Joel Osteen - A Magnet for Blessings
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When you honor God and keep Him first, He places a commanded blessing on your life that acts like a magnet, attracting favor, good breaks, divine connections, and opportunities without you having to chase them. Based on Deuteronomy 28, where blessings chase down and overtake those who obey God, the preacher encourages believers to live with expectancy, knowing that God’s goodness will track them down like a heat-seeking missile.
The Commanded Blessing as a Magnet
I want to talk to you today about being a magnet for blessings. When you honor God with your life, when you keep Him first place, God puts something on you called a commanded blessing. The commanded blessing is like a magnet. It attracts good breaks, the right people, contracts, ideas, resources, influence.
You do not have to go after these things, trying to make it happen in your own strength, just your own talent, hoping that life works out. All you have got to do is keep honoring God and the right people will find you. The right opportunities will come across your path. The favor, the wisdom, the vindication will track you down. You become a magnet for God’s goodness.
You may have seen on the news these heat-seeking missiles. The military programs a target into the computer and fires the missile off. It can travel thousands of miles. The intended target can be flying in the air, zigzagging here and there, trying to lose it. It does not have a chance. That heat-seeking missile follows it everywhere it goes and eventually overtakes it and accomplishes its purpose.
In the same way, when you keep God first place, just like that heat-seeking missile finding a target, God will send blessings that chase you down, favor that overtakes you. Out of nowhere, a good break. Suddenly your health improves. Suddenly you are able to pay your house off. Unexpectedly a dream comes to pass. That is not a lucky break. That is not a coincidence. That is the commanded blessing on your life. Like a magnet, you are attracting the goodness of God.
Blessings That Chase You Down
That is what it says in Deuteronomy chapter 28. When you walk in God’s ways, you make pleasing Him your highest priority, all these blessings will chase you down and overtake you. One translation says you will become a magnet for blessings.
That means because you are honoring God, right now something is attracted to you. Not fear, sickness, depression, bad breaks. No, like a heat-seeking missile, favor is tracking you down. Promotion is headed your way. Divine connections are searching you out. You are attracting the goodness of God.
Now, you may be facing an illness, but instead of thinking, «Well, I am never going to get well—you should see the medical report,» no, your attitude should be, «Healing is looking for me. Restoration is tracking me down.»
You are struggling in your finances—"Nah, I will never get out of debt. I will never accomplish my dreams"—no, abundance is looking for me. Favor is in my future, good breaks are tracking me down.
You are single—"Nah, I will never get married. I am too old, it has been too long"—no, the right person is looking for me. Divine connections are tracking me down. They are already in my future. Like a magnet, I am drawing them in.
When I look back over my life, most of the favor, most of the good breaks, I did not go after them—they came to me. I was simply honoring God, being my best, and God did more than I could ask or think.
I never thought I could get up in front of people and minister. I spent 17 years behind the scenes here at Lakewood doing the television production. Now, I am not bragging, but during those 17 years, I was faithful. I gave it my all. I made my father look the best I possibly could, went the extra mile to make sure the lighting was perfect, camera angles were just right.
I would even go over to my parents' house every Saturday night and pick out a suit and a tie for my father to wear the next day on television. My mother would say, «Joel, Daddy is a grown man. You do not need to come over every week—he can pick out his own clothes.» Problem is, I had seen what my father picked out before. Let us just say he liked a lot of color, and I wanted that broadcast to be perfect.
I was not looking for this position. I was content where I was behind the scenes, but when my father went to be with the Lord, this opportunity came looking for me. Never planned on doing it, but it chased me down.
God’s Bigger Dreams for You
God’s dream for your life is so much bigger than your own. If you will keep being your best right where you are, you will come into favor, promotion, opportunity bigger than you ever imagined. You will not have to go after it—it will come to you. Because you are honoring God, like a magnet, you will draw it in.
When I was in my early twenties, I walked into a jewelry store and met Victoria for the first time. Like a magnet, she could not keep her hands off of me. This is my side of the story anyway.
We went out on our first date and had so much fun—actually here at the Compaq Center. The next week she invited me to come to her house and have dinner, and we laughed and had a great time. I called her the next day at work to thank her, but she was busy and not able to talk. Called her that evening at home, and she was not there. Called her the next day, and the next, and the next, and the next, but she was always either busy or not available.
Finally, I got the message. She is avoiding me. She does not want to see me. I thought, that is fine. I will not call her anymore. About two weeks later, I was sitting in a little diner eating breakfast early one morning all by myself, and Victoria comes walking in. She saw my car out in the parking lot, came and sat at the table and said, «Joel, I am so sorry I keep missing all of your calls.»
She came back to her senses and came looking for me. She ate breakfast and then made me pay for it. But friends, God has the right people in your future. When you honor God like a magnet, the person God has designed for you—the right one—will come across your path.
You do not have to worry. You do not have to play games and try to convince somebody to like you. If they do not like you, let them go. If they do not celebrate you and see you as a gift, a treasure, as one of a kind, move forward. Do not hang on to things that are not attracted to you.
The right one will not be able to live without you. The one God designed will think you are the greatest thing in the world. You keep being your best right where you are, honoring God, and God will do for you what He did for me. He will cause you to be at the right place at the right time. Those divine connections will come across your path.
But what God has planned for you is much bigger than anything you have ever dreamed of. If God were to show you right now where He is taking you—the favor, the promotion, the influence—it would boggle your mind.
You may think like I did that you are not the most qualified. You do not have the personality, the talent. That is okay. It is not going to happen just because of your talent, your personality, your hard work. It is going to happen because of the commanded blessing on your life.
God’s anointing on you is more important than your talent, your education, than what family you come from. You can have less talent, but with the favor of God, you will go further than people that have much more talent.
Passing Tests for Greater Favor
You may not see how this can happen. It does not seem possible, but you do not have to figure it out. If you will just keep being your best right where you are—getting to work on time, doing more than you have to, being a person of excellence and integrity—the right people will find you. The right opportunities will track you down.
Now do not be frustrated if it does not happen on your timetable. You have got to pass some tests. You have got to prove to God that you will be faithful right where you are. If you are not faithful in the wilderness, how can God trust you to be faithful in the promised land?
You have got to keep a good attitude when you are not getting your way. You have got to be your best when you are not getting any credit. Do the right thing when it is difficult. That is when your character is being developed.
If you will pass these tests, you can be certain God will get you to where you are supposed to be. The right people are in your future, the right opportunities, the good breaks, the wisdom, the contracts, the houses. God said no good thing will He withhold because you walk uprightly.
I have learned one touch of God’s favor can take you in a split second further than you could go in your whole lifetime on your own. Quit thinking, «Oh, I am getting behind. I will never accomplish my dreams.» No, God has explosive blessings in your future. He has blessings that will thrust you years and years ahead.
You say, «Joel, this all sounds good, but I do not really have the talent. I do not know the right people. I do not have the money.» That is okay. God does. He has already lined up everything you need.
There are good breaks right now that have your name on it. There are contracts, buildings, businesses that have your name on it. There are ideas, inventions, books, movies, songs that have your name on it.
As you keep honoring God, being your best, like that magnet, you are going to draw in what already has your name on it. When is this going to happen? At the right time. If it has not happened yet, do not get discouraged. God knows what He is doing. If it would have happened earlier, it would not have been the best time.
Just keep being faithful right where you are and keep living with this attitude that something good is coming your way. When you do that, like a magnet, you are going to draw in what already has your name on it.
What Has Your Name on It
There is healing with your name on it. You single people, there is a husband, a wife with your name on it. Some of you couples are believing to have a child. There is a baby with your name on it. God has already chosen them to be yours.
You pastors, leaders, you need a larger auditorium—there is a new sanctuary with your name on it. There is a business with your name on it. There is a number one movie with your name on it. There is an invention that will touch the world with your name on it.
Now here is the whole key. You do not have to seek the blessing. Seek God and the blessings will seek after you. This is where we miss it very often. We think, «I got to get this promotion. I got to meet this person. I got to get my career going faster, Joel.»
And yes, we have to use our talent, be determined, take steps of faith, but you can stay in peace. You can live at rest knowing that because you are honoring God, the right people will find you. The right opportunities will track you down.
Proverbs 13 says, «The wealth of the ungodly will eventually find its way into the hands of the righteous, for whom it has been laid up for.» Notice, because you are the righteous, there is something God has laid up for you. And the good news is, at the right time, eventually it is going to find you.
That means right now something is looking for you—not defeat, struggle, lack. You are the righteous. Favor is looking for you. Good breaks are looking for you. Healing is looking for you. Influence is looking for you.
Now, you may not have seen it yet, but do not get discouraged. Keep honoring God, and He promises some of these eventuallys are going to track you down.
This beautiful facility, the former Compaq Center—you know what this is? An eventually. It was laid up for us. It had our name on it, and at the right time, it found us.
This building was built back in the early 1970s. It was first called the Summit. Then they changed the name to the Compaq Center. But I believe if you would have peeled back the names when it was built way back then, you looked underneath, you would have seen the name Lakewood Church. God had us in mind when they built it. Eventually, God said, «All right. It is time to hand it over.»
Friends, there are some eventuallys in your future. The great thing is you do not have to go after them. Just go after God. Keep Him first place. Live a life of excellence and integrity. God promises the eventuallys will find their way into your hands.
Seek God, Not the Blessing
This is what Jesus said: «Seek first the kingdom, and all these things will be added unto you.» Everything you need to fulfill your destiny has already been laid up for you. Now, you just have to make pleasing God your highest priority.
In other words, before you give in to temptation, «No, I am going to please God and walk away. I want to fulfill my destiny. I want to come into my eventuallys.» Before you tell that person off, «No, I am going to please God and keep my mouth closed.»
At the office, they are not treating you right. You feel like slacking off. «No, I am going to please God and keep being my best. I know I am not working unto people. I am working unto God.»
You live like that, and all the forces of darkness cannot keep you from your destiny.
The amazing thing about this building is I did not go after it. It came to me. I tried to buy land twice and build a new sanctuary, but both times the property was sold out from under us. I thought, «We are stuck. There is no more room. There is no way to grow.»
But one day, an old friend, out of the blue, unexpectedly called and said he wanted to talk to me about something. We had lunch. He said, «Joel, the Houston Rockets basketball team is about to move out of the Compaq Center. That would be a great facility for Lakewood.»
When he said that, something came alive on the inside. I never dreamed we could have something this beautiful—the premier facility in the fourth largest city in America, on the second busiest freeway in the nation.
Just like with us, the eventuallys God has lined up for you are going to boggle your mind. It is going to be more than you can ask or think. God has not only already arranged them, He has taken it one step further. He has already put your name on them. They have already been marked as a part of your divine destiny.
What is your part? Worry? Struggle? Try to make it happen? Manipulate this person? «Maybe they will do me a favor.» You do not have to play up to people. You do not have to beg people. Hope that they will throw you a crumb here or there.
You are not a beggar. You are a child of the Most High God. You have royal blood flowing through your veins. You are wearing a crown of favor. God has called you, equipped you, empowered you, chosen you—the Creator of the universe.
All you have got to do is keep honoring God and the blessings will find you. The right people will show up—the ones that want to help you. The good breaks, the businesses, the contracts will track you down.
One phone call, one person God has ordained to help you can change the course of your life. How is this going to happen? Just your talent, your ability, your hard work—that is part of it. But the main key is by honoring God. That is what puts you in a position for His blessings to overtake you. That is what makes you a magnet for His favor.
Stories of Unexpected Favor
I know today I am looking at a lot of strong, powerful magnets. Some of you are very close to attracting what you have been praying and believing for. You have honored God. You have been faithful. Now God is about to release an eventually in your life. It is going to be bigger than you imagine.
When you meet that person, they are going to be better for you than you ever dreamed of. You waited a long time, but when they show up, you are going to say you were well worth the wait.
«Well, Joel, you are just getting everybody’s hopes up today.» You are right. You cannot have faith if you do not first have hope.
Some of you have gotten stuck in a rut. God has been good to you. You have got a good family, a good job. You have seen God’s blessings, but let me tell you, you have not seen anything yet. You have not touched the surface of what God has in store.
Do not become complacent thinking that you have seen your best days. God never performs His greatest feats in our yesterdays. You may have seen God’s goodness in the past, but it is nothing compared to what God is about to show you.
In 2004, we were holding one of our first Night of Hope events in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Earlier that year, I had written my first book, and it was doing really well.
That night, there was a publisher from one of the largest publishing companies in the world walking by the Garden on his way to the train station to go home. He saw all the people lined up to go into the arena. He had seen people going to basketball games and concerts before, but he said he had never seen people that excited about going to a meeting.
He asked people what was going on. They told him it was our Night of Hope. The next morning, first thing, he called his main literary agent and asked if she knew me, Joel Osteen. She said, «I do not know him personally, but I have seen his books, seen him on television.»
He said, «You need to find him because I am going to publish his next book.» She tracked me down, set up a meeting. He made an offer that boggled my mind, that I could not refuse. That company pre-printed more copies of my book than any book they had ever published in the company’s history.
That is what happens when you simply honor God—people to be at the right place at the right time. You will not have to seek them out—they will seek you out.
When my father was alive, Victoria and I used to go to India with him a couple of times a year. One time we met this young pastor that came from an extremely poor family. They did not have electricity or running water—they lived out in this open field in this little hut that they had built.
The man next door was very wealthy—he owned a huge farm, had thousands of cattle, all these different crops, and he would sell milk and vegetables to the village people. But he was kind of greedy and charged more than he should—many people could not afford it.
One day about ten of his cows got out and came over to the little hut where the pastor and his family lived. Having a cow was a big deal—you could have milk and other products to sell to people.
The workers came and got those ten cows, put them back in the owner’s fence. The next day the same ten cows got out, came back over. This happened again and again and again.
The owner got so frustrated, he told his workers, «Tell the pastor he can have those ten cows.» Gave them to him as a gift.
That pastor was so thrilled. He started selling milk and other dairy products to the people in the village, but he sold them for much less. Before long, people were lined up at his door. He was able to buy more cows. His business kept growing so much so that that other owner came over and said, «You are putting me out of business. I cannot compete with you—why do you not take over my company?»
This pastor purchased his company for a fraction of its value. Today he has a very successful company with several hundred employees, but it all started when those cows came looking for him and would not go home.
What is that? Like a magnet, he attracted the goodness of God.
Turning Up the Power on Your Magnet
Now, you do not have to worry about how it is all going to work out. God knows how to have the cows find you. What has your name on it—the real estate, the good breaks, the businesses, the favor—will eventually find its way into your hands.
Proverbs puts it this way: «Trouble chases sinners, but blessings chase the righteous.» You are the righteous. Right now, favor is chasing you. Promotion is chasing you. Healing is chasing you. Cows are looking for you. Victory is coming your way.
Now, do not ever say, «I will never get out of debt, Joel. I will never get married. I will never be well again.» You know what that is doing? Demagnetizing your magnet. It is taking away the attraction power.
I used to have a magnet when I was growing up that I played with when I was a little boy. One day I woke up and the magnet had no power. I had left it by something that had demagnetized it. Looked the same, but it would not attract anything.
In the same way, when we dwell on negative, cannot-do-it, not-able-to, never-going-to-happen thoughts, that is demagnetizing our magnet. You are taking away its power to pull in what belongs to you.
You know what I am doing today? I am helping you to turn up the power on your magnet. When you realize God has put a commanded blessing on your life, you go out each day with the attitude that something good is going to happen to you—that is when God can do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond.
Every one of you can look back over your life and remember a time, like I can, where you unexpectedly saw God’s favor. You did not go after it—it came after you. God has done it in the past. The good news is He is not only going to do it again in the future, but what He is going to show you is going to pale in comparison to what you have seen in the past.
God has explosive blessings coming your way. They are going to thrust you to a level greater than you have imagined. You are going to look back and say, like I do, «How in the world did I get here? I am not the most qualified, the most talented, I do not have all the experience.»
You may not, but God does. He knows how to get you to where you are supposed to be.
Now I believe and declare today, because you are honoring God, because you are keeping Him first place, the power of your magnet is being turned up. You are about to draw in good breaks, promotion, healing, favor, ideas, contracts, creativity.
God is about to release what already has your name on it. You are not going to have to go after it—it is going to come after you. It is going to be bigger than you imagined, it is going to happen sooner than you thought.
You are about to step into the fullness of your destiny and become everything God has created you to be. In Jesus' name, if you receive it, can you say amen today?