Joel Osteen - The Power to Obey
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I want to talk to you today about The Power to Obey. Sometimes God ask us to do things that are hard: to forgive someone that doesn't deserve it, to take the management position but we're not qualified, to quit hanging around a friend that's pulling us down. Deep down we know we're supposed to, we feel that nudging, but we don't think we can, we don't have the discipline. It's easy to talk ourselves out of it. But Paul said in Philippians 2:13, "God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him". God will never ask you to do something and not give you the ability to do it. He not only gives you the desire, the nudging, the challenge, but he gives you the power to obey.
Now, quit telling yourself, "I can't do this, Joel. I can't start my business, I can't control my temper, I can't quit eating six bowls of ice cream each night". The reason you're not able is you're telling yourself the wrong thing. You're defeating yourself with your own thoughts. You have to have a new mindset, "This may be difficult, but I have the power to obey. Yes, they hurt me, but I have the power to forgive. This dream seems over my head, but I have the power to accomplish it. My family all deals with these bad habits, but I have the power to overcome". Don't talk yourself out of it, get in agreement with God and talk yourself into it.
If you've ever been to the store and bought a small electronic device, flashlight, a clock, often it says "Batteries included". The device on its own won't do you any good unless you have those batteries to power it. In the same way when God gives you instruction, when you feel that still small voice telling you to do something, the good news is: you don't just get the instruction, batteries are always included. God always gives you the power to obey.
Now, here's the key: you activate the power by acting on it. As long as you're waiting you're not going to tap into it. When you make a move, you will feel the grace, the strength, the favor to do what God's asking you to do. And anytime you obey, there's a blessing in that follows. God is not asking you to do something hard for his benefit, it's for your benefit, so he can release more favor and influence in your life. Whenever you feel that prompting, that knowing, telling you to call a friend and encourage them, or stop staying up so late at night, you need the rest, start treating your spouse better, quit being so harsh and condescending. That's not you just thinking up things, that's God putting the desire in you, wanting you to come up higher.
The beauty is: he not only gives you the challenge, but with that instruction comes the power and the anointing to accomplish it. The batteries are always included, but you have to act on it. Every thought will tell you, "You don't need to give them a gift, they're doing fine. It's okay to stay up, it's not hurting anything. You've always had a temper, you've always been sarcastic, you'll never change". Don't believe those lies. There is power in you to do what God's asking you to do. The enemy doesn't want you to hear this. He wants us to stay stuck, defeated, with a weak mindset. "I'll always be hot-tempered, I'll always be out of shape. Joel, I'm quiet and reserved, I can't reach out to others". You don't know what you can do until you take that step. That's when you'll discover the power to break the addiction, the power to get out of your comfort zone and accomplish that dream. The power to treat your spouse with kindness and respect.
See, it's one thing to know the right thing to do, we feel God speaking to us, calling us to come up higher, but often we feel inadequate like we're not able. But when you understand that God didn't just give you the desire, he gave you the power to obey. That's when you'll have the boldness and confidence to take steps of faith. Is God asking you to do something that seems hard, over your head? To forgive someone, to not be so critical and judgmental, to start the business, to teach the class, to get back in shape, but you keep making excuses, thinking of all the reasons you can't, you're not qualified, you don't have the discipline, your metabolism is too slow, nobody will support you. Get rid of those excuses, this is a new day. There is power in you right now just waiting to be energized. If you'll make a move, you'll activate that power.
Philippians 2:13 in one translation says, "For God, who is working in you, both to will and to do his good pleasure". You have the most powerful force in the universe working in you to do his good pleasure. Now, get rid of a weak mentality, "I can't break the addiction, I can't quit complaining, I can't lead my department". No, turn it around, "Father, thank you that you are working in me right now. This may be too much for me, but I know it's not too much for you. I am strong, bold, confident, well able to do what you're telling me to do".
See, the real battle takes place in our mind. If you think you're stuck and limited, you don't have the discipline, you'll never get off dead center. You have to have this new perspective, because sometimes God puts things in our spirit that don't make sense to our mind. It's not logical, we don't have the training, it's never happened in our family. This is when you have to trust that God knows what he's doing. He wouldn't have given you the desire without the ability to do it. And at times you have to turn your mind off.
Yes, we should use wisdom, but sometimes it's not going to make sense. If you reason it out, rationalize it and get it advice from four friends, you'll talk yourself out of it. Where God is taking you is bigger than you can go on your own. The doors he's going to open, the dreams you're going to accomplish, the gifts in you that you're going to discover are much greater than you can imagine. When he whispers something in your spirit, it may seem impossible, you have to bypass your mind and let that seed take root. The power is there to obey, but you have to tap into it.
This is what Noah did. God told him there was going to be a great flood that would cover the whole earth, and that he was to build an ark, a huge boat to save his family. Back in those days it had never rained, the dew came up from the ground to water the earth. They had never seen water coming down from the sky, and the concept of a flood and needing a boat would have been so unusual and so illogical. And this was no small boat, something common you see down at the local lake, it was to be 450 ft long, a football field and a half. Big enough to house thousands of animals. On top of that, Noah wasn't by a lake, by a river, by a big ocean, he was out in the desert, there were no large bodies of water.
Every circumstance said, "This doesn't make sense. You must have heard God wrong". He had plenty of good excuses to ignore it, but God doesn't give you the desire without giving you the power to obey. He won't ask you to do a hard thing and then not give you the faith and the courage to do it. Now, there will be voices that tell you all the reasons you can't, "Noah, you don't have the tools, the supplies, the manpower. You didn't hear from God, you had too much pizza last night". Noah had to tune all that out, "God, I may not understand how this is going to happen, but I know you have it all figured out. You wouldn't have given me this assignment and not given me the power to obey".
He took that step of faith and started building. You can imagine people coming by saying, "Look at that fool, he's building a boat in the desert. Doesn't he know it doesn't rain"? He was ridiculed, made fun of, the talk of the town. This wasn't a 3-week project, it took 120 years to build the boat. Some historians say he planted the trees before he could build, when they grew big enough he cut them into pieces to construct the ark. How could Noah have that kind of faith to not talk himself out of it, not be swayed by the ridicule of others, and how impossible it looked? It's because when God gives you the assignment, when he plants that dream in your heart, he also gives you the anointing, the faith and the power to accomplish it.
The batteries are always included. Now, it's up to us to activate that power. There would be forces trying to convince us to settle where we are, "It's too big, never happened in your family. You've always had that addiction, you must have heard God wrong". No, don't talk yourself out of it, do like Noah and take that step of faith. The reason we think it's amazing, and how could he do that, how could never have that much faith and confidence, it's because we're looking at it from the outside. God didn't give us the power to obey what he told someone else to do, but when God gives you the instruction, when he challenges you to do something that your family has never done, there will be a power in you, a strength, a confidence, a knowing that you've never experienced. A power to break barriers, a power to set new standards, to accomplish what seems impossible.
Has God asked you to do something that doesn't make sense? May not be to build a big boat, but how about to forgive that person that did you wrong? You've held that offense for years, it's not hurting them, it's poisoning your life. The reason you're stuck is you're telling yourself you can't do it. You have to change the mindset. You have the power to forgive. This is the time to step into that grace, you have to activate the power by acting on it.
Is God asking you to not hang around those friends that are pulling you down, causing you to compromise, bringing out the worst in you? You keep putting it off, thinking you're not going to have any friends, you're going to be lonely. Well, you may be lonely for a season, but what will happen is God will bring you new friends, friends that will lift you up and not pull you down, friends that will bring out the best in you, cause you to blossom, not bring out the worst. But you have to get rid of the wrong people before you meet the right people. You make a move, and God will go to work.
Is God asking you to have a better attitude, quit being so contentious, so argumentative, hard to get along with, always having to be right? I've heard it said, "A woman always has the last word in an argument. Anything after that is a new argument". Do you hear hear that still small voice saying, "Keep your mouth closed, be more respectful, be more loving, more considerate"? The power is there to zip it up. The self-control is in you, the discipline, the grace, now start tapping into it. Don't go the next 20 years with things you know are hindering you, limiting your potential. On the other side of obedience is the blessing. On the other side of doing the hard thing is a new level of your destiny.
And here's the key: it seems harder than it is, because you haven't activated the power. "I think I can't forgive them, Joel, that was so wrong", but when you say, "Father, help me to forgive. I'll release this into your hands. Lord, I know you're my vindicator, you'll make my wrongs right", that's when you'll feel the power and the ability that you've never felt. "I can't break this addiction, everyone in our family struggles with alcohol". Try a new approach, "Father, thank you that greater is he that's in me than what's trying to stop me. Father, thank you that no weapon formed against us will prosper, that whom the sun sets free is free indeed". When you activate that power, you're not doing it by yourself, the Most High God is working in you.
Maybe the hard thing for you is what it was for me, to get out of your comfort zone, step up and write that book that God put in your spirit, teach that class, expand your business. You hear God whispering, "There's more in you, greater things are ahead", but you're afraid, you don't have the connection, the experience, the funding. It's much easier to play it safe, but you can't reach your destiny staying comfortable all the time. God will on purpose put things in your spirit that are over your head. Like Noah, you'll think, "I can't build a boat, I can't start the business, I can't pastor this church, we can't get the Compaq Center".
God wouldn't have given you the desire if he had not given you the power to obey. You have to push past the doubt, push past the fear, push past the can't-do-it thoughts. You are well able, you are strong in the Lord. God has surrounded you with his favor, he's going before you making your crooked places straight. Now, when you activate that power, you will go places you've never gone and accomplish more than you ever thought possible.
When I heard the Compaq Center was coming available, and we needed a larger auditorium, everything in my mind said, "There's no way, the city's not going to let a church have it, we don't know the right people, it's going to be too expensive, the opposition's too strong". I thought of a hundred good excuses, compelling reasons why it wasn't going to happen. All this doubt and discouragement bombarded my mind. But down in my spirit I could hear a still small voice saying, "That building is ours. God is making a way. Joel, you are well able". I didn't just have the desire, I had the faith to believe for it, the faith to go after it.
Like Noah, I had to turn my mind off. Logically speaking we didn't have a chance. The opposition, the people that wanted it were so much bigger, but when you believe the Most High God goes to work. You and God are a majority. The good news is: he has everything you need. He has the good breaks, the right people, the funding. He will make ways where you don't see a way.
Hebrews 11:7 says, "Noah being divinely instructed of things not yet seen, moved with reverence for God, preparing an ark". Notice, God spoke to him about things not yet seen: never been a flood before, never had rain from the clouds. God's going to do things in your life that your family hasn't seen. He's going to open doors of influence and favor greater than what's happened in the past. There are things you're about to step into that are going to seem beyond your capability, illogical, too good to be true. Don't talk yourself out of it, with that dream comes the power to obey. You don't have to figure it all out, all you have to do is believe.
Maybe there's been dysfunction in your family, you've just learned to live with it, "This is just who we are". That's not who you are. God created you to be free and healthy and joyful. Others may have talked themselves out of it, but you're the difference maker. You know this truth that you have the power to obey. You can set a new standard. You can be the one to affect generations to come. That's what Noah did, he didn't just save himself by building the ark, he saved his family, his children, future generations.
It says "Noah being instructed about things not yet seen, moved with reverence". The whole key is: when he heard the instruction, he moved, he acted on it. Sometimes we hear God speaking to us, but we put it off, think "I know I should forgive, I know I should eat healthier, I know this addiction is harming me, but you know, I'll deal with it later". Are you putting something off, waiting to move for some other time, waiting to be more disciplined, waiting to treat your family better, waiting to get out of your comfort zone? There's power in being prompt. The longer you wait to do what God's asking you to do, the more difficult it's going to be.
When David saw Goliath taunting the Israelites, he heard heard God speaking to him, telling him to go defeat the giant. The scripture (1 Samuel 17:48) says, "David ran quickly toward Goliath". If David would have put it off and gone back home, and "Let me think about it for a few months. He's really big, and I don't have the experience. There are others that are more qualified. What if I get hurt"? If he would have delayed, he would have talked himself out of it. When God speaks, do it right then. There's a grace for it, there's a window of opportunity where you'll have the strength and the favor to act on it.
"Well, Joel, man, I think I missed my chance. I know I should have been more disciplined, I shouldn't have quit compromising, I should have gone back to school, I put off a lot of things". The reason you're hearing this is because God is giving you another chance. There's a window of grace opening to do what he's telling you to do. He's not holding against you the fact that you haven't done it, but this is the time to make things right. This is the time to act on it. God didn't just give you the desire, he gave you the power to obey. It may not make sense, may feel over your head, it's never happened in your family. This is a destiny moment. If you will make that move, God will step in and help you do what you couldn't do. The scripture (Hebrews 3:15) says, "When you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. For today, while there is still opportunity, listen to what he's saying".
Acts chapter 24, Paul was brought to Caesarea to stand trial for sharing his faith, and he was standing before the governor, a man named Felix, presenting his case. And Felix was very intrigued by Paul. The main trial was going to start later, so he had Paul taken into custody. But in a few days he sent for Paul to come visit with him. Paul discussed his faith and what it meant to be a believer, and how to live a godly life. Felix felt convicted, he knew he was compromising, not having integrity, and there were these areas he needed to change, but he didn't want to deal with it, he didn't want to be uncomfortable, have to be more disciplined. He said to Paul, "Go away for now, for when a more convenient time comes I'll call for you".
Two years later he was out of office. We never read anything more about felix, we don't know if a more convenient time ever came. Who knows what he could have become if he just tapped in to that power to obey, if he'd have been willing to make changes and deal with what God was bringing to light? Don't be like him, don't put off what you know God is speaking to you about. Whether it's to come up higher in your character, not compromise, or to take that step of faith, go after your Compaq Center, build your boat like Noah. You activate the power by taking action.
When I was a young boy, Lakewood was still meeting in the original building. It was a small, rundown feed store that we had cleaned up and made into a sanctuary that would hold the 90 members. Few years had passed, and the church started growing. We had over 200 people coming and needed a larger place. My father told the congregation that in a few months he was going to take a special offering to build a new auditorium. He encouraged the people to stretch their faith and get behind the vision. Well, that Sunday came and people were so generous, they gave about $20,000. This back in the 70s, and like 10 times that amount today.
And they were so excited, that was enough to pour the foundation, get the building started. Well, there was a Spanish-speaking church about a half a mile down the road from Lakewood, they had started a new building several years earlier, but they had run out of funds. Every time we drove to church we would drive by it. One day as my father was passing by, he heard God speak to him. Not out loud, but just an impression, saying "I want you to give that offering for your new building to the Spanish church, so they can finish theirs". His first thought was, "Get behind me satan, that could not be God".
But sometimes God will ask you to do things that don't make sense, it's a test. On the other side of that obedience is a level of your destiny that you've never seen. This is where faith comes in. "God, I don't understand this, we need the funds for our building. You want me to build a boat when it's never rained. You're saying go fight a giant twice my size, you want us to go after the Compaq Center? Do you know how much that's going to cost"?
Seem far out to my father, but when God gives you the desire, with that instruction always comes the power to do it. My father told the congregation they were going to sew that offering as a seed. He drove down, gave them the funds and they finished their building. Wasn't long after that that people started giving for Lakewood's new building. The money came in for the foundation, once we poured the concrete money came in for the steel. We got that up, money came in for the walls, the chairs, the sound system.
He built the whole building totally debt-free. Not only that building, but my father went on to build six more sanctuaries, including one that seated 8,000 all debt-free. Here we are today in the former Compaq Center, but it all started with that act of obedience, doing something that he didn't understand, that seemed illogical. Who knows what God will do in your life if you'll tap into that power to obey? Who knows how your children will benefit because you did a hard thing, you gave when it didn't make sense, you broke the addiction that kept getting passed down, you forgave the wrong, you shook off the doubt and went after your Compaq Center?
No more, "I can't do this, I'm not disciplined enough, strong enough, focused enough". No, try a new approach, "I have the power to obey". God is working in you right now to do his will, and to bring about his good pleasure. Have that attitude of faith, that's how you're going to reach your destiny, that's how you're going to defeat your Goliath, that's how you're going to break the dysfunction, that's how you're going to build your boats. Not weak, defeated, you are a can-do person, you are well able to do what God's called you to do.
No more putting it off, no more waiting for more convenient time. This is your time to move. If you'll do this, I believe and declare: like with Noah, you're going to accomplish dreams that look impossible. You're going to break addictions that have held your family back. Freedom is coming, healing is coming, abundance is coming, the fullness of your destiny, in Jesus name. And if you receive it, can you say amen?