Keep Speaking Victory | Joel Osteen

1:50 Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes and I hope you'll stay connected with us throughout the week We have a daily podcast that you can download You can go to our youtube channel and watch the messages anytime or you can follow us on social media But we want to keep you encouraged and inspired, but thanks so much for tuning in. Thanks again for coming out I like to start with something funny and I heard about this minister He was driving down the road when he got pulled over by a policeman The officer came to his window and smelled alcohol. He saw a thermos and said sir, what are you drinking? The minister said just water officer. He asked to see the thermos He took one sniff and said this smells like wine to me. The minister said what do you know? Jesus did it again 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 keep speaking victory Our words are setting the direction for our lives If you want to know what you're going to be like five years from now Listen to what you're saying about yourself. Well, i'll never get well I'll never break this addiction. I'll never meet the right person. You are prophesying your future You can't speak defeat and have victory. You can't talk sickness and have health You can't speak lack and struggle and have abundance The scripture says you will eat the fruit of your words Pay attention to what you're saying about yourself your family your finances your health You're going to become what you're continually saying That's why it's so important to get in a habit of speaking victory over your life All through the day. I am blessed. I am strong. I am healthy

3:56 I'm surrounded by favor. Something good is going to happen to me The fruit of those words are blessing favor abundance It's not enough to just think it we give life to our faith by speaking it out When you're in tough times, you can complain talk about the problem. I can't believe this happened Or you can say father. Thank you that you're fighting my battles Thank you that what was meant for harm. You're turning to my advantage Thank you that you always caused me to triumph that i'll come out of this better than I was before That's prophesying victory. That's prophesying a breakthrough Don't use your words to describe the situation. Use your words to change the situation Well, i'll never get out of this problem. You're inviting defeat. I'm not that talented You're inviting limitations. I'll never accomplish my dreams. I don't have the connections. You're inviting Mediocrity you need to send out some new invitations You may be struggling with depression. Your report should be this is only temporary This is not who I am. I am free. I am happy. I have a bright future The dream may look too big, but I know with god all things are possible New doors are about to open good breaks are looking for me divine connections. The right people are headed my way Paul said in ephesians let everything you say be good and helpful So that your words will be an encouragement to those that hear them One person that hears your words is you They go out of your mouth and back into your own ears If you hear them long enough, they'll take root in your spirit You believe what you say about yourself more than what anyone else says And there's nothing more powerful than you speak in victory over your own life When my father went to be with the lord and I stepped up to pastor the church Every thought told me that I couldn't minister Joel, you don't have the experience.

6:01 You're not qualified. You're not that talented. One thing I've learned is to not verbalize the negative. Don't give those thoughts life by speaking them out. And instead of talking about how I felt, insecure, unqualified, intimidated, I said what God said about me. I can do all things through Christ. I am strong in the Lord. I'm equipped, empowered, anointed. The whole time I was saying that I didn't feel confident. I didn't feel qualified I felt just the opposite But as I kept speaking victory as I kept calling myself who god says I am it took root on the inside Over time. I started to feel strong confident well able I started to see favor new doors opening god taking me where i've never imagined What happened? I ate the fruit of my words It may not happen overnight, but you have to keep speaking victory Keep calling yourself healthy. Keep declaring your children are mighty in the land Keep declaring those dreams are coming to pass James chapter 3 it compares the tongue to a rudder of a ship Verse 4 says although a ship is large and driven by strong winds It is steered by a small rudder wherever the pilot wants it to go It's the same way with the tongue.

7:28 Even though it's a small part of the body, it's steering your life. What you're saying is determining which direction you go. The good news is you have control over the rudder. You control your tongue. Are you sending your words out in the direction you want your life to go? I don't think I'm gonna get well. The medical report doesn't look good. That's the wrong direction. Why don't you say what god says about you? God is restoring health back in the knee by his stripes I am healed. I will live and not die My child's been off course so long. I don't think he'll ever make good decisions change your rudder You're headed the wrong way Father, thank you that my children are mighty in the land. You said the seed of the righteous My seed is blessed as for me and my house. We will serve the lord Well, I don't see how I can get ahead joel. Nobody in my family's been successful This pandemic is going to put my business under When you talk defeat you're headed toward defeat when you talk failure lack mediocrity you're headed that way Well, i'm praying that god will help me. He will help you but you control the rudder You're setting the direction with your words. Are you in agreement with god?

8:47 He said you're blessed. Are you saying something else? He said you're fearfully and wonderfully made a masterpiece crowned with favor Are you calling yourself inferior weak not attractive? Start declaring what he promised Father you said even in famine the righteous will have more than enough You said what I put my hands to would prosper and succeed when someone asks you how you're doing Don't go through all your troubles how bad it is, keep your ship going in the right direction. I'm blessed, I'm strong, I'm valuable, I'm favored. Think about a ship. It can be carrying very valuable cargo, oil, minerals, equipment, but all that valuable cargo is at the mercy of the small rudder of the ship. If the captain didn't steer the ship the proper way, if the rudder wasn't in the right position, the ship would never make to the intended destination. All that cargo would go to waste. In the same way, you are carrying valuable cargo. When God breathed his life into you, he put gifts, talents, potential. You have seeds of greatness. You are destined to leave your mark, to take your family to a new level.

10:07 The question is not, are you equipped? Are you favored? Do you have what it takes? Your ship is fully loaded. The question is, are you going to keep your rudder going in the right direction? Are you going to speak victory, abundance, new levels, or are you going to talk like you're average? I can't get ahead. I never get any good breaks. This addiction has been in my family for years. You're not being limited by your circumstances. You're being limited by your words. Your rudder is going in the wrong direction. What you speak, you're moving toward. When you speak victory, you're moving toward victory. When you speak health, you're moving toward health. When you speak overflow more than enough, you're moving toward abundance. And here's the key. You have to speak it before you see it. This is what faith is all about. The scripture says, let the weak say I am strong. You may not feel strong, but when you say I am strong, you're moving towards strength. You may be fighting an illness, but when you say I'm healthy, you're moving toward health. Perhaps you feel stuck in your career. Seems like you've reached your limits. But when you say new doors are about to open, something good is going to happen to me.

11:27 God has taken me from glory to glory. You're moving toward new levels, favor, something that you've never seen. Are you steering your ship in the direction you want your life to go? Is your rudder, your tongue taking you to blessing, increase, abundance? Or are you talking about what's not working out? How you don't feel that talented? The obstacles are too big. That's going to keep you from your destiny.

13:30 In the scripture, God told Jeremiah that he was going to become a great prophet and speak to nations. But Jeremiah was young and afraid. The first thing he said was, God, I can't speak to nations. I'm too young. I wouldn't know what to say. God could have said, Jeremiah, I understand. This seems over your head. Don't worry. I'm going to help you. No, God said, Jeremiah, say not that you're too young. God told him to zip it up. He knew if Jeremiah kept speaking those negative words, telling himself that he was too young, not qualified, didn't have what it takes, that he would never become who he was created to be. Your tongue is the rudder for your life. It's determining the direction. Next time you're tempted to say something negative about yourself, Your future your children your finances zip it up Don't steer yourself toward defeat Say not you're too young Say not you can't get well Say not you'll never meet the right person say not you can't accomplish your dreams God wouldn't have given them to you if you weren't well able Verse 9 says god reached out his hands and touched jeremiah's lips and said I have put my words in your mouth. God was saying in effect, Jeremiah, say what I say about you.

14:58 Don't say how you feel. Don't say what the experts say. Don't say what it looks like. Start saying what God says about you. God said in Psalms, he will crown the year with a bountiful harvest. Even the hard places will overflow with abundance. You can go around saying, this is such a tough year. I can't wait till it's over. Or you can say, Father, thank you that even in hard times, I will have more than enough. Thank you that you're an overflow God, that you're not limited by my circumstances. You're not limited by the economy. Lord, I thank you that I'm blessed in a down year. I'm favored in a famine. I'm prosperous in a pandemic. I overflow. I have more than enough joy, more than enough strength, more than enough health. That's steering your ship toward increase, steering your ship toward overflow. I talked to a young lady. She was very successful in her career, but when the pandemic hit, things started to slow down and she was concerned about how it was going to work out. She heard me talking about how this was going to be an overflow year, how the economy is not our source, but God is our source. Something came alive on the inside. She started saying that all through the day, repeating it under her breath again and again.

16:19 Lord, thank you that the economy is not my source, but you are my source. Thank you for an overflow year. It looked just the opposite. Things were going down, decreasing, yet she was declaring increase, declaring favor, talking about the greatness of our God. What was she doing? Steering her ship in the right direction. In difficult times, it's easy to talk about the problem, complain, be negative. That's when you have to dig down deep and say, no, I'm going to keep speaking victory. God, you're my provider. You're my healer. You're my way maker. I may not see how it can happen, but I know you're still in control. She and her husband decided to start their own business. Against all odds, it took off more than they ever imagined. They just closed on their first house. Their business continues to increase. She said in the midst of all this uncertainty, with people afraid, struggling, we've seen favor in ways we've never dreamed.

17:22 That's what the scripture says even in hard times the righteous will have more than enough But I don't think this would have happened if she would have gone around negative complaining Pay attention to which way you're steering your ship what you're constantly talking about you're drawing in When you're always bragging on the greatness of our god talking about what he can do declaring what he promised you're going to draw in blessings, favor, increase. Psalm 35 says, let them continually say, let the Lord be magnified who takes pleasure in the prosperity of his children. It's interesting that they were supposed to continually say this. You would think they could say it once, twice, that would be enough. But there's something powerful when you go through the day, Not talking about how big the problem is how your back will probably never stop hurting How you don't see how that child's going to turn around instead You're saying let god be magnified who takes pleasure in prospering me who takes pleasure in healing me who takes pleasure in favoring me Are you taking time to declare god's goodness over your life?

18:38 Are you speaking victory over your future? It's not enough to do it every once in a while. It needs to become a habit Where all through the day we're declaring that we're blessed. We're strong. We're healthy When you wake up in the morning lord, thank you for another beautiful day And lord, thank you that something good is going to happen to me today Thank you that your favor is surrounding me Blessings are chasing me down Angels are watching over me that you being for me is more than the world being against me That's setting your rudder in the right direction You can't be silent and reach your potential Nothing happens until you speak your words give life to your faith Joshua said it this way this book of the law these promises shall not depart out of your mouth You shall meditate on them day and night then you will prosper and have good success It doesn't say they shouldn't depart out of your mind. If you think positive you'll be fine Not depart out of your eyes if you read it enough It says they should not depart out of your mouth If you'll keep speaking what god says about you, then you will have good success Mark chapter 5. There was a lady that had been sick for 12 years She'd spent all of her money going to different doctors, but still nothing had helped One day she heard that jesus was coming through town The scripture says she kept saying to herself When I get to jesus, I will be made home In the midst of the sickness. She was prophesying health All through the day not just one time but she kept saying over and over healing is coming Restoration is coming. A breakthrough is coming She saw jesus, but it was very crowded People were packed in all around him. She could have been discouraged complained Instead she kept saying this is my time Things are about to change in my favor

20:44 As she kept speaking it. She got closer and closer She finally reached out and touched jesus robe instantly. She was healed But notice the principle whatever you're constantly saying you're moving toward If you're always saying i'll never get out of debt, you're moving toward struggle lack If you're saying my marriage is not going to last we don't get along you're moving toward separation a breakup If you're saying i'll never get well This sickness will be the end of me. You're moving toward defeat and mediocrity But if you'll send your words out in a different direction, your life will go in a different direction When you say I am blessed you're moving toward blessing When you say I have the favor of god you're moving toward increase When you say i'm excited about my future something good is going to happen to me You're moving toward new opportunities divine connections Or when you say i'm going to break this addiction I am not going to live bound by this alcohol by this anger by this bad habit When you say that you're moving toward freedom breakthroughs victory Pay attention to what you're saying. Your life is going in that direction God gave abraham the promise that his wife sarah would have a child The problem was they were both way too old Abraham was 80 and sarah was barren Never able to have children. She had already gone through the change of life And sometimes god will give you a promise that seems impossible You're too young too old. You don't have the connections. The medical report's not good You don't have to figure out how it's going to happen. Just get in agreement with god Father you said that i'm going to have a baby. So lord, thank you that my baby is on the way The mistake we make too often is we send our words out in the wrong direction I can't have a baby. I can't get well. I'll never start my business

22:53 Negative words can stop what god has for you God told the israelites that they would live in the promised land the land flowing with milk and honey But negative words kept them from going in The 10 spies said the people are too big. There are giants in the land The opposition didn't defeat them. Their negative words defeated them They said we're not able we don't have what it takes. They became what they said They prophesied their future. They turned around and wandered in the desert for 40 years When god puts something in your heart Don't start talking about how it's not going to happen what you don't have how big the opposition is Abraham had this promise that seemed impossible. God did something interesting. He changed his name from abram to abraham Abraham means the father of many nations. He didn't feel like a father, but every time someone said, hello, Abraham, they were saying, hello, father of many nations. He could have thought they have the wrong person. I don't have any children. When he met someone new, he would say, hello, I am Abraham. He was saying, I'm the father of many nations. He said that over and over, month after month, it began to get down in his spirit. He had to see himself a new way before the promise could come to pass. The way God changed his self-image was through his words.

24:25 That's why it's so important all through the day, under your breath, you need to be saying, I'm blessed. I'm healthy. I'm strong. I'm successful. I'm talented. I'm attractive. That's helping to determine how you see yourself God changed sarah's name from sarah to sarah sarah means princes She didn't feel like a princess. She was barren Women in that day that didn't have children were looked down on she could have felt inferior Ashamed, but when someone said hello, sarah, they were saying hello princes Good morning, sarah. Good morning princes when she told people her name she was saying, in effect, I'm chosen, I'm favored, I'm blessed. She said all this while she was still barren. Your tongue is the rudder. It's deciding which direction your life is going to go. Every time Abraham and Sarah said their names, their rudder was pointed toward the promise. They kept declaring it year after year. When Sarah was 90 years old, she gave birth to a son. God did the impossible. What are you saying about your dreams, your finances, your children? I'm too old. I've made too many mistakes. I don't have the talent. That's going to keep you from giving birth.

25:47 You can't speak defeat and reach your potential. Why don't you start saying what God says about you? He calls you what you are before it happens. I don't feel blessed, healthy, favored. That's okay. just get in agreement with God and he'll make things happen that you couldn't make happen. I talked to a young man that came from a small town in Mississippi. He got a scholarship to play soccer at a major university, but his dream was to play football. His junior year, he talked to the coaches about it. They allowed him to switch from soccer and he joined the football team. He was the kicker. He was thrilled to be on the team, but the coaches never gave him a chance. For two years, he sat the bench, never kicked a single field goal. At the end of his last college season, there was a scout day where coaches came from professional teams and they would look at the different players and ask them to work out so they could evaluate them.

26:47 He was hoping he would get some good leads, but no one was interested in him. It looked like his days of playing football were over. Driving home from college He turned the radio on and came across our serious xm channel He heard me talking about how a shift is coming How you're just one phone call away from your destiny and how one touch of god's favor can catapult you to the next level When he heard that something ignited in his spirit. He knew it was for him He got his cell phone out and made a three-minute video telling people that he was going to play that year in the NFL. Most people thought that he had lost his mind. He had never kicked one field goal, had no track record, and you're going to play professional football? That doesn't make sense. He let that go in one ear and out the other. He started speaking victory. Father, thank you that opportunity is coming my way. Thank you that favor is causing me to stand out. He was setting his rudder in the right direction, prophesying his future. Four hours after he made the video, he received a phone call from the kicking coach of the Cincinnati Bengals football team, inviting him to come try out for the team. He couldn't believe it. He had never spoken to the coach, never met him. He went to the camp, tried out against all odds, he made the team. He became the only African-American football kicker in the NFL at that time. When you speak victory over your life, God will open doors that no person can shut.

28:25 He'll take you where you can't go on your own. The dreams he's put in your heart, the promises you're standing on, it's not enough to just believe them. That's important, but something happens when you speak. Angels go to work. Forces of darkness are broken. Good breaks come looking for you. And what you're up against may seem permanent. Just keep speaking victory. When the medical report is not good, keep speaking health. When business is slow, keep speaking abundance. When the addiction seems like it will never change, keep speaking freedom. When your family member is off course, keep speaking breakthroughs. If you'll keep declaring what God promised, not Joel, I tried this for three days. It didn't work. I'm talking about a lifestyle where you've developed a habit of speaking health, speaking favor, speaking abundance. When you continually do this, God said you will have good success. Friends, you're going to eat the fruit of your words. Make sure you're sending out words that you want to eat. If it's not positive, hopeful, faith-filled, zip it up. Say not that you can't get well. Our God is a healer. Say not that you can't accomplish your dreams. Our God is a way maker. Say not that you'll never have enough.

29:47 Our God is a provider. Now get in agreement with him. Start sending your words out in the right direction. If you'll keep speaking victory, I believe and declare like this football player, good breaks are coming. Like that woman, healing is coming. Like Abraham, promises that seem impossible are about to come to pass. Problems that look permanent are about to turn around. Favor is coming. Breakthroughs, restoration, abundance, the fullness of your destiny in Jesus name. If you receive it, can you say amen today? I'd like to give you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I 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 free information. Just text the number on the screen or go to the website.

30:51 I hope you'll get into a good Bible-based church and keep God