Invisible To The Enemy | Joel Osteen

1:52 And we hope you'll stay connected with us all through the week. We have a daily podcast that you can download. You can go to our YouTube channel, watch the messages anytime, or you can follow us on social media. I promise you, we'll keep you encouraged and inspired. But thanks for tuning in. Thanks again for coming out. I like to start with something funny. I heard about this family. They lived way back in the woods. They never left their little town, never watched television. One day they took a vacation to New York City. The father was showing his son a famous skyscraper. They were so impressed, they were especially intrigued by the elevator. They didn't know what it was. This elderly woman walked up, pushed a button, the walls opened up. She stepped into a little room, the walls closed back up. They sat there contemplating what they had just seen. In a few seconds, the walls opened back up, out stepped a beautiful 24-year-old girl.

2:48 Almost in disbelief. The son said dad what just happened? The dad said I don't know son, but go get your mother Say it like you mean it This is my bible. I am what it says. I am I have what it says I have I can do what it says I can do today. I will be taught the word of god I boldly confess my mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same in jesus name God bless you. I want to talk to you today about invisible to the enemy. We all have things that come against us in life. People that don't like us. We're dealing with an illness. We lost a big client at work. It's easy to live worried, wondering how it's going to turn out. But David said in Psalm 27, in the time of trouble, God will hide you. He will place you out of reach on a high rock. It doesn't say we won't have trouble Difficulties may come but the promise god gives us is he's going to hide us You could say he's going to make you invisible to the enemy You don't know how many times trouble has come but it couldn't find you Sickness had your name on it, but when it showed up you were invisible That calamity that accident was sent to take you out but when it arrived, you were nowhere to be found.

4:16 You didn't know anything about it. You were just going about your day, being your best, and forces that should have stopped you, enemies that should have defeated you, trouble that should have caused you great heartache didn't have any effect on you. Why? You were invisible to the enemy. That's why we can live from a place of faith, a place of trust, not worried. What if my company downsizes and doesn't need me? What if my child gets off course? What if I get this virus? No, turn it around. Father, thank you that I am invisible to the enemy. Thank you that my children are invisible to the enemy. Thank you that my health, my finances, my marriage, my dreams are all invisible to the enemy. David knew what it was like to have opposition and people trying to stop him. First samuel 23. He was living on the run from king saul He had done nothing wrong. He was one of saul's main armor bearers He would play music for saul when he wasn't feeling well But saul was jealous of david. He was so obsessed with getting rid of him That's all he could think of And sometimes when you're doing the right thing being good to people The favor on your life will stir up the jealousy in other people David was in the desert hiding in caves doing his best to not get caught Saul had the most skilled soldiers He had groups that were specifically trained in tracking people like a navy seal team David was a shepherd. He'd been taking care of sheep a teenager. He didn't have any professional training He was outnumbered. They had more equipment more skill seemed like he would be easily captured But verse 14 says saul hunted david day after day, but god did not let him be found God knows how to make you invisible to the enemy. He knows how to hide you from trouble Hide you from an accident hide you from people that are trying to bring you down

6:25 A friend of mine was involved in a situation that was very big in the press at one point it was the hottest news story around. Practically every reporter was trying to get to him, but the press was very negative toward him and he wanted to stay out of it. For the first few months, he had to travel back and forth to another city. The press would get word when he was going to be at the airport. They would all show up. He said, Joel, it was the most amazing thing. I would get out of my car. All these cameras were lined up on the sidewalk waiting for me. I would walk right past them. Not one of them recognized me. They never got a shot of him. One day a reporter came to his house. He answered the door, but the reporter didn't even recognize him at his own house. He said, it was like God was making me invisible to the wrong people. God knows how to protect you.

7:23 Just as he can make blind eyes see he can make seeing eyes blind He can make you invisible to people and circumstances that want to harm you David said in psalm 31 you have not handed me over to the enemy, but you have kept me in a safe place We all have things trying to stop our destiny But like with david god has put you in a safe place. He's not going to let you be found You may have difficulties now in your health your finances your marriage You could live worried panic. What am I going to do? But when you know you're in a safe place where god has you hidden then you can live in peace When trouble comes you don't fall apart give up on your dreams. You know god has made you invisible to the enemy Saul was so frustrated. He went back home Some of david's own men turned on david They sent saul the details of where david was hiding They gave him the exact location how to get there what it looked like all this inside information Saul was thrilled. He had his men go do surveillance Study his movements find out when david sleeps when he eats where he gets his food He went overboard to make sure this time they would catch david Saul and his men traveled a great distance. They arrived to where David was hiding But just as Saul was about to attack a messenger came riding up as fast as he could with an urgent message It said Saul hurry home. The philistines are attacking our city Saul and his men turned around and left. They never did capture david God knows how to keep you in a safe place Even when it looks like it's too late. He knows how to distract your enemies He knows how to change people's plans how to turn that trouble turn the sickness turn the opposition I can imagine sickness coming looking for you

9:28 It has all the details knows where you live where you work. The enemy's done his surveillance When that sickness comes to the door you may answer but like my friend you're invisible to the enemy It has to go back. Sorry. I couldn't find them When you know god has you in a safe place invisible to the enemy then you can live at peace You're not at risk Open game any moment something bad can happen God has you hidden where you cannot be found Many things that were sent to stop you trouble calamity bad breaks. They had your name on them They had your address. The reason they couldn't stop you is they couldn't find you. God had you in a safe place. When you make the Lord your God, when you stay under the shelter of the Most High, the scripture says he covers you with his wings. He'll hide you from things that could have brought you down.

12:34 See, the enemy has schemes and strategies to try to keep you from your destiny. People were set in motion, headed your way to cause trouble. The problem was they couldn't find you. They showed up, but you were invisible to the trouble, invisible to the sickness, invisible to the layoff. God protected you and you didn't even know it. Well, Joel, it didn't work for me. I must not be invisible. I had an accident. I got laid off. I came down with this sickness. Yes, but that sickness couldn't finish you off. That accident couldn't take you out. That layoff didn't stop your purpose. When trouble came, God put you in a safe place. That difficulty is not how your story ends. God has the final saying. He's not only going to take care of what's trying to stop you, but he's going to bring you out better. In the Old Testament, God sent plagues on Pharaoh and his people for not letting the Israelites go. The final plague was the firstborn of their children were going to be killed. God told the Israelites they had to put blood on the doorpost of their house. When the death angel came, as long as they had blood over their house, they were invisible to the enemy. There was no harm to their family. That night, thousands of lives were lost. There was all kinds of grieving, great sorrow. What's interesting is none of the Israelites lost their lives, yet they were living next door to their oppressors. Was it like they were hundreds of miles away? They were all in the same area. What was the difference? One had the blood and the other didn't. One was under the shelter of the most high, covered by his wings. The other wasn't.

14:32 When you keep the blood over your house, when you honor God, you stay close to him, you have an advantage. He hides you when trouble comes. He makes you invisible to the enemy. When calamity showed up at your house, like with them, it passes you by. When people want to harm you, when sickness, when early death comes, that may have been sent for you. Schemes and strategies that have your name on them, stay in peace. You're covered by the blood. You're under the shelter of the most high. Things that take other people out can't take you out. Trouble that defeats others won't stop you. Sickness that should be the end can't take your life. You're in a safe place. You don't have to live worried Fearing what might happen Fearing getting cancer fearing being laid off Enjoy with this pandemic. I'm worried about my business. What if my finances go down?

15:30 No, the good news is you have blood on your doorposts. You belong to the most high now get in agreement with him Lord, thank you that my finances are invisible to the enemy Thank you that my income my business my savings my property are all in a safe place. I know this couple that own a business and when the pandemic hit, it looked like it would go down. They're in the service industry with people not being out and having to stay home. All the facts said they would have an off year, but this couple had a different approach. They understood that when trouble comes, God will hide you, that he can make you invisible to what's going on around you, invisible to a down economy, invisible to an environment that says lack and not enough. And instead of complaining, their report was, Father, thank you that even in famine, we will have more than enough. Thank you that the economy is not our source, but you are our source. I told at the first of the year how we were going to see overflow, abundance, running over blessings. It seemed like an odd time, but they dared to believe for an overflow year.

16:47 They said this July, in the middle of the pandemic, they had their best month ever, broke all records going back over 20 years. They were so excited. Then August beat July. Then September beat August. They kept increasing, defying the odds. They can't explain it. Does it make sense when competitors are going down they're going up How could this be they are invisible to the enemy When you honor god when you keep him first place what limits others won't limit you Now you have to give god something to work with you can't go around with a defeated mindset Joel this sounds good, but i'm afraid my children are going to get off course This sickness runs in my family. I'm afraid i'm going to get it The scripture says what you fear is going to come upon you Quit living out of fear and start living out of faith Father, thank you that my health is invisible to the enemy that I will run and not be weary that with long life You will satisfy me Faith and fear have something in common They both ask us to believe something that we can't see Whichever one you get in agreement with is the one that's going to come to pass Well, i'm afraid i'm not going to get well You're using your faith in the wrong direction Turn it around father. Thank you that you're restoring health back into me This trouble may have come i'm dealing with this illness But lord, thank you that you are hiding me that you're putting me in a safe place that the number of my days you will fulfill A lot of times we don't realize it, but we're using our faith for the negative We're expecting defeat sickness trouble On my father's side of the family. There's a long history of heart disease high blood pressure My father struggled with it most of his life and I could accept that and thinks that's my lot in life But I have a different approach lord. Thank you that my health is invisible to the enemy

18:56 Thank you that heart disease can't find me high blood pressure may knock at my door But it's not going to recognize me. This is a new day. I'm setting a new standard The enemies we've seen in the past. We will see no more Don't go through life Expecting the worst Anticipating bad breaks. This virus is spreading everywhere. I'll probably get it too With all these negative influences my children will probably get off course zip that up You have the blood on your doorpost. You belong to the most high God These things may come But they're not going to stay They're going to pass on by why you are invisible to the enemy Trouble may have been sent you away, but it can't find you Sickness may have shown up, but it's not permanent. God has you in a safe place Nothing can snatch you out of his hands Enemies may be looking for you people at work against you. Your dream seems impossible. Don't worry God has you out of reach. He's not going to let you be found When my father went to be with the lord and I stepped up to pastor the church. I was very insecure I had never ministered before and thoughts told me that I wasn't qualified and nobody was going to listen Every week it was an act of faith to get up in front of people By the grace of god the church began to grow and people started watching and listening in numbers that we had never seen I was amazed at what god was doing But with the new growth and the new notoriety there came opposition People that didn't understand us. It was something that I had never dealt with This was four or five years in and it seemed like every week there was something new coming against us some group that didn't agree and some person writing an article. I was tempted to live worried, wondering if we were going to make it. I felt like we were always on the verge of one bad break from bringing us down. One night during that time, I had a dream. In this dream, I was out running

21:06 through an open field and there were these airplanes flying very low overhead, just 30 or 40 feet off the ground, dropping bombs all around me. One would hit 20 feet away. I would brace, wait for the shrapnel. I knew it was the end. It would explode, make this deafening sound, but nothing would harm me. I was amazed how I didn't get hurt. This happened a half a dozen times. Every time the bomb went off, but it didn't affect me. Finally, I ran to this small house like a cabin out in the woods. I was so afraid. It had two small bedrooms. I hurried to one and shut the door. I could hear these soldiers coming, their footsteps getting closer and closer. I was holding my breath, thinking, please, Lord, don't let them find me. Please let them pass. Then my worst fears came true. I heard them on the front porch. They came in the house, looked around the front room. Then they came to my room. They opened the door and I was standing there. My heart sunk. I thought, okay, I'm done. They looked right at me for about 10 seconds, just a few feet away. Then they turned around and left. In my dream, I realized they couldn't see me.

22:23 I was so amazed and so relieved. And as they were walking down the road, I woke up and I heard God say down in my spirit, Joel, don't worry about who's coming against you. How big, how important, how influential I have you hidden in a safe place. That's what David said. When trouble comes, God will hide you. I look back over these last 20 years that I've been pastoring. There's been a lot of chatter, but none of it stopped my destiny. Most of the people that were against me aren't even around anymore. What you're up against is no match for our God. He controls the universe. He knows how to hide you. Yes, it may get rocky from time to time. Bombs going off around you, so to speak. They're not going to harm you. Enemies knocking at your door, debt, trouble, sickness, calamity, stay in peace. You're invisible to the enemy. It may show up, but it's not going to find you. That sickness can't take you out. That bad break can't stop your destiny. That trouble looks permanent, but it's only temporary. Things are about to change in your favor. That's what happened to Peter in Acts chapter 12. He was arrested for sharing his faith and put in prison. King Herod ordered 16 soldiers to guard him. He wanted to make sure he didn't escape. He had him chained between two soldiers in his cell. The night before Peter was to go on trial, he was asleep in prison. The other guards standing outside his cell when an angel appeared. He woke Peter up and told him to get dressed. They were about to leave. Suddenly the chains fell off his feet. The angel said, come with me. The prison doors opened of their own accord.

24:17 They walked past the first set of guards four men Nobody saw them the second set. Nobody saw them the third the fourth They went by 16 soldiers who were diligently watching Ordered by the king and yet none of them saw peter God knows how to make it invisible to your enemies. He didn't say we would never have problems But he did promise when trouble comes he will hide you He won't let the circumstances stop your purpose. He has angels watching over you right now Protecting you guarding you. He knows how to open doors that you can't open How to get you out of problems that look impossible how to blind the eyes of those who are trying to hold you back And what you're facing may look permanent Like peter, you don't see a way out. The odds are against you. You don't know what god is up to And that's why we don't have to live in fear There are a lot of negative things that could happen accidents Sicknesses trouble bad breaks. We could go around worried stressed But when you know god has you hidden that he's put you in a safe place That because the blood is over your doorpost because you belong to him. He's made you invisible to the enemy He has a hedge of protection that nothing can cross without his permission A thousand may fall at your side, 10,000 at your right hand, but it's not going to come near you.

25:51 Why? You're in the shelter of the Most High. He has you covered. He's covered your health, covered your marriage, covered your children, covered your finances, covered your dreams. Second Kings chapter six, the Syrian army had come against the Israelites, but every time the Syrians were about to make a move, God would tell the prophet Elisha and he would tell the Israelites. That way they always stayed one step ahead of the enemy. When the Syrian king found out what Elisha was doing, he was furious. He sent a great army with thousands of horses, thousands of chariots to go surround Elisha's city and capture him. When Elisha saw them coming, he had no chance in the natural. It was him verse tens of thousands of soldiers. He could have panicked, been depressed, but he understood this principle that God can make you invisible to the enemy, that plans that were sent to stop you, strategies designed to keep you from your destiny, cannot stand against our God. He knows how to put you in a safe place, how to hide you from trouble. It may come, but if you'll stay in faith, it's not going to turn out the way it looks. It looks like the sickness is permanent. Looks like your child won't fulfill his destiny. Looks like that debt will limit your future, but don't judge your situation too soon. Wait till you see what God is about to do. Elisha prayed something interesting.

27:27 He didn't say, Lord, deliver me. Lord, stop this army. Lord, protect me from these people. He said, Lord, please make them blind. He was saying, Lord, make me invisible to the enemy. What a powerful prayer. We should pray that every day. Lord, make my family invisible to the enemy. Make my health, my finances, my dreams invisible to the enemy. The verse goes on to say, and the Lord did what Elisha asked. When you ask God to make you invisible, he's going to do what you ask. Don't go to God complaining, telling him everything that's wrong. God, these people aren't fair. I've got this problem at work. My child won't do what's right. Try a different approach. Father, thank you that I am invisible to the enemy. Thank you that you have me hidden, that I'm in a safe place. The Syrian captain knocked on the door and said, we're here to see Elisha. Elisha looked surprised, said, sir, you've come to the wrong city. Elisha doesn't live here. Great man of God lying. You know, the Syrians did their research. They tracked Elisha, made sure this was his address, confirmed he was home, had people that could identify him. Despite all that, the captain was confused. He said, where is he? Elisha said, he's in another city. Follow me and I'll take you there.

28:57 Elisha led them to Samaria to the Israelites camp. Then he prayed that God would open their eyes. They realized it was Elisha all along and they were captured by the Israelites. How many times has trouble knocked on your door, so to speak, but when you answered, the enemy didn't recognize you. The trouble had your name on it. The sickness was your address. Are you sure this is not you? But God made you invisible to the enemy. He's been protecting you your whole life. There are things he has kept you from that you know nothing about. Schemes and strategies that were meant to stop you, but they couldn't find you. And yes, in those difficult times, it wasn't easy, but God hid you. Without him watching over you, you wouldn't have made it through the sickness, through the divorce, through the trouble. He doesn't stop everything, but he did promise when trouble comes, he will hide you. Instead of living worried, fearful, expecting the worst, have a new perspective. Because the blood is over your doorpost, because you belong to the Most High, you have an advantage. God has made you invisible to the enemy. Every morning, dare to declare it. Father, thank you that my family is invisible to the enemy. Thank you that you've covered my children, covered my health, covered my finances, that you've hidden me in a safe place. If you'll do this, I believe and declare like with David, when trouble comes, God is not going to let you be found. Like with Peter, doors are going to open you couldn't open.

30:40 Problems that look permanent are about to turn around. God is going to protect you, heal you, favor you, and take you to the fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name. And if you receive it, can you say amen? I'd like to give you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. This is how you put the blood over your house. Would you pray it with me? Just say Lord Jesus I repent of my sins Come into my heart I'll make you my lord and savior If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again We'd love to send you some information on your new walk with the lord Just text the number on the screen or go to the website. You can take our new beginnings class as well I hope you'll get into a good Bible-based church and keep God first place.

33:37 It's amazing what happens when you take a few moments throughout the day to connect with God. A moment to thank Him for His goodness. A moment to declare His promises. A moment to remember that He's working.

35:31 If you're not a partner, I hope you'll consider becoming one. Until next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you.