Joel Osteen - Activate the Flow
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I want to talk to you today about Activate The Flow. We all have times in life where we're at a disadvantage: we don't see how we can accomplish our dream, the medical report is not good, child is off course. We've done all we can in our own power, but nothing has changed. Doors haven't opened, we're still dealing with the anxiety. And it's tempting to get discouraged and settle where we are, but there is a supernatural flow that you can tap into. A flow of healing that will turn the medical report around. A flow of favor that will open doors and bring the right people. A flow of freedom that will break the addiction. This flow is within reach, but here's the key: it has to be activated. How do you activate it? By expecting God's favor, by declaring his promises, by believing he's working when you don't see any sign of it.
You have to press past the doubt, press past the thoughts telling you, "It's never going to change, it's been this way too long, this problem is too big". Don't believe those lies: God is on the throne, he's fighting your battles. There's not a problem you're facing that he can't turn around, not a dream he can't bring to pass, not an addiction he can't break. When you activate this flow, angels go to work, forces of darkness are broken, favor is released. But sometimes we're waiting on God, but God's waiting on us. He's saying, "Come on, activate my power, activate my favor, activate my healing". God works where there's faith. He sees our needs, but he's not moved by needs, otherwise there would be no needs: he's moved by our faith. What activates the flow is when we believe that God can do what seems impossible. When we go around not talking about how big the problem is, but about how big our God is.
When we declare, "God is going before me making crooked places straight. He's opening doors that no person can shut, bringing the right people across my path". That's not just being positive, you just activated a flow of favor. You're going to see God do unusual, uncommon things, things that you can't explain. Maybe you're dealing with an illness, it's easy to accept it, "Man, this is my lot in life". No, the right attitude is, "This sickness didn't come to stay, it came to pass. God is restoring health back into me. I will live and not die". You just activated a flow of healing, where God can supernaturally turn things around.
He's not limited to what medical science can do. He may use medicine, he may use doctors, but sometimes they run out of options. There's nothing more in the natural they can do, but our God is supernatural. He never runs out of options. When you believe, you activate a flow of healing that can do what medicine cannot do. Or maybe a child is off course: instead of worrying, not able to sleep, "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. My children are mighty in the land. What God started, he's going to finish". You just activated a flow of freedom, a flow of protection, a flow of purpose. That's when you'll see God do things that only he can do.
In Mark chapter 5 there was a woman that had a bleeding disorder for 12 years. She'd gone to many different doctors, no success. She didn't stop there, she found the leading experts, had the best of that day look at her, but they all had the same report: we're sorry, there's nothing more we can do, this illness is not treatable. She had spent all of her funds trying to get well. You can imagine how discouraged she was: not only facing this incurable disease, weak, losing weight, but she didn't have any money to live on. One day she heard all this commotion in town, people were so excited, she found out that Jesus was passing through. She had heard stories of how he had healed sick people, how he calmed the sea and opened blind eyes. Something came alive on the inside. This faith rose up, this expectancy that said, "If I can get to Jesus, I know I will be healed".
Didn't make sense to her mind. Every thought said, "What are you talking about? You've heard all the reports: this sickness is not treatable, you can't get well". There was a battle taking place in our thinking, "Never going to happen, too late, impossible", but in her spirit she heard, "This is your time. Healing is coming, rise up in faith". She decided to go see Jesus, the problem was there were throngs of people crowded around him. They were packed in, everyone trying to get close. This woman had a made-up mind. I can see her pushing through the crowd, "Excuse me, I need to get by. I don't mean to be rude, but move out of my way. Pardon, me I need to get up front". She had this boldness, this tenacity that she wasn't going to be talked out of it. Here she's weak from the loss of blood, she's frail, small, at a disadvantage, but she's on a mission.
The scripture (Mark 5:28) says, "She kept saying to herself, 'when I get to Jesus, I will be healed'". She didn't say it one time, she kept declaring it under her breath, pushing through the crowd, "I will be healed. I'm close to my breakthrough. Things are about to change in my favor". Thoughts were telling her, "You're wasting your time". She answered back, "No, thanks, I will be healed". "You've been this way too long" - "I will be healed". "You heard the experts" - "I will be healed". "Never get through the crowd, too many people" - "I will be healed". What am I saying? You have to talk back to yourself. Sometimes your own thoughts will try to talk you out of God's best. Don't get in agreement with the defeat, the lack, the sickness, the trouble. Do like this lady, keep saying to yourself: healing is coming, freedom is coming, the right person is coming, abundance is coming, victory is coming.
This woman kept pressing through the crowd, and finally she made it to Jesus. She was so exhausted and so out of breath, she fell down. Just as Jesus passed by, at the last second she reached out and touched the edge of his robe. Instantly she felt healing flow into her body, strength came, the bleeding stopped. After 12 years she felt like a different person. She was excited, but that excitement quickly turned to fear. Jesus suddenly stopped, said to his disciples, "Who just touched me"? They were puzzled, "What do you mean, Jesus? Everybody's touching you, it's crowded out here". Jesus said, "No, someone touched me with such faith, with such expectancy, that they drew the miracle working power out of me". He was saying, "Someone activated the flow. Someone believed healing was coming. Someone believed their child was going to turn around. Someone believed new doors were about to open. They drew favor out of me, they drew healing, freedom, restoration. They activated my supernatural power".
About that time Jesus looked at this woman. Their eyes met, her heart was beating so fast, she thought she was in trouble, she interrupted Jesus, "Maybe he would be upset, maybe he would embarrass her". But Jesus smiled and said (Mark 5:34), "Daughter, your faith has made you whole. Go in peace. You are healed". He was saying, "Way to go girl, your faith did this". See, there were many miracles where Jesus initiated the healing. He initiated multiplying the food, he initiated bringing the widow's son back to life, he initiated healing Peter's mother-in-law, but this case shows us how you can initiate the miracle. He said to the woman, "You activated this flow of healing. I saw you push through the crowd. I heard you're declaring 'healing is coming'. I saw you fighting off the discouragement, not letting naysayers talk you out of it, expecting, believing, stretching". That's what activates the flow.
See, there were many people in the crowd that day. No doubt, many people needed healing, restoration, breakthroughs. They bumped up against Jesus. At times they made contact, but nothing happened. What was different about this lady? She touched him with expectancy, believing that healing was coming, knowing that things were about to change, declaring that favor was on the way. We're all in the crowd so to speak. Jesus is passing by. The question is: are you brushing up against him or are you touching him? Are you activating the flow, believing for your dreams, expecting your healing, declaring God's favor, or are you focused on how impossible it looks, how the odds are against you, what people have said letting your own thoughts discourage you? No, be like this lady: start activating that flow. Instead of talking about how you'll never get out of debt, business is so slow, "I will lend and not borrow. What I touch prospers and succeeds. I'm expecting a bountiful, abundant, flourishing year".
That's when God will stop and say, "Who touched me? Who activated that flow of favor, that flow of abundance"? Your faith can activate the flow. Like this woman, you may have gone through disappointments, you're tired, you could sit back and look at what didn't work out, who hurt you, how unfair it's been, or you can say, "Father, thank you that you have beauty for these ashes. Thank you Lord that what was meant for harm that you're turning to my advantage. You said you'd pay me back double for the unfair things that have happened". That's what causes God to stop in his tracks, and ask, "Who touched me"? It was your faith, you activated restoration, you activated new beginnings, new relationships.
I wonder if there's some flows you're missing out on because you're not activating them. You're brushing up against Jesus so to speak, but you're not touching him. You have to stretch your faith, believe for what you're dreaming about, declare his promises in spite of what's not changing. Like she did, keep saying to yourself, "I know my healing is coming. I know my children will fulfill their destiny. I know my business will succeed. I know I will break this addiction. I know freedom is on the way".
This lady had to press through the crowd. She was tired, weak and frail, she could have stayed at home. She had to press through doubts in her mind. All the thoughts whispering that she'd never get well. She had to press through the naysayers, the experts telling her that it wouldn't happen. All the facts say and it was impossible. She had to press through disappointments, 12 years of trying and nothing getting better. She had plenty of reasons to settle where she was, but she kept declaring, "Healing is coming. When I touch him I will be whole". She had this unwavering faith, knowing that God is faithful, what he promised was on the way.
If you're going to activate the flow, if you're going to see God's favor, you have to press past the doubt. Those thoughts that tell you, "You'll never get well, never meet the right person, never see your family restored, it would have happened by now". Don't believe those lies. The enemy wouldn't be telling you that if he didn't know it was on the way. He doesn't mind you being in the crowd as long as you're not believing, not expecting, not stretching your faith. He knows: if you activate that flow, miracles are going to happen, favor is released, impossible situations will turn around.
You have to press past the naysayers. Will always be people that try to discourage you, tell you what you can't become, how you're not going to get well, "My grandmother died from that same disease, good luck". People told us we would never get the Compaq Center, never get this place, that the city would never let a church have it, but here we are today. People told me that I couldn't minister, I didn't have the training, the experience. 24 years later I'm still here.
Press past the negative chatter, "You'll never get in that college, never start your business, never write your book, never see your family restored", tune all that out. People don't determine your destiny. They don't know what God put in you. They're looking at it all in the natural, they don't realize: when you activate the flow, there's a supernatural power. God will step in and open doors that no person can shut. Give you good breaks that catapult you ahead, bring healing when the medical report says, "No way". He'll promote you when you don't have the credentials, when you're not the next in line. What happened? You tapped in to a supernatural flow.
This lady faced her greatest opposition when she was closest to the healing. It was crowded, she was weary, people told her it would never happen, but she made this choice to press through and activate the flowing. That's what brought the healing: her faith. You may be in a situation now where you don't see a way out, odds are against you. Can I encourage you? You are just one flow away from seeing God do more than you've ever dreamed.
This is not the time to let doubt talk you out of it, let disappointments, what didn't work out cause you to water down your dreams. Let how long it's been convince you that you've missed your time. God is saying: keep pushing through the crowd, keep believing, keep expecting, keep declaring: you're on the verge of activating a flow of favor that you've never seen, a flow of supernatural power, doors opening you couldn't open, the right people finding. You problems that look permanent suddenly turning around. You can't explain it, it doesn't make sense, it's the goodness of God showing out in your life.
"Well, Joel, this sounds good, but I've gone as far as I can in my career. I think I'm stuck here". Try a better approach, "Father, I thank you for what you promised that the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter. Lord, you said you're taking me from glory to glory, that I haven't seen, heard or imagined what you have in store". That's activating the flow. That's when God will make things happen that you could never make happen.
I talked to a young couple that had been trying to have a baby for a long time. The wife had taken all the fertility treatments, and they were very discouraging, thinking it wasn't meant to be. But like this woman with the issue of blood, you have to press past the doubt, press past the discouragement, press past negative things that people have spoken over you, and get in agreement with God, "Father, you said in Psalms that you would make me the happy mother of children. You said my children will be mighty in the land. So Lord, I thank you for that baby that's on the way". That's touching the edge of Jesus robe. That's how you activate that flow: you keep expecting, you keep declaring, keep believing. Someone says, "Well, I don't think it's going to happen". Your attitude should be, "No offense, but I'm not moved by what you think. I have a made-up mind. I'm not moved by the facts, about how long it's been, I know what God promised is on the way".
After six years of not being able to have a child, a few weeks ago they brought their beautiful baby girl up to see me. When you activate that flow, God will make things happen that defy the odds. This lady that had the bleeding disorder 12 years, back in those days she would have been considered unclean, she was an outcast, she would have lived alone, wasn't supposed to be around people. And she was making her way through the crowd, the whole time in the back of her mind she was thinking, "I'm doing something wrong. I'm not supposed to be in a crowd". She was going against protocol, she could get in trouble. When she touched the edge of Jesus robe and felt that healing, while she was excited, she didn't know Jesus was going to stop. She didn't know it's going to turn into this big ordeal, where all the attention would be focused on her. She was trying to stay under the radar, just blend in with the crowd.
But the scripture (Mark 5:32) says, "Jesus kept looking around to see who had touched him". He was searching the crowd. You can imagine how this woman felt, knowing that she was the one, and she's not supposed to be there, she's unclean. Verse 33 says, "She fell at Jesus feet, trembling in fear". She didn't know what to expect: was she going to get in trouble? Would he berate her in front of everyone, "What are you doing here"? Was this incredible moment, this drama taking place. Her heart beating so fast, her hands shaking, everyone watching. Jesus walked closer and said, "Daughter, your faith has made you whole".
It's significant that he addressed her as "Daughter". He could have said lady, woman, man, but the reason he said "Daughter" is he was publicly declaring that this lady is not only healed, but she is no longer unclean, she's not an outcast anymore, she is a daughter of the Most High God. He was taken away all the shame, removing the embarrassment, heavy to be alone, look down on, considered unclean. He was telling them, "Don't you treat her the same way. Don't you look down on her, dishonor her, leave her out. This is a new day: not only healing for your body, but healing for your soul". Look at how good our God is! She thought, "He may be upset, he may condemn me, humiliate me in front of all these people", but God who is rich in mercy, our God restores the fallen, he heals the broken, he forgives the wrong.
Here Jesus had everyone's attention everyone listening, thinking, "What's he going to say about this lady? We know she's an outcast, we know she's unclean, she interrupted Jesus". But when Jesus called her "Daughter", everything changed. He gave her her dignity back, he was saying, "This is my child: no more shame, no more hiding, no more living in the background, feeling unclean, unworthy, not good enough. I'm healing your body, and I'm putting my honor on you". Her life was not only forever changed that day physically, but on the inside her self-worth, her value, how she saw herself was forever changed. She walked back home knowing she was worthy, valuable, a daughter of Almighty God.
Sometimes we don't go to God because we think we're unclean, we've made mistakes, taken the wrong path. "Joel, how can I activate this flow? I haven't performed perfectly, I've made mistakes, I'm not where I should be in life". The good news is: God is not holding your faults against you. His love is not based on your performance. If you'll go to him, he's not going to condemn you, he's going to heal you. He's not going to push you down, he's going to lift you up. He's the one that will remove the shame, give you your honor back. Not just privately, but he'll let others see you restored, free, valuable, rising to new levels. He's not calling you "Lady, ma'am, girl", he's calling you daughter of the Most High, son of the Most High, redeemed, forgiven, fearfully and wonderfully made. Get rid of the shame. No more unclean, you are worthy. No more an outcast, you are accepted. No more embarrassed by your past, hiding in the background, you've been approved by Almighty God. Your past is forgiven. This is a new day, and God's doing a new thing.
I know a young man that immigrated to the states from another country, and his family was very poor, and lived in a very run-down neighborhood. They had a defeated mindset. They were good people, hard-working, but they had no vision to ever do something significant. This young man started listening to my messages about how God wants us to rise higher, how he put seeds of greatness in you, and how he calls you his son and his daughter. He started believing that he could do great things. And he had a dream to be in the fashion industry. Didn't have any formal training, but he had a natural talent for design and fashion. And he wanted to open up his own store, but he had no backing, no funds, no way in the natural.
But he did like this woman, he pressed past the doubt, pressed past all the naysayers. His attitude was, "God, I know you can make a way, even though I don't see a way. Lord, I know you're opening up the right doors, bringing the right people, taking me where I can't go on my own". He had this expectancy, knowing that God was working. One day he was at this Plaza off the main freeway, it's a very popular shopping center. At the end a company had gone out, and there was a space to lease. He took a step of faith and was meeting with the owner. Well, the owner wasn't for him at all, he was harsh and condescending. He didn't like the young man's business plan, told him how he would never make it, he didn't have any track record, on and on.
Just when he was about to leave, this man came walking through the Plaza on his way to the restaurant. It was so crowded, he had to park at the end and walk past them. He was a very influential man. And he saw this young man talking with the owner, he knew the young man. Their sons played on the same basketball team. The owner called out his name, they were good friends. This man asked what they were doing talking together. The owner said, he wants to lease this space, but there's no way, he doesn't have any credentials. That man said: are you kidding? I know him, anything he does is blessed, he'll be your most successful talent. The owner looked at him right then and there and said, "Okay, the space is yours".
When you activate that flow, God will send the right people at the right time. Had that man park at the normal place, he wouldn't have walked to that end of the Plaza. God is ordering your steps, and the steps of the people that you need. This young man today, his career has taken off. He's done collaborations with the biggest names in the fashion industry. God has done more than he could ever imagine. The scripture (John 7:38) says, "Out of your belly will flow rivers of living water". God has put amazing things in you that he wants to flow out: dreams, businesses, books, inventions, talent. You may have seen some flows in the past, but let me declare: you're about to step into a greater flow, greater favor, greater influence, greater resources.
The scripture (Deuteronomy 8:18) says, "It is God who gives you power to get wealth". There's going to be a greater flow of ideas, creativity, connections. You've seen a trickle, a stream, but God's about to open up a faucet, a flow of favor that you've never seen, a flow of resources, doors opening you never dreamed would open, divine connections, people that will use their influence to catapult you ahead. Now, make sure you're doing your part and activating the flow, expecting, believing, stretching your faith. If you'll do this, I believe and declare: like this woman, you're about to tap into a flow of supernatural power. God's about to surprise you. Healing, favor, freedom, abundance, the fullness of your destiny, in Jesus name. And if you receive it, can you say amen?