Joel Osteen (0:02)

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Joel Osteen (0:07)

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Victoria Osteen (0:25)

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Joel Osteen (1:03)

I learned it from my adoptive mom. Hold my hand.

Narrator (1:06)

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Joel Osteen (1:19)

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. Always a joy to come into your homes. We love you and we know God has great things in store. If you're ever in our area, 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. Thanks again for coming out today. And I'd like to start with something funny. And I heard about this elderly man. He had a serious hearing problem for many years. He went to the doctor and was fitted with with this new high tech hearing aid to where he could hear once again, 100%. Went back a month later for a checkup. The doctor said, wow, your hearing is perfect. Your family must be so excited that you can hear again. He said, no, I haven't told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the different conversations and I've changed my will three times. All right, 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. In Jesus name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about reminding God what he said. One of the most powerful ways to pray is is to find a promise in the scripture and remind God what he said about you. God, you said, I'm blessed and cannot be cursed. God, you said, with long life you would satisfy me. God, you said, your favor is not for a season, but for a lifetime. When you can say God, you said, all of heaven comes to attention. God is faithful to his word. Now Isaiah 62 says, Put God in remembrance of his promises. It doesn't say, put God in remembrance of your problems. Sometimes we use prayer as an excuse to complain. God, these people at work are not treating me right. God, these gas prices are so high. I don't know how I'm going to make it. God, these children are getting on my nerves. I can't take it anymore. No, you don't have to tell God your problems. He already knows what you're going through. He knows every need, every concern. He knows the number of hair on our head. And sure it's okay to be open and honest and tell God how you feel. But don't turn that into a self pity session. All that's going to do is make you more discouraged. If you want to see things change, if you want God to turn it around it instead of complaining, find a promise you can stand on. Go to God and say, God, you said, when the enemy comes against me one way you would defeat them and cause them to flee seven different ways. Yes, these gas prices are high, but I'm not focused on that. God, you said you would supply all of my needs according to your riches. You said you are Jehovah Jireh, the Lord, my provider. Yes, these people at work are not treating me right. But I'm not here to complain. God, you said, you will be my Vindicator. You said you will fight my battles. You said what's meant for my harm you will turn and use to my advantage. When you put God in remembrance of his promises, that's what allows God to bring them to pass. You may not feel well. The medical report doesn't look good. You could easily say God, I don't see how I'm going to make it. I don't see how I'm ever going to get well. The report is so bad. No. Instead of putting God in remembrance of your problems, put God in remembrance of his promises. God, you said you would restore health unto me and heal me of my wounds. You said I would live and not die, you said what's impossible with men is possible with God. When you pray the promises instead of praying the problems, you. You'll not only feel better, it'll not only change your attitude from a victim to a victor, but God's word coming out of your mouth is alive and powerful. When God hears his promises, he dispatches angels with the answers. He sets the miracle into motion. He'll begin to change things in your favor. And it may not happen overnight. But if you'll just stay in faith and. And keep reminding God what he promised you day in and day out instead of complaining. God, you said, instead of begging. God, you said. Instead of describing the circumstances God, you said. If you'll get in a habit of saying God, you said, then eventually you will see what God said come to pass in your life one day. Instead of saying God, you said, you'll be saying God, you did. You turned it around. You blessed me, you healed me. You favored me, you restored me, you vindicated me. You are true to what you said. Think about as a parent, when we promise our children something, we will do everything we possibly can to bring that promise to pass. Our daughter Alexandra loves to go to Disney World. We took her there when she was just three or four years old and she's been hooked ever since. Now she's 12 years old and we haven't been in some time. About a year ago, I was putting her in bed one night. She said, daddy, I really want to go back to Disney World. Will you take me sometime? I didn't think much about it. I just said in passing, sure, I'll take you again. We'll go sometime. She said, you promise? I said, yes, I promise. I didn't know what I was getting myself into the next morning, bright and early. Daddy, you said we're going to Disney World now. When are we going? Thought man alive, I just got out of bed every other day. Daddy, you said, you said. You said. I must have heard that a thousand times. She was not about to let me forget that promise. Do you know where we're going today after the service? Disney World. If we as earthly parents are that moved when our children remind us what we promised, if we feel such a strong obligation to respond to the you saids how much More will our Heavenly Father stand behind his word. He cannot lie. We can break promises. I could have gotten out of that and not been true to my word. But God cannot go against his word. All of his promises are yes and amen. And some of you today, you need to find some you saids father, you said I will lend and not borrow. Remind God of that again and again. You may be struggling. Business is slow. You don't see how it could work out. Don't go to God with that. Take a you said Father, you said you would open the windows of heaven. You said my cup would run over. You said whatever I touch will succeed. You said you would prosper me. Even in a desert when you're constantly reminding God what He said, you are releasing your faith. You won't have time to complain if you'll just stay focused on the you saids. You can't get down and discouraged as long as you have God's promises coming out of your mouth. You may have family members that are off course. They're not making good decisions. Don't go around complaining, telling God how bad it is. Talking about the problem doesn't make anything better. Begging God to help you doesn't get his attention now all through the day Father you said, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord you said. The seed of the righteous is blessed, you said. My children will be mighty in the land. Take a you said and go to God. That's what gets his attention. I talked to a lady last week. Her marriage of 17 years is coming to an end. She was devastated. The man left for someone else and her whole world looked like it was falling apart. And it's easy to get depressed and fall into self pity and not have any hope for the future. But I told her what I'm telling you. You've got to find some you saids Father, you said you would give me beauty for ashes. God you said you would pay me back double for the unfair things that have happened. God you said my end would be better than my beginning. You said all things are going to work together for my good. When you're tempted to fall into self pity, just turn it around and declare a. You said you're tempted to have a sour attitude, tempted to complain. Let that be a reminder. God you said all through the day we should be putting God in remembrance of his promises. Just like Alexandra eating breakfast out of the blue. Daddy you said we're going to Disney World. When are we going? I don't know Alexandra yet. But daddy, you Said I would tell her. Alexandra, I know I said it. You've reminded me 450 times. Today we are going to Disney World. Not because I want to, but so she will leave me alone. The rest of this passage says, put God in remembrance of his promises and keep not silent. Give him no rest till it comes to pass. That's what Alexandra did. She's an expert. She gave me no rest. She kept not silent. Some of you today, you're standing on a promise. You've got to use said. But the problem is you're too passive. You can't remind God one time and think that's good enough. It says, keep not silent. Give him no rest. That means you have to be persistent. You've got to show God you mean business. Not nagging, not begging God, but in faith. Go to God and remind him over and over what he promised you. When you wake up in the morning and those thoughts come, saying, you're never going to get well, never going to accomplish your dreams, never get out of debt, no kick into gear. Father, you said, the moment I pray, the tide of the battle turns taking a shower. God, you said, I'm more than a conqueror driving to work. God, you said, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but you deliver me out of them all. At the office, under your breath, God, you said, you hold victory in store for the upright driving home. God, you said, you go before me and make my crooked places straight. See, it's not enough to do it one time and think you're done. Joel, I did this back in January. I did it 37 years ago. No, you got to be persistent. It says, keep not silent. Another way you could put this is you have to be a pest when it comes to reminding God what he promised you. Not begging, not demanding, but relentless. If Alexandra had not been so persistent, we wouldn't be going today. I told her we would, but if she hadn't reminded me, if it wasn't a big deal, I would have never brought it up. I don't really want to travel. I travel all the time. I don't want to go wait in lines. I'd rather stay at home and relax. But the problem is, I gave her my word and she put me in remembrance. Not once, but again and again and again. If she would have just done it a few times over the year, I could have probably talked her out of it. But she had a made up mind. She wasn't going to take no for an answer. She knew I would not go back on my word. Some of you would see your life go to a new level if you would stop being so passive and start reminding God what he said about your family, about your career, about your health, about your finances, about your future. Not once, but again and again and again. Jesus told a parable in the scripture about an unfair, unjust judge. This man neither feared God nor respected people. And one day this widow woman came to him and said, judge, I have a problem. This man is bothering me. I need you to make him leave me alone. I need protection. In other words, she was saying, I, I have a promise from the government. The law is on my side. Judge, I'm asking you to enforce the law. Make him leave me alone. This judge didn't give her the time of day, didn't pay any attention to her. He said, I'm not going to rule on your case. Don't bother me with that. Just leave my courtroom. She left, but she didn't get discouraged. She knew the law was on her side. She kept going back, day after day, week after week. Every time the judge walked in his courtroom, that woman was there making her case. Judge, enforce this law. It's my right. It's on my side. Finally, she wore the judge down. The judge said, lady, I'm going to help you. Not because I want to, not because I like you. I'm going to do it just so you will leave me alone. One translation says, because of your shameless persistence, that's the way we need to be when it comes to reminding God what he said. The good news is God is not like this judge. God is for us. God is on our side. But if we're going to see his promises come to pass, we have to have this shameless persistence. Some promises you may have to stand on for a year or five years or 20 years, whatever the case, like this lady, you've got to have a made up mind. You're not going to keep silent. You know what belongs to you. Like Alexandra reminded me again and again, you've got to keep reminding God over and over and over until that promise comes to pass. I like what my sister Lisa did. She and her husband had been trying to have a baby for six years with no success. Lisa wrote a contract between her and God. She listed on a piece of paper all the promises that she was standing on concerning having a baby. She made it like a legal contract. She even signed the bottom of it. And she had Kevin sign the bottom of it. Isaiah 41 says, Present your case before God, make your arguments, bring forth your proof. Lisa wrote at the top. God, Kevin and I are presenting our case to you. And our case is based on your word. God, you said in Genesis 1:28 to be fruitful and multiply. God, how can we do that unless you help us, God? You said in Psalm 112, our children would be mighty in the land. God, how can that be unless you give us children, God? You said in Psalm 13 that you make the barren woman a happy mother of children. How can that be, God, unless you bless us with children? God, we've done all we know how to do. Now we're presenting our case based on your word, knowing that you are faithful and true to what you said. And she took that contract, that piece of paper filled with scriptures, and she placed it on her bathroom mirror to where she could see it again and again, week after week, month after month. She just kept reminding God what he had promised. About two years later, God blessed them with twins. And today they have three beautiful children. God is faithful to his Word. My question is, are you presenting your case? Do you have any proof? Have you done like Lisa and found the promises where you can say, God, you said you'd make me a happy mother of children. God, you said you'd restore what the enemy has stolen. God, you said you'd give me the desires of my heart if you'll present your case before God. The good news is Jesus is called our advocate. Another word for advocate is lawyer. In the courtroom of heaven, imagine Jesus is our lawyer. God is the judge. As long as you present your case based on God's word, you cannot lose. He will be faithful and true to his word. And it would do good for all of us to make a list, like Lisa, of the promises that we're standing on. Put it up in your bathroom mirror somewhere where you'll see it often. All through the day, week after week. Just keep reminding God what he promised you. When those thoughts come telling you that you're never going to rise higher. You've seen your best days. No, present your case. God, you said, the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter. God, you said, the glory of the latter house will be greater than the glory of the former house. God, my case is not based on what I feel. It's not based on the economy. It's not based on a medical report. It's on not based. It's not based on what somebody said about me. My case is based solely on your word. And I know you cannot lie what you say you will do. That's what it means to present your case before God. But sometimes, especially when it's difficult, instead of presenting our case, we plead our case. God, please, you got to help me, God. I went to church last weekend. God, I'm a good person. I volunteered at the shelter. God, I'm begging you to do something. No, the problem with that is you don't have any proof. You're not taking any evidence. You're just describing to God how you feel. You're just describing all the circumstances. But if you're going to present your case like you would go into a court of law, you've got to be prepared. You don't just walk in and say, judge, I need some help. No, you take documents. You take evidence. You've done your research. In the same way, when you go into the court of heaven, so to speak, you've got to remind God what the contract says. God, you said, no weapon formed against me will prosper. Here's my evidence. Isaiah 54:17. God, you said, you're a very present help in my time of trouble. Here's my evidence. Psalm 46:1 God, you said, the strength of the wicked is being cut off, but the power of the godly is being increased. Here's my evidence. Psalm 75:10. When you go to God with evidence, with what he said, that's a powerful case. That's an unbeatable case. And some of you are busy pleading your case. But if you'd switch over and start presenting your case, you would see God begin to change things in your favor. I know a lady that for several years was at odds with her teenage daughter. She used to come for prayer all the time, and she was always upset and discouraged. I would do my best to cheer her up and try to convince her to keep believing. But more than coming for prayer, seemed like she just came to want to complain about what God wasn't doing. I shared with her this principle. Instead of complaining to God, you need to remind God what he promised you. And I gave her. The scripture. In Proverbs 31, it says, Children will rise up and call their mother blessed. At that time, this daughter was calling her mother every name except blessed. The mother took it to heart. She would go through the day all the time. Father, you said, my children will rise up and call me blessed. When the daughter was disrespectful, instead of complaining like she used to, she would say, no, Father, you said, my daughter will call me blessed. She found other promises. God, you said, children are a gift from God, to be enjoyed. She presented her case, made her arguments Brought forth her proof. About three years later, that young lady had a total change of heart. And today, the mother and daughter are best friends. She's as kind and respectful as can be. They do everything together, including come to church together. The mother told me just recently, joel, now when I say my children will rise up and call me blessed, I don't say it by faith anymore. It's become a reality. God has brought that promise to pass. That's what God wants to do in all of our lives. In 1 Chronicles, chapter 17, God made David a promise that seemed almost impossible. David didn't come from an influential family. He wasn't the strongest, the most talented. He was just an ordinary person. Yet God said to him, one of your descendants will always be on the throne of Israel. Your dynasty will never come to an end. David was overwhelmed. He said, God, I'm just a shepherd boy. You're talking to me like I'm somebody great. He could have easily dismissed that promise, let it go in one ear and out the other. But instead of talking himself out of it, David's attitude was, God, if you're bold enough to promise it, then I'm bold enough to believe it. He got in agreement with God. I can imagine when times got tough, enemies were coming against him. It looked like he would be defeated. He would go back and remind God of that promise. God, you said I would always be on the throne. You said my dynasty would never come to an end. Instead of pleading his case, he just kept presenting his case with God. You said, today that promise is still being fulfilled. When we read the scripture, sometimes we see promises like David, that look impossible. It says, we will lend and not borrow. But in the natural, we don't see how that could happen. Or it says, we're going to live healthy and strong. Maybe the medical report says just the opposite. We have the choice. We can either take hold of those promises and present them to God, reminding him again and again, keeping not silent, knowing that he will bring them to pass. Or we can talk ourselves out of it and tell God all the reasons why it's not going to happen. No, let's be people like David that say, God, if you're bold enough to promise it, we're bold enough to believe it. In other words, God, if you say, I'm blessed, then when I come to you, I'm not going to remind you of all my problems and how slow business is. No, the words I'm going to bring you are your words. I'm blessed. I'm the head. I'm not the tail. I am victorious. It may seem impossible, but instead of telling God why you can't be successful, why don't you go to God with Ephesians 3:20? God, you said you would do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond in my life. Are you pleading your case, or are you presenting your case, reminding God what he promised you? There's an amazing promise in Genesis 12:2 that God makes to all of us as the seed of Abraham. God says, I will make your name great. One translation says, I will make your name distinguished. That's a great promise to remind God. I have a friend that comes from a family that has a very bad reputation. Their name was anything but distinguished. They were known for crime, drugs, illegal activity. Many of his relatives had had been in prison. This had gone back for three or four generations. As a young man, he gave his life to Christ and he headed down a better path. And he was doing his best to overcome all this negative baggage. But it seemed like this dark cloud followed him everywhere he went. When people found out his last name, especially in his community, they would treat him differently, try to not have anything to do with him. It was like he wore this badge of dishonor. I told him that you need to remind God what he promised you every day. You need to say, God, you said you'd make my name great. You said if I'd honor you, you would honor me. Instead of pleading his case saying, God, this is not fair. Why was I born into this family? Why do I have to deal with this bad reputation? No. He started presenting his case. God, you said you, you would make my name distinguished. He went on to become a very successful coach. Several months ago, he brought me a picture of himself receiving an award. He was chosen as the Coach of the Year in his school district. In that school lobby, there's a plaque of all the coaches of the year. And each year they add a new coach to it. He pointed to the top. It said, coach of the Year. And under it, in big, bold letters, the plaque red. Distinguished honorees. There was his name. He smiled and said, joel, God has made my name distinguished. Friends, God is a faithful God. Don't plead your case. Don't tell God why you can't be successful, why you can't get well, why you'll never get out of debt. No. Present your case. Remind God what he said about you. Make a list of the promises that you're standing on when you go to the courtroom of heaven, so to speak. Take some evidence. Bring your proof. God, you said I'm blessed and cannot be cursed like Lisa. God, you said you'd make me the happy mother of children. God, you said you would restore what the enemy has stolen. Don't keep silent. Remind God again and again. Not nagging, not begging. God, no. Go to him in faith with a you said if you will put God in remembrance of his promises and not put him in remembrance of your problems, then God will be faithful to his word. What he promised, he will do. You will rise higher, overcoming obstacles, defeating enemies, accomplishing dreams. I believe and declare. You're going to become everything God's created you to be. You're going to have everything God intended for you to have 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.