Joel Osteen (0:00)

I'm anchoring myself to hope. Be inspired with Joel Osteen Radio. I just love Joel. He's the best. You know, I learned so much from him all the time. Oh, it's just very uplifting. It's time to say this is a new day. I've been anchored to that junk long enough. And when you're encouraged, you can do anything. Promotion is coming, healing is coming, breakthroughs are coming. Your life will never be the same. Be inspired with Joel Osteen radio, SiriusXM 128 and on the SiriusXM app.

Will Arnett (0:31)

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Victoria Osteen (1:30)

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Joel Osteen (1:58)

Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend. We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you. Such a joy to come into your homes. We love you and if you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and be a part of one of our services. These are the finest people in all of Houston, Texas right here at Lakewood. We'd love to have you come out but thanks for Tuning in and thank you again for coming out today. I'd like to start with something funny. And I heard about this husband and wife. They had been arguing and now they were giving each other the silent treatment. The man had to catch a plane early the next day and he needed his wife to wake him up. Not wanting to break the silence, he wrote a note and left it on her side of the bed. It read, please wake me up at 5:00am he got up the next morning at 8:00. He missed his flight. He was so upset. He went in to find out why she didn't wake him up. He saw a note on his side of the bed. He opened it up. It read, get up, it's five. 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'll 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 keeping the right perspective. We all face challenges, but it's not really the size of the problem that's important. It's our perception of the problem. It's how big or small we make it in our minds. You remember when Moses sent 12 men in to spy out the promised land? 10 of them came back and said, moses, we don't have a chance. There are giants in the land. The other two men, Joshua and Caleb, came back with a different report. They said, yes, the people are big, but we know our God is bigger. We are well able to take the land. Let us go in at once. Notice both groups saw the same people, the same circumstances. The only difference was their perspective. One group was focused on the size of the enemy. The other group was focused on the size of their God. Out of those 2 million people that were camped next door to the Promised land that day, the only two people from that group to ever make it in were Joshua and Caleb. Could it be that our perspective is keeping us out of our promised land? If we view our challenges as impossible, we go around telling ourselves, I'll never get well, I'll never get out of debt, I'll never accomplish my dreams. Then, just like them, our own wrong perspective can keep us from God's best. See what we focus on. We magnify. If you stay focused on your problems, what you don't have, and how it's never going to work out, all you're doing is making that bigger than it really is. When we magnify something, we don't change the actual size of the object. We change our perception of it. That's why David said, magnify the Lord with me. He was saying, if you're going to make anything bigger, don't make your problems bigger. Don't make the medical report bigger. Don't make the opposition bigger. Learn to make God bigger. It's interesting. David never called Goliath a giant. Everybody else did. They talked about his size, his strength, his ability. But David called him an uncircumcised Philistine. David wouldn't even give him credit for being that big. Here's the key. He didn't deny it, but he didn't dwell on it. His attitude was, if I'm going to magnify anything, I'm going to magnify the source of my strength. I'm going to talk about the greatness of God. I'm not going to focus on how big. My problem is, I'm going to focus on how big my God is. David's brothers and the other Israelites were afraid, intimidated, didn't know what they were going to do. When David told them that he wanted to face Goliath, they said, david, you don't have a chance. You're too small. You're just a kid. But David had a different perspective. He knew if God be for him, who. Who dare be against him? He knew he was strong in the Lord. He knew all the forces of heaven were backing him up. They tried to warn him. They said, david, you better be careful. You better not get out there and fight Goliath. He's too big to hit. David said, no, he's too big to miss. David stood in front of him and said, goliath, you come against me with a sword and a shield, but I come against you in the name of the Lord, God of Israel. What was David doing? Magnifying his. Talking about God's greatness. You know the story. This teenage boy, half his size, no military training, defeated this huge giant. Why? He had the right perspective. Philippians 1:28 says, do not be intimidated by your enemies. Some of you, like David, are up against a great giant right now. A giant in your health, giant in your finances, maybe a giant in your relationship. It looks so big. You could easily be overwhelmed and think, I don't have a chance. No. God is saying, don't be intimidated. Those that are for you are greater than those that are against you. Put your shoulders Back. Hold your head up high. You are not weak, defeated, powerless. You are a child of the most High. God, anointed, equipped, well able. Don't you dare drag around thinking, well, Joel, I'm never going to break this addiction. I've had it forever. My property's never going to sell. It's been on the market so long. Never going to accomplish my dreams. Do like David. Get the right perspective. You are full of can do power. The greatest force in the universe is breathing in your direction. There is no challenge too much for you. No sickness too great, no dream too big. The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives on the inside of you. The enemy would not be fighting you so hard if he didn't know God had something great in your future. I found the size of the challenge is an indication of the size of your destiny. If you've got a big problem today, don't be discouraged. That just means God has something amazing up in front of you. He's got a new level of your destiny. Do you know what made David King Goliath? God used the opposition to get him to the throne. When you face great difficulty, it's because God's trying to get you to your throne. He's trying to take you to a higher level. That opposition may have been meant for your harm, but God will turn it around and use it to your advantage. The giant was never meant to defeat you. It was meant to promote you. You may be in a tough time, but. But the right perspective is I'm not staying here. This is temporary. I'm not buried. I'm planted. I'm going to come back up again, stronger, healthier, wiser, better off than I was before. What it says in Exodus, the more opposition, the more they increased. When you face difficulties, don't start complaining. God, why is this happening to me? Joel said 2011 was going to be my year. I must have heard wrong. No, your declaration should be. I know this opposition is a sure sign increase is coming my way. It may look like a setback, but I know the truth. It's a setup. It's not going to be a stumbling block to hold me down. God's going to use it as a stepping stone to take me higher. We got to have that vision of victory like David did because sometimes we're talking to God about how big our problems are. We should be talking to our problems about how big our God is. I love the way David responded. Goliath was laughing and making fun of him because he was so small. Goliath Said to the Israelites, am I a dog that you'd come at me with a stick? Don't you have anything bigger than this little runt named David? David looked him in the eyes and said, listen here, big talker. This day I will defeat you and feed your head to the birds of the air. I love his attitude. He didn't say, I hope so. I'm praying about it. I'm believing for it. Our declaration should be, I will have a blessed 2011. I will live healthy and strong. I will break this addiction. I will fulfill my God given destiny. You gotta have a made up mind. Don't be intimidated by the medical report. Don't be intimidated by the legal situation. Don't be intimidated by the size of your dreams. If we're not careful, we can think, man. Joel, I could never accomplish what God's put in my heart. I don't have the resources, I don't have the education, I don't have the connections. I'm such an underdog, I'm so in debt. Friends, you can talk yourself into being defeated. You can talk yourself into living an average mediocre, barely get by life. I almost did. A couple of years after Victoria and I were married, we. We were out walking one night through this nice neighborhood, looking at the different houses and we came to this beautiful two story home that was just finished being built. Victoria said as confidently as can be, just like she was stating it as fact, Joel, one day we will live in a house just like that. That was so far out in my mind I didn't see any way. And I went on to tell her all the reasons why it was impossible and how we were never going to have that much. And she just should not get her hopes up, the great man of faith that I am. See, I was looking at it only in the natural. I knew what we made. I knew what we could expect. I had it all figured out. But Victoria had a different perspective. She knew that we served a supernatural God. He's not limited by our job or the economy, the stock market, our education. She saw him as Jehovah Jireh, the Lord, our provider. She knew it may be impossible with men, but with God all things are possible. She believed Ephesians 3:20, that God can do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond. Over time she talked me into changing my perspective. And do you know, a few years later, God supernaturally opened up doors, poured out his favorite and we saw that dream come to pass. Could it be that your perspective is keeping God from doing something amazing? In your life. Could it be like I did? You've already decided the giants are too big. You don't have what it takes. You'll never be at that level. No, I'm trying to do for you what Victoria did for me. You've got to have a new perspective. You've got to take the limits off of God. Quit telling him what you can't do and how you don't have the connections and how you'll never get ahead. Listen, God has ways to increase you that you've never thought about in your future. God has already lined up the right people, the right breaks. He has explosive blessings that will catapult you to a whole new level. You are not limited by your background, by how you were raised, by your education, even by your past mistakes. What limits? God is our thinking. If you think you've reached your limits, then you have. If you think the giant is too big, then you're defeated. You've got to change your perspective, friends. You were never created to be average. You have seeds of greatness on the inside. God did not breathe his life into us for us to just barely get by and go around intimidated by our dreams and convinced that the giants are too big. No, God's destiny for you is to live an overcoming life of victory. God wants you to leave your mark on this generation. You may be facing a big challenge. I'm not asking you to deny it. I'm asking you to not dwell on it. Don't let it consume you. Don't think about the problem all the time. Don't go look up the sickness on the Internet and find out 27 different ways you can die from it. Do like David and downplay it. I met a lady after the service not long ago and she was here in town with her husband and they were so excited about being here. And after we visited, a moment as she was walking off, I noticed she had a wristband from the hospital and I asked if everything was okay. She said, joel, everything is fine. I'm being treated, but all is well. She wouldn't even say the word cancer. She wouldn't even give it the credit for what it was. She wasn't denying it, but she was choosing not to dwell on it. Her attitude was, I'm not intimidated. This cancer is not bigger than my God. God created my body. He controls my destiny. No weapon formed against me is going to prosper. If it's not my time to go, then I'm not going to go. I love the way she wasn't intimidated. I Read where Martin Luther woke up one time in the middle of the night and Satan himself was standing at the end of his bed. He said, oh, it's only you, and rolled over and went back to sleep. Don't be intimidated by the thoughts that are telling you. It's too big. It's never going to change. No. In the battle more than ever, you have to guard your mind. That's the enemy's number one target. He knows if he can control your thought life, he can keep you defeated. The scripture says he goes about as a roaring lion. It doesn't say he is one. He acts like one. In other words, he's got a big bark. Those thoughts will come telling you, you're never going to get well. This sickness is the end of you. You've seen your best days. Here's what I've learned. He's all bark and no bite. Just tell him, no thanks. I'm not moved by what I feel. I'm moved by what I know. And I know the Creator of the universe has me in the palm of his hand. I know all things are going to work together for my good. This is what my mother did when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1981. She was given a few weeks to live. She told how she would lay in bed at night and those thoughts would come telling her, you can wear that new red dress you bought to your funeral. You can have them bury you in those white shoes. Thoughts telling her the worst possible scenario. If you don't guard your mind, it's very easy to lose perspective and to start magnifying the problem rather than magnifying God. We can't keep the negative thoughts from coming, but we don't have to dwell on them when they come. We should immediately replace them with what God says about us. That thought told my mother, you can be buried in that red dress. She said, no, thanks. With long life, God will satisfy me. Well, you're never going to get well. No, thanks. God is restoring health back unto me. Well, this is the end. You're done. No, thanks. I will live and not die and declare the works of the Lord. Today, my mother, she's been going strong nearly 30 years later. Do you know, not long ago, my mother went to her doctor's funeral. The same one that told her that she wasn't going to make it. And I say that respectfully. He was a kind man. He loved the Lord. But would you ever have thought she would have outlived the doctor? Friends, God has the final say. I heard a Story about this little boy. There was a big bully that lived down the street that was always bothering him. And he was trying to get his nerve up to stand up against him, but he just didn't have the confidence. He was too afraid. One day, his father bought him a new telescope. He was out in the front yard playing with it, but he was looking through the wrong end. He was looking through the big end. His father came out and said, no, son, you've got it backwards. Turn it around and it'll make the object appear bigger, like it was meant to do. The little boy said, I know that, dad, but right now I'm looking at this bully, and when I see him this way, it makes him so small that I'm not afraid of him anymore. Some of you today need to turn your telescope around. You've magnified the problem long enough. You've thought about how impossible it is and how it's never going to work out. But if you could just turn it around, you would get the right perspective. You would realize that it's no big deal. All God has to do is breathe in your direction. That dream coming to pass that looks so impossible, so unlikely. If you could just by faith turn your telescope around, you would realize that all it takes is one touch of God's favor. Just one phone call, one good break, meeting one right person. It all worked out. It's amazing what God will do when we have the right perspective. In Second Chronicles, Chapter 20, King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah were surrounded by three major armies that were quickly closing in on them in the natural, they didn't have a chance. They were outnumbered, probably 10 to 1. But instead of complaining, Jehoshaphat got all the people together and he began to pray. He didn't say, poor old us, God, why is this happening? No, he began to talk about the greatness of God. He said, God, we know you rule all the nations of the world. All power and might is in your hand. Nothing can stand against you. Then he began to thank God for what he had done in the past. He began to remember his victories. He said, God, we know you are the one that drove the inhabitants out of this land. God, you gave us this city that you promised our ancestor Abraham. God, you defeated this enemy on and on. What was he doing in his time of difficulty? Making sure he had the right perspective, magnifying God and not his problem in the same way, in our times of difficulty, instead of complaining, God, the economy's so bad, gas is getting so high. God, I don't think my child's ever going to straighten up. God, I don't see how I could ever get well. No, if you talk defeat, you're going to have defeat. You've got to do like Jehoshaphat and say, God, you are an awesome God. You created the whole universe. Nothing's too hard for you. God, you said you knew me before I was formed in my mother's womb. And so, God, I'm not worried about this problem. I know you're greater than this financial difficulty. You make streets out of gold. I know you're more powerful than this sickness. You created my body. When you magnify God, faith rises in your heart. When you talk about God's greatness, your problems get smaller and smaller. It's good to do like Jehoshaphat. Look back over your life and remember the great things God has done. God, I remember how you healed my mother when they said there was no hope. God, I remember when I walked into the jewelry store and met Victoria. I remember, God, how you protected me on the highway when my car was spinning around in the rain that day. God, I remember how you gave us this beautiful facility when all the odds are against us. When you remember the great things God has done, you'll know. If God did it for you back then, God will do it for you right now. One time in the scripture, the prophet Elijah was facing a major challenge. 400 false prophets had come against him. They decided to have a contest to see which God was real. Elijah ended up calling down fire from heaven. It destroyed those 400 prophets. It was a great victory, one of the highlights of his life. But there was a lady there named Jezebel. When she heard what happened to her prophets, she was furious. She sent word to Elijah saying, if I don't kill you by this time tomorrow myself, then I'm going to take my own life. When Elijah heard this, he was so afraid, he took off running. He ran and ran so far until he finally hid underneath the tread. So depressed, so discouraged, he said, God, I don't even want to live anymore. I'm done. God, just take me on home. Think about it. He had just seen God rain down fire from heaven. He had just seen God protect him from 400 men. Now he is allowing one angry woman. I could make a joke, but I'm not to cause him to want to give up and quit. What happened? He lost his perspective. If he would have just remembered what God did a few days earlier, he wouldn't have been so afraid. I wonder how many Times we do the same thing. All seen God do great things in our lives. We've seen God protect us and show us favor and cause us to be at the right place at the right time. But if we're not careful, we'll face a challenge and we'll think, oh, this is never going to change. This enemy is too big. No. The same God that brought you through last time is standing by your side, ready to bring you through this time. The same God that made a way last year is going to make a way this year. The same God that showed you his favor, his mercy, his goodness. This he has not lost his power. He's still on the throne. He's still the great I am. He's still the God who's more than enough. If you'll have the right perspective and believe that he's bigger and believe that right now he's fighting your battles for you, then you will see his power, his goodness, his mercy once again. Like you've seen in the past, remember your victories. It'll help you to not lose perspective. When Victoria and I first got married, we lived in a townhouse that backed up to the woods. Our family room was at the back of the house, and we had this window from floor to ceiling. And when you looked through the family room, it was just like you were outside. Our bedroom was right up the stairs, kind of looking down on the family room. One Saturday, Victoria got up early to go to work at the jewelry store with her mom. And a few seconds after she walked out of the bedroom, she came running back in. Said, joel, get up. There's a squirrel in our family room right in front of the window. I said, no, Victoria, your perspective is off. It's an illusion. It looks like he's inside, but really he's outside. She said, okay. She went back out. A few seconds later, she came back in. Her eyes are this big, Joel. I'm telling you, the squirrel is inside our house. My heart started beating, and I walked out about halfway down the stairs. And sure enough, there he was. The squirrel inside about 20ft in front of me, thought, oh, man, I don't want to deal with this squirrel. I'm afraid of squirrels. I said, victoria, come over here and help me. And all Victoria could do was laugh. When she gets nervous, she starts laughing. I said, victoria, there is nothing funny about this squirrel being in our house. About that time, the squirrel took a few steps toward me. I thought, now, wait a minute, and I backed up. He took more steps toward me. I thought, dear God, do not Let this squirrel attack me in my own home. I decided I was gonna make a run for it. With the adrenaline flowing, I turned around and I ran up the stairs as fast as I could. Got to my bedroom, shut the door. God is my witness, that squirrel beat me to the bedroom. He was right at my feet, looking up at me like he had a big grin on his face. I nearly passed out. I had to call. I had to call Victoria's dad to come get this squirrel out of our house. What's my point? I've learned to never question Victoria's perspective anymore. I forgot my next story, y'all. In Second Kings, chapter six, the Syrian army had quietly snuck up one night and surrounded Elisha's house. Early the next day, his servant went out and saw all these enemy forces, thousands of troops, chariots, horses, everywhere he looked. And the servant went back in and said, elisha, I've got terrible news. We're surrounded. Get up. What are we going to do? We don't have a chance. I love Elisha's attitude. He had a different perspective. He said in verse 16, don't be afraid. Those that are for us are greater than those that are against us. The servant was puzzled. He said, what do you mean, Elisha? Just me and you. Two of us. I saw thousands of them. Elisha prayed a very simple prayer. He said, lord, open his eyes that he might see. He was saying, in effect, God, help him to have the right perspective. Let him know who's really on our side. The scripture says that the Lord opened the young man's eyes to where he could see into the unseen spiritual realm. This time when he went out and looked, he didn't just see the Syrian army. He saw a vast host of the heavenly armies all across the mountainside, hundreds of thousands of these powerful warring angels dressed and ready for battle. Once he saw that, he wasn't intimidated anymore. He had the right perspective. You may be facing a big challenge today. God is saying the same thing to you that he said to that young man. Be afraid. Those that are for you are greater than those that are against you. The obstacle may be high, but our God is the most high. The enemy may be powerful, but our God is all powerful. Keep the right perspective. Turn your telescope around. Don't focus on the size of the problem. Focus on the size of your God. He's brought you through in the past. He's going to bring you through in the future. I speak strength into you today. I speak healing. I speak determination, wisdom, confidence. I declare you will not be Intimidated. Friends, today the tide of the battle is beginning to turn. You will not be overcome. You will be the overcomer. You will not be the victim, you will be the victor. God is fighting your battles for you. He's going to defeat your enemies. And I believe and declare. He's not only going to bring you out, he's going to bring you out better off than you were before. In Jesus name, if you receive it, can you say Amen? 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 you places that you've never dreamed of. When we face challenges, it's easy to feel like God has forgotten about us. We don't see anything happening. Thoughts tell us it's not going to work out. But God is not called the great I was or the great I will be. He's called the great I am. In my new book He Is I Am. You'll discover that God is with you in every area of your life. I am is always in the present, not at a later time. God is working in your life right now. I am means I am your healer. I am your provider. I am your waymaker. Whether you're facing a challenge or pursuing your dreams, stay in faith. The great I Am is right there with you.