Victoria Osteen - God Has Great Purpose For Your Life
Thank you for being here today. You may be seated. I want to encourage you today that God has great purpose for your life. You hold meaning, you hold potential, you hold everything you need to make this earth a better place, and I want to charge us today to just reevaluate our life and realize we are here for God's purpose and God's glory. You know, sometimes, it's easy to feel like we're here to just go to our job, go to school, have our friends, raise our family. But can I tell you today, God has marked you to have an influence on this earth.
See, you just being here, you being the best you can be, using your gifts, using your talents in honoring God, you're making an eternal difference. You are causing this earth to be enriched and you are moving the Kingdom of God forward. You see, sometimes, we don't appreciate what God has given us. We don't understand this gift and the purpose that we're here for, and I believe when we shake ourselves and we say, "Listen, I'm not here by accident. I'm not here 'cause my parents wanted a baby. I'm not here just to take up space and time on this earth, but I'm here for an eternal reason. My being here has meaning and my life matters".
You see, when God looks at you, he looks at you like you matter, and he wants you to take what he's given you and he wants you to mix it with faith and he wants you to move forward on this earth. You see, a lot of times, we can't see what God has given us. Let's just be really real. You know, sometimes, we can't see the gifts and talents. We can look at other people and we can see how they excel. We can see how they've got such a great personality. Oh, it seems so easy for them. They can just do this, they're so creative. Oh, they're so smart. How can they figure all that out? We can see it in others but we can't always see it in ourself, and see, when we can't see it in ourself doesn't mean it's not there.
See, God sees it in us because God put it there. The Bible says when Jesus went to earth he led the captives free and he gave gifts to men. Do you know, he's given you gifts. We don't all have the same gifts. We've got to be comfortable with our gifts. We've got to be able to recognize our gifts. We've got to walk in those gifts and not compare those gifts. We've got to know that our gifts are here for a purpose, and we've got to appreciate what God has given us. I think about Moses. He was raised as an Egyptian. He ended up fleeing to the wilderness and he was there for 40 years. God appeared to him in a burning bush one day and says, "Moses, I have an assignment for you".
Now, God knew exactly who he was talking to. He knew everything about Moses, he created Moses. He saw Moses floating down the river. He saw Moses when he lived in the palace. He saw Moses when he was afraid and ran to the desert. He knew exactly who Moses was. He knew who he was dealing with. He said, "Moses, I want you to lead my people out of Egypt into the Promised Land because I'm doing a work and I'm going to use you to do it". See, it's so interesting. I can only imagine Moses standing there, like, "Really, God"? It says in Exodus 4, he literally pleaded with God. He said, "No, God, not me. You've got the wrong man. God, I stutter, I can't speak well, I can't carry this assignment out".
I'm sure he was thinking about his past. I'm sure he was thinking about how, "I've been in the desert, Lord. You don't know. I mean, you've got the wrong man". But God was saying, "No, I've been shaping you from the beginning. Every experience you have, every gift I've placed in you, has brought you for such a time as this, for this assignment", and do you know, God used Moses in a powerful way, even though Moses couldn't see what God had placed in his life. I find it very interesting in Acts 7:22, hundreds of years later after Moses was dead, this is what the writer of Acts wrote about Moses. It says: "Moses was well educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptian and he was powerful in speech and action".
Moses was powerful in speech and action? That was a far cry from what he thought about himself. It was a far cry from what he was telling God. See, isn't it interesting what he couldn't see in himself, God had others see. See, you may not be able to see your gifts, your talents, your ability, but can I tell you, if you will use them for God, let God take those and turn them into supernatural abilities, people will see what you have and you will accomplish great things in your life. But it's up to us to mix our abilities, our gifts that God's given us, with faith and get up every day and put one foot in front of the other. Because I can tell you, when God asks you to do something, can I just give you a little hint right now that you probably already know, it's not going to be easy. God's going to call you to some hard stuff.
Why, God? I like easy. I like comfortable, God. I like to do those things that are easy for me to do. God's saying, "I want you to take those things that are easy for you to do and those things that are difficult for you to do and I want you to give them to me". Because, see, those difficult places, that's where you grow. When God speaks to those difficult places, you know what he's doing? He's not being mean. He's speaking to your potential. He's saying, "If you stay here, you're not going to become everything you were designed to be". He's not going to call you to the easy places. He's going to call you to some tough things but, just like Moses, you're going to look back and you're going to go, "God, you did more than I could ask, think, or imagine. God, you fulfilled my life. You've enriched my life".
But see, all along the way, we're going to have to stir up the gifts of God within us. We're going to have to use our faith. We're going to have to believe in our abilities. The apostle Paul wrote to a young man named Timothy. He wrote a letter to him for two reasons: one, because he loved him: and two, because he saw that Timothy was extremely discouraged. He was facing some situations and he did not feel like he had the ability to carry out what God had called him to do. In fact, his mentor, Paul, was in prison, the mastermind of everything, and he thought, "Oh my gosh, am I ever going to see Paul again? I mean, I need Paul". Have you ever needed someone? "Can you come with me? I'll do it if you could come with me". That's probably how he felt. "Paul, where are you? I cannot do this by myself. I'm young".
You see, but Paul wanted him to know this, that he could. So Paul said, "There's a combination, a winning combination. I'm going to tell you about it". So he wrote him a letter, and he said, "Timothy, I'm writing you this letter to remind you to stir up the gifts of God within you by faith". But since it's mother's day, can I back up in that letter and just tell you one thing that Paul said to all of you mothers out there, and I want you to take this mother to heart 'cause I really believe this is what God's saying to you today. He wrote this, he said, "Timothy, I see the faith of your grandmother and of your mother, and the faith that they had, I'm sure, lives in you".
What a compliment. I mean, for a mother, that's a very good compliment, if you see that I was a good example to my children. He was saying, "I see that you came from a good example. You've learned how to live". But then he said this: "Paul, I believe this faith lives in you so it's time for you to use your faith and stir up your gifts". I think in essence he was really giving those mothers the greatest compliment in the world. He was charging their son to say, "Don't live off your mama's faith. That's great that you have an example but it's time to find your faith and it's time to mix it with your ability because you've got a job to do".
You see, the breath of encouragement is the greatest gift you can give someone's child. To say, "Find your faith". You see, my dream would be that my children would find their own faith. Yes, I've been a good example but they would find their faith and they would mix that faith with the ability and the gifts that God's given them, and they would charge into this world, having a positive effect and eternal result on this earth. See, they're not here by accident and neither are you. They're here for a purpose. You're going to go through many different seasons of life. Don't just do it, thinking you're getting through it. Do it with purpose and destiny, stir up the gifts. You are making waves everywhere you go for God. You have an assignment. God needs you. Your life matters. Invite Jesus into every area of your life. Invite him into your boat, so to speak.
You see, the first time that Jesus met Simon Peter before he changed his name, he had never met him before. Simon Peter didn't know Jesus. Jesus came walking up because the crowds were following him, and Jesus needed to push back a little bit from the crowds. He saw Simon Peter and his crew over there, washing nets, because they'd been fishing. Their boats were on the edge of the water, and Jesus said, "I need to get in your boat, Simon Peter". He said, "You need to push me out a little ways", and Simon Peter let him in his boat and he pushed him out, and Jesus said, "I need to get in that boat because, see, what I need to do is continue the work that I am doing". He was preaching to the people but he needed a little bit of break. So he needed to get in Simon Peter's boat so he could finish the work.
Now, Simon Peter's boat, you know what it represented? It represented his office. It was his vocation. It was his livelihood. He could have said, "Now, wait a minute, man, that's my boat. Can't get in my boat, that's only for fishing". You know, it's real interesting. The day that Simon Peter let him in his boat, that job that he had, that fishing job, it became more than a job. It became a calling. When he allowed him in his boat so that Jesus could do the work, that job wasn't just a job, it became a calling for Peter's life. It became a destiny and a passion. He realized, "No matter if I'm fishing or if I'm with Jesus, I'm going to do the work of God".
You see, he was a fisherman but that calling changed him into a fisher of men. God wants in your boat. He wants in your school. He wants in the middle of changing diapers. He wants in the middle of your family. He wants to keep doing a work but, guess what? He's got to get in your boat to finish it up. You know, I love my mother. She's here today. Happy mother's day. I love my Dodie, she's here today. Happy mother's day. I've watched my mother. She's had a business in Houston for the last 40 years and I've watched her take that business, that Jewelry business, and turn it into a pulpit. No, she wasn't called to a ministry behind a pulpit but you know what she's done? She's let Jesus come in her boat. She's always been the type of person who wanted to help people, who loved people, who would always be an encourager, and I watch her, from that business, encourage people, invite them to church, fuel their faith.
See, she let Jesus in her boat, and I was thinking about this the other day. She's been in business a long time in this city and she's seen the economy go up, she's seen the economy go down, and God's been good to her. He sustained her business. He sustained it, and I believe it's because he said, "I still need your boat. I still need your boat, and I know that you'll give me your boat, so I'm going to keep you afloat". Can I tell you, when you let Jesus in your boat, he'll keep you afloat? He'll keep you afloat. What an example to have a mother who loves people, who wants to encourage people to bring Jesus into our boat.
I feel a little like Timothy. I'm blessed that way, but you know what the greatest compliment to my mother and every mother in here could be? That me, her daughter, would find my own faith, would learn from the example but find my own faith. Mix it with the gifts God's given me and launch out in my boat so I can let Jesus get in with me. Today, you want to give your mom the best gift there is? Find your faith, thank her for the example but let her know, "Mom, 'cause of your example, hey, I'm finding my faith and I'm going to stir up my gifts, and I'm launching out for Jesus", amen? Amen.