Joel Osteen - It's On The Way
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I wanna talk to you today about It’s On The Way. What you’re believing for, the promises you’re standing on, the dreams you’ve been praying about, they’re already en route. The healing is coming. The promotion is coming. The right people are coming. You may not see any signs of it yet. Everything looks the same. What you can’t see is behind the scenes, God is moving the wrong people out of the way, pushing back the forces of darkness. He’s arranging things in your favor, lining up the breaks you need. He’s called the author and the finisher of our faith. He’s going to finish what he started in your life.
God didn’t bring you this far to leave you. You may have big challenges, but we serve a big God. Your enemies may be powerful, but our God is all powerful. That dream may look impossible. You don’t think you have the connections, the resources, the talent, but God can do the impossible. Even when the odds are against you, God is for you, and he’s saying it’s on the way. Sometimes you need these words of faith spoken over your life. Words have creative power. If you’ll let them take root, they’ll ignite the faith in your spirit. Because life has a way of pushing us down. If you’re not careful, you look up and you’re not believing like you used to, not passionate, not dreaming. You don’t see how your situation could ever work out.
But here’s the key, you don’t have to figure it out. Our job is to believe. Our job is to go out each day with expectancy, saying, God, I may not see a way, but I know you have a way, and I believe my breakthrough is on the way. I believe my healing, the promotion, freedom from this addiction, it’s just a matter of time before it shows up. If you don’t have this anticipation that it’s on the way, then it can keep it from happening. You may have big obstacles in your path. You can’t overcome on your own. The good news is you’re not on your own. You have the most powerful force in the universe breathing in your direction. When he speaks, red seas part, blind eyes open, dreams come back to life. We look at our circumstances in the natural, but he’s a supernatural God.
Isaiah said, he’s going before you making crooked places straight, fighting your battles. No person can stop you, no bad break, no sickness, no failure, get your fire back. You have to stir your faith up. Maybe at one time you believed, you were passionate, excited about life, but things haven’t turned out the way you’d hoped. You had some bad breaks, some disappointments. God is saying it’s time to believe again. It’s time to dream again. You haven’t seen your best days. What God promised you is still going to come to pass. It’s not too late. You haven’t missed too many opportunities. If it would have happened sooner, it wouldn’t have been the right time.
Now is the time. Start believing again. Maybe somebody walked out on you, did you wrong, but that didn’t stop God’s plan for your life. Don’t give up on your dreams, live hurt and wounded, thinking they ruined my life. They don’t control your destiny. They don’t have that much power over you. What they did may not have been fair, but God is going to make it up to you. He’s saying new beginnings are on the way, new friendships, new opportunities. They meant it for your harm. God’s going to use it for your good. You may have struggled in your finances a long time. You can’t seem to get ahead. Now you’ve just settled there, thinking that’s the way it’s always going to be. God is saying, I have increase on the way. I have favor, promotion, opportunities that have your name on them. God said he would open the windows of heaven, pour out blessings that we could not contain.
Why don’t you get up each day and say, Father, thank you that abundance is coming my way. Thank you that I’ll lend and not borrow. Thank you that you’re opening doors that no man can shut. When you live with this expectancy, that’s when dreams come to pass, doors open that you could never open. That’s when you’ll see explosive blessings, blessings that catapult you to the next level. But too many people have given up on what God’s put in their heart. They tried and it didn’t work out. Now they think the dream is dead. They’ll never get well, never meet the right person, never come into abundance. But what you think is dead is not really dead. That seed is still alive. God doesn’t abort dreams. He doesn’t give up on what he put in us.
John chapter 11, word came to Jesus that his good friend Lazarus was very sick. He was in another city and they wanted Jesus to come pray for him. Jesus was delayed for a couple of days and Lazarus ended up dying. But it’s interesting, Jesus said to his disciples in verse 11, «Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. I’m going there to wake him up». Lazarus was clearly dead, but Jesus had a different perspective. He said, «He’s only asleep». Could it be what you think is dead? Looks like your marriage is never gonna make it. You’ll never get well, never accomplish the dream. Like Lazarus, all the circumstances say that it’s over and done. But God says, «I have a different perspective. I can see things that you can’t see. It’s not dead, it’s just asleep. It may look permanent. The truth is, it’s only temporary».
Jesus showed up at Lazarus' house four days later. He’d been in the tomb so long that he stunk. It was so dead that it smelled badly. At times, we all have things in life that stink. Maybe your marriage feels so dead that it stinks. That bankruptcy, that layoff stinks. That mistake you made that set you back, it stinks. Jesus went to the tomb and told them to roll away the stone. Martha said, «No, Jesus, it smells too badly. You’re not going to like it. You’re gonna be put off by it». Jesus said, «No, Martha, have them roll away that stone».
What’s the point? Jesus went to where the stink was. Sometimes we think that God will only help us if we’ve lived perfect, everything is nice and whole, but God goes to the stinky places in our lives. That person that hurt you, did you wrong, it stinks. God is saying, «Let me in. I’m going to wake up the healing, wake up the restoration, wake up the new beginning». That mistake you made, you feel condemned. Every voice tells you, «God’s not gonna bless you. Nothing good is coming your way. You blew it, you stink». God is saying, «No, roll that stone away. I’m not bothered by the stink».
God goes to the stinky places where you were betrayed, where you lost the loved one, where you’re compromised, you feel disqualified. God says, «Let me in. The stink is only temporary. The dream is not dead, it’s just asleep». Jesus looked at Lazarus and he spoke to him, said, «Lazarus, come forth». Lazarus woke up, he’d been dead for four days, but he came up out of the tomb and he went on to live many more years. I believe today, things that you’ve given up on, things that you think are dead, like Lazarus, they’re about to wake up. Marriages are gonna wake up, dreams are waking up, healing’s waking up, abundance is waking up.
God is saying to us what he said to the disciples, «It’s not dead, it’s just asleep. Healing is coming, joy is coming, victory is coming. It may have been sleep a long time. You think there’s no way it could happen now? That’s what Mary and Martha thought. But it’s not too late, it’s not too far gone. You need to get ready, God’s about to wake it up».
This is what he did for Sarah, a young lady in the scripture. She and her husband Abraham had tried for 20 years to have a baby No success now Sarah is 80 years old Everything logically speaking said there’s no way but what God has promised you he’s still going to bring to pass God is not limited by the laws of nature You’re not at the mercy of your age your education your background. God has unlimited power. One touch of his favor can turn a situation around. Sarah, thought her womb was dead, what she didn’t realize was it was only asleep. At nearly a hundred years old she gave birth to a baby the promise came to pass.
Like Sarah, God has put dreams and promises in you that may not have happened yet. You’ve tried again and again, and it didn’t work out. Maybe you’ve settled there and think, «I just wasn’t meant to be.» But God is full of surprises. He’s about to wake up that dream you’ve given up on; He’s about to bring back to life what you thought was dead. Your latter days are going to be more rewarding, more fulfilling than your former days. You’re going to give birth to more in the future than you’ve lost in the past. Your baby is on the way. Your promise is on the way. That dream is on the way.
As a young man, Moses made a mistake and killed a man. He was trying to deliver God’s people. He had that dream in his heart, but he got in a hurry. He had to flee for his life and ended up spending years on the backside of the desert. I’m sure he thought, «I had a big dream. I knew I was going to do something great with my life. I knew I was going to leave my mark, but I blew it.» He gave up on his dream; he had nobody to blame except himself. But just because we give up doesn’t mean God gives up. Forty years later, God came back and said, «Moses, I’m here to wake up your dream now. It’s time to go deliver my people.»
Moses went out and did just that; he saw the dream come to pass. Like Moses, you may have made mistakes. We all have, like Sarah. You may have had disappointments; your plans didn’t work out. Now you think it’s been too long. What you’ve given up on is not dead; it’s just asleep. That business you wanted to start, that book you wanted to write, that addiction you’ve been trying to break-every voice tells you it’s too late, you’re too old, it’s never going to happen. No, get ready; God is about to wake it up. Your baby is coming; your spouse is coming; that business is coming; the freedom is coming.
Now get in agreement with God; He’s waking it up. Don’t let it go back to sleep. Stir your faith up; believe that it’s on the way. Go out with expectancy. When your mind tells you you’re never going to get well, wake up the healing. God is restoring health back into me. You’ll never get out of debt. Wake up the abundance; I will lend and not borrow. Well, you’ll never overcome that problem. Wake up the victory; God always causes me to triumph. Keep your mind going in the right direction.
Mark chapter 6: Jesus went back to his hometown. He began to teach the people in the synagogue. They had heard that Jesus had done great miracles and calmed the seas and opened blind eyes. But when they saw him up there teaching, they thought, «That’s just Jesus. That’s who we grew up with. That’s the carpenter’s son. Nothing special about him.» Because they didn’t believe in him, he couldn’t do any miracles in his hometown. Verse 6 says Jesus marveled at their unbelief. In the book of Matthew, a Roman officer came to Jesus and said, «One of my employees is very sick. You don’t need to come to my house. Just speak the word, and I know he’ll be healed.»
When Jesus heard this, the scripture says he was amazed and said, «I have not found such great faith in all of Israel.» In one place, he marveled at their doubt; in the other, he marveled at their faith. When God looks at you, what will he marvel at? «I’ll never get well, Joel. I’ve had this sickness so long. I’ll never accomplish my dreams. I tried; it didn’t work out.» When you think like that, God marvels at your unbelief, which ties his hands. Why don’t you come over into faith? «Yes, I’ve had this sickness a long time, but I know my healing is on the way. I had a bad break. It wasn’t fair, but I know God has beauty for these ashes. I know favor is in my future.» When we think like that, then God marvels at your faith. That’s what allows him to do more than we can ask or think.
But what’s interesting is that the people who doubted, the people who had the unbelief, were the religious people. They were in the synagogue each week. They were the faithful members. I say this respectfully: Sometimes, religion will try to talk you out of God’s best. It will tell you, «In the sweet by and by, you can live a victorious life, but down here, you just have to suffer through it. Just endure; don’t expect too much.» If Jesus were here, he would marvel at that unbelief. My father was taught in seminary years ago that the day of miracles was over. God doesn’t still heal and bless and show favor; that was for Bible days. But we learned there never was a day of miracles; there’s a God of miracles. He’s still alive. He’s still on the throne.
My point is this: The Roman officer who had great faith wasn’t a religious person. He hadn’t been indoctrinated to think that it couldn’t happen. He simply believed that man is the Son of God. «I’ve seen him do miracles. He’s done it for others; he can do it for me.» He received his miracle while the religious people went without. When you take the limits off of God and dare to believe for your dreams, don’t be surprised if people try to talk you out of it, saying things like, «You really think you’ll get well? You really believe you can start that business or break that addiction? I don’t know. It seems kind of far out to me.» God is either going to marvel at your faith or marvel at your unbelief.
Don’t let another person talk you out of what God put in your heart. Believe big, dream big, pray big. God is longing to be good to you. He wants to make you an example of His goodness. So everywhere you go, you don’t even have to say anything; your life is a testimony. People look at you and say, «He’s blessed.» «She’s highly favored.» You radiate joy, peace, favor, victory. You are a living testimony. Jesus didn’t say to this Roman officer, «I’m not gonna do anything for you. You don’t attend my synagogue. You don’t come to my church, or you’re not my nationality. You don’t look like me. Who do you think you are?»
None of that made any difference. All that mattered to Jesus was, «This man has great faith. He believes I can do something out of the ordinary. So I’m gonna show myself strong in his life.» You may think that you’re not religious enough, that God would never help you. People tell me often, «Joel, I watch you, but I’m not a religious person. I wasn’t raised in church like you,» almost like they’re apologizing. But can I tell you, God is not looking for religion? He’s looking for people who simply believe in Him, who know He controls the universe and that He can do the impossible.
I received an email from this couple. Not long after they were married, the husband started having problems with his balance and muscle control. His muscles would tighten up so much at night that he could barely get out of bed in the morning. His wife would have to help him into the car, sometimes taking him to work because he couldn’t drive. This kept getting worse and worse until it got to the place where he could not pick up their baby daughter. He went to the doctor, and after many tests, he was diagnosed with a progressive muscular disease that’s incurable, something like muscular dystrophy. They were devastated.
At night, the thoughts came to the wife: What if he can’t work? What if he loses his job and they can’t afford the house? What if he dies? Their daughter will grow up without a father! They weren’t raised in church; they didn’t have any kind of religious background. But one night at three o’clock in the morning, while she was massaging his legs because they were in so much pain, they turned on the television, and there was our program. As they listened, they heard about the goodness of God and how God can do what medicine cannot do, and something ignited within them.
It just so happened that a few months later, our Night of Hope was coming through their city. They attended; the man could barely make the long walk from the parking lot to the auditorium. At the end of the service, they both stood up and gave their lives to Christ. The wife said, «In an instant, we knew our lives were changed forever. We could feel we were different on the inside.» They started believing that healing was coming their way. Walking back from the auditorium to the car, she noticed that her husband was not in as much pain. As the weeks went by, the symptoms got less and less.
Last January, they came back to Houston for their annual checkup with the same team of doctors. They ran all the tests to get the new markers. The doctors came in baffled. They said, «We can’t explain it. We’ve never seen this happen, but we can’t find any sign of that disease. " One of the doctors asked him if he had done anything differently. He said, «The only thing that I’ve done differently is I gave my life to Christ. " The doctor said, «That’s the only explanation I can give you. " But like this Roman officer, they weren’t necessarily religious people, but they dared to believe. It looked impossible, but they said, «God, we know you can do the impossible. We believe healing is on the way.»
In the Old Testament, the Israelites had wandered around in the desert for many years, and God was about to take them into the Promised Land. But there were seven nations in their path that were much bigger. Moses didn’t know what they were going to do. In the natural, they could never defeat them. But God said to them in Deuteronomy 7, «I’m going to go before you and clear out these seven nations that are stronger and more powerful than you.» God is saying, «You don’t have to fight these battles in your own strength. I’m going to go before you and clear the path. I’m going to make things happen you couldn’t make happen. I’m going to defeat your enemies for you.»
Because, like the Israelites, we all face times when the odds are against us. It’s easy to think this incurable muscle disease, this sickness is much bigger, much stronger than me. This addiction, these people coming against me, they’re much more powerful. Don’t worry, God is going before you right now, clearing the path. On your own, you may be outnumbered. What you’re up against may be bigger, stronger, more talented, with more resources, but you’re not on your own. The God who controls the universe says, «He will take care of your enemies.» In other words, the cancer may be stronger than you, but it’s not stronger than our God. That debt may look insurmountable. You don’t see how you could ever get out, but it’s no match for our God. He owns it all. He makes streets out of gold.
I talked to a gentleman recently. He struggled with a drug addiction for many years. He’s an executive and has a great position. Nobody knows about it, but the addiction is ruining his life. He said, «Joel, I feel powerless. I’ve tried everything; I can’t stop.» I told him what I’m telling you: on your own, you can’t, but you have the God who spoke worlds into existence on your side. Instead of saying, «I can’t do it,» and dwelling on the negative all through the day, say, «Father, thank you that you’re defeating my enemies. Thank you that you’re clearing the path. I know you’re stronger than this addiction, more powerful than this cancer, bigger than this debt. Lord, thank you that healing is coming. Wholeness, freedom, and victory are on the way.»
Scripture puts it this way: it’s not by our might, not by our power, but by the Spirit of the Most High God. You don’t have to do it on your own. God told Moses, «Stand still and you will see the deliverance of the Lord.» You may be up against something big right now. Don’t get discouraged; don’t live stressed out. Stand still. God is clearing the path. He is fighting your battles. He is going to give you victory over powerful enemies. It may not happen overnight, but as long as you’re believing, God is at work. At the right time, He’s going to take you into your Promised Land. That victory is on the way.
A young lady we know was in debt of $75,000 from her college education. She’s in her 20s, just getting started in her career, and that debt looks so much bigger, so much stronger. In the natural, she would be paying on it for years to come. She heard me talking about how God wants to accelerate things, how He can make it happen faster than we think. She dared to believe that this was for her. She let the seed take root. Something told her to call the school and see if there was any way they could help, and they gave her an application to get assistance with the debt. She filled it out, and a couple of days later, they called her back and said, «Your application has been approved. We’ve decided to forgive the whole $75,000 debt.»
Friends, God can make things happen that we could never make happen. Right now, He’s going before you, defeating enemies that are much more powerful. That debt may look like it’s going to be with you your whole life, but get ready, like God did for her, He’s clearing the path. That sickness, that addiction, that legal problem may be bigger, stronger, and more powerful, but it’s no match for our God. He is all-powerful. I’m asking you to stir your faith up. Don’t hear all this and be like the people in Jesus' hometown, where He marveled at their unbelief.
Let’s be like the Roman officer, where Jesus marvels at our faith. Those dreams you’ve given up on, those promises you’ve let go of, you need to go get them back. They’re not dead; they’re just asleep. Like Lazarus, God is about to wake up what you thought was over and done. Now believe and declare, healing is on the way, freedom is on the way, abundance is on the way, the fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name. If you receive it, can you say amen today?