Joel Osteen — The Second Touch
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I want to talk to you today about "The second touch". In the scripture, some people brought a blind man to Jesus. He'd never been able to see. Jesus made mud in his hands and put it on the man's eyes. Instantly, his eyes were open. You can imagine how thrilled he was. For the first time, he could see light, color, trees, the sky. He was overcome with excitement. His life had just totally changed.
Then Jesus asked him an interesting question. He said to the man, "What do you see"? It's as if Jesus already knew something wasn't quite perfect. The man answered back, "I can see but I see men walking as trees". He was saying, "I'm grateful that I can see but it's blurry. I'm not complaining. I'm thankful that I have any sight but everything is out of focus". Jesus could have walked away and said, "Well, I made it much better. Be on your way. Have a great life".
That could have been the end of the story but God didn't come to just make you better, to make you okay, to make you get by. He came to make you totally whole, to live an abundant, healthy, happy, free, victorious life. The scripture says Jesus touched the blind man again. On this second touch, his eyes were completely healed. Everything came into focus. Now he had perfect vision.
Many of us are like this blind man. We've seen God's goodness. He's helped us to get to where we are. We're grateful even though we haven't broken the addiction. Even though we haven't accomplished a dream. Even though a child is still off course. We're thankful for what God has done. We can say like the blind man, he's made it a whole lot better. And while we should be content where we are, we shouldn't be satisfied with mediocrity. Too often, we settle for less than God's best. Thinking, "I'll never break this addiction. But at least I've learned to live with it". "I'll never get married but at least I have a few friends". "I'll never get out of debt, Joel, but at least I can pay my bills". You're right where the blind man was. Saying, "Everything is blurry, but at least I can see something. I'm not complaining. I'm satisfied to be better".
Here's the key: you may be satisfied but God is not satisfied. He has a second touch coming your way. The second touch is when you come totally out of debt, when you're free from the addiction, when the medical report says "No more sickness", when your whole family comes to know the Lord. The second touch is when God opens doors you never dreamed would open, when he amazes you with his goodness. Be grateful for what God has done but don't be satisfied with better. God did not create us to reach half of our destiny, three-fourths, or 90%.
What God started in your life he's going to bring to completion. I'm not just trying to encourage you, trying to make you feel better. I'm prophesying a second touch is coming your way. When this second touch kicks in, you're going to see favor that you've never seen; the right people are going to show up, freedom from strongholds; a new level of your destiny. Now, you have to let this seed take root. You have to get in agreement with God. You can't go around thinking you've reached your limits, you'll never get well, never be promoted. "Joel, I'll never see clearly. It's been blurry for so long in my life". Thinking like that will stop God's best.
Quit declaring defeat over your life. Quit prophesying mediocrity. It may be blurry but it is not a surprise to God. He's not scratching his head thinking, "Why didn't they get clear vision"? God controls the whole universe. He has all power. What he's destined for your life will come to pass. Now, it may not happen all at once. While we're waiting, that's a test of our faith. Don't get discouraged. When things happen you don't understand, don't give up.
You always face your greatest opposition when you're close to your victory. The enemy wouldn't be fighting you so hard if he didn't know God has something amazing in front of you. You have to dig your heels in, and say, "It may be blurry, it may be taking a long time, I don't understand it but I know a secret: the second touch is coming. God is still on the throne. His plans for me are for good. Any moment, things could change in my favor".
When you live with this expectancy, that's what allows God to do great things. You don't know, the second touch could happen today. You could meet the person of your dreams tomorrow. That health issue could turn around. The loan could go through this week. There are second touches already ordained to come across your path. God doesn't do things half-hearted. He's the author and the finisher. It may look impossible, but God can do the impossible. People may try to talk you out of it, but people don't have the final say, God does.
Get up every morning and thank him for your second touch. "Lord, I'm grateful that I have a job. I'm grateful that I can pay my bills. But I'm still in debt. God, I'm asking for your second touch". The second touch is when you come into overflow, when you come into more than enough. Or, "Lord, I'm feeling better. I'm making progress but I'm still struggling with this illness. Lord, I'm asking for the completion of your healing". Or, "God, I went through a bad break. I lost a loved one. It's kind of blurry in my life right now. But God, I'm asking just like you did for that blind man, touch me again. Restore my joy, my passion; my vision. God give me a new beginning". I spoke along these lines awhile back about how God can suddenly shift things.
I received a letter from a young man that plays high school football. He told how when he heard me say the phrase that "A shift is coming", something came alive on the inside. He didn't just hear it and think, "Oh, yeah, right! It's not going to happen for me". He let the seed take root. He started telling people a shift was coming. He was the running back on his team and people told him he was too small. That he would never be successful playing football. He should try another sport. Their team was playing very badly, losing game after game. He was so fired up, he got his whole team saying before the game that, "A shift is coming, things are changing in our favor".
They started playing better and better. They made the playoffs. In the state final, he scored four touchdowns in one game, the most of his career, plus winning touchdown with two seconds left in the game. He was named the ABC High School player of the week. In their yearbook, they could put one quote under their picture. His quote was "A shift is coming".
I wonder what would happen if we would go out with this same expectancy believing that the second touch is coming. Not just hearing a message, but letting a seed take root, expecting a dream to come to pass, expecting to be healthy and whole, expecting God to finish what he started. "Well, Joel, this sounds good. But I've had a lot of setbacks. I've been taking this treatment for cancer on and off for the last 10 years. That's why I'm discouraged. I don't think I'll ever get well". Just because you gave up, it doesn't mean God gave up. God is not satisfied with better. He's going to take you to the fullness of your destiny.
David said, "God lifted me out of a pit and set my feet upon a rock". Sometimes, even though we're content to stay in the pit, God is not content. He's not going to give you a choice. He's going to lift you out of that pit and he's going to set your feet towards your destiny. You didn't think it was going to happen. You thought you were stuck where you are. But then one touch of God's favor. Suddenly your health improved. Suddenly you met the right person. Suddenly a new door of opportunity. It wasn't anything you did. It was simply the goodness of God, His second touch.
First kings, chapter 19, the prophet Elijah had just seen one of the greatest victories of his life. Four hundred false prophets that worshiped the God, Baal, had come against him. Elijah said to them, "Since you think your God is real, let's have a contest". They both put wood on an altar and the God that lit the wood on fire would be the true God. Elijah let them go first. They prayed and sang, danced, chanted hour after hour, still no fire.
When it was Elijah's time, he prayed and God sent lightening and started the wood on fire. Later, all 400 of those prophets were killed. It was a great victory for Elijah. Well, there was a lady there by the name of Jezebel. When she heard what happened to those prophets, she was furious. She sent word to Elijah saying, "If I don't kill you by this time tomorrow, I'm going to kill myself". Elijah took off running for his life.
It's funny, he wasn't afraid of 400 men, but he was scared to death of one angry woman. When you have an angry woman, you need God's help. Elijah ran far away from that place. He was sitting under a tree, so depressed that he didn't want to live. He said, "God, I'm done. It's over. Just take my life". Here he had just seen this great miracle. And the problem now is he's tired. He's tired of believing. He's tired of standing strong. He's tired of staying in faith.
Maybe like Elijah, you've been doing the right thing for a long time, believing, praying, standing in faith; you've seen God's goodness in the past but now you're tired. You've lost your drive, your passion. You don't think you'll ever really get well. You've had this sickness so long. You're not believing to start that business anymore; you've had too many setbacks. The good news is: God doesn't give up on us when we get tired; when we get discouraged.
When Jesus was on his way to the cross, about to be crucified, he got so tired, so weak, that he fell down and couldn't carry it anymore. God didn't say, "Jesus, what are you doing? Get up. You're making me look bad". He sent a man by the name of Simon to carry the cross for him. God knew there would be times we get tired, fall down, be discouraged, give up on a dream. He doesn't say, "Too bad, you should have had more faith". He'll send somebody to help lift you back up. Somebody to breathe new life into your dreams. Maybe I'm that somebody for you today. You're not here by accident. God is saying the best part of your life is still out in front of you. He has new friendships, new opportunities, new victories, new mountains for you to climb.
Sometimes we think because we're people of faith we're supposed to be superman, superwoman, and never have an ounce of doubt, a moment of discouragement. Take the pressure off yourself. You don't have to be strong all the time. Even Jesus fell down under the weight of the cross. You may be down right now, not pursuing your dreams, not passionate about life, tired. God has you here to lift you, to help you get back up, to remind you that he's not finished with you. He's going to bring you out of that pit. He's going to set your feet on a rock. He's going to move you towards your destiny. This season will pass. The second touch is coming.
Elijah was so depressed that he didn't want to live, he's sitting under that tree. You would think God would say, "Come on, Elijah, I just rained down fire from heaven. I just showed you my favor, my protection, and you mean you're going to let this one woman, one bad break, one disappointment, cause you to get discouraged and give up. What's wrong with you"? No, God doesn't disqualify us when we don't stand strong enough.
The scripture says, "The angel of the Lord came a second time to Elijah and touched him, saying, "Arise and eat". When he woke up, he saw bread cooking over some coals and a jar of water. God not only gave him the bread and water, but God took it one step further. He cooked the food for him. God could have given him the strength to go out and hunt, find food, find water, come back with the firewood, and cook it himself. That would have been nice.
But here's how good God is: on this second touch, God is going to bring things to you. He's going to cause blessings to chase you down. He's going to make things happen that you could have never made happen. You may have been through some disappointments. People and circumstances have come against you and now you've settled where you are. You're not expecting anything good. Every voice tells you it's never going to happen. Don't believe those lies. Just like Elijah, the angel of the Lord is coming a second time. This second touch is not only going to give you new fire, new passion, but it's going to push you into your destiny. The second touch is when you'll see clearly. You'll have wisdom, the right doors open, things fall into place, you'll step into your purpose.
Why don't you shake off the disappointments? Shake off what didn't work out? And say, "God, I know you're still in control of my life. I've had these bad breaks, things come against me, but, God, I'm not going to settle here. I'm not going to give up on my dream. I know your second touch is coming". If you'll do that, God will not only bring you the provision, he'll not only give you the food and water, so to speak. But he'll cook the food for you. He'll do more than you can ask or think. But too often we stay focused on the negative, what didn't work out and how long it's taking; who hurt us, how unfair it was. That causes us to get stuck. You can talk yourself out of your destiny.
This is what Abraham's father did. His name was Terah. He had three sons, and one of his sons, a young man named Haran, died at an early age. Terah went through this great disappointment, the loss of a son. Years later, God told Terah to leave the place they were living and go to Canaan, the Promised Land. Terah packed up his family and they headed that way toward the Promised Land. But when they came to the city of Haran, the same name of the son he had lost, instead of passing through it, continuing on to the Promised Land, the scripture says Terah settled in the city of Haran.
He started off good but when he came to the place that reminded him of the son he lost, the place of his greatest disappointment, he got discouraged and gave up on his dream. He told everybody, "I'm sure I should go forward. The Promised Land is probably in front of us, but look, I've been through too much, I've been hurt too many times. Let's just settle here".
Terah could have become the father of many nations instead of Abraham. He was the original one God told to go to the Promised Land. We could talk about the God of Terah, Abraham, and Isaac, instead of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It could have started one generation sooner but Terah chose to settle. He didn't realize God had a second touch, that God can give beauty for ashes, that God can turn mourning into dancing, that God can take what's meant for harm and use it to our advantage. Instead, he chose to stay focused on the pain.
And, I don't know, maybe he had a good excuse: he lost a loved one. But if he could have just dug his heels in and said, "No, I am not going to settle in Haran. I'm not going to stay in the place of my greatest pain. I'm going to keep moving forward, knowing that a second touch is coming, knowing that God will pay me back for this trouble". If he would have done that, he would have been listed as one of the heroes of faith.
Friends, don't let one loss, one disappointment, one bad break, cause you to settle. We all face things we don't understand. Life is not always fair. The key is you have to pass through the place of your greatest pain. Pass through the hurt, the rejection, the failure, the mistake. If you'll keep moving forward, you'll come into your Promised Land. God will give you beauty for ashes. The scripture says he'll pay you back double for the unfair situations.
You remember job. He went through a great disappointment. He lost his health, his business, his family. But in the end, God restored twice back to him. Job had 10 children that were killed in a terrible storm. A great tragedy. He was devastated. But later on, God gave job 10 more children. He had 10 in heaven, 10 on earth. Double. And what's interesting is the scripture never says that job married a younger wife. The same wife that had given him 10 children before gave him 10 more children. God opened that womb once again.
In the natural, she was too old. She was done, couldn't have any more children. It looked like her womb was dead. But when God saw the trouble the enemy caused her, God said to her, in effect, "Don't worry, I'm going to bring back to life your dead womb. That womb that's been closed, I'm going to open it once again and you're going to have 10 more children". I don't know if she was happy or depressed about that. But if God did that for Victoria, he would have to bring me back to life. Bottom line, she gave birth to 10 more children.
What am I saying? The enemy cannot stop God's plan for your life. He may try but he can't do it. God has the final say! You may have something that looks dead. You tried and it didn't work out. It's been a long time. You need to get ready for the second touch. On the second touch, God's going to reopen what was closed. He's going to bring back to life what was dead. He's going to pay you back for that trouble. Don't settle in the place of your greatest pain. The second touch is coming.
I was in Washington, D.C. earlier this year. This mom told about her son. He's a soldier serving in our military overseas. She received a phone call in the middle of the night saying that her son had been gravely wounded in action. They were flying him to Germany and didn't think that he would make it through the night. She and her husband jumped on the next flight out. When they arrived, her son was still alive, hanging on by a thread, in a coma. The doctors said it would just be a matter of hours before he would pass.
A lot of people would have given up. But this soldier had a praying mother. She knew that God has the final say, that God can bring back to life, resurrect what looks dead. She was doing her best to stay in faith. She asked God to give her a sign. When the doctors and specialists finally left the hospital room, after giving her the grim prognosis about her son, the nurse walked in, looked the mother in the eyes, and she said, "Don't worry about your son, he's going to be fine. When he arrived last night, he opened his eyes and looked at me. And when he did, I could see God in his eyes".
Against all odds, he made it through that night and the next night and the next. Today, several years later, he's still alive, on the road to recovery, getting better and better. When it looked like it was over, the second touch kicked in. God breathed new life into his body.
Your situation may look dead: in your health, a relationship, a business. You don't see how it could ever work out. But God didn't bring you this far to leave you. There's a second touch coming. The first touch got you to this point. The second touch is when you see it turn around. When you see your health restored, when your business takes off. The second touch is when you say, "I can see clearly now. The dream came to pass. The problem resolved. God finished what he started". Anybody can give up. Anybody can say, "It's never going to happen". That's easy. Doubters are a dime a dozen but it takes a man or woman of great faith: somebody like you to say, I may not see a way, but I know God still has a way. I'm not going to give up. I'm not going to settle. I'm not going to be talked out of it. I know my second touch is coming. God's did it for others: he can do it for me".
Moses said in Psalm 90, "God, show us gladness for the former misery. Replace the difficult years with good. God, let us see your miracles again". He was saying, "God, I'm in a tough time. Things haven't been going my way. But God, I'm asking for your second touch. Show us miracles again". When you face difficulties, do like Moses, "Lord, touch me again. Strengthen me again. Heal me again. Amaze me again". Dare to ask for the second touch.
In the scripture, there was a lady named Elizabeth. She and her husband, Zechariah, were well up there in years and they'd never had any children. God spoke to Zechariah and said they were going to have a son. They were to name him John. He later became known as John the Baptist. Even though Elizabeth in the natural was too old, she conceived. She was pregnant with little John. But for the first six months, she didn't feel hardly any movement in her womb. She was very concerned something was wrong with the baby.
One day, her young cousin, Mary came to visit her. She was pregnant with Jesus. When Elizabeth saw Mary, the scripture says the baby leaped in Elizabeth's womb. She knew John was alive and well. That was the first time John the baptist ever met Jesus, technically, still in the womb. Fast-forward 30 years later. John is baptizing people in the Jordan river. He sees Jesus walking up. He points his finger and says, "Behold, the Lamb of God". Jesus asked John to baptize him and when he came up out of the water, "The heavens opened up".
The first time John met Jesus, his mother's womb opened up, a natural occurrence. The second time they met, the heavens opened up; a supernatural occurrence. This second touch is not going to be ordinary, it's not going to be natural, it's not what you were thinking. It's going to launch you into a new dimension, into a new level. God's going to take you where you could not go on your own.
Now, you may have seen God's goodness in the past. But you haven't seen anything yet. You need to get ready. The second touch is coming. It's not too late to accomplish your dreams. You can still live healthy and whole. You can still overcome that obstacle. Don't get discouraged and settle where you are. Don't get stuck in the place of pain, the place of disappointment. Keep moving forward, there's a Promised Land in front of you. The best part of your life is still in your future.
I'm asking you to stir your faith up. Get your passion back. Get up every morning and say with Moses, "Lord, thank you for your second touch". If you'll do this, I believe and declare just like the blind man, you're going to see the completion of what God started. Like Elijah, God's not only going to strengthen you, but he's going to bring you the provision, he's going to do more than you can ask or think. And like John the Baptist, God's going to launch you to a new dimension, into the fullness of your destiny. In Jesus' name.