Victoria Osteen (7:48)
No, you do have what it takes. You're just painting the wrong picture in your imagination. You cannot have a picture of defeat and failure and expect to fulfill your God given destiny. That defeat will get on the inside and it'll constantly be pulling you toward it. The only way to change is to change your picture. I read about a 10 year old boy. He grew up in Cincinnati in a lower income home. Nobody in his family ever made much of their lives. They were just very mediocre. It was a cold, windy day and he was standing downtown in front of this big office tower, just killing time after school. And he could see through the window a gentleman working away in a very busy office setting. This man was sitting at a typewriter, typing 90 to nothing. He had all these people coming up, handing him information. He was giving orders left and right, keeping everything moving. And for over an hour, that young man stood there fascinated by that man, Just so impressed at how he could handle so many different things. A few minutes, a police officer came by. He said, officer, who is that man sitting at the desk? The officer said, son, that's the editor of the Cincinnati newspaper. He's one of the most influential, respected men in our city. That day that young man went home with something new birthed on the inside. He told his parents one day he was going to become an editor. One day he was going to work at an important newspaper. His parents, they didn't know what to think of his new enthusiasm because nobody in their family had ever spoken words of victory and believed that they would do something significant with their lives. And over time, that young man told how every day, again and again, he replayed that scene in his mind. The only thing different was he didn't have the man sitting in the chair. He saw himself sitting in that chair. He was the one calling the shots. Intuitively, he believed it was going to happen every night. Nobody told him to, but he would say, father, thank you that you're bringing my dreams to pass. God, thank you that I'll become everything you created me to be. Night after night, even year after year, he just kept seeing himself in that chair, seeing himself running that company. Well, 30 years later, that young man was not only the editor and the publisher, but he was now the owner of that same Cincinnati newspaper. God had done more than he could even ask or think. But I believe it all started when he let the seed take root. He didn't think, I can't do that. I'm not talented enough. I don't come from the right family. No, he saw himself becoming everything God created him to be. Even as a 10 year old boy. He used his imagination for the right purposes. It got down on the inside. He reinforced that image with prayer and thanksgiving. And that's a winning combination that will cause us to succeed. And the scripture says there in Mark 11, verse 24. Whatever you ask for when you pray, believe that you have received and it will be yours. Notice we have to believe before we receive. One of the ways we believe is through our eyes of faith. Through our God given imagination. We have to create a picture of that dream coming to pass. That's what Victoria and I did concerning the compact center. When we were trying to acquire this place, we had so many things coming against us in the natural, it seemed impossible. But down deep we really believed that was a part of God's plan for our lives. And so instead of worrying and letting these negative images take root all through the day, in my imagination I could see this place with the Lakewood sign out front. I could see us up here ministering. I could see it filled with each one of you. Many times during the week we would drive by, especially at night, if nothing was going on, we would get out and walk around it. What were we doing? Letting the seed take deeper root. The more we saw ourselves here, the more confident we became, the more faith rose in our hearts. We went to bed each night not discouraged, not stressed out. We. We went to bed believing this building was ours. We got up seeing it as ours. We went through today with a picture of us overcoming every obstacle. I could already see in my imagination the city handing us the keys. I could already see the confetti falling from the ceiling for the groundbreaking services. I could already see it full of thousands of Victors and not victones. For three and a half years we kept that image in front of us when it was difficult, when it looked impossible. I believe that's one of the reasons we were able to stand strong and fight the good fight of faith. It was deep down in our spirit and in our subconscious mind, we knew this building was going to be ours. That's what happens when you keep the right images in front of you. I remember after the first service we ever had here, Victoria said, joel, I'm amazed at how at home I felt tonight. I thought it would take a long time to get used to. But I reminded her it's because we had seen ourselves here three years before we ever got here. It was birthed deep down on the inside. And on December 1, 2003, when Mayor Brown handed us the keys, it was just like when he handed us the keys. It was just like I'd seen it before. On December 14th when that confetti fell from the ceiling in the groundbreaking services. It's just like I'd seen it before. July 16, 2005, when 57,000 people gathered for a grand opening weekend. It was just like I'd seen it before. Let me ask you today. What do you see through your eyes of faith? What kind of image do you have on the inside? If you can imagine it, God can bring it to pass. Now I want to encourage you to see yourself accomplishing your goals. It's not enough to just pray. It's not enough to just believe. You've got to look out through your eyes of faith and again and again, see it coming to pass. When you do that, it gets deep down on the inside. Not only will you gravitate toward it, but that's your faith being released. That's when God can show up and make a way, even when it looks like there is no way. And the truth is, every one of us, whether we realize it or not, are visualizing something right now. You have an image in your mind of yourself, of your future. Now, I'm asking us to use our imagination for the right purposes. If you visualize yourself barely getting by, never getting married, never accomplishing your goals, that defeat is going to get in you and constantly be pulling you down. You've got to change your pictures. See yourself rising higher. You may not feel well today, but get a vision of yourself healthy or in your business. Maybe you're in sales. Visualize new customers coming in. Visualize yourself being promoted. Get a vision of yourself succeeding at whatever God's put in your heart. This is what I had to do in 1999, when my father went to be with the Lord. I didn't really think that I could get up here and minister. I'd only spoken one time before. My personality is kind of quiet and reserved. I like being behind the scenes. But deep down, I knew I was supposed to step up and pastor the church. The first thing I had to do is create a new picture on the inside. Because I had used my imagination in the wrong way in this particular area. When my father would ask me to get up here, I didn't think I could do it. I was nervous. I saw myself weak, defeated, not able to. I remember one time, right after I first started, I had a dream one night, and it was so clear. I guess really it was a nightmare. But the building was filled with people. And just as I got up to minister, everybody got up and walked out the doors. I thought, what is wrong with you people? Some of them look just like you. All those thoughts had created the wrong images. One day I realized what I'm telling you. I started seeing myself up here, strong, anointed well, able. I got a vision of myself succeeding. A vision of people liking me. Little by little, that began to take root. A few months later, I woke up in the middle of the night. This time I wasn't sweating, thinking, it's never going to happen. No. I could hear myself singing a song of praise. On the inside, I had a confidence, a peace. I knew God had me in the palm of his hand. I knew I was well able to do what he's called me to do. And some of you, the only thing that's holding you back is the picture that you've allowed to form. If you will change the picture, you can change your life. Well, you say, joel, I've got a lot of problems. Got a lot of things coming against me. You need to get an image of God turning that situation around. Visualize every enemy in your life being defeated. An enemy of sickness, an enemy of debt, an enemy of marriage. Problems all through the day. See yourself as the victor and not the victim. If you'll be consistent, this will not only get in your spirit, it will get in your subconscious mind and help you to overcome. It's interesting, the subconscious mind, the part of our mind that never sleeps. It doesn't know the difference between what's real and what's fake. That's why you can wake up in the middle of the night from a bad dream. Your heart's beating 90 to nothing. Your emotions are all over the place, you're sweating. Yet it was just a dream. It wasn't even real. But that's the way the subconscious mind works. It doesn't recognize whether it's real or fake. It just reacts to what's in it. That's why it's so important that we program it with the right pictures. What you put in is what it's going to move toward. You may feel like you're stuck in a rut today, kind of like I did, that you can't accomplish what God's put in your heart. But you've got to see what's playing on the picture screen of your mind. What kind of image do you have of yourself? Do you see yourself rising higher? Accomplishing your goals, Fulfilling your destiny? Check up on those pictures. If you're in difficult times, I would encourage you to take 30 seconds several times during the day and just close your eyes and. And see yourself rising out of that problem. See yourself totally free. You may have been through a lot of negative things in the past. Well, you more than anybody, you got to close your eyes and see yourself Moving forward. See new doors opening up. Get a vision of yourself happier and more fulfilled than you've ever been before. If you'll get in on the inside, you'll begin to move toward it. One thing I like to do for four or five times during the day, when I wake up, when I go to bed, and anytime I start to feel stressed, I like to take three deep breaths. With the first breath, I say to myself, I'm breathing in confidence and I'm breathing out fear. Second breath, I'm breathing in healing. I'm breathing out sickness. Third breath, I'm breathing in victory and I'm breathing out defeat. What am I doing? Making sure the right pictures are playing on the screen of my mind all through the day. Breathe in victory. Breathe in confidence. Breathe in success. Breathe in God's favor. Breathe in divine healing. I read about this man that was diagnosed with cancer of the bladder. The doctors told him it was inoperable. They tried chemotherapy, but that didn't work. Finally, they gave him some pain pills and sent him home to die. This man was not a religious person. He told how he wanted to pray, but he felt like he'd ignored God most of his life and he would be a hypocrite to ask God for his help. But one day, a friend of his sent him a get well card. And it had on it the scripture found in Matthew 19:26. With God, all things are possible. When he read that, something ignited on the inside. He was filled with new hope. In a few days, he came across a newspaper article about a soldier who had been wounded in the war and wasn't supposed to make it. But this soldier, through prayer and through creating the right mental pictures, totally recovered, the soldier told how he saw himself. Well, he saw himself running again, playing with his children, going back to work. This man was so inspired, he decided to same thing every day. He began to visualize armies of healing white blood cells flowing through his body. He imagined them starting at his head, flowing through his veins, into his organs, attacking every cancerous cell hundreds of times during the day. He pictured health and healing and victory flowing back into him. This image was so clear in his mind that it's just as if he were watching it on television. He said, I could see those healing cells making their way to my bladder, into my liver, up to my heart, down through my legs, into my feet, mopping up every cancerous cell, not stopping until every battle was won. Day after day, he replayed this scene in his mind. All the while he was quoting the scripture with God. All things are possible. Six months later, he went back to the doctor for a checkup. Much to their surprise, the doctors could not find any sign of cancer in his body. Jesus said, if you believe, all things are possible. If you'll have the right images in your mind, if you'll speak words of faith over your life, then God can show up and do what men can't do. You may be struggling with a sickness today. Maybe the medical report doesn't look good, but why don't you do what he did right now? Picture healing cells flowing all through you. Picture these cells filled with the life of Almighty God, attacking and devouring every sick and diseased cell in you. Imagine them continuing to work until every battle is won. All through the day, just picture health and healing continually flowing back into you. See yourself coming off that sick bed, overcoming every obstacle, walking in divine health. Had this vision of victory for your life. I don't know about you, but I'm not planning on getting old and having all kinds of things that don't work and being run down and cranky. I don't see myself like that. I see myself getting stronger, healthier, wiser, better looking. I can see every cell in my body, every organ functioning perfectly normal. We have to realize our body responds to how we think. It was created to heal on its own. That's the way God made it. But we have to allow it to heal by thinking the right thoughts and keeping the right images in our mind. When we go around negative, never seeing ourselves getting better, distressed and worried, all we're doing is causing our immune system to function like it should. We got to switch over into faith. Believe healing is flowing through you. Believe victory is on its way. We have to believe it before we'll ever receive it. It's so important, the images we allow in our minds. You remember when God told Abraham that he was going to have a child in the natural? This was impossible. He was much too old. But what did God do? He gave him a picture of it. He gave him something he could see. He said, abraham, your descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand at the seashore. God could have said, abraham, you're going to have a bunch of descendants. But God knew the importance of giving him a visual representation so he could form the right image. I can imagine Abraham lying in bed at night thinking, oh, this is never going to happen. I'm too old to have a child. God says, all right, Abraham, get up. I want you to go outside. Look up at the Stars. That's how many descendants you're going to have. Abraham starts to count the stars. He gets encouraged. Goes back to bed believing it's going to happen. Wakes up the next morning, same thing. I don't see how God can bring this promise to pass. God says, okay, Abraham, let's go down to the ocean, pick up a couple handfuls of sand. Every grain represents just one of your descendants. Why did God want him to have something visual? So he could keep the right image in his mind. Let me ask you, what kind of image do you have of yourself, of your family, of your future? The picture you have in your mind, you are moving toward. I read about people that train Seeing Eye dogs, dogs that help people that are visually impaired. They said the most difficult thing about training a new dog is, is to teach the dog to look up and see things from the master's point of view. Because most dogs can see real well down here by the ground. That's what they're used to. But somehow they have to lift the dog's perspective and help them to see through the master's eyes. That's what I want to help you do today, to lift your vision and get you to see things from a higher perspective so you can create the right image on the inside. Why don't you make a decision with me that you're going to start seeing things from the master's point of view, the way God sees you. Strong, healthy, victorious. Use your imagination for the right purposes. Remember, we move toward what we keep in front of us. Get up every morning and picture yourself succeeding. Picture yourself healthy and whole. Get an image of you and your family not only being blessed, but being a bigger blessing if you'll keep the right images in front of you and always reinforce it through prayer and thanksgiving. God promises nothing you've imagined will be impossible to you. You will overcome every obstacle, you'll defeat every enemy, and you'll see God bring your dreams and desires to pass. Amen. Do you receive it today? We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take you places that you've never dreamed of.
