Joel Osteen - Freedom From Your Past (11/11/2024)
Joel Osteen shares that no mistake, hurt, trauma, or injustice from our past can stop God’s purpose for our future, using examples like Paul overcoming his persecuting past, Nimrod’s fear leading to the Tower of Babel, the Israelites escaping Pharaoh at the Red Sea, and Moses returning despite his failure, concluding that God has dealt with our past on the cross so we can step into freedom and destiny.
Your Past Doesn’t Have to Poison Your Future
I want to talk to you today about freedom from your past. We have all had negative experiences that could hold us back. Mistakes we have made, times we have compromised and done things we should not. We can end up living in regrets, guilty, down on ourselves.
Sometimes it is what other people have done to us: hurts, betrayals, what they said. They have left scars and wounds that contain our future, cause us to feel inferior, not worthy. Some people have gone through trauma, dysfunction, a rough childhood, a toxic relationship. They can take on this false sense of responsibility, thinking they are to blame, and «Hey, I must not be good enough or they would not have treated me that way.»
Are You Imprisoned by Skeletons in Your Closet?
It is easy to become imprisoned by our past, where we do not move forward; we have these skeletons in our closet. We live afraid, in hiding: «What if someone finds out? Is it going to be shame and embarrassment?»
Here is the good news: nothing in your past has to stop your future. No mistake you have made is too much for the mercy of God. No hurt you have been through, no injustice, no trauma has stopped what God has purposed for you. He has beauty for those ashes, but you have to step into it.
You cannot live looking in the rearview mirror and reach your destiny. How much power are you giving to your past—guilt, hurts, mistakes, the threats?
The Enemy Wants Your Past to Paralyze You
When we have been through negative things, it is easy to develop a fear that it is going to happen again: «Do not get in that new relationship; you may get hurt another time. You cannot be in leadership, you cannot accomplish your dreams; you made too many mistakes.»
That is the enemy doing what he does best, trying to convince you to use your past to shrink back so you will not become who you were created to be. Do not believe those lies.
You know who wrote almost half of the New Testament? A man named Paul. He used to be called Saul. He was the biggest enemy of the church; he hated believers, even had them killed. He was constantly making threats, telling them they were going to be arrested and put in prison. But in one moment God changed his life. He went from Saul to the apostle Paul.
Paul Could Have Lived in Regrets—But He Didn’t
Paul could have lived in regrets, thinking, «I cannot do anything great; I cannot lead believers—I used to hate believers. I cannot write books promoting Christ; I have too many skeletons in my closet, done too much wrong.»
If Paul had become imprisoned by his past, we would not have half of the New Testament. What will we miss out on if you let the past keep you from sharing your gifts?
«But Joel, I have got too many skeletons in my closet.» No, when you ask God to forgive you, He cleans your closet. You can move forward in faith. All the threats—"You are going to be embarrassed, you are not worthy, it is going to happen again"—they have been taken care of.
Trauma Can Be Passed Down—But You Can Break It
What is trying to harm you has already been defeated; that is just the enemy trying to keep you paralyzed by the past. Break out of that box and step into the greatness that God has for you.
In the Scripture Nimrod was the great-grandson of Noah. He had heard all about the huge flood that covered the earth and how his great-grandfather and seven of his relatives were the only ones spared. It was a traumatic event.
Even though he lived two generations later, it had a major impact on him. He was afraid that it might happen again. He lived in fear, worried, traumatized by an event that his relatives went through. Studies show how trauma can be passed down—things that your ancestors dealt with; you were not even born, but your DNA can be affected.
Generational Trauma Is Real—But So Is Generational Blessing
Researchers studied Holocaust survivors; the people that went through it were just traumatized, but they found their children, their grandchildren down generations were still experiencing the fears, the threats, the triggers. Even though they were safe, even though it was behind them, they still had to deal with the feelings, the thoughts, the imaginations.
It was not like they were just being weak—"Come on, get over it"—these were real issues, not just mental but biological; their DNA was affected.
You may wonder why you have to deal with certain tendencies: low self-esteem, cannot trust people in a relationship, always afraid they are going to leave, or not thinking anything good will ever happen, like a spirit of oppression makes you want to shrink back. Those can be traits that have been passed down.
Here is the key: God has raised you up to break them. You are the one to put a stop to generational limitations and to start generational blessings. Just as trauma, dysfunctions, wounds can be passed down, so can blessings, favor, confidence, victory.
The Tower of Babel: Built Out of Fear
You do not have to let the past dictate your future; you can break free and set a new standard.
Genesis 11 tells the story of the Tower of Babel. It is believed that Nimrod is the one who built it—a huge skyscraper that reached up to the heavens. Many Jewish scholars believe the reason Nimrod built this tower was not just to get close to God but to have a high place to go to in case it flooded again.
He was building this structure out of fear so he could escape what could be coming. He did not have a big boat like his great-grandfather, but he had this tower. He did not realize God had promised the earth would never flood again. He had heard all about the water, but he had not heard about the rainbow.
Stop Planning for Another Flood
How many things are we planning out of fear of what has happened in the past? «I cannot break this addiction; all my relatives struggle with it. I will never have lasting relationships; we all go through breakups.» Or «I cannot take this step of faith, Joel; nobody in my family is successful.»
We are doing like Nimrod, building up walls, defenses based on negative things in the past. It is interesting that God brought the Tower of Babel down; they could not finish it; it ended up being destroyed.
We have all been through floods, have hurts, made mistakes; there may be negative things that have been passed down. But God is showing us here: you do not have to live in fear of the past.
Look for the Rainbow—Not Another Flood
«What if it happens again? What if someone finds out? What if that threat comes to pass? I better shrink back, put up some walls, make plans for defeat.» No, do not be a Nimrod; do not spend your life fearing the past, paralyzed by what might happen.
You cannot step into your future if you are building towers of Babel, trying to escape the next flood, afraid of what could happen. No, when the fear of your past tries to hold you back, get you discouraged, look up in the sky. By faith see that rainbow.
God is saying, «It is not going to flood again; I have taken care of your past, I have cleaned your closets, I have forgiven your mistakes, I have planned beauty for the ashes, joy for the mourning, healing for the hurts, new beginnings for that loss.»
Build a Tower of Faith Instead
Do not waste your time building a Tower of Babel, making plans to escape the hurts, escape the trauma, escape the flood. If you are going to build anything, build a tower of hope, a tower of faith.
Believe that your past is forgiven, that the threats are gone, that what has held you back has been broken, that you are free to step into the favor, the blessing, the joy that God has destined for you.
Pharaoh’s Army: The Past Will Chase You
When the Israelites were delivered out of slavery, they left Egypt and headed toward the Promised Land. After years of abuse and mistreatment, these two million people were finally free.
As they were leaving I can see them rejoicing, giving high fives, so excited. But then Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army chasing after them. Well, Pharaoh represents the past—the hurts, the traumas, the injustice. The past will always come chasing you.
The Israelites were trying to get into their future; they knew God had opened this door, but they could not escape the past. Pharaoh’s men were catching up, and they could hear the hoofprints from the horses getting closer and closer.
You’ll Hear Hoofprints When You Move Forward
Anytime you try to move forward, do not be surprised if you hear the past chasing you, reminding you of the mistakes you made: «You cannot expect anything good; you do not deserve it. The hurts, the wrongs, those that walked away—it is going to happen again.»
Those are the hoofprints—the enemy whispering lies, trying to get you paralyzed by the past.
The Israelites came to a dead end at the Red Sea. Their past caught up with them. Pharaoh and all the chariots just a few miles away—it looked like they would be recaptured, taken back to Egypt.
But God will never let your past dictate your future. He will always make a way of escape.
God Left the Red Sea Open—To Finish the Threat
You may hear the hoofprints of your past chasing you now—you try to move forward but there is always that guilt, the fear, that nagging feeling you are going to get hurt again or that mistake will always haunt you.
You cannot seem to get past your past—that is what happened to the Israelites. They had nowhere to go. Then suddenly the Red Sea parted; God made a way where they did not see a way, and these two million people walked through on dry ground.
That could have been the end of the story—the waters closed up, kept Pharaoh and his army on the other side; that would have been a great miracle. But God knew the Israelites would always be looking over their shoulders, living in fear, knowing that Pharaoh’s army could show up at any minute.
God did not want them to be focused on the past, living with that threat, wondering what might happen. So He left the Red Sea open; Pharaoh’s army came chasing full speed ahead.
Your Enemies You See Today—You’ll See No More
I am sure the Israelites thought, «Oh great, they are going to catch us now. We made it through, but they are faster than us.» But then right on cue the walls of water came crashing down. All the enemy drowned; not one of them survived. Now the Israelites never had to fear Pharaoh again; the threat was gone.
Maybe you have had some hoofprints chasing you, and every time you try to move ahead you hear the past coming, reminding you of all your mistakes, the threats, what is not going to work out.
Like God did for them, He is taking care of your past. You do not have to live looking over your shoulder, letting those hoofprints cause you to shrink back, trying to build a tower in case it happens again.
Change the Images in Your Mind
This is a new day. That threat has been taken care of. Now here is the key: you have to change the images you are allowing in your mind.
Many times we are letting negative memories play—times we have been hurt, trauma we have experienced, that DNA that has been passed down of what our relatives went through—that is on the movie screen of our mind, reminding us of the hurts, the failures.
But you cannot move forward when you are looking back. Turn off all those images and start seeing yourself blessed, happy, in great relationships, accomplishing your dreams, rising to new levels.
You Are Not Defined by Your Past
The enemy wanted the Israelites to always see themselves as runaway slaves: «Yeah, you got free, but you are still a slave, you are still inferior, at a disadvantage. You are still going to be mistreated, face injustice, have to struggle all through life.»
He would love for the negative things in your past to determine your identity—how you see yourself, your worth, your value. If you have been mistreated, he will whisper, «It is because you are not valuable.» That person walked out on you, broke your heart—he will whisper, «You are not attractive.»
You made mistakes, got off course—"You are not worthy. You cannot be blessed. Your past has tainted your future.» Do not believe those lies.
Nothing that has happened in your past has lessened your value. You are still a son, a daughter of the Most High God. You are still a masterpiece, one of a kind, a prized possession.
You Are Prepared by Your Past—Not Defined by It
Nothing you have been through—no trauma, no hurt, no injustice—has stopped the purpose God has for you. Nothing has canceled your assignment.
You are not defined by your past; you are prepared by your past. If God allowed it to happen, then it deposited something in you that you are going to need for your future.
Now, you have to do your part and keep moving forward, keep making plans for the good things that are in store.
Do not be a Nimrod; let what you have been through cause you to build a tower for a flood that is never going to come again—that is giving fuel to a fire that has already been put out.
Your Past Is in the Red Sea
The past that has been chasing you—it is in the Red Sea. God is taking care of that threat. Now move on toward your Promised Land.
Sure, at times we are going to hear the hoofprints—you are going to feel the past chasing you. That is just a memory; it is just an imagination. You have to learn to cast them down.
It is not telling you the truth; that is the enemy trying to get you in fear of the past, running from the what-ifs: «What if Pharaoh catches up? What if my mistakes come back to haunt me? What if these waters do not part, Joel, like they did for the Israelites? I am going to get hurt again.»
God is saying to you what He said to Moses at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:13), «The enemies you see today, you will see no more.»
Joel’s High School Rejection—and Yankee Stadium Victory
Your past has been taken care of. All those that were trying to stop you—the guilt, the hurts, the mistakes—God took care of that at the Red Sea.
You do not have to live looking over your shoulder, hiding from mistakes, intimidated over what you have been through. You can be like the apostle Paul—leave the past behind and step into the great things God has for you.
When I was in the ninth grade, I tried out for the baseball team. I had played second base all through Little League and growing up. I was pretty good; I always made the all-star team.
But when I got to high school my friends were growing much taller than me. I started my freshman year at 4'11» tall. Some of my friends had passed me up by a foot.
I went to tryouts and gave it my very best. The next Friday the coach called me in; he said, «Joel, you are a good player, but you are too small to play at this level. You are not going to make the team.»
Words Can Leave Scars—But God’s Word Heals
I was so disappointed; all my friends were on the team. The coach did not mean anything wrong, but what I heard was, «Joel, you are not enough. You are limited. You are at a disadvantage. You are inferior.»
Words can create wounds. What has been spoken over you can leave scars that keep you from stepping up to who you were created to be.
This caused me to shrink back and not be sure of myself. I was not as outgoing, more reserved, thinking maybe there is something wrong with me.
The enemy loves to use things people say and exaggerate them, blow them out of proportion to where they limit us and become a stronghold in our thinking.
What You Say About Yourself Is Most Powerful
But I have learned: what you say about yourself is more powerful than what anyone else says about you. You believe what you say more than what others say.
Sometimes we get in agreement with the negative things that have been spoken over us; that begins to determine who we are.
Whenever I started to move forward, I would hear that coach: «You heard the voice, Joel—you are too small, you are not enough, you do not measure up.» It was like those hoofprints. The past will always come looking for you.
Whenever you run toward your future, you will hear those thoughts chasing you, reminding you of negative things people have said, what you cannot do, how you are not that talented: «No one in your family has been successful.» That is the enemy trying to trigger the trauma, get you to shrink back, think that you are not able.
Ignore the Hoofprints—Declare God’s Truth
He uses negative voices, negative experiences to try to sabotage your future. He knows God has amazing things in front of you, so he is going to work overtime to try to deceive you into looking back, reliving hurts, afraid of the mistakes, hiding your gifts, letting those wounds keep you on the sidelines.
Do not fall into that trap. Nothing in your past has stopped your future. Nothing anyone has said, nothing they have done, no mistake you have made—you can still reach your highest potential.
But you have to learn how to ignore the hoofprints. The threat has been taken care of; your past is in the Red Sea. What was trying to stop you—God has put an end to it. Now quit believing those threats and move forward in faith.
Moses Ran for 40 Years—Then God Called Him Back
That is what I did. I stopped letting the coach’s words play in my mind. All throughout the day I started telling myself who God says I am: «God, You said I am just the right size, that I have been fearfully and wonderfully made. You said that I can do all things through Christ, that I am strong, talented, favored, anointed, a giant killer, a history maker, destined to leave my mark.»
When you tune out negative voices from the past and start declaring what God says about you, you will step into a future bigger, brighter than you have ever dreamed.
Little by little I kept reprogramming my thinking. I never did play baseball in high school, but many years later I stood at second base in Yankee Stadium for our Night of Hope.
I may have been too small to play baseball, but I was not too small to speak to a whole lot of people.
Do you need to get free from what someone has spoken over you—a coach, a teacher, a parent, a friend? They do not determine your destiny; God does.
Reprogram Your Mind With God’s Word
But if you are rehearsing negative voices, that is going to create a stronghold that will keep you from the great things that belong to you. You have to get in agreement with God. Reprogram your thinking with what He says about you.
When Moses was a young man, he knew he was supposed to deliver the Israelites out of slavery. He was born a Hebrew but was raised in Egypt in the palace by Pharaoh’s daughter.
One day he saw an Egyptian foreman mistreating a Hebrew slave. He did not think anyone was watching; he was going to stand up for the Hebrews, and he killed the foreman.
You can do the right thing at the wrong time, and it is a mistake. People saw what Moses did; he had to flee for his life. He spent years hiding in the desert, running from a mistake, running from his past.
Mistakes Don’t Cancel Your Destiny
I am sure he felt guilty, down on himself, thinking that he had missed his destiny. For 40 years he hid his gifts, hid his talents, hid his dreams.
Anytime he tried to move forward, there was the past: «Look what you did, Moses. You do not deserve to be blessed; you blew it.»
Sure there are consequences for bad choices—he had to take a detour into the desert—but mistakes do not cancel your destiny. God does not write you off because you are not where you are supposed to be; He is going to give you another chance to do what He has called you to do.
After 40 years God showed up in a burning bush, said, «Moses, now is the time to deliver My people. Go tell Pharaoh to let them go.»
God Has Cleaned Your Closet
I can imagine Moses thought, «No thanks, God; I am not going back there. They know what I did. I will get arrested; I will be put in prison; I could be killed.» He was saying, «God, I have got all these skeletons in my closet; I need to stay in hiding where it is safe so no one will find out.»
God has a way of cleaning your closets. You do not have to live haunted by your past and afraid to move forward. His mercy will cover your mistakes.
Moses was telling God all the reasons he could not do it: «I have been through too much, and the opposition is too big.» God said to him in Exodus 4:19, «Do not be afraid to return to Egypt, for all those who were trying to kill you are dead.»
Don’t Be Afraid—Your Past Is Taken Care Of
Moses was living in hiding, afraid of what might happen, running from his mistakes. God showed up and said, «Moses, I have already taken care of your past. All those things that could have harmed you—I put a stop to it.»
Are you doing like Moses—running from your past, hiding because of mistakes, living in regrets? God is saying to you what He said to him: do not be afraid; I have taken care of your past.
You do not have to live feeling guilty, unworthy, afraid of what someone will say. God has you covered. Get back in the game.
There is not a mistake you have made that has stopped your purpose.
Go Back to Egypt—Your Destiny Awaits
You may hear some hoofprints of Pharaoh’s army—the past chasing you, reminding you of the hurts, the trauma. All that is headed to the Red Sea. God has taken care of every threat, every mistake, every injustice.
The negative things in your past—that is dead. What is trying to stop you is done.
Now you have to do your part and go back to Egypt. That means go back to dreaming, go back to loving the people God has given you, go back to believing that you are worthy, go back to living with passion, with faith, with expectancy.
You do not have time to waste being a prisoner of your past; you have a destiny to fulfill. There is a calling on your life.
The Best Part Comes After the Failure
If Moses had gotten stuck in the past, he would have never delivered the Israelites, never parted the Red Sea, never seen manna in the wilderness, never had water out of a rock.
What am I saying? The best part of his life happened after a failure, after he had spent years running from his past.
Who knows where God will take you if you will go back to Egypt, if you will quit running from your past, dwelling on the hurts, reliving the trauma, hiding your gifts?
Friends, your past is cleared—not in the Red Sea but on the cross 2,000 years ago. All those things trying to harm you—that is done.
There’s a Rainbow—No More Flood
There is a rainbow in the sky. It is not going to be another flood. No use building a tower, building walls, building defenses, planning on more trauma.
Why do you not receive the mercy, receive the forgiveness? You may have some ashes, but God has some beauty coming.
Pharaoh may have chased you through the Red Sea, but there is a Promised Land awaiting you.
I know the trauma was real, the injustice, the betrayals—I am not making light of that, but you have to be aware of the enemy’s schemes. He would love to convince you to shrink back like Moses, spend years hiding your gifts, living in regrets, afraid of what might happen.
Your Best Days Are Still Ahead
No, it is time to come out of hiding. The best part of your life is still in front of you. You would not be alive if God did not have greater victories in your future.
I believe and declare: every bondage of your past is being broken off of you right now. Guilt, shame, fear, trauma has to go. Strongholds of what people have spoken over you are coming down.
No more imprisoned by your past—you are going to be empowered by your past to reach the fullness of your destiny, in Jesus' name.
If you receive it, can you say amen?