Joel Osteen - Power Of Your Thoughts And Words

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TOPICS: Your Best Life Now, Power of Words, Thoughts, Mind

For decades scientists working to make computers that think and respond the way our brains do. That's how powerful the human mind is. Have you ever thought about the way you program your mind to think? That's what I wanna talk about today. I'm Joel Osteen, and I have good news, no matter where you are, or what challenges you're facing, you can start living "Your Best Life Now".

Our mind is like a computer. How you program it is the way it's going to function. You can have the most powerful computer made, the latest, fastest, holds the most memory, but if you put the wrong software in, it's not going to function like it was designed. We've all dealt with computer viruses, they can get into a perfectly good computer, and start to contaminate the software. Before long, the computer is slow, you can't access the files, all these problems occur, not because it's defective, it's poorly made. The hardware is fine, it's because somebody reprogrammed the software. Somehow it become filled with the wrong information. And now the software is contaminated.

In the same way, when God created you, he stepped back and said, "Another masterpiece". Your hardware is perfect, you're the right size, the right looks, the right nationality. Not only that, God put the right software in you. He programmed you from the very beginning, to be victorious, confident, strong, creative. The original software says you can do all things through Christ. He programmed whatever you touch will prosper and succeed. He programmed the head and not the tail. Victor, and not victim. Lend and not borrow. You were programmed to live an abundant, victorious, faith filled life. That's how your creator designed you.

But the reason we don't always live this abundant life is because we've allowed viruses to contaminate our software. We think I'll never be successful, I'm not that talented, I'll never break this addiction, I've had it too long. I'm slow, clumsy, not attractive, nothing good is in my future. Because our software has been infected, we go around with low self esteem, negative, not expecting problems to turn around, not expecting to accomplish our dreams. The good news is there's nothing wrong with you. Like that computer, you're not defective, you're not a mistake, the problem is your software. You have to get rid of those viruses. Reprogram your thinking. All through the day, you should dwell on what your creator says about you. I am blessed, I am prosperous, I am strong, healthy, talented, forgiven, attractive, valuable, I am victorious.

You have to get back to your original software. One of the best things we can do is learn to hit the delete button. When negative, discouraging thoughts come, trying to contaminate your software, just hit delete, not dwell on that anymore. That thought comes saying you've seen your best days, it's all downhill from here, recognize that's a virus that's trying to keep you from your destiny. Don't let that in, it's real simple, delete, I'm not dwelling on that. My software say, "the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter".

"Well you'll never get well, you saw the medical report", delete, God is restoring health unto me. "I will live and not die. The number of my days, he will fulfill". "Well you'll never accomplish your dreams. You're not that talented, you don't have what it takes", delete, delete, delete, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Whatever I touch will prosper and succeed. The favor of God is on my life". "Well you'll never break that addiction, your dad was an alcoholic, you'll always be one too". Delete, "I can do all things through Christ. No weapon formed against me will prosper. Whom the Son sets free, is free indeed". If you're going to become all you were created to be, you have to get good at hitting the delete button.

When I stepped up to pastor the church, every thought told me "you can't do this, Joel. You don't know how to minister, you don't have the experience, nobody is going to come". It would've been easy to let those viruses take root and keep me from my destiny. But I did what I'm asking you to do, I kept hitting the delete button. "You can't do that" - delete. "You don't have the experience" - delete. "Nobody's gonna come" - delete. "You're too young" - delete. "It's not gonna work" - delete. I wouldn't be standing here if I wasn't an expert at hitting the delete button.

One Sunday night, right after I first started ministering, I was in the lobby after the service, and I overheard these two ladies talking. One said, "He's not as good as his father". The other said, "Yeah, I don't think he's going to make it". The enemy will use people to try to contaminate your software. I was already intimidated, insecure, didn't think I could do it. When I heard that, my first thought was to panic. My worst fears were coming true. But then something rose up in me. God gives you the grace for every season. He arms you with strength for every battle. And I thought those ladies don't determine my destiny. They don't know what God has put in me, they didn't call me, they didn't equip me. They didn't anoint me, and more than anything else, they don't have the final say, God does. And he says I am well able, I am strong in the Lord, I can do all things through Christ.

Every time I heard their voice, delete, no thanks, not dwelling on that. It came back again, and again, and again. I just kept hitting the delete button. Not dwelling on it. The scripture tells us to guard our mind. You control the doorway to what you're going to allow in. You can dwell on every negative thing people have said, every derogatory comment, or you can choose to delete it, and dwell on what God says about you. If I would've let what those two ladies say play over and over, that virus would've contaminated my confidence, contaminated my self esteem, contaminated my future. Clear out the negative things people have said about you. You are no who people say you are. You are who God says you are. You have exactly what you need for the race that's designed for you.

Clear out what the counselor said, "You're just a C student, you're not college material" - delete, "You're an A student. You have seeds of greatness". Clear out what the ex-spouse, the ex-boyfriend said, "You're not attractive, you're not good enough for me" - delete, "You're a masterpiece, one of a kind, beautiful, attractive, a prized possession". Clear out what that parent, that person that raised you said, "You're so undisciplined, you can't do anything right. You'll never amount to much" - delete, "You are destined to do great things. You will leave your mark on this generation". It's time to reprogram your mind, living your best life starts with thinking the right thoughts.

Have you ever studied the bumblebee? All the laws of aerodynamics say it shouldn't be able to fly. It's wings are too small for the size of its body. There's not enough lift, but here's the key. Nobody told the bumblebee, it didn't get the memo. No experts were able to talk it out of it. That bumblebee felt its wings, something in its DNA said "I'm supposed to fly, I'm made for more than crawling around on the ground". It didn't go check with the experts, didn't go read the latest engineering report, it just did what was natural, started flapping its wings, and took off. If that bumblebee would've been able to listen to the naysayers, read all the negative reports, studied the reasons why it shouldn't be able to fly, it would've never gotten off the ground. It starts in your mind. If you don't think you can be successful, you won't. If you don't think you're talented, then you're not. If you don't think you'll ever meet the right person, you never will. Not because you're not able, but because your software, your thinking, is limited.

It's interesting how little children start off so excited about life. They have big dreams. They're going to be an astronaut, a scientist, a singer, a teacher, a baseball player. They believe they can do anything, they're not intimidated. They're not insecure, they've got that spring in their step. It's because they just came from their Creator. Their thinking has not been contaminated. They can feel those seeds of greatness. But so often, over time, as they get older, they start to get reprogrammed. Somebody tells them what they can't do, and what they don't have, and little by little, their environment starts to squeeze them down. A coach says that they're not tall enough, their self esteem goes down. They see somebody more attractive, and they start feeling insecure. All these things begin to distort who they really are, and their software gets contaminated. Before long, instead of thinking possibility thoughts, they think "I'm not that talented, I'll never do anything great, I'm just average".

So often we make the mistake of letting those critical words take root. When somebody says something about you, either good or bad, that seed is planted in your soil. Now you get to determine whether or not that seed takes root, and grows. When you dwell on what's said, you are watering that seed. You're giving it the right to become a reality. That's why you have to be disciplined in your thought life. It's great when people say, "you're talented, you're blessed, you can do great things". Water those seeds, meditate on that throughout the day. That's what you want to become a reality. At Lakewood, we start every gathering by saying "I am who God says I am. And I can do what God says I can do". We're saying we've been programmed for victory. Programmed to reign in life. We've been programmed to overcome obstacles. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers us out of them all. We will accomplish our dreams, we will meet the right people. We will reach the fullness of our destiny.

You go around thinking like that, and all the forces of darkness cannot stop you. The real battle is taking place in your mind. If you're defeated in your thoughts, then you've already lost. You have to get rid of the viruses. If you'll get back to the original software, put in you by your creator, you'll go places that you've never dreamed. Joshua 1:8 says if you will meditate on what God says about you, then you will prosper and have good success in everything you do. When your mind is filled with thoughts of faith, hope, and victory, God will open doors that you couldn't open, help you overcome what looked impossible. When we find ourselves stuck in a rut, not believing we can rise higher, we need to ask ourselves, "why do I think this way? Who programmed me to give up on my dreams? Who programmed me to think I could never lose this weight? Who programmed me to think I was only average? Where did those thoughts come from"?

Could it be that you've accepted wrong mindsets, because of the environment you were raised in? The people you were around? Just because it seems normal to you, doesn't mean that it is normal. Maybe everybody you grew up with was negative. That doesn't mean you're supposed to be negative. Maybe none of your friends had dreams, and did much with their life. That doesn't mean it's okay for you, that's not normal. Just because people in your family had addictions, bad habits, don't make the mistake of believing that's the way you should live. That's a virus that's infiltrated your software. You were created to rise higher, to be confident, secure, positive, free, healthy. You have greatness on the inside. You have to reprogram your thinking. When you make up your mind to think the right thoughts, to approach obstacles with the mindset of victory, then you can live your best life, no matter what life throws your way. That's what Emeka Nnaka discovered.

Emeka Nnaka: It was June 6th, 2009, I'm going down this field, I shut a blocker, I see the ball carrier, I go to make this tackle, and something just does not feel right. I go down, he goes down, he stands up, and I'm struggling, I can't get up. If you've ever bumped your elbow and hit your funny bone, and gotten that tingly feeling in your pinky, you'll know what I felt over my entire body. The silence in the audience is deafening. I've watched sports my entire life, and whether you are walking off, limping off, carried off, you do something to let everyone know you're gonna be okay. You waive, put a thumb up, and I went to do that, and I couldn't move anything.

I underwent a nine hour neck surgery the next day, and spent 10 days in the ICU. I am doing everything that the doctors and my physical therapists are telling me to do. They want me to wake up early, I'm waking up. They want me to do therapy, I'm doing therapy. They want me to eat this, do that, I'm doing everything they're telling me to do. The light at the end of the tunnel was getting out of the hospital. I worked so hard, and was so ready to get out of the hospital because I felt like once I got out of the hospital, my life was just gonna pick back up where I left off. I was not ready for that light at the end of the tunnel to be a train in the form of life in a disability.

Joel Osteen: Emeka expected to walk out of the hospital, instead, he went home in a wheelchair. His injury not only changed his life, it changed the vision for his future.

Emeka Nnaka: Before my accident, I was a college student, and an athlete, six five, 245 pounds, 250 pounds my playing weight, and I ran a 45 40. And at that size, that is very, very fast. I knew that this was gonna be my chance now to make everyone proud, to make my parents proud, make my sisters proud, and to do something with my life. My biggest dream was to play in the NFL. Then the doctor came and would tell me that they were drawing up my discharge papers, and that they were releasing me to go back to life. I didn't look better, I didn't feel better. I was supposed to walk out of that hospital, not be wheeled out of it. This was the beginning of my recovery. My recovery didn't start after surgery. It started after the realization that my life was never gonna be the same again.

Joel Osteen: Going from a star athlete with a bright future, to confined to a wheelchair is hard. Emeka struggled to overcome his new place in life. He struggled to see why something like this would happen to him.

Emeka Nnaka: I'd just cry out to God, why, like why me? Why now, why is this happening? I had nights where I couldn't sleep, and I am replaying in my mind all the good deeds I've ever done. And then I'm thinking in my mind all the bad deeds I've ever done, and trying to weigh 'em out, it's like okay, did I do too much bad, you know, did I not do enough good? And the answer that I got was instead of asking why, ask how. And then I pondered that for a second, it was like how? You know, yes, how can you use this to make a difference? And that flip in the question changed my entire disposition. Because when I asked why it made me a victim. And then when I started asking how, it gave me power over my entire situation.

Joel Osteen: When Emeka began to ask how instead of why, his mindset began to change. He started to see purpose in his life. When his thoughts changed about his situation, so did his actions.

Emeka Nnaka: I began to volunteer at a local youth group. As I began to tell my story, over and over, I was reliving it. The good, the bad, I gained power every time I shared it with you know, a group of people, with a single person, with a little kid. Somehow in doing that, it freed me. It gave me so much more power, to share my story with confidence. It's not something that is just oh, it happens overnight. It its, it's work, I mean it's exercising your faith, and it's exercising the power of your thoughts. It required me taking time to wipe away all of the negative thoughts, and the negative things that I looked through to get to the point where I see things a little bit more clear. The words that you tell yourself in the privacy of your own head matter. If you speak negative, you get more negative. If you speak positive, you see more opportunities. It would be easy for me to dwell on the fact that I can't walk, but I don't do that. I think about the fact that I can make a difference with the words that I speak.

Joel Osteen: Emeka used the power of his thoughts, and the power of his words to change his life. When he was able to reframe his injury, as something with purpose, his attitude shifted, his mindset shifted, and now he's helping and mentoring others.

Emeka Nnaka: Life now is amazing. I get to do so much work with young people in my community. I am able to show people how to carry the burdens in their own life, based on how I've shouldered the burdens of mine. I used my words, and I use my testimony to help people overcome their own lives. And I love every bit of it, because where I might've lost my ability to walk, I gained my ability to talk.

- Hi, Pastor Joel.
- I need some help.
- Dear Pastor Joel...
- I have a question for you.
- Pastor Joel...
- My anger sometimes gets the best of me.
- I don't know what to do.
- My stepson drives me nuts.
- I need some help.
- My marriage is falling apart and I wish we'd never married.
- How can I get my thoughts right?
- How do I know which direction God wants me to go?
- God isn't answering my prayers.
- Where's God when I'm struggling?
- Dear Pastor Joel...
- How do I choose...
- I don't understand what's going on.
- I can't get my life...
- Hey, Pastor Joel.
- My marriage is struggling.
- I don't know what to do.
- Do you even read these questions? All I know is, I want to start living my best life.
- Where do I start?
- But where do I start?

I get questions like this all the time. Week after week, people call in, or write in, reach out to us on social media. I've learned that so many of us struggle to think the right thoughts, because of our past experiences. Maybe you can relate. I saw a story about this dog, a German shepherd, she was pregnant with puppies. One day she was running across the street, and got hit by a car. Both of her back legs were broken. She dragged herself out of the street, and made her way back to her home. As the weeks went by, she began to slowly recover. Her legs finally healed, but because they weren't properly reset, when she'd walk, all she could do was drag her back legs. Her joints were messed up and she couldn't walk normally. Eventually she had her puppies, they seemed to be healthy and whole. But a few weeks later, when they began to walk, just like their mother, they started dragging their back legs.

The owner thought maybe something happened to them in the accident, he took them to the veterinarian to have them check out. The doctor discovered there was nothing wrong with their back legs, they were perfectly normal. Those puppies were simply copying their mother. They didn't know any better, that's all they had seen modeled. In their mind it was the way it was supposed to be. That's what's happened to many of us. What we saw modeled growing up, the people that raised us, they were good people, they were doing the best they could, but in some way, maybe they were dragging their back legs. They were negative, discouraged. Now we're negative and discouraged. They had addictions, low self esteem. Now we struggle in those same areas. They made poor choices in relationships, got involved with the wrong people, now we're dealing with the same thing. We saw them settle for mediocrity, now mediocrity has become normal for us.

The good news is, just like those puppies, there is nothing wrong with your back legs. Those are simply wrong mindsets that you've developed. As you get your thinking straightened out, your legs will get straightened out. God didn't make you faulty. He didn't create you subpar, he created you in his own image. You are his masterpiece, crowned with favor, equipped with talents, gifts, creativity. You're not supposed to go through life with addictions, low self-esteem, inferiority, little dreams. That's not who you really are. That's a virus that's infiltrated your software. You have to start reprogramming your mind. "You are the head and not the tail. The victor and not the victim. Excellence and not mediocrity. Abundance and not lack. Freedom and not addictions. Victory and not defeat".

Is your thinking holding you back from your best life? Who told you you'll never be successful? Who told you you'll only make Cs in school? Who told you you'll never meet the right person? Who told you you're not tall enough? You'll never live in a nice house, you've reached your limits? I can assure you that didn't come from your creator. That's a virus that's contaminating your thinking. There's nothing wrong with you, you have been fearfully and wonderfully made. All through the day, meditate on what God said about you. Reprogram your thinking. I'm blessed, I'm talented, I'm strong, I'm healthy, my future is bright, my best days are in front of me, I will accomplish my dreams. If you'll do this, I believe and declare every virus is being removed, every stronghold is being broken, wrong mindsets that have held you back for years will no longer have any effect on you. You will prosper and have good success, in everything you do, in Jesus name.