 years. Looked like my friend would always have to deal with this. But one Monday morning, he went to work. The owner of the company called my friend in and said that the supervisor was leaving and this owner wanted him to have his position. My friend asked, when was this going to happen? When was he going to leave? And the owner said, he left last Friday. You're the supervisor starting right now. God knows how to cause people to hurry out of your way, to do things quickly, things that you didn't see coming. That supervisor could have been there another 30 years, but he suddenly left. Quit worrying about who's in front of you and how it's never going to work out. God can quickly change things, quickly promote you, quickly heal you, quickly free you. And yes, I know some things take time. We have to outlast what's coming against us. But you're going to come into these moments where God does a quick work now instead of complaining. Joel, I don't know about. For me, I don't think I'll ever get well. I'll never meet the right person. Don't turn it around, Father. Thank you. That my health is about to suddenly improve. Thank you. That this addiction is not permanent. It's about to quickly turn around. Thank you. That this depression is not how my story ends. It's about to hurry out of my way. That's not just being positive. That's releasing your faith. That's what allows God to speed things up. This is what Joseph did in the scripture. He was mistreated for 13 years, betrayed by his brothers sold into slavery, put in prison for something that he didn't do. It wasn't easy, but he kept a good attitude, kept being his best. One morning, Joseph was sitting in prison. Seemed like another ordinary day. When the guard came and said, joseph, the Pharaoh wants to see you. I can imagine Joseph thinking, the pharaoh, I don't know him. I don't have an appointment. I'm a slave, a foreigner. I'm in prison and the pharaoh's calling for me. God knows how to have the right people come looking for you. You may feel like you're at a disadvantage. You're being overlooked. No, the one who matters most has his eyes on you. The one who controls the universe, the one, the most high. God is watching after you. He's working out his plan for your life. Joseph walked in and was standing in the presence of one of the most powerful people of that day. He interpreted that pharaoh's dream. He was so impressed, he made Joseph the prime minister of Egypt, second in command. It happened quickly. Joseph didn't have to run for office. The pharaoh didn't hold a vote. He didn't interview candidates for six months. Right on the spot, he made Joseph the prime minister. God knows how to do a quick work. The trouble, the injustice, it hurried out of Joseph's way. He woke up that morning a slave in prison. He went to bed that night. The prime minister promoted, vindicated.