Joel Osteen (0:01)

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Victoria Osteen (0:31)

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Joel Osteen (1:04)

Try Angel Star for your tushy. It's made by angels Soft and strong. Budget friendly. The choice is simple. A roll that feels like paradise and always at a heavenly prize. Angel Soft, Angel Soft. Soft and strong. So simple. Pick up a pack today. Angel Soft, Soft and strong. Circle. 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. God bless you. Always a joy to come into your homes and we love you. We know God has great things in store for you. Been telling these guys this is going to be the best year of your life so far. So get that down on the inside. But thanks for tuning in. Come out and see us whenever you can. We'd love to have you. I like to get started each week with something funny. I heard about this pastor. He was raising money for a new sanctuary. He told his congregation one Sunday morning, if anybody will give $1,000, you can pick out the next three hymns. A little old lady in the back raised up her hand, said, pastor, I'll do it. He was so excited. He said, thank you so much. Go ahead and pick out the next three hymns. She looked over the congregation and said, I'll take him. And him and him. 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 boldly confess. My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be the same. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever living seed of the Word of God. I'll never be the same. Never, never, never. I'll never be the same. In Jesus name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about living in total victory. A little over 2,000 years ago, they crucified Jesus on the cross. They put him in the grave and they thought that was the end of it. But thank God, on the third day he arose. He said, because I live, you shall live also. He wasn't talking about just breathing. He was talking about living an abundant life. Not a barely get by life. Not a life filled with bad habits and addictions and lack and mediocrity. No, because of the price he paid, we have a right to live in total victory. Now I want you to get that down on the inside. Not partial victory to where we have a good family, we have good health, but we constantly struggle in our finances. That's not total victory. If God did it for you in one area, he can do it for you in another area. Get a vision for it. Don't get stagnant. I know people that have plenty of money, they have good health, but they can't get along in relationships. There's always strife in their home. That's not total victory. Maybe God's blessed you and you have a good family, a good job. But you've had pain in your body for years and years. You used to stand against it. You used to believe you could be free. But now it's been so long. You've just decided. This is my lot in life, Joel. I guess this is my cross to carry. See, too often we accept things defeat mediocrity, addictions. People tell me, Joel, that's just who I am. But with all due respect, that's not who you really are. You are a child of the most High God. He has paid the price so that we may be totally free. That means free from bad habits and addictions. Free from fear and worry, free from discouragement and depression. Free from poverty and lack, free from low self esteem. God wants us to be totally free. The scripture tells us to take hold of all. Christ died and rose again. For sometimes we're taking hold in three or four areas. We're real strong with certain things. But in another area, we're passive. For instance, you may be a hard worker, you get there on time every Day you give it your best, but you tend to be negative and critical. Well, don't go the next 20 years like that. If you're going to live in total victory, you have to stir yourself up and say, that's it. I'm not going to sit back and learn to live with this negative mindset or with these addictions or with low self esteem. I'm going to take hold of everything Christ died and rose again for. I'm going to believe for total victory. You can imagine how God must feel when he sees us allowing things to control us, keep us in mediocrity here. He's already paid the ultimate price. Let's not let his payment be in vain. I talked to a man last week and he told how he has struggled with smoking since he was 9 years old. He looked to be in his 40s. He said, Joel, this is just who I am. It's all I've ever known. I don't think I'll ever be able to quit. I told him what I'm telling you. That's not who you really are. God made you to be totally free. The price has been paid. But you have to do your part and walk it out. It all starts right here. You've got to know that you not only have a right to be free, but God's already empowered you with everything you need to overcome. You need to start seeing yourself the right way. You are not a sick person trying to get well. You are a well person fighting off sickness. God made you healthy and whole. Our original state is total freedom. Change the way you look at it. Well, I don't think I could ever control my temper, Joel. I've always been hot headed. My father was the same way. No, the problem is you're seeing yourself defeated. You're seeing yourself not able to. You need to start seeing yourself totally free. In other words, I may struggle with alcohol or. But I am not an alcoholic. That's not who God made me to be. And I'm not going to just sit back and say to myself, too bad, this is who I am. No, I know God created me to be totally free. And I'm going to rise up and start walking in that freedom. What I'm saying is you won't change on the outside until you first change on the inside. If you're going around telling yourself, I can't do this, this is just who I am. I've been this way so long, you're already defeated. You've got to be convinced deep down in here that you do have the power to overcome. You may have made poor choices. We all have. You may have opened up the door to the enemy, but that does not change the fact that you still have a right to be totally free. The Scripture says in Ephesians 1, verse 4, long before God laid down earth's foundation, he had us on his mind. Because of the sacrifice Christ made. We are a free people. And not just barely free, but abundantly free. One translation says unquestionably free. I like that phrase. Before God created the world, he was thinking about us. If you're going to be free, you need to know who you are. You're not just anybody. You're a child of the Most High God. He has breathed his very life into you. You have his royal blood flowing through your veins. It's the blood of a champion. You're not ordinary. You come from great stock. Your heavenly Father spoke the worlds into existence long before you ever got here. He was thinking about you. And let me assure you, he didn't create you to be average. He didn't create you to barely get by, to have all kinds of things holding you back. You've got to get the right vision. God created you to be totally free, to have peace in your mind, to walk in divine health, to have good relationships, to have plenty to pay your bills. God created us as victors and not victims. You may have things that are trying to hold you back. Maybe you've struggled in certain areas for a long time. But don't make the mistake of becoming complacent. We never change what we tolerate. You've got to just draw the line in the sand and say, that's it. I may have struggled with my finances for as long as I can remember, but I'm not going to settle for mediocrity. I know I am blessed and I cannot be cursed. Or I may have had this addiction for 30 years. But I'm not going to give in and learn to live with it. I'm going to start taking steps to overcome, going to pray, I'm going to believe, I'm going to ask for help. I'm going to get some friends to stand with me. If you'll do what you can do, God will help you do what you can't do. But it all starts right here. You've got to know who you are. You're not average, you're not ordinary, but a child of Almighty God. The Apostle Paul said, stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has set you free. He's saying all through life things are going to come against us to try to take away our freedom. We have to stand fast. That means don't give in to wrong thinking. Don't get lazy and say, oh, Joel, it's just me. This is the way I've always been. My family struggled with these same problems. No, you've got to be aggressive if you're going to hold on to the freedom that belongs to you. I know some of you can look back in your family line and you see a long history of defeat, mediocrity, addictions. Maybe your parents or relatives, they were good people, but they struggled with some of the same things that are trying to hold you back. But the good news is, when you came to Christ, you entered into a new bloodline. Your spiritual bloodline is more powerful than your natural bloodline. Back in the Old Testament, under the old covenant, they really understood the power of the bloodline. That's why they would pray to the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. They were reminding God, my father served you, my grandfather, my great grandfather. They were saying, in effect, God, we have a history with you because of the covenant you made with our forefathers. We have rights and privileges. A family lineage was extremely important. And this first covenant, the Old covenant, was established with Abraham. He was Jewish, of course, and back in those days, if you weren't Jewish, you didn't have a right to God's blessings and favor like the other Jewish people. In Luke chapter 13, a lady had been bent over with some kind of sickness for 18 years. And Jesus saw her and said something interesting. Should not this woman be loosed from this sickness, seeing that she is a daughter of Abraham? Notice it was significant that she came from the right family line. She was a part of the covenant, so she had rights and privileges. Another place, just the opposite happened. Jesus was walking through a village. This lady came up and asked him to pray for her daughter. Jesus said in effect, I'm sorry, ma'am, I can't do that. You come from the wrong family. She begged him and begged him. Eventually, Jesus changed his mind. But back then, people were rejected. They didn't have God's favor simply because of their natural bloodline. You know, in a sense, that doesn't seem fair. You're not blessed if you're not from the right family. But here's the beauty. When Jesus died and rose again, he made a way for all people to come to him, both Jews and Gentiles. It says in Galatians, if you belong to Christ, then you are the Seed of Abraham and heirs according to the promise. What that means is because of what God has done now we have a right to have total victory. We have a right to the blessings of Abraham. That's why you can't listen to those lies that are telling you. You come from the wrong family. You're never going to be successful. You're depressed because your mother was depressed. Or you've got a problem with alcohol because your father, your grandfather, you'll never change. Or maybe there's divorce all through your family line. Now you're headed down that same direction. No, those are lies. You've entered into a new bloodline. You have a right to be free. And if God were looking at you, he'd say the same thing he said to that first woman. Should not this man free from this addiction, seeing that he is a son of Abraham? Should not this lady live in total victory, seeing that she's a daughter of Abraham? Friends, we're under a new covenant. In your natural bloodline, you may look back and see depression and defeat and mediocrity and addictions. But in your new bloodline, you have the strength of Samson, the wisdom of Solomon, the courage of Esther, the determination of Nehemiah, the compassion of Ruth. There is strength, power, victory, success, healing, favor, blessings. In your new bloodline, you need to quit dwelling so much on the natural. Quit looking back, thinking, man, I got so much coming against me. No. Your new bloodline says you are well able. You have the blood of a champion on the inside. There is nothing that you can't overcome. You can accomplish your dreams. You can defeat a bad habit. You can withstand that sickness. Why? Because the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is on the inside of you. Get a vision for it. And I'm not saying that we don't have to overcome issues from the past. But I am saying God has given us the power to overcome. It says that Christ has redeemed us from the curse. The curse is any kind of defeat, mediocrity, lack. We have been set free from that. In other words, we don't have to settle there. Even if you have to stand against it your whole lifetime. Don't give in. Fight the good fight of faith. Know who you are, the seed of Abraham. You have rights and privileges. One of those privileges is total victory. We're supposed to be unquestionably free. That means free in our mind, free from worry. We're not all upset. We know God is in control. He has us in the palm of his hand. Free from poverty and Lack. No matter what the bank account looks like, our attitude is, I know I am blessed and I cannot be cursed. Whatever I touch is going to prosper and succeed. Freedom from sickness and disease instead of going around dwelling on it. Oh, man, I think this thing is going to be the end of me. No, I know God is restored in health unto me. Every cell in my body is getting better and better. God is renewing my youth like the eagles, a vision for total victory. I love what God said to Abraham. Every place the sole of your foot shall tread, I will give it to you. He was saying, abraham, everywhere you dare go, cause that land to be yours, I will cause you to be victorious. God's saying the same thing to every one of us. If you will dare take that step of faith and believe you can be free, believe you can overcome, believe you can come up higher. Everywhere you put your faith, God is saying, I'll back you up. I'll bring it to pass. But sometimes we're waiting on God, but God's waiting on us. We have to make the first move. Then God will make a move. In the Old Testament, David and Jonathan were best friends. They were in covenant relationship together. One day, Jonathan and his father, King Saul, were killed in a battle. Years later, David asked his servants if Jonathan had any relatives that were still alive. He wanted to do something good for them because of his friendship with Jonathan. And they told him that he had a small son that was still living. But he was crippled, he had been injured in an accident, and now he was living in extreme poverty in one of the dirtiest, most rundown cities in that area. Here he's the grandson of the king. He has rights and privileges because of the covenant David had with his father. But the problem is he doesn't understand what it means. He doesn't think he deserves it. After all, his grandfather, King Saul, had chased David through the wilderness for years, made David's life miserable. And on top of that, this young man was a cripple. He had so much coming against him. He had just settled for mediocrity. He had convinced himself that's all he deserved. But David said to his servants, I want you to go get this young man. I'm going to be good to him because of his father. I want him to live here in the palace with us. I want him to eat dinner with us each night. And not only that, going to give him back all the land that belonged to his family. They went and got him. His name was Mephibosheth. When he came in and first greeted David. It's very significant what he said. It shows us his attitude. It shows us why he had settled for defeat. He bowed his head low and said, oh, David, why would you take in a dead dog like me? There was his problem. He saw himself defeated. He saw himself as a failure. He had already made plans to stay in mediocrity here. He had a right to be living in the palace. He was royalty, the grandson of the king. He came from the right bloodline. But because he didn't understand what the covenant meant, he was living in defeat. I wonder how many of us do the same thing. Joel, I'll never be successful, man. I come from the wrong family or I've got disabilities like that young man. I've got some bad habits, some addictions. I've had them so long, I don't think I'll ever overcome. No, you've got to get a new image on the inside. You are the seed of Abraham. Two thousand years ago, God put in you the blood of a champion. You have victory flowing all through your veins. You're a part of the covenant. You have rights and privileges. Don't go around thinking about what you don't deserve and all the mistakes you've made. The fact is, none of us really deserve it. It's not because of what we've done. It's because. Because of what Jesus did. It doesn't please God for us to go around with that kind of weak worm of the dust mentality. You know, Joel, I made mistakes. I'm not worthy. I don't deserve it. No, God has made us worthy. The price has already been paid for us to live in victory. Let's rise up and start believing for the great things God has in store. I mean, how would we feel as parents if one day our children came in and said, oh, dad, I'm not worthy to be called your son. Just let me live out in the garage. Let me eat off the crumbs of the table. We'd pick them up, straighten their shoulders and say, what in the world are you talking about? You're my son. You're my daughter. Get in here and eat with us, live with us. And start acting like you're a part of the family. That's what honors God. When we put our shoulders back, when we hold our head up high and say, God, I know I'm your child. I know I'm the apple of your eye. I believe you've made me worthy. And you have great things in store. I don't know about you. But I like when my children are bold and confident. I like when they feel like there's something special. I see them come home from school. They go straight to the refrigerator. They don't ask. They don't say, dad, would it be okay if I get something to drink? They go in there like they own the place. Why? Because they know they're a part of the family. They know they have rights and privileges. So they go in there with boldness. If you're ever going to become everything God's created you to be, you have to have this same sense of boldness. Not an arrogance, not being cocky, but a quiet confidence, knowing I have a right to live in victory. I have a right to be successful. I have a right to overcome these addictions. I have a right to have peace in my mind. I have a right to be free from pain. I have a right to accomplish my dreams. Why I'm a part of the family. I remember one time when our son Jonathan was about three years old. He came up to me and started pointing out things in the house and asking me if they were his. He looked at the breakfast table and said, daddy, is that table mine? I said, yes, Jonathan, that table is yours. He looked at the chairs. Are those chairs mine? Are those. I said, yes, those chairs are yours. He took my hand and led me into the next room. He looked at the desk. Daddy, is that desk mine? Yes, it's yours. Is that lamp? Is that floor? I could tell this was going to go on for hours. So I picked him up and I carried him all around the house. Everything I saw, I pointed out. And I told him it was his. I said, jonathan, you see those doors? Those are your doors. Those are your windows. Those lights are yours. Those carpets are yours. Those dirty clothes are yours. On and on. Then I took him outside. I was going to do it right, get it done once and for all. I said, jonathan, you see those trees? They're yours. That garage is yours. That picnic table is yours. That swing set's yours. Then I showed him the fence. I said, jonathan, everything inside this fence belongs to you. When I got finished, it seemed like he was pretty satisfied. He knew it all belonged to him. We went back in, sat down. I was going to watch the ball game on the couch. Wasn't two seconds later, he came up and tapped me. He said, daddy, is this couch mine? I thought, oh, no, here we go again. I said, yes, Jonathan, the couch is yours. He said, daddy, get off my couch. I had to change it from yours to ours. But I believe if our heavenly Father was here, he would do the same thing. He would lead us around and say, you see that freedom? It's yours. You see that success? It's yours. See that healing? That's yours. Good relationships are yours. Wisdom is yours. Peace is yours. God is saying, today, everything I have belongs to you. Just don't tell God to get off your couch. I heard somebody say, if we really understood our position, then we could change our condition. In other words, our position is we are children of the most high God. He has crowned us with his glory and honor. He surrounded us with favor like a shield. We are blessed, we are equipped, we are anointed, we are empowered. We are called, we are chosen. That's our position way up here. Now, our condition may vary. You take the prodigal son. He was his father's son when he was living in the palace, and he was his father's son when he was living in the hog pen. His position never changed. His condition did. He went from being blessed and happy and prosperous to being miserable and depressed and having all kinds of hardships. He could have stayed out there like Mephibosheth and just settled for mediocrity, had defeat, lack addictions. But one day this young man said, arise and go back to my father's house. Because he understood his position, he was able to change his condition. Some of you, the only thing that's keeping you from total victory is you don't really understand your position. You don't have it firmly established in your heart who you are, the apple of God's eye, his most prized possession. You're so focused on your condition, what you're not and the mistakes you've made and what you don't deserve. Now you've developed a wrong image. You're seeing yourself weak, defeated, unworthy. You have to understand your position. Deep down in here, you got to know, no matter what's happened in your past, no matter who's in your natural bloodline, none of that changes your position. You are still a child of the most high God. You may have failed a thousand times, but you are not a failure. You may have gotten way off track, but that didn't change the covenant. Just like that prodigal son, whether you're in the palace or you're in the pits, you are still a child of the king. We need to do like that young man, and say, I'm going to arise and bring my condition in line with my position. I may be living way down here in defeat, mediocrity, wrong mindsets, But I'm not going to let that change my position. I'm not going to forget who I really am deep down in here. I may not feel like it, but I know that. I know I'm the seed of Abraham. I am royalty. I'm anointed. I've been redeemed. What you're really saying is I'm better than this. I was made to be totally free. To be healthy, to be whole. To be victorious. Understand God has given us the power to bring our condition in line with our position. It all starts right here. We have to think the right thoughts. We have to have the right image on the inside. Colossians 3:1 says, since you have been raised with Christ, set your mind on higher things. In other words, quit telling yourself. You can't quit going around thinking about what you're not and what you don't deserve. And instead set your mind on the fact that you were created to live in total victory. There's nothing you cannot overcome. The power in you is greater than the power that's trying to hold you back. I'm asking you today to never settle for partial victory. Some of you have just about given up on your dreams. It's been so long. You've had so much come against you. You need to get a new fire on the inside. God can still bring those dreams to pass. He still has a way. Some of you are learning to live with things that are far less than God's best. You have to draw the line in the sand and say, that's it. This is a new day. I'm going to take hold of everything Christ died and rose again for. Don't settle for mediocrity. Know who you are. Bring your condition in line with your position. Remember, you've entered into a new bloodline. You come from the right family. Blessings, favor and victory are in your family line. If you'll rise up in faith, believing for the best, pressing forward, God will help you to overcome. You will break bondages from the past. And I know you'll live the life of total victory God has in store. 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. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible based church. Keep God in first place. He's going to take you places you've never dreamed of.