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Joel Osteen (0:11)

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Joel Osteen (1:30)

Hi, this is Joel in 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. It's a joy to come into your homes. 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. But thanks so much for tuning in. I like to get started each week with something kind of funny. And I heard about this woman that surprised a burglar in her kitchen one night. She was alone and unarmed and she didn't really know what to do so she thought she would just shout a scripture verse at him and so she shouted out Acts 2:38. The burglar suddenly froze in his tracks. The police soon arrived and they they were amazed at how a woman with no weapon could do this. And they asked the burglar, what was it about that scripture verse that had such an effect on you? He said, scripture? What scripture? I thought she said she had an Axe and two 38s. Alright, hold your Bible up. 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'll never be the same. In Jesus name, God bless you. I want to talk to you today about reaching your highest potential. It's easy to get stuck in life where we think we've reached our limits. We've gone as far in our career as we can go. We'll never be any more talented, never rise any higher. But that's very untrue. As long as you're breathing, you have potential that you've not yet tapped into. There are gifts and talents that you've not yet discovered. You can go further in your career. You can rise higher than you are. There is a hidden treasure that's buried on the inside. When God created you, he not only breathed his life into you, but he deposited a part of himself into you. He put in you everything you need to fulfill your destiny on the inside. Right now, you have seeds of greatness just waiting to take root and blossom. And if we're going to tap into this hidden treasure, we have to have a pioneering spirit. You can go where no one in your family has ever gone. You can accomplish things that you once thought were impossible. You have talent and ability that has not yet come out to the full. My challenge to you today is don't die with the treasure still buried. Your gift to yourself and your gift to this world is to release the treasure that's been locked up on the inside. And I found that God always puts bigger things in our spirit than we think we can accomplish in our own ability. And that's how he stretches us. So don't be surprised if you don't feel like you're qualified. You don't feel like you're able to do it. That's okay. You may not feel like you're able to, but when you take that step of faith, God will give you strength. He'll give you ability. He'll give you favor. That's when the treasure will begin to be released. I believe in the coming days, God's going to present us with new and exciting opportunities. Some of you are going to be offered a new position at work in the natural. It's going to seem like it's over your head. You'll be tempted to shrink back and think, I can't do that. I'm not experienced enough. I Don't have the education. But no, it may be over your head. But the good news is it's not over God's head. He's already deposited in you exactly what you need. God wouldn't have brought the opportunity. He wouldn't have given you the desire. And if you didn't already have what it takes. If you will rise up in faith, with boldness, with confidence, knowing that you are well able, you'll begin to see new gifts, new talents, new strengths, new ability. They'll begin to come forth. They're in you. You've just got to work with God to get them out. Some of you are going to have an opportunity to go back to school, an opportunity to start your own business, or maybe even to change careers. And the easy thing to do is just sit back and stay where you are, play it safe and be comfortable. But if you're going to tap into this hidden treasure, you've got to be willing to go where you've never gone before. If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat. It's interesting. When Peter walked on the water, there were other disciples in the boat. Those other men had the same potential to walk on the water when. Why was Peter the only one that did it? Peter was the only one willing to get out of his comfort zone and try something that he had never tried before. He was the only one, so to speak, to release his potential. You have the potential in you right now for every opportunity that God brings across your path. But you got to do like Peter and get out of your safe zone and get over into the faith zone. That's where you know you need God's help. That's where you're stretching yourself and you're putting a demand on your potential. This is what I did when my father went to be with the Lord. It was nine years ago this week. Now, I never dreamed I could do this. I didn't think this was in me. I liked being behind the scenes. I did that for 17 years. My personality really is more quiet and reserved. I told my father a thousand times, daddy, I'm not a minister. It's just not in me. But when my father died, all of a sudden I had a desire. And I knew that. I knew I was supposed to step up and pastor the church. But in the natural, it didn't make a lot of sense to me. I didn't feel qualified. I didn't feel like I had the experience. But deep down, I believed this was a part of my God. Given destiny. So I took that step of faith. And little by little, I discovered a gift. Talent buried on the inside, just waiting to come out. I wonder how many people. I wonder how many people die with the treasure still in them. They let their fears, their insecurities, their lack of confidence to keep them from stepping out. Don't let that be you. You have so much more in you, more than you realize. You can rise higher than you think. You have talent that's not yet been fully developed. You have gifts that you've not yet discovered. If you will rise up in confidence and take advantage of your God given opportunities, you'll be amazed at what you accomplished. You'll look back one day like I do now and say, man, I can't believe I can do this. I didn't even know it was in me. That's the way God is. He wants to amaze you with his goodness. He wants to take you places that you've never thought possible. Don't get satisfied where you are. Don't get too comfortable to where you think. Well, I'm doing pretty good in life, Joel. I've gone as far as my parents, gone as far as my grandparents. No, God wants you to go further. He wants every generation to increase. This is your year to do something that you've never done before. This is your year to stretch your faith. In Joshua, chapter 3, verse 4, God had been leading the people of Israel and he made this one statement. You have not passed this way before. I believe God is saying that to each one of us, new seasons are on the horizon. New opportunities are coming your way. This is your year to go beyond the barriers of the past. This is your year to release your potential by stepping into uncharted territories. And you may have had some great victories in the past, but let me tell you, you haven't seen anything yet. God never performs his greatest feats in our yesterdays. They are still in our future. Dare to believe. Dare to take some steps of faith, you say? Joel, I don't know if this is for me today. I'm just a stay at home mom. I'm just a student. I'm just a carpenter. I'm just a business person. No, you're not just anything. You're a child of the most high God. And on the inside of you, you are full of unlimited possibilities. You have not tapped into everything that's in you. You have not seen your best days in your career, in your finances, in your relationships. Why don't you enlarge your vision? Why don't you believe that you do have what it takes when these opportunities arise, have the attitude, I know who I am. I'm anointed, I'm equipped, I'm empowered, I'm talented, I'm creative. No obstacle is too high. No challenge is too difficult. No enemy is too powerful. I am well able to do what God's called me to do. You got to have that pioneering spirit. Be willing to go into uncharted territories. Don't get complacent. Take on things that stretch you, things that you've never done before. I was reading about this college professor at a major university. He was in class about to pass out the final exam, the most important test of the year. But before he did, he told his students how proud he was of them and how disciplined they had been and how they just worked so hard. And since they had done so well, he made them a special offer. He said, anyone would like to get an automatic C on this test, just raise your hand and you don't even have to take the test. I'll just give you a C. One hand went up, another, another, another, until about half of the class had opted out of taking the test, and they just got the automatic C. They were so happy, they left there full of joy. He went on to pass out the test to the rest of the students. He placed it face down on their desk, asked them not to turn it over until he instructed them to do so. And for the next few minutes, he really encouraged them and told them how they were going to do great things in life. On and on. Then he gave them the okay to turn the test over and begin. Well, the test just had two short sentences. It read, congratulations, you just made an A. But this is what we do many times in life. We just settle where we are. Instead of stretching, instead of believing, instead of really developing our potential, we sit back and say, hey, a seed's not so bad. I'm doing okay in my career. I'm doing good enough. Maybe so, but you have more in you. Don't take the easy way out. Keep growing, keep learning. Stir up the gifts that are on the inside. You have to put a demand on your potential. That's the only way it'll be released. I remember when I was growing up, our next door neighbor had a big German shepherd in their backyard. And even though their yard was fenced off, they usually kept him on a leash. And one day when I was about eight or nine years old, I was in my backyard playing baseball with some friends, and the ball went over into their yard. And I didn't think much about it. I'd been over there plenty of times, never had a problem. And so I got a small ladder to help me get over the fence. It was a six foot fence. And I went over there and I picked up the ball. And when I did, that dog came charging toward me 90 miles per hour. For some reason he was not on the leash this day. And my heart sunk. I thought I was good as dead. I turned around and took off running toward our fence as fast as I could, like my life depended on it. When I got there, all in one motion, I grabbed the top of the fence with one hand and. And I jumped as high as I could. And somehow I made it over that fence. I mean, I was just a little boy and I practically jumped over a six foot fence. I don't believe that phrase anymore. White men can't jump. I jumped that day, I promise you, I jumped. What's my point? That dog helped me to discover potential that I never knew I had. I had never jumped that high before. Fact is, I have never jumped that high since. But I'm glad to know at least it's in me. That's what happens when you put a demand on your potential. It comes out. You'll be amazed at what you can do when you put yourselves in situations where you need it. It's like this guy I heard about. He was walking home late at night, decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery. What he didn't know is they had dug a great big hole earlier that day. He didn't see it and he accidentally fell down in it. He tried and tried to get out, but it was too deep. He kicked and screamed and hollered and called for people, but no success. After about two hours, he finally just gave up. Sat down on the side, knew he'd have to wait till morning. Well, a few hours later, an old drunk man came stumbling along and sure enough, he fell into the same hole. He didn't see the man sitting over there and he just stayed quiet. And this drunk man screamed, hollered, kicked, did the same thing, on and on, tried to grab, kept falling back down, and again, no success. The guy sitting down decided to have some fun with him. He said in a deep, scary voice, you'll never get out of here. You know what's interesting? He did. You know, you can do a whole lot when you put a demand on your potential. I want you to have a new boldness today, a new confidence. You are full of possibility. Don't you dare sit around thinking about what you can't do? Well, I could never be in management. I could never speak in public, Joel. I could never get over that fence like you could. I bet you could. If you saw that dog chasing you, you would discover things in you you never knew you had. And God's trying to plant new seeds in your heart today. You've got to enlarge your vision. Believe that you do have what it takes. I pray every day, God, stretch me. Give me new opportunities, help me to grow when they come. I do my best to take that step of faith, but it's easy to get comfortable. It's easy to settle where we are and just kind of think, hey, I'm doing as good as anybody else in my family. I'm doing as good as my friends. No, you're not competing against them. You. You should compete against your own self. You know when you're stretching, you know when you're pushing yourself. Don't wait for the dog to come chasing you before you convince yourself to jump. Stir up your gifts on the inside. God's saying, I'm going to take you somewhere that you've never been before. I'm going to open up new opportunities. I'm going to give you new ways to increase. Are you prepared? Then you say, joel, I'm not that talented. I could never lead my company in sales. Who told you that? The creator of the universe says you have everything you need to succeed. Well, I could never go further in my career. I don't have the education. Who says Almighty God has deposited a part of himself into you? Well, I tried once and failed. It didn't work out. Try again. It's still in you. You can overcome every obstacle. You can fulfill every dream. You are anointed. You are equipped. You are empowered. This is your season to come up higher. Now, I believe the hidden treasure that's been buried in you, maybe even for years, God's about to release. He's going to give you new opportunities to draw that potential out. What I'm saying today is get ready, be a pioneer. Be willing to go into uncharted territories. Maybe something that looks so big to you, you think, how could I do this? This doesn't seem possible. That's okay. The scripture says it's not by our might, not by our power. One translation says it's by the breath of Almighty God. That simply means God's going to breathe in your direction. You take that step of faith and do what you know God's put in your heart and he'll breathe favor, he'll breathe wisdom. He'll breathe ability. Really. You don't have to worry about it. You don't have to know how it's all going to happen. All you've got to do is stay in faith and keep doing your best day in and day out. You and God are a majority. You have not seen your best days. If you're in sales, you haven't seen your best year in sales just yet. It's still in your future. If you're a teacher, you haven't taught your best lesson yet. If you're an athlete, you hadn't played your best game yet. New seasons are on their way. God's about to launch you into a new dimension. Potential is going to be released in you that you never even knew you had. You have not passed this way before, but you've got to do your part when these opportunities arise. You can't shrink back and think, oh, I can't do this. This is too much for me. No, it may be too much for you, but it's not too much for our God. Dare to believe. And you can't let people talk you out of what you feel on the inside. One of the best things I've ever learned is other people don't have to believe in my dream for it to come to pass. Everybody's not going to agree with you. There will always be naysayers, people telling you things like, you really think you can take that new position? You really think you're qualified to be in management? You really think you have what it takes? Just tell them, I don't think so. I know so. I'm a child of the most high God. I'm filled with seeds of greatness. And I know God would not have given me this opportunity if he had not already equipped and empowered me. So I'm headed into uncharted territories. I'm going where I haven't been before. I really believe that God doesn't want our lives to be stagnant. And that's why he constantly gives us opportunities, stretch our faith. Opportunities that put a demand on our potential so it won't just lie there dormant. We should have a goal that we're not going to die with any treasure left on the inside. Let's live full so we can die empty. That means all of our potential has been spent. In the Old Testament, when Moses died after leading the people many years, God raised up Joshua. Joshua wasn't sure if he could do it. He didn't know if he was really qualified. He faced the same fears and insecurities that we face today. But God said to him, joshua, be strong and courageous. You know what God was doing? He was calling out the courage that he had already deposited into Joshua. He knew Joshua was well able. He knew he could do it. After all, he's the one that put it in him. He simply had to get Joshua to get an agreement. And so God called it out. Be strong. Be courageous. God went on to tell him, joshua, as I was with Moses, I will be with you. When my father went to be with the Lord, that was one of my favorite scriptures. At times, I didn't know if I could do this. I didn't know if I felt qualified. But I'd just remind myself, as God was with my father all those years, he's with me right now. And I just started calling it out of me. I would say, I am strong. I'm anointed, I'm talented, I'm creative. People like me, I'm well able to do what God's called me to do. You got to call out the good things that God's put in you. Call out strength, call out excellence, call out favor, call out determination. It's in you, but you got to call it out. I'd go around reminding myself, God's breathing in my direction. Those that are for me are greater than those that are against me. This may be over my head, but it's not over God's head. I conceived it on the inside. Now I'm seeing it come to pass on the outside. Well, what are you calling out over your life, over your future? Well, Joel, I think I've reached my limits. And I don't think I'll ever get out of this problem. And I just never get any good breaks. No, you're calling out defeat, failure, mediocrity. You need to start saying, I am strong, I am blessed. I have the favor of God. Whatever I touch, prospers and succeed. Get your thoughts going in the right direction. And I found that many times. In our heart, we believe we can rise higher. In our heart, we believe we can stretch to a new level and do things that we've never done before. But it's our mind that tries to talk us out of it. Our natural mind will tell us things like, you can't take that promotion. You're not qualified. You're going to get there and look like a fool. Or you can't get into that new relationship. You've been hurt before, you're going to get hurt again. You can't be a ministry leader. You're too shy. You won't know what to say. Our mind tries to talk us out of what our heart knows. The Scripture says if any two of you agree, it creates an atmosphere for things to happen. And I know technically that means getting another person to agree with you. But I believe if you'll simply get your mind to agree with your heart and you come into agreement with yourself, then God can do great things. After all, sometimes you can't find anybody to agree with you. Your friends won't encourage you. Your family members may not think you have what it takes. That's okay. If you'll come into agreement with yourself, you and God are a majority. As God was with Moses, he will be with you. And if we're going to head into these uncharted territories, we can't dwell on all the what ifs. What if I take this new position and fail? What if you take it and succeed? What if I change jobs and I don't make any new friends? Joel, what if you change jobs and you make better friends than you've had before? Well, what if I take that course at night and it doesn't do me any good? What if you take it and it propels you to a new level? You're never going to know unless you try. If you're waiting for all your circumstances and all your friends and family to get behind you before you decide to take steps of faith, you will never develop your full potential. And it's great when people are behind us. But even if they're not, if you'll come into agreement with yourself and just say, God, I know you brought this opportunity across my path. And I'm not going to dwell on the what ifs. I'm not going to shrink back in fear. I'm going to be bold. I'm going to be strong. Because I know you are right here with me. I was reading about a gentleman that had a desire to start a magazine. His dream was to have a small, pocket sized magazine full of inspirational stories that people could carry around with them and read throughout the week. But everybody told him that it wouldn't work. They said people don't want inspiration, they want news, they want entertainment. They told how that small size would never sell. It was different. He was out of the box. He was into uncharted territories. Even the famous publisher, William Randolph Hearst tried to discourage him and tell him that it would never happen. But this gentleman, he just politely plugged his ears full of cotton and published his magazine anyway. He had collected thousands of stories leading up to that time. He was prepared. And he started off by printing just a few hundred copies. It grew to a few thousand, then more and more and more. Today, Reader's Digest has over 100 million readers. It's one of the great success stories of our times. I love the fact this man went into uncharted territories. He didn't let people talk him out of his dream. He came into agreement with himself. And he saw God do more than he could even ask or think. And I know some of you, we all at times have tried and failed. You hit some obstacles, it didn't work out, but you got to get back up and go again. It's not over until God says it's over. You still have the potential on the inside. I was watching the football playoffs the other night. It was a really great game. The score was going back and forth, and in the second half, the field goal kicker for the New York Giants twice had an opportunity to win the game by kicking a field goal. The distance was easily makeable. I mean, it wasn't that far, not for a professional kicker. But both times he missed. I mean, it's a big deal to miss once in professional football, but in a playoff game, to miss twice in one half is really something else. And the coach was just beside himself. Well, the game went into overtime. The Giants got the ball back. They were marching down the field trying to score a touchdown. First one that scores wins in overtime. But once again, they got stopped. It was fourth down, and the coach had to make a decision. Was he going to let him attempt another field goal? This one would be further than the two he had already missed, or was he just going to punt the ball away? And the coach was just debating on the sideline. He only has, like, 20, 30 seconds to make a decision. So he looked up and down the sideline to see what the kicker thought. He couldn't find him anywhere. Finally, he looked on the field. The kicker was already lined up in position, ready to kick the field goal. The coach said when he saw the confidence and determination of that young man that made his decision to let him attempt it. And this time, even though it was further, he stepped up, kicked it straight through the uprights, won the game for the Giants. You may have missed a couple times in life, maybe a couple hundred times. We all have. But my question to you is, are you running back on the field? Do you still know, like this young man, that you've got it on the inside? Don't let your mistakes your Disappointments, life's failures to keep you from pressing forward. The potential is still in you. You're well able to do what God's called you to do. Now, I believe in the coming days you're going to have opportunities to release your potential in greater ways than you've ever seen before. Don't pass it by. Don't take a C. That's okay. But you were made for more than that. As long as you're breathing, you've got more on the inside. You can rise higher than you are. It may seem impossible, but as God was with Moses, he will be with you. Don't die with your treasure still buried. Get out of your safe zone and get over into the faith zone. And just as God called strength and courage out of Joshua. I'm calling strength out of you. I'm calling courage out of you. I'm speaking to every gift, every talent. I'm just calling them forth. Not halfway, not three fourths of the way. But I declare that your potential is going to be released to the full. You're going to go places you never thought possible. You're going to discover gifts and talents that you never even knew you had. So put your shoulders back. Carry yourself with confidence. You're children of the most High God. If you'll be bold and dare to take these steps of faith, God's going to breathe in your direction. You're going to go into uncharted territories. You're going to accomplish more than you ever even thought possible. Amen. How many of 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 first place. He'll take you places that you've never dreamed of.