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Joel Osteen (1:19)

Hi, this is Joel in Victoria. Thanks so much for listening to the podcast and thanks for supporting the minist. We believe you're going to have an awesome 2024 healthy, productive and favor filled. God bless you today and enjoy the message.

State Farm Representative (1:33)

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Joel Osteen (1:35)

It's a joy to come into your home.

State Farm Representative (1:37)

We love you. We know God has great things in store for you. We're believing this is going to be the best year of your life so far. So I hope you're in agreement with that as well. But so glad you tuned in. I like to get started each week with something kind of funny. And I heard about this pastor. He was known for preaching long sermons. Nobody had the nerve to talk to him about it. But one Sunday, about an hour and a half into his message, the head deacon got up and walked out. The pastor was a little irritated by it. He found him afterwards and said, why did you leave in the middle of my sermon? The deacon said, because I had to go get a haircut. The pastor was even more aggravated. He said, why didn't you get a haircut before you came? The deacon said, because I didn't need one. 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 to start your day off right. Many times, the way we start our day will determine what kind of day we're going to have. If we start the day in a hurry, rushing around, stressed out, very often, that whole day will be uptight and on edge. We start the day off focused on our problems, complaining, dwelling on what's wrong. Most likely we'll go through the day negative, discouraged, no joy. It's so important what we do right at the very beginning that sets the tone for the entire day. If we're going to be our best and really live each day to the full, we need to get in a habit of giving the first part of our day to God. Before the stress and busyness comes. Before you read the newspaper, before you think about all you have to do, you need to have a time to where you get quiet and spend a few minutes thanking God for His goodness, reading the scriptures, meditating on his promises, speaking words of victory over your life. When you do this, you're building up your inner man. Just like the physical body gets refreshed and restored when you sleep at night. Well, when you get up in the morning, you need to get your inner man refreshed and refueled. The way you do this is by spending time with God. And Sometimes we'll take 45 minutes to get our outer man ready, getting dressed, taking a shower, ladies, putting on makeup, but we don't take any time to get our inner man prepared for the day. Then we wonder why we get stressed out so easily and why don't we have any energy and why we can't overcome bad habits. It's because we're not taking the time to keep our inner man strong. All through this scripture, we can see how God requires the first fruits. We know if we'll give him the first part of our income, then the rest of our finances will be blessed. Well, it's the same way with our time. If you'll give God the first part of your day, then the rest of your day will be blessed. When you honor God by getting quiet in the morning, telling him how much you love him and you thank him for all that he's done, not only is Your inner man going to be stronger. But God will cause you to have a more productive day. You'll get more done, you'll be more creative, you'll get better breaks. All because you gave God the first part of your day. And I know some of you are night people. You like to read the scripture and have quiet time in the evening. And of course that's fine. But I would encourage you to take at least a few minutes every morning before you leave the house to say, God, I love you, I need you. Thank you for this day. When you do that, you're sowing a seed for the whole day to go better. There's something special about the morning. David said, early in the morning, my song will rise to you. Well, you say, joel, I'm so busy in the morning getting my kids ready for school, making breakfast, fixing lunches. It's so hectic and stressful. I just don't have time to get quiet. No, really, you're doing yourself a disservice. You need to take time to feed your inner man every day. How do you keep it strong? How do you keep it nourished? Not just by coming to church, although this is good. But you're not going to be spiritually fit living off of one meal a week every day, preferably in the morning. You need to feed your inner man. How do you do that? Reading the scripture is spiritual food. Getting quiet and thanking God for his goodness is spiritual food. Declaring his promises over your life, that's making your inner man stronger. More spiritual food. I know some mornings I get up and feel kind of blah. No enthusiasm, no joy, kind of thinking this day is going to be a drag. But I've learned I don't have to give in to those negative thoughts and just go through the day all discouraged. I know more than ever I've got to get to my quiet place and get my inner man fed. And so I'll get alone and start thanking God that I'm alive. And I thank him that I'm healthy. I thank him for my family, thank him for my children. I'll spend a few minutes reading the scripture, meditating on his promises. Things like, father, thank you. The path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter. No good thing will you withhold. Because I walk uprightly, goodness and mercy will always follow me. All of a sudden, I begin to feel things change. I start to get my joy back, start to get my peace back, get a new attitude. Before long, I'm ready to face the day with excitement and enthusiasm. What happened? I got My inner man stronger. I got built up on the inside. And I've learned not to leave the house now until I feel full down in here. Do you know, just like you can feel full physically after a good meal, you can feel full spiritually, you can get to the point where you know, all right, I'm full. In other words, I'm positive, I'm hopeful. I'm ready for this day. I know great things are in store. Some mornings, it just takes me a few minutes to feel full spiritually. Other mornings, I may spend up to an hour just meditating on God's promises, reading a devotional. Or I may take a long walk and just think about the goodness of God. Especially after I've been traveling or after a busy weekend where I've been giving out and giving out. I know I've got to get myself replenished. I've got to get filled up on the inside. And I need not only physical rest, but I have to spend time nourishing my inner man. Some of you have very busy schedules, especially the mothers raising children. There are a thousand things to do. If you're not careful, you'll take care of everyone except yourself. No, you have to make yourself a priority to keep your inner man strong. If you're always run down, not just physically, but mentally, you're tired, and emotionally, the smallest things bother you and you've got a sour attitude, and you don't feel like your husband or wife loves you. No, you need to get back in balance. Take time to get quiet. Don't start your day off in a hurry, yelling at your kids, rushing out the door. Now, I'm asking you to get up a few minutes earlier and start the day off in peace. Start the day in God's presence. Honor him by giving him the first part of your day. Now, I know some of you are thinking, man, Joel, how can I fit this into my schedule? My plate's already full. Now I'll never get everything done. No, it's just the opposite. You'll get more done if you'll give God the first part of your day. He'll multiply your time back. That's why you shouldn't say, well, I got to go spend 20 minutes. No, you're not spending the time. You're investing the time. You're sowing a seed. I found. You never give God something without him giving you so much more back in return. Even the fact you guys took time to come today, you took time to watch. Some people will tell you, man, you're wasting A couple of hours going out there to Lakewood. You could be at home relaxing. You could be getting a lot of other stuff done. No, you've got to know God is going to multiply this time back to you. God can cause you to have one idea that saves you a half a day's work. He can cause you to get one phone call that will meet your sales goal for the whole week. He can keep you from one delay that will save you hour after hour. God is in control. If you'll give him the first part of your day, not only will your inner man be stronger, but you'll have a more productive day. You'll get more done in less time. The scripture says in Ephesians 6:10, Be strong in the Lord, empowered through your union with Him. One translation says, require God as a vital necessity. That means we can't have the attitude, well, I'll do this if I can just find the time. No, we're not going to be empowered for the day that way. We're not going to be our best if we're not making God a vital part of our everyday life. You think about that word, vital. It means you can't live without it. I remember when my father, toward the end of his life, he was on dialysis three times a week. He had to be up at the clinic to be dialyzed. I never once heard my father say, joel, I don't feel like going today. I think I'll just stay home and watch the ball game or do a little work around the office. Maybe I'll do it next time. No, that was never a question. Why? Because it was vital. Everything was arranged around getting him up to the clinic three times a week. His life depended on it. That's the way we need to look at spending time with God, not, I'll do this if I feel like it. If I wake up early, or, joel, as soon as this busy season at work's over, then I'll get my quiet time back. No, take it more serious than that. You may not have an hour in the morning, but I bet every one of us could find 15 minutes. We have to realize the way we're going to stay strong, the way we get empowered for the day, is through our union with Him. You know, a union is a marriage. What makes a good marriage? Spending time together. I've never once said, well, I got to go spend time with Victoria. Guess I better go talk to her, pay my dues. I'm married. No, I want to talk to her. I want to spend Time with her. That's the way we need to look at it when it comes to God, not. Oh, man, I got to get up and go pray. I heard what Joel was saying. Sunday. Let me drag myself in there. Hurry to get it over with. No. Here's the Creator of the universe. He's inviting us to come to him each morning to receive strength for the day, wisdom for our decisions, mercy for our mistakes. All we have to do is take the time to come. Well, you say, joel, I want to, but I'm so busy. And besides, when I get up in the morning, I'm so tired. Let me give you some practical suggestions. Go to bed 30 minutes earlier. Turn the TV off a little bit sooner. Or maybe you need to rearrange your schedule and eliminate things that are not producing good fruit in your life so you can make this a priority. It may be a sacrifice, but I can tell you it will be well worth it. The scripture says in God's presence is fullness of joy. I believe there's fullness of whatever you need. The reason some people today live stressed out. They don't really have any joy is because they're not getting into God's presence on a regular basis. I mean, even here, you can't be here without feeling joy. It's because God's presence is here. But you know, this doesn't last forever. During the week, there's stress, there's traffic on the freeway, kids that need attention, challenges at work. All these things drain strength from your inner man. And some of you are only feeding your spirit man once or twice a week. That's not enough to stay strong. You need to get into God's presence on a daily basis if you're really going to be empowered. And don't be surprised when you make a decision to do this if everything in the world doesn't try to stop you. The moment you decide to take 15 minutes to pray and read your Bible, the phone will ring off the wall. Your kids will have an emergency. Somebody will knock on the front door. Woodpeckers will peck on your house. All kinds of distractions. Let me put it real plain and simple. The enemy does not want you to spend time with God. It's bad enough to him that you came today. It's bad enough that you're watching. But he sure doesn't want you to do this at home. He doesn't like the fact that I speak. Blessings and favor over your life every week. That's bad enough. He sure doesn't want you to start doing it every day. He sure doesn't want you to get up in the morning and start declaring, I am blessed, I am anointed, I have the favor of God. My children will be mighty in the earth. I am the head, I'll never be the tail. See, it's bad enough that we sing praises in here. He's terrified to think you might get up in the morning and start singing, I am a friend of God, or I worship you because of who you are and savior, you can move my mountains. Is it any wonder why he tries everything in the world to keep us from having our time with God? You got to be determined. You may have to set the alarm a half hour earlier. You may have to turn that TV off or rearrange a few things to make this a priority in your life. I remember my father used to tell every time he went to pray, it seemed like the phone would just inevitably ring. And one day he was fed up with it. He made up his mind he was going to spend 15 minutes in prayer. And so he went into his office and shut the door. But he wasn't there for two or three minutes until the phone started ringing. It rang and rang and rang. He did his best to ignore it, but it just kept on ringing. And in his mind he was fighting the good fight of faith, saying, I'm not going to answer that phone. I'm not going to be interrupted. I'm not going to be distracted. This is my time with God. Well, the phone just kept on ringing. He told how these thoughts started coming to his mind, telling him, that's one of your children at school. You better answer it. They need your help. That's somebody at the office. They're having a big problem. They need you. He just kept ignoring it. And the phone by this time had been ringing like five minutes consistently. Finally, the thought came to his mind, telling him, that is the President of the United States. He needs your help. If you don't answer this, you're going to miss a big opportunity. My dad couldn't stand it. He was convinced, and he busted out of that room, ran in there, answered the phone, said, hello, Mr. President, how can I help you? Come to find out it was the wrong number. But when you go to have this quiet time, it's funny how everything will try to come against you all of a sudden. Your teenage son won't know how to put a piece of bread in the toaster to make his breakfast. Your husband won't be able to find his socks that are in the same drawer. They've been in for 22 years. You got to set some boundaries. Tell your family members, somebody calls, tell them I'm not available. Tell your children, if you have an emergency, call 911. If you want breakfast, either make it yourself or fast. Tell your husband, if you can't find your socks, wear my hose, but leave me alone. I'm just kidding, Paul. What I'm saying is make this a priority. See it as vital. In other words, if I don't get my quiet time, I know I'm not going to get my inner man fed. I'm not going to get it built up. And so I'm not going to be my best today. And not only is that a disservice to me, that's a disservice to my family, the people around me. And when you really get into a habit of doing this, you won't leave the house until you feel full on the inside. Just like when we're hungry physically, we don't have to think about it. We just go get something to eat. It's natural to us. Well, it's the same thing spiritually. When I get up in the morning now I'm hungry for my spiritual food. Jesus said, I am the bread of life. He said, I am the living water. If you drink of me, you'll never thirst again. My question to us today is, are you drinking of the living water each day? That's taking time to pray, praise Thanksgiving, reading God's word. Even during the day, when it gets stressful and things come against you, you're tempted to get upset, lose your cool. Well, you need to just take a five minute break and go drink of the living water. That means, God, I need you. I'm asking for your peace. I'm asking for your strength. When you do that. You just took a drink. You strengthened your inner man. The boss has given you a hard time. Just look at him. Tell him I need to go get a drink. I'm talking about the living water now. But it's so important that we do this first thing in the morning. If not, it's easy to get distracted and we end up putting it off. How many mornings have we gotten up with good intentions? We want to go get quiet, we want to go pray, but we think, well, let me make this one phone call real quick. You know how it goes. One thing leads to another. Well, I better make the kids breakfast. Really, I need to get up to the grocery store before it gets busy. Since I'm out, let me swing by and pick up the cleaning. Before long, the whole day is gone. You've missed your quiet time. No, make this a priority. It's what's going to help your day to go much, much better. I have been doing this since I was a little boy. From the time I was probably 8 or 9 years old. My parents taught me to read a chapter in my Bible each morning. I didn't always understand what I was reading. Still don't today, and I'm the pastor. But I believe because I honored God by giving him the first part of my day. God has honored me. Some mornings now, especially when I'm traveling. I don't have but maybe five minutes, but I'll take that time to say, God, I love you, I need you. Thank you for this day. Just a few minutes to get my inner man a little stronger and to get my mind going in the right direction, positive and hopeful. I remember growing up seeing my parents do this every morning, sitting in their chair, reading their Bibles. I'd hear my father back in his room, praying, worshiping God. Did it help? Well, they raised five children. All of us are in the ministry today. We all turned out pretty good. Now I'm training our children to do the same thing. It's being passed down. The other morning, our little daughter, Alexandra, she's eight, she came in and got in bed with us. She said, daddy, after you get through praying today, will you come out and play with me? I thought to myself, she's seeing the same thing modeled that I saw growing up. That's saying to her, God is important in our family. He is vital to our lives. And I know some people tell me, well, Joel, you know, I don't know how to have quiet time. I don't know how to pray. I'm not a religious person. I didn't grow up in church like you. But no, here's the key. Prayer is just talking to God. Sometimes religion makes things too complicated. Makes us think we have to pray in a fancy language using these thees and thou's. But no, pray in your everyday language. If you're country, the good news is God talks country. If you're from New York, God talks New York. He understands you. We don't, but he does. But when you pray, don't get all stiff and go off into some fancy language. Talk to God like you're talking to your best friends. Tell him your concerns, the areas that you're struggling in. Ask him for his help. And then always take time to thank God for what he's already done. Our praise should Always outweigh our petition. Don't spend your whole quiet time telling God your needs. He already knows your needs. Take time to thank him. Some people use prayer as a complaining session. God, I don't understand why I didn't get that promotion. When am I going to get married? And God, my back's been hurting for three weeks. I don't know about you, but when my children complain and tell me what's wrong and what they don't have, I don't want to do anything for them at all. In fact, I want to get as far away from them as I possibly can. But on the other hand, when they come to me and say, daddy, I love you, you're the best dad in the world, I'm so glad you're my father. Well, they might as well go get the car keys. We're going to Toys R Us. I believe God is way you get up in the morning and you take time to say, God, I love you. You thank him for what he's already done. In your life. That's when God will do more than you can even ask or think. And in your quiet time, when you read the scripture, don't get bogged down with things that you don't understand. As I said, I've read passages before and thought, I have no idea what that's talking about, but I've learned to just read it and move on. See, the Holy Spirit is called our Teacher. If you'll stay open, he'll make sure you understand exactly what you need to understand. Some scriptures, they're plain and simple. Don't complain, love your enemies. By grace, we're saved. If you believe, all things are possible. There's a lot we can all understand. We need to realize God's word is like a seed. Once you put it in you, it never dies. You may not understand it now, but at the right time, when you need it, God will cause it to come alive. My father used to say, put God's word in you when you don't need it, and it'll be there when you do need it. A lot of people today, and I don't mean this critically, but they never pray, they never read the Scripture unless they're having a major crisis. There's nothing wrong with that. God wants to help us. But the point I'm making is there is so much more benefit if we'd make spending time with God part of our everyday life. I heard about this young man. He was raised in a home that didn't have any spiritual emphasis. His parents they were fine people, but they didn't have much to do with God. They might pray over the food once or twice a year at dinner time. That's about it. And one day when he was eight years old, all of his friends were going to a summer camp put on by the local church. He really wanted to go, and so his mother made the arrangements. When he got there, he noticed up on the platform there was this large trophy. This young man was very competitive, great in sports, great in academics. And he made up his mind right then and there he was going to do whatever it took to win that trophy. Come to find out, the trophy was going to be given to the person that had memorized the most scripture verses. This young man never been to church, never basically read his Bible. But he was so determined. Over the next two days, he memorized over 30 passages of scripture and won the trophy. He was so excited. Well, 15 years later, he was a college All American football player. Had a dream of playing in the NFL. But one day after practice, he had a terrible pain in his chest. Got so bad he finally passed out. Long story short, at 23 years old, he had a massive heart attack. Woke up in the emergency room with tubes coming out of him everywhere. Scared to death, didn't know what to do. Then he told how all of a sudden, from way down in here, those scriptures that he had memorized started coming up once again. Here. He hadn't thought about them in over 15 years. But see, God's word is like a seed. It's alive and full of power on the inside. And when you need it, it's going to take root. It's going to spring forth. He started quoting the scripture over and over again. Things like, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. He told how all the fear left and he felt this incredible peace. The doctors didn't think he would make it. But today, that young man is as healthy as can be. He goes all over the world, visiting high schools, sharing his message of hope with other young people. But it all started back when he put the seed in him. You may not understand everything you read. In fact, some mornings you'll think, man, I'm wasting my time. I could be sleeping. But no, please realize the seed is going into you. And when you need it, God will make sure that it comes alive. And really, we all have those times where we read the scriptures. Five minutes later, we can't even remember what we read. We must have been daydreaming. Or we take time to pray and we don't feel anything. We don't think the prayer went past the ceiling. But even in the dry season, even when you don't feel anything, know this. God sees the effort that you're making. He sees you getting up early, he sees you taking the time. And it's not so much what we feel or even what we learn or what we remember. It's the fact that you took time to honor God. You made a sacrifice to give God the first part of your day. You do that, that gets God's attention. That's when you're going to be empowered for the day. That means you're going to have the strength, the favor, the peace, the wisdom. You'll get the breaks you need to live that day in victory. And friends, what I'm asking us to do today is not hard, but it's one of the most important habits we could ever form. If you don't have a regular quiet time, make a decision to start. And if you do, be determined to stick with it. Don't think that it's not doing any good. It's not only keeping your inner man strong, but it's setting the tone for the entire day. You got to get filled up before you go out. And some of you, this is the only thing that's holding you back. You love God, you're dedicated, you're talented, but you're not taking time to get empowered each day. You're not getting your inner man refueled and reenergized. Why don't you make these changes? Get up every morning and spend time with God. Draw strength from him. Receive his wisdom, receive his peace. If you'll start the day off right, I know you'll rise higher and higher. God will pour out his blessings and favor and you'll live the life of victory he 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'll 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.