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Joel Osteen (0:22)

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Joel Osteen (0:38)

Happy Easter.

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Joel Osteen (1:15)

Dsw.Com hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry.

Victoria Osteen (1:24)

If you enjoyed today's message, why don't.

Joel Osteen (1:26)

You be a blessing and share it with a friend? We appreciate you and pray for God's.

Victoria Osteen (1:30)

Very best in your life.

Joel Osteen (1:32)

Bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes. We love you and we're believing for God's very best in your life. And if you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by. I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started each week with something funny. And I heard about this man. He was out walking through the woods with a friend and all of a sudden they came upon this huge grizzly bear. They froze in their tracks. As the bear intently stared them down. They contemplated what they should do. The man turned to his friend and said, I think we should run. His friend said, are you crazy? You can't outrun a grizzly bear. He said, I know that. I don't have to outrun him. I just have to outrun you. 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. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever living seed of the Word of God. I'll never be the same. Never, never, never. I'll never be the same. In Jesus name, God bless you. I want to talk to you today about how you are someone's miracle. So many people are praying for a miracle. We have to realize we can become their miracle. God uses people. And every day we should have the attitude, I'm going to do something good for someone else. I'm going to encourage someone. I'm going to meet a need. I'm going to be kind to a neighbor. I'm going to become someone's miracle. Our joy is connected to our giving. And the reason a lot of people are not happy today is because they're ingrown. They're only focused on their wants and their needs. But we have to get outside of ourselves. When we get up in the morning, we should say on purpose, God, show me somebody I can bless today. Show me somebody that's discouraged. Bring somebody across my path that has a need, somebody I can make a difference in. And then we need to go out and look for ways that we can do good. It may not be something big. Just a smile here, an encouraging word there. Buying somebody's dinner, giving somebody a ride. Living to give rather than living to get. Every day we should have a goal of doing at least one thing good for somebody else. Maybe your spouse, maybe a neighbor, a co worker, even a stranger. It doesn't have to be a special occasion. Don't wait for their birthday or for Christmas, just an ordinary day. Bring your wife some flowers home. Call a friend and tell them how much they mean to you. Go to your neighbor and give them a gift certificate to go out to dinner. Or how about that young man that brings pizza to your house? You don't even know him, but give him an extra $20 for no reason at all. Be good to somebody you don't know. You may be their miracle. That simple gift, that phone call out of the blue, that encouraging word may be exactly what they needed to keep pressing forward. Really, this is one of the most rewarding ways to live every day. Find somebody you can be good to. I'll just warn you, if you get around me, you're going to get blessed, you're going to get encouraged. If you have a need, I'm going to do my best to meet it. If I see you at a restaurant, I'm going to probably buy your dinner unless there are 40 of you. And don't follow me around now that you know this, but I've made up my mind. I'm going to be a giver and not a taker. I'm looking for ways to be a blessing. I may need a few miracles of my own, but I'm going to sow a seed by becoming somebody's miracle. I'm not going to get up thinking about how I can get blessed today. I'm going to get up thinking about who I can be a blessing to. How can I brighten somebody else's day? That's the key to true fulfillment. Every morning our prayer should be, God, help me to become somebody's miracle today. Help me to be sensitive to the people you bring across my path. The other day I saw this man on his cell phone and in the middle of his conversation, his battery died. It must have been an important call because he was very frustrated, very stressed out. He looked like he was from another country. I was standing beside him waiting in a hotel lobby, and when I saw it die, I just handed him my cell phone, said, here, use this one. He said, no, I can't do that. I'm making a long distance call. I said, that's okay, doesn't matter. You can call anywhere you want to. He looked at me kind of strange and said, are you sure? I said, I'm sure. When I heard him dialing Korea, almost changed my mind. But when he handed me my phone back five minutes, he said in the most genuine, sincere voice you can imagine. Thank you so much. You just don't know what that meant to me. I thought. All I did was loaned him my cell phone. In my mind it was no big deal, but I could tell that simple act of kindness brightened his day. I was his miracle. And sure, it may have cost me $20, but I know when I'm good to other people, God will always be good back to me. Be on the lookout for people you can bless. God said to AB I will bless you, so you will be a blessing. Dispensing good to others A key to being blessed is are we willing to be a blessing? We're not going to be blessed in the way God really wants us to if we're not willing to share it with others. When you study the life of Jesus, this is exactly how he lived. He went out each day making a difference in people's lives. Healing the sick, feeding the hungry, comforting the lonely, blessing the children. Says in Acts 10:38, he was anointed with the spirit and he went about doing good. That's our ministry as well. It's not complicated. You don't have to know how to preach. You don't have to understand all the deep doctrine. All you need to do is go out each day and be good to people. Give a compliment here, hold the door open for the people behind you. When you go get something to drink, bring your co worker back a drink as well. Look for opportunities to do good. One time I was leaving Minute Maid park, the ball game had just let out and I was pulling out of the parking lot. People were streaming out of the building and it started to rain and I felt bad for the people getting wet. Most of them had a long way to go to their car. There were hundreds of them. I couldn't do something for everyone, but I did have one umbrella in my backseat. So I pulled over and rolled down the window. These two ladies were passing by. They had their programs over their head to keep them from getting wet. I didn't know them, they didn't know me. But I said, hey, here's an umbrella that you can have. When I gave them that umbrella, you would have thought I had given them $1,000. They got so excited. She punched her friend said I can't believe it. She just said, God, I wish I had an umbrella. I said, well, heard your prayer because here's an umbrella being delivered by an angel. What I'm saying is you can become someone's miracle. Well, I'm not going to give my umbrella away. It cost me $18. No, you can't out give God, when you give, it's going to be given back to you. It's funny, I had had that umbrella forever. It must have been 10 years old. It was old, beat up, probably didn't cost me $5. Well, several months later I was leaving a hotel and it was raining and the bellman had this big fancy umbrella. It looked like two umbrellas combined into one. And he was so nice to get us into our cars. And just as I was about to shut my door, he looked at me and said, do you have an umbrella? I said, no, I don't. He folded that up, shook it off and said, here, have this one. We got plenty of those. I thought, God, you are so good. I gave away my ten year old five dollar umbrella. He gave me back a double wide. I can get my whole family under this one. But that bellman brightened my day. He was my miracle. That's the way God works. When you go around being good to People. God will make sure other people are good. Back to you. The scripture says here in Galatians 6:10, as occasion and opportunity arise, let us do good for all people. Notice, it's saying, whenever you have the opportunity to do good, whenever you're able to be a blessing, don't pass it up. Don't say, I'm busy, maybe next time. Or I need my umbrella. It may rain tomorrow. I'd love to give you a ride, but I've got my plans. I'm going to go work out. No, don't miss an opportunity to become someone's miracle. If you see someone at the office that's down and discouraged, just walk by them thinking, what's wrong with them? They must be having a hard day. No, take time to go to them, say, hey, is something wrong? Can I pray with you about anything? Or better yet, come on, I'm going to buy your lunch. Let's talk about it. Look for opportunities. Not long ago, a friend of mine was in the hospital, and the nurse that takes care of her, she came in one day and she just wasn't her normal self. She's usually happy and upbeat, but this day she was so solemn, like she had lost her joy. And my friend picked up on this. She reached out to her and said, hey, what's wrong? This nurse was from another country. She said, well, I just found out yesterday that my children are not going to be able to continue their same schooling back at home because the tuition went up and I'm not able to afford it anymore. She was so discouraged by it. Here she is, working thousands of miles from home, trying to make a better life. My friend is very generous. She's a giver. And she said to that nurse, I want you to bring a picture of your children tomorrow and their report cards. And when that lady saw those children, she told the nurse, I'm going to pay for their tuition. It was $1,000 each child. She went on to say, as long as they stay in school and keep making good grades, I'll continue to pay their tuition, not only through high school, but all the way through college. That nurse was beside herself. She didn't see my friend was that lady's miracle. God uses people. Whether we realize it or not. We are all somebody's miracle. Look for that person. Look for opportunities to do good. Now realize not everyone can do it at that level, but we can all do something. There are creative ways to be a blessing. You hear a friend talking about how he's going on a trip, going to have to leave his car up at the airport. No, let me drop you off. You don't need to pay that money for parking. You just sowed into his life. You just brightened his day. You hear a neighbor saying how he's got to move some furniture. He's about to rent a truck. No, I've got a big truck. You don't need to do that. I'll come over and we'll do it together. A friend of mine recently bought a new car. The man he bought it from was very helpful. He searched the whole country and got him a great deal. Saved him thousands of dollars. My friend was talking to a man that was about to buy a car, and he said, well, you need to buy it from this man. He'll give you a great deal. A couple of weeks later, that man called him back so grateful, he said, you know, that man you put me in touch with? He saved me over $10,000 on my new car. Just one phone call, just one recommendation. You may not be able to meet the need, but you can put in a good word for somebody. You can help them to find a good lead. I believe there are opportunities around us all the time. We just have to be more sensitive. We have to pay more attention. I was talking to a couple of our members not long ago, an older lady and a younger lady, and I asked them if they were mother and daughter. The older lady said, no, but she's just like my daughter. And she went on to tell how when we moved the church from the northeast location to this place, she didn't think she was going to be able to continue to come. She's a widow and she's not used to driving on the freeways. She was so discouraged by it all. And one day she was telling some people about her dilemma. And this younger lady, who she didn't even know at the time, overheard the conversation. And she stepped in and said, how about this? I'll come pick you up church each Sunday. That older lady was so surprised. She said, are you kidding? That would be great. Where do you live? Come to find out they live 30 minutes from each other. But that didn't stop that young lady. She could have thought, well, I'd love to do it, but it's so far. Price of gas is so high. I'm so busy in my career. No, this young lady knew she was blessed to be a blessing. She saw an opportunity to do good. She wasn't going to pass it by. So now, every Sunday morning, like clockwork, at 9:30, she pulls into that lady's driveway. We've been here since the summer of 2005. During that time, they've only missed one Sunday morning after that older lady told me this story. She hugged that young lady and she said, joel, she's my miracle. I thought, you're exactly right. Can you imagine God seeing this young lady getting up early Sunday morning, driving across town, spending her gas, spending her time, spending her energy? Don't you know she's going to be blessed? The closest thing to the heart of God is helping other people. Says in Ecclesiastes, when you give, your gifts will come back to you. And sometimes what seems like a small act of kindness can turn out to be a much bigger thing. I heard the story about this couple that wanted to adopt a child. They'd gone through all the channels, but it was taking so long. They just weren't comfortable whether they should adopt a child from here or somewhere else. Really, they were frustrated over it. One year they got involved with a ministry that provides shoes for needy children. Most of these children are orphans and come from very sad situations. And so they bought a pair of tennis shoes. Little boy. The way it works is you put your picture and a note to the child in that shoebox and that way the child can have someone to identify with. A couple of months later they got a note back and a picture of the little six year old boy who had received those tennis shoes. When they saw it, they immediately knew that was the child they were supposed to adopt. They fell in love with him. They started seeing him on a regular basis. Long story short, they were able to adopt this little boy. The little boy told how for Christmas he got a pair of tennis shoes. But what he really wanted were parents. He held up the shoebox and said, my parents were in this box. See, when you give, your gifts will come back to you. That couple sowed a seed 15$20 buying a pair of tennis shoes they got in return. A priceless child. When you make an investment in others, that's the seed God will use to enrich your own life. Some of you need a miracle today. But you need to start by becoming someone's miracle. What are you doing for others? Maybe your son plays little league ball with another young man that's not as fortunate as you are. You notice that his baseball cleats are all beat up and worn out. You don't have to make a big deal about it. Never want to embarrass anybody. Just do it in a roundabout way. Next time you're at practice, go give them a Hug. Hey, how you been doing? You're getting so big. What size shoe do you wear? You can be sneaky about it. You're on a mission from God. You have an assignment every day to be good to people. Now that you have that information, when you go to buy your son a pair of baseball cleats, that young man one as well make an investment in his life. There are creative ways to be a blessing. You may not have a lot of extra money, but you can go repair a roof for a person that's less fortunate. You can babysit someone's children. Maybe you hear a single parent mom talking about how much she's been working, how tired she is. Why don't you give her a break one night and babysit her children? Tell her to go up to the mall, go relax, take the evening off. That doesn't take any money, just takes a little time. Really? Your time is more valuable than your money? When you give people your time, you're making a real investment. But let's be creative. Take an elderly neighbor to their doctor's appointment, Give them a ride, sit there and be their company. Or you could mentor a young person. Maybe there's a child at school that doesn't have a father figure in his life. Take him to hit baseballs with your son. Take that little girl out to eat with your daughter. There are all kinds of ways to be a blessing. The whole key is we have to be on the lookout. We have to have the mindset, I am somebody's miracle. I am created to be a blessing. God help me to find that person today. I know when I first met Victoria, she was good friends with this older lady. Victoria would go pick her up and take her to church. They would go out to dinner during the week. Now I used to think, who is this lady? Is she a family friend? Is she related to you? No, she was just somebody that Victoria took an interest in. She was investing in that lady's life. Do you know how many lonely people there are today? Why don't you adopt a widow? Why don't you adopt an older person? Call them, check on them, go visit them, take them out to dinner. They may not need your money. What they really need is your time. They need somebody to talk to, be willing to listen. Let them tell you the same stories over and over again. Laugh like it's the first time you ever heard it. We have to realize one day we're all going to be old. We're going to probably want somebody to come visit us. Invest in the people around us, some of you have older parents, older family members that you haven't seen in a long time. You've gotten so busy and so caught up in your career, you have to make them a priority. We all can come up with good excuses. We all are busy. But it's not only our duty, it's our responsibility to take care of our older family members. Don't make one sibling do it all. Carry your share of the load. You know the scripture. Honor your father and mother so that you can have a long life. That's the only commandment that comes with a promise. And I believe there's a special blessing not only when we take care of our parents, but when we're kind and caring to the older people around us. You go up to the senior citizens home one night and cheer some people up. You've got to know that's high on God's list. You go over to your elderly neighbors and repair their air conditioner, clean their gutter, take them a home cooked meal. Let me tell you, God is smiling down on you. See, it's easy to do good things for people that can do good back to us. Doesn't take quite as much effort to stay late at the office and help a co worker finish their project. After all, we know one day they may put in a good word for us. But it takes a true heart of compassion to do something good for somebody that can't give you anything in return. The good news is when people can't pay you back, God will pay you back. God's payment is always more than we can even ask or think it talks about in Proverbs. When we are kind to the poor, when we take care of the elderly, when we do good things for the less fortunate, we are lending to the Lord. Can you imagine that? You want to do God a favor. You want to get on God's good side, do something for someone that cannot pay you back. Be a father to a child that's less fortunate. Be a friend to an elderly neighbor. Pay the tuition or get a group of people to pay the tuition to Somebody cannot afford that. When you are kind to the needy, you are lending to the Lord. You know how we feel even in the natural. When somebody does us a favor, somebody goes out of their way to help us or they make an extra effort to be kind to one of our children. We think, man, I'll do anything for them. They were so kind, they didn't have to do that. Well, imagine how God feels when he sees you buying a pair of Shoes for a needy child. Taking an elderly neighbor to their doctor's appointment. Driving across town, picking up somebody to bring them to church. You are doing God a favor. You are lending to the Lord. Let me ask you today, who's in your life that you can make a difference in? You may need a miracle. You may need healing. You may need a good break. But it starts by sowing a seed. Become someone's miracle. To some people, especially older ones, just being their friend is a miracle. Giving an umbrella, buying someone a suit, those can all be miracles. Be sensitive to the needs around you. If you see somebody wearing the same clothes over and over again, hey, let me give you this gift certificate to go buy some new clothes. Or better yet, swing by my house. I've got a couple suits I'm going to give you. I found a lot of times we have miracles in our closets. Miracles in storage. I know. We always give our children's clothes to other families. They grow out of them so quickly. They're still nice. It's a mindset. What do I have that I can be a blessing with? Last year we were able to give all of Jonathan's schoolbooks to another young man. That was several hundred dollars they didn't have to spend. What do you have in storage? What do you have in your closet? Somebody's miracle. Don't let it sit there year after year. Oh, Joel, I can't give that away. That's my favorite dress. I wore it five years ago. I may want to wear it again sometime. No. You know as well as I do you can't even fit into that thing. Just give it away. You have faith, but not that much. Or maybe you're out shopping with a friend and they see something they really like, but they put it back because they don't want to spend the money. Or why don't you sneak back over there and buy it for them? You don't have to pray about it. Three weeks. If you wait that long, it's probably not even going to be there. Sometimes down in here, we know we're supposed to do something special for someone. We have a strong desire to do good. But we're waiting for three confirmations, two prophecies and a sign from the heavens. God, if you'll just have Joel call me out today and tell me to do it. I need a word from you. Let me give you all a word from the Lord. Be good to people. Bless them whenever you can. Be their miracle. Now you've got your word from the Lord. The next time you're thinking, God, is this really you? You remember this day? You got your okay. Thus saith the Lord. Do it. I know I'm preaching to myself because sometimes I feel down in here. I should do something for someone. Maybe just something simple. Give a young person $20 and I look at him and I think, he looks like he's fine. He doesn't need my money. God, is this really you, or am I just being overly generous? Should I do it? Should I not do it? One day it dawned on me. Even if it's not God and I give it, God's still going to be pleased. I'm still going to get blessed. You'll never go wrong being good to other people. Don't overanalyze it. Sometimes it's not the gift they need. The gift is secondary. What they really need is your love. I found the enemy will never lead us to be good to people. He wants us to be so selfish and so caught up in our own affairs that we don't even entertain the thought of being a blessing to somebody else. If you have a desire to do good, it is from God. Don't debate it and don't expect someone else to do it. It's funny. When I was growing up, my mother used to say to my father, John, I feel sorry for that man. Will you go pray for him? I feel like that lady needs to be encouraged. Will you go encourage her? That young couple, they need to be blessed. Will you go give them a gift? Finally, after about 10 years of doing that, my father said, dodie, you're the one that has the desire. God's put the burden in you. You've got to act on that. Sometimes that's the way we are. We have a concern for someone. We may not even know them. But down in here, it's almost like we have a burden for them. And we think, man, I hope somebody is good to them. I hope somebody helps them. What I'm saying today is you are that somebody. You are the one God's counting on to make the difference. God wouldn't have put the desire in your heart if he didn't want you to do something about it. It may just be to pray. It may be to give them a kind word. It may be to give them a gift. But don't miss out on that opportunity. You can become their miracle. And really, this is an exciting way to live. The truth is, it's boring to just live for ourselves. There's an emptiness when we just think about my goals, my dreams, my problems. My needs. There's so much more to life than that. Let's go out each day and not try to figure out how we're going to get blessed, but rather how we're going to be a blessing. No doubt there are people in your life right now. You can become their miracle. Pay attention to those around you. Listen to their needs. You may not be able to do everything, but you can do something. You can give a smile. You can buy a pair of shoes for a needy child. You can adopt a widow. Make a difference wherever you go, remember our joy is connected to our giving. If you'll develop this lifestyle of giving and not always try to get a miracle, but rather let's focus on how we can become somebody's miracle. When you do that, you'll not only live happier, more fulfilled, more rewarded, but that's the seed God will use to enrich your own life. Do you receive it today? I know you do. 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.