Joel Osteen - Your Time To Shine
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I want to talk to you today about Your Time To Shine. God created you to leave your mark. You're not supposed to live and die, and nobody knew you were here. You have greatness in you. But often we don't recognize who we are. We see ourselves as ordinary, "I can't do anything significant, I'm not that talented, I can't accomplish my dream, I don't have the education, I can't defeat this giant, it's too big". We can all find an excuse to shrink back and settle for mediocrity. But Psalm 45:2-4 says, "God himself has blessed you, oh mighty warrior, you are glorious. Go out and perform awe inspiring deeds. Your God has anointed you".
The Psalmist is saying, "Don't you realize who you are? You're not average, you are glorious. You're not weak, you're a mighty warrior. You're not supposed to just make it through life, and survive another year, there are all inspiring deeds in you. Things God has destined you to accomplish that will boggle your mind. Victories that will catapult your family forward. Promotion that will thrust you to a new level. Giants you'll defeat, that will give you greater influence, greater respect". He's saying, "What are you doing shrinking back, living with an ordinary mindset, when God says you're glorious, you're a mighty warrior, you were created to do all inspiring deeds"?
See, we know God is glorious, we know he's all-powerful, but do you realize you are glorious? You were created in the image of God. When he made you, he put a part of himself in you. You have the DNA of Almighty God. You are powerful, you are favored, you are blessed. You can do all inspiring deeds. You can part Red Seas. You can defeat Goliath. You can bring healing to the sick. You can start your business. You can be the first one in your family to get your degree. Don't go through life thinking you're average, when in fact there is greatness in you. It takes faith to say, "I believe I'm glorious. I believe I'm a mighty warrior. I believe God himself has blessed me".
See, the scripture (Daniel 11:32) says, "The people who know their God will be strong and do mighty exploits". That's God's dream for you: not an average life, mighty exploits, awe-inspiring deeds. No more living intimidated, "I can't do it, it's too big". No, when you know who you are, you won't run from the giant, you'll run to the giant. God didn't say, "You would do exploits", he said, "Mighty exploits". That means it's going to be bigger than you can accomplish on your own. You can't do this just in your power, your ability, but God himself has anointed you. The Most High is backing you up.
And sometimes he'll let the odds be against you in a great way, so it will be a mighty exploit. Not just a deed, but an awe-inspiring deed. Where people will say, "How did you accomplish that dream, I know your background? How did you build that business, you didn't have the training? How did you get well, I saw the medical report"? It's one of those mighty exploits. One of those awe-inspiring deeds. It's because you know your God, and you know who he's created you to be. You know you're glorious. You know you're a mighty warrior. You know you're full of can-do power. You know his favor surrounds you like a shield.
After Jesus borrowed Peter's boat, he told him to go back in the lake and throw his nets out. Well, they had fished all night, hadn't caught anything, but this time they caught so many fish that his nets begin to break. He had to call another boat over to help. They were both so loaded down, they began to sink. The scripture (Luke 5:9) says, "They were awestruck at the size of their catch". God is going to do some things that leave you awestruck. He's going to take you further than you've imagined. You're going to overcome obstacles that seem permanent. This is not the time to shrink back, think, "Oh, I'm just ordinary". No, stir your faith up. What is God calling you to do, that would be an awe-inspiring deed. What is that dream he's placed in your heart, that would be a mighty exploit. You don't see how in the natural, every voice says there's no way, but something on the inside says, "Yes, this is for you". That's your destiny calling.
Don't let fear hold you back, intimidation, how you don't have the experience, you don't know where the resources would come from. Have a new attitude: you are glorious, you are a mighty warrior. God himself has blessed you. He's raised you up for such a time as this. He wouldn't have given you that dream, he wouldn't have whispered to you that in the night if he wasn't going to bring it to pass. Now, get in agreement with him: don't talk yourself out of it, talk yourself into it. Pray bold prayers. Ask God for what you're dreaming about. Dare to take steps of faith. Go out and perform all inspiring deeds.
This is what David did. He was out in the shepherd's fields, 17 years old, taking care of his father's sheep. He came from a low-income family, they didn't have any influence, connections to speak of, all the circumstances said he was ordinary. No way he had ever do something significant. Thoughts would tell him, "You're stuck out here. You're limited, nothing good is in your future". But I can imagine out there at night, alone, sometimes he'd look up at the stars and he would hear something whisper, "David, you're a mighty warrior. There's greatness in you. You are destined to leave your mark".
These two voices were vying for his attention: the voice of doubt, and the voice of faith. You get to choose which voice becomes a reality. The voice you dwell on, the thoughts you believe, that's going to determine who you are. Don't let the voice of doubt take root, telling you that you're weak, not able to, come from the wrong family. Believe what God says about you. Listen to his voice: you are glorious! You are anointed! You are favored! You are a mighty warrior!
One day David took lunch to his brothers, they were in another city. He saw Goliath, the champion of the Philistine army, taunting the Israelites. They all ran and hid, but something rose up in David. He said, "Who is this man that he would defy the armies of the living God"? Well, Goliath was twice David's size, he was an experienced soldier, he was wearing a full set of armor. David had none of that, he was a shepherd. When he told king Saul he wanted to face Goliath, Saul said, "Are you kidding? You're just a boy". All the odds were against David. Logically speaking he didn't have a chance. But God will put you in situations where you're up against a giant, looks impossible: the sickness too bad, the problem too great, the dream too big. It's easy to let fear and intimidation talk us out of it. This is where you have to remind yourself, that you were called to perform awe inspiring deeds. That giant is a setup, it's a mighty exploit waiting to happen.
David went out with nothing but a slingshot, and a few smooth stones. While Goliath was laughing, making fun of him, David slung that rock, it hit him in the forehead, knocked him to the ground. David went over, took Goliath's sword, and cut his head off. That one victory catapulted David into favor and influence that he'd never imagined. God has some of these awe-inspiring deeds in your future. There are mighty exploits lined up for you, but you have to have this boldness, this confidence, knowing who you are: you're anointed, you're favored, you're glorious, you're a mighty warrior. Don't let fear keep you from your greatness. Don't let how you were raised, what others in your family won't do cause you to shrink back.
David's brothers wouldn't fight Goliath, they were too afraid. David's father didn't believe in him, he didn't think David had what it takes. To be a giant killer, to perform all inspiring deeds, sometimes you have to do it alone. You have to ignore the naysayers. Tune out family members that are telling you what you can't do, they may not be able to see it, but you're a mighty warrior, you're surrounded by favor, God himself has blessed you.
Isaiah 60:1 said, "Arise and shine, for the glory of the Lord is upon you". It doesn't say, "The glory is going to be there one day. Sometime in the future you're going to be blessed, you're going to be favored, anointed". No, the glory of God is on you right now. If you're going to see it, you have to arise. You won't shine like you should if you play it safe all the time. David was destined to defeat Goliath. He could have reasoned it out, "I'm too small. I don't have the training. The odds are against me". If he didn't know the glory of God was on him, if he didn't realize he was a mighty warrior, favored, anointed, he would have never left the shepherd's fields. He would have missed his destiny.
Are you missing awe-inspiring deeds, favor, victory, promotion because of fear? "I'm not sure, Joel, this giant is so big". If you will arise, you'll discover the glory of God is on you. His favor will cause doors to open. You'll defeat giants that are much bigger. Accomplish dreams that seem impossible. What you have may be less than what you're up against, but the anointing on your slingshot will bring down giants, it will defy the odds. You're not just a warrior, you're a mighty warrior. You're not just called to do exploits, but mighty exploits. Not just deeds, but how about some awe-inspiring deeds?
When my father passed, and I stepped up to pastor the church, I had never ministered before. By the grace of God the church was growing, and we needed a larger auditorium. A friend called and told me that the rockets basketball team were moving out of the Compaq Center, this place, the city was going to sell the building, and how we should try to get that as our church. When he said that, something came alive on the inside. I felt it so strongly, but I didn't have any experience of buying a building, and convincing city council members to vote for us, raising funds. In my mind it didn't make sense, but in my spirit there was this faith that I can't explain, this knowing that it was going to happen. The scripture talks about the faith of God. Sometimes it's not your faith, God puts the faith in you. He lights a fire in your spirit for something you couldn't normally believe in. That's setting you up for an awe-inspiring deed.
There were people that didn't want us to have the building. One of the largest companies in Texas, they own all the land around the property, they wanted it, so of course they were full force against us. Business leaders, influential people telling us it would never happen. Despite all that negative chatter, people trying to push us down, talk us out of it, deep down I could hear God saying, "Joel, I've got this. I'm fighting this battle. I myself have blessed you. You are glorious, you are favored, you are a mighty warrior". I felt this courage, this boldness to take steps of faith, to do things where I didn't feel qualified, where the odds were against us, where I knew I was over my head. But what I've found is: it may be over your head, but it's not over God's head. He's moved by your faith. He sees you stepping into the unknown, believing for what looks impossible, standing in faith when all the voices are telling you "It's never going to happen".
God told the Israelites that he was giving them the Promised Land, but he said, "You have to go possess the land". Just because God gives you a dream, gives you a promise, doesn't mean you can sit back and be passive. You have to go possess it, you have to take steps of faith. That's when you're going to see God step in, and do things that you could never do. Well, we needed 10 votes from the city council members, and after a year and a half we had all ten, but two days before the vote, one of the council members decided to be out of town. He got so much pressure from the other side, and him not being there meant that we couldn't get the building.
The day before the vote I went to see a council member that had been against us the whole time, a young Jewish man. I've given him my best speeches, I tried everything to persuade him, but nothing had worked. I didn't know what I was going to say this time, and I sat down in his office, so nervous, knowing that everything was on the line. Before I could say a word, he said, "Joel, I've changed my mind, I'm going to vote for you". He told how an older Jewish woman had called him the day before. He hadn't talked with her in over 20 years. She was a friend of his family, he always had great respect for her. He said, "She told me in no uncertain terms that I was to vote for Lakewood having the Compaq Center". It was that phone call that changed his mind.
What's interesting, I don't know the lady, never met her, never asked her to call, but God controls the universe. When you believe, angels go to work. When you take steps of faith, the Creator of the universe arranges things in your favor, changes people's minds, breaks chains that are limiting you, opens doors that no person can shot. You are sitting in an awe-inspiring deed. You are sitting in the glory of God. He's looking for people right now to show himself strong in their lives. He's looking for some Davids, people that will run to the giants. He's looking for some Nehemiahs, he was a cup bearer to the king, in an ordinary position, when he heard that the walls of Jerusalem had been torn down, and the city was open for attack. God gave him a dream to go rebuild those walls. He was living a thousand miles away, he had no money, no supplies, no way in the natural, but he knew the favor of God was on his life. He arose, and in just 52 days he rebuilt those walls - an awe-inspiring deed.
God is looking for some Esters: she was an Orphan, no parents to guide her, what could she do? Her uncle entered her into a beauty contest: whoever one would get to meet the king. Out of all the young women she won and became the queen. When the Israelites were on the verge of being annihilated, the king had already written a decree that on a certain date they'd all be wiped out, Esther against protocol went into the king's Chambers unannounced. She could have not only lost her position, but lost her life. Her attitude was, "I've been raised up for such a time as this. I'm not going to shrink back, think about all the what-ifs, 'what if he gets upset? What if he says no? What if he puts my family out?'"
If it's going to be a mighty exploit, it's going to take faith. You're gonna have to take some risk. Where there are no risk, there won't be awe-inspiring deeds. If you can do it in your own strength, your own talent, convince the people, make it happen, that's fine, but that's not awe-inspiring. God has some things that only he can do. The way you activate that faith is by arising, by stepping out, by knowing that you are glorious, that you are a mighty warrior, that the Most High God is backing you up. Because of Esther, the king changed his mind, the Israelites were saved.
God's looking for some Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, teenagers that wouldn't bow down to the king's golden idol. They refused to compromise and fit into a culture that didn't honor God. They could have conformed, played it safe, did what everyone else was doing. After all it was dangerous, their life was on the line. But they said to the king, "Even if you throw us into that furnace, we're still not going to bow down". They knew this wasn't a surprise to God. He's the one that caused the king to harden his heart. They threw these teenagers into the furnace, thinking they were done, but God has the final say. When you refuse to compromise, you stay on the high road, honor God with your life, you may get thrown into the fire, the good news is: God comes into the fire with you. He doesn't always deliver you from the fire, sometimes he'll make you fire proof, and bring you through the fire.
This king came back to check on the teenagers, he looked through the furnace window said, "Didn't we throw three men in bound? I see four men loosed, one looks like the son of the living God". Those teenagers walked out of the furnace, not a hair on their head was singed. They didn't even have the smell of smoke: an awe-inspiring deed. The king said, "From now on we're all going to worship the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego". God has some of these awe-inspiring deeds in your future. He's going to show out, do things that you've never dreamed. Like these teenagers, because you honor him, he's going to make you an example of his goodness. Don't live in fear, shrinking back, thinking the odds are too big, the opposition too strong, I can't accomplish my dream. No, arise and shine. The glory of God is on you. You are a mighty warrior. Go out and perform these awe-inspiring deeds. "Go out" is the key. "Arise" is the first step. You can't sit back and think it's going to happen, you have to activate your faith.
Isaiah 60:2 went on to say, "Darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the people, but upon you the glory of the Lord will arise". It's not a coincidence that he said, "In the middle of the darkness". When people don't honor God, when their strife, division, all kinds of evil, that's when you need to arise and shine. That's when you'll see the glory of God. That's when he'll bring you through the fire without the smell of smoke. That's when you'll rebuild the walls, accomplish great dreams, when the odds are against you. That's when God will change the king's mind, turn the decree around, because you're an Esther, you had the boldness, the faith to believe that you're glorious, to know that God himself has blessed you. That he's fighting your battles, that he's making ways where you don't see away.
We're coming into a time where God is going to show out in greater ways, there are going to be mighty exploits. The scripture (Mark 16:17) says these signs will follow them that believe. They're going to be some signs following you. Not ordinary things, not what you've seen in the past, but awe-inspiring deeds. The apostle Paul said, "You haven't seen, heard or imagined what God has in store for you". He's going to put you in situations like David, you face a Goliath. Like Nehemiah, a dream that seems impossible. Like Esther, a problem with huge consequences. You'll be tempted to shrink back, let fear, intimidation convince you to play it safe, think that you're stuck.
God is saying, "If you'll arise, I'll cause you to shine. If you'll take steps of faith, I'll defeat your enemies, I'll open the right doors, I'll bring the right people, I'll give you the wisdom, the creativity, the abundance". There are awe-inspiring deeds in your future. They're a mighty exploits coming your way. You wouldn't be hearing this if God wasn't about to do something unusual, uncommon, something that causes people to be awestruck. That puts you at a new level of favor, influence and honor.
There was 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 his cousins and relatives all lived in the same small home. And in their village there was so much sickness, all kinds of disease, but there was no place to get care, not a hospital, not a clinic within hundreds of miles. People were dying from things that were easily treatable. As a young boy he couldn't stand seeing the sadness and suffering of his people. God put a dream in his heart to build a hospital in his village. In the natural it was impossible, he was just as poor and underprivileged as the others in his village, but there was something different about this young boy. He believed the favor of God was on his life. He didn't see himself as limited, as a disadvantage, he saw himself as glorious, as a mighty warrior, destined to do great things.
You may be in a limited environment, but don't let that environment get in you. See yourself as a world changer, a history maker. God is not limited by what you don't have. He said, "You're going to do mighty exploits, you're going to perform awe-inspiring deeds". Well, this little boy started to grow and grow, unusually tall, and he ended up seven feet two inches tall. Graduated from the local school, and against all odds he received an academic scholarship to Georgetown University here in the States. He went there to become a doctor, so he could come back and help his people, but during his second year the basketball coach noticed him, and asked him to try out for the team. He not only made the team, but he became a star player. He was later drafted to play professional basketball.
Our friend dikembe mutombo became one of the greatest players of our day. When he played for the rockets, I would see him at our services. In 2007 he opened a new 30 million dollar hospital that he and the other players funded in his small village in the Congo. Since then, they have treated over a million patients. Who would have ever thought that little boy in the impoverished village would do such a mighty exploit, such an awe-inspiring deed? That's what God has in your future. You're not limited by your surroundings, how you were raised, what you don't have. God controls the universe, he's just looking for people that recognize who they are: mighty warriors, glorious, favored, anointed, influential, powerful - that's who you are. That's who you are: anointed, influential and powerful. God himself has blessed you. People may come against you, but God himself has favored you. The opposition may be stronger, but God himself has empowered you. The giant looks too big, God himself is fighting for you.
If you will arise, you're going to shine, you're going to see the glory of God in greater ways. But when we look back over our lives, we should see some of these times where there are mighty exploits, something that we've done that's out of the ordinary, that's beyond our natural ability. "But Joel, I don't see any of that for me, must not work". No, get ready, it's coming. You are marked for greatness. God is going to show out in your life. In these coming days, as it gets darker around you, you're going to shine brighter and brighter. You are destined to perform awe-inspiring deeds. Now, rise up mighty warrior, and possess the land. If you'll do this, I believe and declare: you're going to do mighty exploits, God's about to do something you've never seen. Like Peter, you're going to be awestruck, new doors opening, abundance, healing, breakthroughs, the fullness of your destiny, in Jesus name. And if you receive it, can you say amen?