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Joel Osteen (1:33)

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.

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Joel Osteen (1:42)

We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you today. It's a joy to come into your homes. We love you and if you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. Thanks so much for tuning in and thank you again for coming out today. I'd like to start with something funny. I heard about this cat and mouse that died on the same day and went to heaven. After a few weeks, St. Peter saw the mouse and asked him how he liked it. He said, oh, it's great, but it's so big. I'd love to get some roller skates. And Peter said, no problem. Got him the skates. A few weeks later, Peter ran into the cat, asked him how he liked it. He said, it's fantastic. And just when I thought it couldn't get any better. I discovered the Meals on Wheels. 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 how something big is coming your way. The God we serve is not a small God. His plan for your life is not to reach one level and get stuck and stay there for 30 or 40 years. God's plan is to increase you, to open new doors, to take you places that you've never imagined. He has something big in your future. He's already planned out big breaks, big opportunities, big ideas. You may have seen God's goodness in the past. You can say, like me, God's blessed you, God's promoted you. But you have not touched the surface of what God has in your future. God is about to do a new thing. And what I sense in my spirit is the new thing is going to be far greater than you've ever seen before. It's going to be bigger than you imagined. It's going to be more rewarding than you thought possible. Now you've got to come into agreement and say, yes, God, this is for me today. I'm not going to get stuck where I am, thinking that I've reached my limits. I'm not going to go around with little dreams, little goals. I know you're a big God, and you have something big coming my way. I know this man that works in law enforcement. He's a police officer. And in his spare time, he developed a small safety device. He's not an engineer, has no formal training. All he had was an idea. He drew it on paper, he took it to a company, and they made a prototype of it. He liked it so much, he got it patented. He went to a convention and showed it to this large safety company. Their engineers were scratching their heads, saying, why didn't we think of? This was very simple, yet very effective. Long story short, that safety company bought the rights to his patent from him for $8 million. Just one idea that God had given him. He said, joel, I was just playing around. I never thought that it would take off. That's the way God is in your future. He has big breaks, big opportunities, big ideas. But some of you today, you're stuck in a rut, thinking that you've reached your limits. You've seen your best days. You could never rise higher. You could never accomplish your dreams. No, you don't know what God has planned out for you. Just because you don't see a way doesn't mean that God doesn't have a way. God has already lined up something big that can catapult you to a whole new level. Isaiah 54:2 says, enlarge the place of your tent. Let the curtains of your habitation be stretched forth. Spare not. Lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. Notice the words God uses. Enlarge, lengthen, stretch forth. What's God saying? Get ready for more. Make room for increase. Enlarge your thinking. Start expecting God's favor. The next verse goes on to say, when you think like this, then you will break forth. Then you will take new ground, then you will see increase. But it implies, if we don't enlarge, if we don't stretch, if we think we've reached our limits, we get stuck in a rut. Then we won't break into these new levels. Some people have never once said, God, help me to own my home for free and clear, with no monthly payment. Our mind, if we're not careful, go tilt, tilt, tilt. Joel, I could never pay my house off. It's going to take me 30 years. No, you're believing too small. Have a bigger vision. We should pray for things that stretch our faith. If you can accomplish all your goals, your dreams, in your own ability, in your own strength, you don't really need God's help. You need to believe for things that are so big, you know it's going to take God's favor. Going to take God's blessing, or they'll never come to pass. God said in Psalm 2, 8, Ask of me and I will give you the nations. God's saying, ask me for big things. Pray bold prayers. Dare to say, God, help me to not only own my home free and clear, but one day help me to be able to buy somebody else a new home. Our mind thinks impossible, Joel, that could never happen for me. Do you know where I work? No. When you believe, all things are possible. How about this? God help me to give away each year more than my income is right now. Well, Joel, now you're getting far out. Listen, we serve a far out God. He has something big in your future. I want you to get your hopes up. Go out each day expecting God to do something big in your life. Expect. If you would have told me 12 years ago that one day I would be a minister and we would be having services in the formal compact center where the Rockets used to play. I would have said, you're far out. But now I realize that's the way God is. And if you will honor him with your life and dare to believe for big things, one day you'll look back and say, with me, God, you've outdone yourself. You've amazed me with your goodness. There's a man in the scripture named Jabez. His name means trouble, sorrow, heartache. We don't know a lot about Jabez, but I can imagine he'd been through a lot of disappointments. Life hadn't turned out the way he had hoped. But instead of sitting around feeling sorry for himself, Jabez understood this principle. He knew God had something big coming his way. And in spite of all the odds being against him, he. He knew one touch of God's favor could turn any situation around. And what made Jabez stand out is he was bold enough to ask God to do something big. He said, God, I'm asking you to enlarge my territory and to bless me. Indeed. He was saying, in effect, I've been through a lot of disappointments, had a lot of hurts and pain. But God, I'm not going to get stuck here. I expecting your favor. I'm expecting you to turn it around and to bless me. Indeed. That word indeed means in great ways. The scripture simply says God granted him his request. My question for us today is have you ever asked God to enlarge your territory? Have you ever said God, bless me indeed. God, do something big in my life. Friends, we have not because we ask. Not when you stretch your faith. When you enlarge, increase, expand. That's what allows God to do amazing things. But sometimes we have such a limited view of God. We act like we're inconveniencing God to believe for big things. So we end up praying these small prayers. God, if you'll just give me a little raise, maybe I can get a better place to live. God, if you'll give me a few customers, maybe I can make budget this month. God, if you'll give me a little help, maybe my marriage will survive. No, you're selling yourself short. God is all powerful. He has unlimited resources. You are not doing God a favor by being small minded. If you want to make God happy, believe big, expect big. Ask big. God created the whole universe. He doesn't want us to live small lives. Think about how expansive the universe is. There are millions of stars and planets. When I was Much younger. We used to think our solar system was so large, but now scientists have discovered that there are stars so large. You, you can put our whole solar system inside of one star. Everything about God is big. But the problem is if you think small and believe small and expect small, then your thinking will keep you from the big things God has in store. I'm asking you to get up each day and say, father, thank you for doing something big in my life today. Thank you for big opportunities, big ideas, big breakthroughs, and Lord, help me to be a big blessing to somebody else. Think like God. Think big, think expansive. Think more than enough. I heard a story about a professional golfer. He was invited by the King of Saudi Arabia to come over to that country and play golf. And he accepted the invitation. And this king had sent his private jet over to the States to pick the man up. They played golf for a few days together. When he was about to come back home, the king stopped him and said, I would like to send you a special gift for coming all this way and spending time with us. What would you like? The man said, oh, please don't send me anything. You've been a very gracious host. I've had a great time. But this king was very persistent. He wasn't going to take no for an answer. Finally the golfer said, well, why don't you just send me a golf club? Golf clubs. The king said, fine. On the flight back home, this man began to wonder what kind of golf club the king was going to send him. He imagined it might be a gold plated club with his name engraved on it. Or maybe it would be a club studded with diamonds and jewels. After all, he's the King of Saudi Arabia. When he got home every day, he would hurry out to the mailbox, so excited, couldn't wait to get his golf club. About a month later, he got a certified letter in the mail from the King of Saudi Arabia. He thought, that's strange. Where's my golf club? He opened it up. Much to his surprise, it was a deed to a 500 acre, 18 hole golf club here in America. See, kings think differently than most people. They think bigger. That's the way it is with our God. He, he's the king of kings. We think golf club, God thinks golf club. In other words, God's dream for your life is so much bigger, so much greater than you've ever imagined. God doesn't want us to live small, to barely get by, and to stay stuck at the same level year after year, have a big vision Life tries to reduce us, but God wants to increase us. It starts right here in our thinking. Enlarge, expand, lengthen. You're not going to bankrupt God asking for something big. God makes streets out of gold. He owns it all. He's not having a down year because of the economy. God's not up in heaven saying, oh boy, these gas prices are really messing me up. Gabriel, would you go get me another Tylenol? No. God has unlimited supply. Implies he's called El Shaddai, the God who is more than enough. Well, you say, joel, I'm just believing that God will help me to get a little bit bigger apartment. Take the limits off of your life, have a bigger vision. God wants you to own your own home. You may not see how right now you think, well, I don't have the income or I can't afford the down payment. That's okay, God can. He owns it all. He and if you will honor him with your life and believe big, you will see God do more than you can ask or imagine. One of the battles we all have to fight is the battle of containment. The enemy doesn't want you to go any further. He can't do anything about the ground that you've already gained. He'll give you that. But what he doesn't want is for you to advance. His goal is to keep you contained. That's why it can be very difficult to press through to a new level. There are forces working overtime to try to keep us where we are. And many people are too easily satisfied. They've seen God's goodness. God's blessed them in their health, their family, their career. But now it's like they've hit a wall. Instead of stretching and believing for bigger things, they get stuck. They start thinking, well, I've done pretty well. I've done as good as my parents, gone as far as my education allows. No. The scripture says the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter. We are not supposed to hit one level and get stuck there year after year. The enemy wants to contain us. God wants to expand us. No matter how long you've been at a certain level, you need to dig your heels in and say, I will not stay here. I'm going to keep pressing forward, believing for big things, praying bold prayers, expecting God's favor. I will not be contained. You have to have a made up mind that where you are is not where you're going to stay. It may not change overnight. It may take months, maybe even take years. But deep down, you've got to Know that you know in your future God has promotion, increase new levels. He has something big coming your way. The truth is there are times that we all feel stuck. We're praying, believing, doing our best, but not making any progress. That's called the trial of our faith. That's a period of testing. God wants to see what we're made of. Are we going to get discouraged and settle there and think, well, this doesn't work for me. I've tried it for two months. No, you've got to be in it for the long haul. The key is to not get stuck in your thinking. The first place we lose the victory is in our own mind. We start believing the lies. It's never going to change. I've gone as far as I can go. I'll never get out of debt, Joel. I'll never own my own home. No, you may not see a way in the natural, but the good news is we serve a supernatural God. God has explosive blessings that can thrust you to a new level. God wants to bless you beyond your normal income. He wants to increase you beyond your normal salary. God likes to do unusual things. I had a man tell me again last week. I've heard it time and time again how he got a check in the mail unexpectedly. An inheritance from a loved one that he had never met. With that one check, he was able to pay off his house. He thought it was going to take him 30 years. But God had other plans. He it happened in a fraction of the time. That's what God has in your future. Explosive blessings to where all of a sudden, out of the blue, a project takes off. A client searches you out. Or like that police officer. One idea, it thrusts you to a new level. A debt is canceled. Take the limits off of God. Pray big prayers. Believe for great things in your life. I read about a young lady. She was born into a very dysfunctional family. All the odds were against her in the natural. She had no reason to believe that she could ever make anything great of her life. She had been neglected, abused, never had any kind of stability. Her situation got so bad, she asked the authorities to be removed from her own home. The judge placed her in foster care. Three months later, she was adopted by a loving single parent. Mother. This young lady began to excel in school. She became an honor student, a leader that the other girls looked up to. One day she was invited to be a part of a national talk show with some other girls. The host asked her what her hopes and dreams were. She said, my dream is to one day go To Harvard University to get a good education so I can help other people like so many have helped me. Three days later, she got a phone call from out of state. The lady said, I saw you on the talk show this week. I wanted to ask you a question. Would you consider a full scholarship to Yale University instead of Harvard? She said, I think I would. She graduated from Yale and today she's doing great things. But it all started when she dared to believe for something big. She could have got stuck in a rut. She could have made excuses. I didn't get off to a good start. I didn't have a good family. I've got too much coming against me. No. She knew God had explosive blessings in her future. Blessings that could get her to where God wanted her to be. Every one of us can come up with excuses as to why we can't rise higher, why we can't break the addiction, why we can't get well, why we'll never accomplish our dreams. No, I'm asking us to do like her. Get rid of the excuses and start expecting explosive blessings. Release your faith for far and beyond favor. Get ready for God to do something big in your life. You say, joel, what if I do this and nothing happens? What if you do it and something does happen? I can tell you it's not going to happen. As long as you're thinking, I've reached my limits. I never get any good breaks. Business is too slow. The medical report is too bad. As long as you're thinking like that, it ties the hands of Almighty God. God works where there's an attitude of faith. He works when we're believing, when we're expecting, when we're looking for his goodness. One thing I've learned is you cannot out dream God. Any dream God puts in your heart when he brings it to pass, it's going to be greater than you ever imagined. It's going to be bigger, better, more rewarding. You could say God's going to supersize your dream. Your dream may be to just get well. To be able to walk without pain, to get around like you used to. That's good. But God thinks bigger when he supersizes that dream. You'll not only be able to walk, but you'll be able to run. You won't just feel like you used to. You'll feel better than you've ever felt before. Your dream may be to just keep your marriage together just to survive. But God's dream is to make your marriage happier and more fulfilling than it's ever been before. Your dream may be to just pay your bills each month, just to try to make it through. But God's dream is to give you an abundance, to give you overflow, where you not only have enough for your needs, but you have money left over so you can be a blessing to other people. Whatever dream God's put in your heart, if you'll just supersize it, that'll be a tiny fraction of what God really wants to do. I know this man. He's an older gentleman, and years back he lost his wife of many, many years. He met another beautiful lady and they were planning on getting married. And he had a desire to put new furniture in his home just so they could have a new beginning. And the fact is, he had the money, but he just didn't really feel good about spending it. So he just gave it to God. Just kept expecting, kept believing. One day he got a call from one of his sons and he said, dad, you'll never believe what happened. He said, what? The son said, I just won the lottery. $37 million later, the son not only bought his dad some furniture, bought him a new car, plus he bought him a brand new house. God supersized his dream. God did more than he could ask or think. I'm not telling anybody. Play the lottery. I know what you're thinking. That's the word I needed today. Like my father said, if you do play the lottery and win, make sure you tithe. This gentleman told me, joel, I always taught my sons three things. Don't smoke, don't drink, and don't gamble. And you know what? Two out of three is not bad. Deuteronomy 1:11. May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more than you are. That's God's dream for your life. To increase you in amazing ways. I'm not just talking about material things. How about a thousand times more peace, a thousand times more joy, a thousand times more influence, a thousand times more wisdom. Get this down in your spirit. A thousand times more than you are. I think about how my parents started Lakewood Church in 1959 with 90 members. If you added up all the people that attend regularly now, it'd be over 90,000. That's a thousand times more. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? When my father was a young minister, he wrote books and they would sell about 10,000 copies. And I say this in all humility, but my first book has sold over 10 million copies. A thousand times more. So often our mind will tell us it's not going to happen for me, Joel. I don't come from the right family. I'm too old. I'm too young. No, I'm asking us to quit making excuses and get in agreement with God. He's saying a thousand times more than you are. You have not touched the surface of what he has in store. He's not thinking golf club. He's thinking golf club. And some of you today, you're not expecting enough. God has been good to you in the past. You're grateful. But now you're coasting. You're not stretching your faith now. I want to light a new fire on the inside. You have not seen your greatest victories yet. God has new mountains for you to climb, new horizons for you to explore. He has something big in your future. Don't let the disappointments of the past steal your dreams. Don't let the way people have treated you sour you on life. Shake that off. Raise your level of expectancy. Dream big, Believe big, ask big. Expect big, and you'll see God open doors that you know thought possible. God will bring talent out of you that you never knew you had. You'll see these explosive blessings that thrust you to a whole new level. I know a young man that grew up in Africa, in the Congo, one of the poorest nations. He was one of seven children. Not only his family, but all of his relatives and cousins lived in the same small house in their village. There was so much sickness, so much disease, but no place to be cared for. Not a hospital, not a clinic within hundreds of hundreds of miles. And people were dying from things that were easily treatable. As a young boy, this broke his heart. He couldn't stand to see the sadness and the suffering of his people. And God put a dream in his heart to somehow build a hospital in that village there in the Congo. In the natural. It was impossible. He. He was just as poor and underprivileged as the other people in his village. But there was something different about this young man. He knew he served a big God. And he dared to pray. Bold prayers. He asked God to help him build that hospital. Something began to happen. He started to grow. He grew and grew. 6ft, 6ft 5, 6ft 10. 7ft, 7ft, 2 inches tall. He was so tall. He started playing basketball on the dirt courts there in the village. He eventually graduated from what they would call high school. And somehow he got an academic scholarship to Georgetown University in the States. A supernatural break. It was unheard of. He went there to become a doctor, to come back and Help his people. But during his second year, the basketball coach saw him on campus and and ask him to try out for the team. He not only made the team, but he became a star player. He later was drafted to play professional basketball. And today you know him. Dikembe Mutombo has become one of the great ball players of our day. Used to play for the Rockets. He attends our services when he's in town. A few years back, Mutombo donated $15 million to get the hospital started. And in 2007, he and some other basketball players dedicated the $30 million hospital there in his village in the Congo. Friends, if God did it for him, he can do it for you and me. Let me ask you, what is it that God has put in your heart? Are you asking, believing, stretching your faith? Don't let life contain you. Let God increase you. He has something big in your future. God's already lined up the right people. He's got big opportunities, big ideas, big breakthroughs. You may think your dream is big today, but when God supersizes it, it's going to come to pass much greater than you ever imagined. Get up every morning and say, God, I'm asking you to do something big in my life today. Dare to say, like Jabez, God, enlarge my territory. God bless me indeed if you think this way. Let me encourage you. Something big is coming your way. New opportunities, breakthroughs in your health. Breakthroughs in your finances. Explosive blessings favor like you've never seen it before. A thousand times more than you are. I believe it and declare it over each one of you in Jesus name if you receive it. Come on, give the Lord a shout of praise 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's going to take you places that you've never dreamed of. Each week I stand on this stage and remind you of what God says about you. Because it's easy to be defined by who people say we are or by our own negative thoughts that we're not talented or problems too big. The key is to go back to who God says you are. I'd love to send you my new book, 101 Great Things that God says about you. I'll help you discover your true identity. God says you're blessed. You're chosen. You're forgiven. You have seeds of greatness. Your future is bright. When you get in agreement with God and declare his promises, you'll rise higher and become all you were created to be.