The Weight Of Glory | Joel Osteen

1:50 I hope you're encouraged and inspired today. Well, God bless you. It's great to come into your homes today. And I hope you'll stay connected with us throughout the week. You can download our daily podcast or go to our YouTube channel, watch the messages anytime. Or of course you can follow us on social media. We want to keep you encouraged and inspired But thanks for tuning in today I'd like to start with something funny and I heard about this archaeologist in new york He dug down 10 feet and found traces of copper wiring Dating back a hundred years. He concluded new yorkers had a telephone network over a hundred years ago Not to be outdone an archaeologist from california dug down 20 feet and found copper wiring dating back 200 years. He concluded Californians had a massive communication network a hundred years earlier than New Yorkers. Upon hearing this Bubba from Texas dug down 30 feet on his farm and found absolutely nothing. He concluded 300 years ago, Texans had already gone wireless.

2:56 Come on, 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 the weight of glory. Glory means honor, favor, influence. We like those things, but we don't always realize there's a weight that comes with favor, A weight that comes with influence if you're not prepared for it. The favor won't be a blessing It will be a burden We have to pass some tests before god will trust us with the weight of glory Nothing happens by accident Your steps are being ordered by the lord the delays the disappointments the bad breaks. Those are tests Will you be good to people that are not being good to you?

3:56 Will you stay in faith when things happen that you don't understand? You come down with an illness you're overlooked for a promotion. The pandemic slows your dreams These are all opportunities to prove to god that you can handle the weight of glory When you understand that god uses difficulties and things we don't like to get us prepared Then you don't complain when things don't go your way. You realize it's serving a purpose When you do the right thing when the wrong thing is happening, you're getting stronger Your roots are going down deeper. That's why god doesn't remove everything instantly We pray god take away this trouble change this person make me comfortable But if you're always comfortable, you won't be prepared We grow in the difficult times we grow when we have to stretch our faith Believe when we don't see things changing stay in faith when we didn't get the contract Those are very important times if what you're praying about isn't changing Then god is using that situation to change you And i'm not saying to accept everything live with defeat. I'm saying god has a purpose for it If you'll keep the right attitude, then it's preparing you for new levels It's getting you ready to carry the weight of glory to go where you've never gone to see things that you've never seen And the reason it's taking so long is because what god has in store is much bigger than you can imagine Now don't fight the seasons where you're uncomfortable. Why isn't this changing?

5:34 I've been doing the right things seems like the more I pray the worse it gets god knows what he's doing Everything serves his plan. You can't see it. But every day you stay in faith Every day you do your best at work. You have a smile on your face a song of praise in your heart You are passing the test. You can't see it, but your spiritual muscles are getting stronger Your character is being developed. You're showing god he can trust you I like to lift weights, but the weights don't do me any good if they're always easy If I get a 10 pound dumbbell, I can lift that for three days It's only when the weight is heavy enough to where there's resistance. It's uncomfortable. I don't like it I prefer to not have to strain, but that's the only way the muscle grows You may be in a situation now where you're uncomfortable God, why won't these people treat me right? Why won't my business increase? Why haven't I met anyone? You're in training This is an opportunity to get stronger If god changed it overnight, you wouldn't be prepared to carry the weight of glory God has something awesome in your future Don't get discouraged by what's not working out by how long it's taking by who's not changing Seems like it's all negative. But what you can't see is you're growing. You're getting stronger You're developing a greater trust greater confidence greater endurance. These challenges are all opportunities to come up higher But there will be people in your life. You're treating them right, but they're doing you wrong Leaving you out. They're jealous The time will come when you can get even you can pay them back. You can leave them out That's a test Will you do to them what they did to you?

7:24 Or will you be the bigger person take the high road and be good to them despite what they did? That's not just being nice. That's passing the test That's showing god that you can carry the weight of glory the weight of influence the weight of leadership God will not put you in a higher position if you're going to use the influence to mistreat people He will test you with small things How do you treat that clerk that's hard to get along with? How do you respond to that lady on the phone that doesn't give you the time of day? George, she was rude to me. That's why I was rude back to her besides. She doesn't even know who I am She may not but god does he's the one keeping the records Well, everyone at work slacks off everyone comes in late everyone wastes time. Here's the difference You're not everyone you're called to set a new standard God wants you to go to levels that others can't go They don't have the character the integrity. They don't want to live disciplined focused. That's fine for them But that's not who you are. You are exceptional You have a calling on your life. There's an assignment for you to fulfill You weren't created to just get by like others. You have greatness in you You were created to stand out to rise higher to leave your mark What you do in these seemingly small areas where nobody will know will determine whether god can trust you with big things This is more relevant today than ever Because you can get on social media be negative toward people Condescending say hurtful things all under a different name Nobody knew it was me. God is the one that matters Promotion doesn't come from people comes from the lord. The scripture says he lifts up one and sets down another Can you handle the weight of glory?

9:21 Can god trust you with more favor with more resources? Are you passing these tests? I have some lemon trees in our backyard and One of them had so many lemons on it that a couple of the branches started to touch the ground There were five or six big lemons on the end of this small branch about a half an inch in diameter Because the branches couldn't handle the weight the lemons didn't develop properly And sometimes we're wondering why we're not seeing more fruit God, why won't you give me more influence more favor more opportunity? It may be because our branches can't handle the weight right now If god gives you 10 lemons, but your branch can only sustain three. It's not a blessing. It's a burden Instead of focusing on the fruit if you'll focus on developing your branches Getting stronger being a person of excellence and integrity doing the right thing when nobody is watching Treating people with respect giving god praise when you could be complaining because your character is getting stronger, your roots are going down deeper. You'll be able to carry the weight of that fruit. David said in Psalm 1, when you keep God first place, you will be like a tree planted by the waters that brings forth fruit in its season. It doesn't say it's going to bring forth fruit year round. It's not healthy for that lemon tree to bear fruit all the time. It can't sustain that. And yes, we love harvest season. We love when we're seeing favor, prayers answered, new opportunities. That's great. But every season is not harvest. We may not like it, but winter is a blessing. Winter is necessary. Without the leaves coming off, the tree would never develop new buds. In the winter season, it looks like the tree is dead. No fruit, no leaves, branches are bare. You could think this tree is done. It's over. But the truth is in the winter, something

11:26 is happening that you can't see. The tree is gathering up sap. The roots are going down deeper. It's being prepared to handle more fruit in the spring. And if there weren't these different seasons, the tree wouldn't reach its full potential.

13:33 Don't complain about the winter seasons in life, the times you don't see any growth. You're stuck at the same level at work. Nothing changing in your relationship still single Your health is not improving. I wonder what's wrong. Where's all the fruit? Nothing's wrong. You're in winter You can't see it, but your branches are getting bigger The fruit you've seen in the past the success the favor the influence if that's all there was Then you would have kept producing at that same level The fact that you're in winter is a sign that god has more in store He has bigger opportunities more favor greater honor Now keep a good attitude in winter When you're not being recognized not getting the credit not seeing growth something is happening on the inside God is getting you prepared Paul said I can do all things through christ one translation says I can do all seasons through christ You may be in a winter season Not seeing the favor you've seen in the past instead of complaining try a different approach lord Thank you that I can do all seasons. I can do spring and I can do winter I can do harvest. I can do planting. I can do this pandemic season I can do this season taking care of my elderly parents I can do this season where i'm not being treated right at work where i'm dealing with this illness In those winter seasons like that tree you're gathering up sap you're getting stronger Your character is being developed. You're learning to trust god in a greater way All that is getting you prepared to carry the weight of glory the weight of blessing the weight of influence You wouldn't be in winter. You wouldn't be in this pandemic You wouldn't be facing that difficulty if god didn't have something bigger coming If you were going to keep producing the same amount of fruit then god would have left you alone The fact that your branches are bare the fruit is gone. There are no leaves. That's a sure sign that increase is coming

15:43 David said you're going to bear fruit in your season It may be winter in your life, but I sense in my spirit. You're on the verge of a new season You passed that test. You've done the right thing when it was hard You've stayed in faith when life didn't make sense. Now you're ready to carry the weight of glory God is about to do a new thing This next season is going to be something you've never seen favor opportunity influence greater than you could imagine But none of us like to go through difficulties But when you understand that without the winter you can't see greater growth greater fruit, then you don't complain You realize god is getting you prepared to handle greater weight Our thoughts will tell you winter is permanent You'll never meet the right person. It's been too long. You'll never get well never come out of debt Don't believe those lies winter always gives way to spring your harvest season is coming God is watching you. He sees you going the extra mile He sees you working hard making sacrifices and nobody thanking you He sees you fighting the illness, the lonely nights, praising when you could be complaining, giving when you're not seeing increase.

17:04 You're about to come out of that lonely season, that unfair season, that barren season into a season of great joy, great favor, great health, great relationships, great opportunities. Because you passed the test, you proved to God that you can handle the weight of glory. You're going to see him show out in your life This is what happened with david at 17 He was anointed by the prophet samuel to be the next king of israel But he didn't go to the palace. He went back to the shepherd's fields to take care of sheep He was hidden Nobody paid attention to him. It was lonely Boring taking care of sheep when he knew he had big things in him He could have slacked off taking the easy way out thought nobody's watching If I lose a few sheep big deal. Nobody's going to know about it No, david was a person of excellence. He did the right thing when no one was watching What you do in private will determine how high you go in public If you cut corners slack off do things half-heartedly That's going to keep you from carrying the weight of what god has for you You don't get stronger by taking the easy way out You grow when you do things you don't like the right thing when no one is watching Have a good attitude when you're not getting your way when it's not fair Your competence will not be the limit of how high you go Your character will determine how high you go There are a lot of talented smart capable people talent may take you somewhere But character is what will keep you there Your character is more important than your competence What you do in private when no one is watching will determine how high god will take you David didn't like being in the shepherd's fields. He was looked down on by his family Rejected by his father, but you never read where he complained where he got bitter He kept doing the right thing year after year

19:12 He had to prove to god he would take care of those sheep before God would trust him to take care of his people, the Israelites. And every day David was in the shepherd's fields, nothing exciting, no sign of things changing, but something was happening on the inside. David was growing, getting stronger, developing character. He was proving to God that he could be trusted. He didn't like the winter season where he was hidden, but it was necessary. Without that time proving he wouldn't have been able to carry the weight of glory The weight of favor that god was going to give him If god is going to trust you with favor influence authority, you have to be a good steward of it You don't prove that when you have it you prove it in the small things in your private life In how you treat people that can't do anything for you how respectful you are to your spouse your family If you're harsh and condescending with people you love, how can god trust you with greater influence?

20:18 After years in the shepherd's fields david defeated goliath and became an overnight hero When god can trust you he'll do things suddenly May look like you're falling behind You've been doing the right thing a long time Seems like it's going to take years to get to where you need to be Now one touch of god's favor will put you 50 years down the road When you come into your season When winter changes to spring god can suddenly thrust you to a new level David was working for king saul, but saul was jealous He tried to kill david david had to flee for his life He lived on the run in the desert hiding in caves. Saul was making his life miserable At one point david saw saul and his men sleeping This was his big chance to get even he could finally pay saul back for doing him wrong put an end to all this trouble But david wouldn't do it. He knew saul was the king and you were to touch not god's anointed Even though saul was doing wrong david had so much integrity such great character that he wouldn't harm song When saul found out about it, he wept. He said david you're a much better man than I am Not long after that, Saul was killed in a battle and David took the throne.

21:40 But I wonder if this would have happened if David had not passed these tests all along the way. Not just big things, but small things. Doing the right thing in the lonely shepherd's fields. Keeping a good attitude when his family did him wrong. Being kind to King Saul, not trying to get revenge. He didn't like it, but these things prepared him to carry the weight of glory, the weight of influence, the weight of favor. I learned much of this from my father. He was a man of great character and great integrity. The late 1950s, the church he was pastoring was going along fine, growing, seeing increase. But when my sister Lisa was born with a birth injury, he began to searched the scriptures in a new way. He saw God as a healer and a God that wanted us to live an abundant, victorious life. Unfortunately, his congregation didn't like his new message of faith and victory. It didn't fit into their tradition. And they ended up asking my father to leave.

22:45 He was devastated. He had seen great success there. They had just built a new sanctuary. He was on the state board for his denomination in that season. He saw great fruit, but now it was winter, no fruit, no church, no favor. He could have been bitter, given up on his dream, but he and my mother went out and started Lakewood with 90 people in an old rundown feed store here. My father had just come from a beautiful new building, stained glass. This feed store had holes in the floor. It was dirty, no windows. They cleaned it up, put folding chairs in it and head church. My father preached to those 90 people just as strongly and passionately as he did to the thousand at his previous church. For 13 years, Lakewood didn't grow. He was giving it his all, but nothing was improving. Still had less than 200 people. He could have been discouraged. God, I don't understand it, but he just kept doing the right thing year after year. 1972, suddenly there was a shift. People started coming from all over the city and Lakewood grew to a church of thousands that would impact the world. But those years where he wasn't seeing growth, years where there was no fruit, he was doing the right thing, but the wrong thing was happening. They were very important years without that winter season where he proved to God that he would be faithful. He proved he would do the right thing when it was hard. He proved he wouldn't get bitter and try to get revenge. That's what prepared him to carry the weight of glory. Everything that happens in life, the difficulties, the delays, the things that are not fair, they're not random. God has given you an opportunity to grow, to come up higher. He's getting you prepared to handle the weight of favor, the weight of influence. Now quit telling yourself, it's too hard. They did me wrong. It's been so long. Turn it around. I can handle every season through Christ. It's winter. I don't like

24:54 it. I'm uncomfortable, but I can handle winter. I know God is still on the throne. I know I've been armed with strength for this battle. I don't like this loneliness, but I'm not going to fall apart. I can handle a lonely season. I can handle this season fighting an illness. I can handle the season where I'm not seeing any fruit. I'm not going to just drag through it complaining. I'm going to keep a song of praise. I'm going to keep being my best. I know all seasons are working for my good. You do that and you're not just passing the test. You're getting prepared. Your character is coming up higher. Your spiritual muscles are getting stronger. At the right time, you will come out of winter into your harvest season. You'll see greater favor, greater influence, greater opportunities. It's because you can handle the weight of glory. But some of the difficulties that we complain about, the challenges that we don't like, without them, we wouldn't be prepared.

25:55 Instead of trying to pray away all the things that make you uncomfortable Pray away the people that get on your nerves pray away the delays Why don't you try a different approach and say god help me to keep a good attitude in the midst of these challenges Help me to stay in faith when people aren't treating me right Help me to resist the temptation to compromise to take the easy way out so my character can develop, so my branches can get stronger, so I can handle what you have in store. If God is not removing the difficulty, if he's not changing what you don't like, then he's getting you prepared to carry a lot of weight. The longer it's taken, the greater the harvest. The glory that's coming, the favor, the influence, the resources, it's going to be something that you've never seen. The scripture says, until the time came to bring Joseph's dream to pass, God tested Joseph's character. Before your dream comes to pass, God will test your character.

26:59 You have to prove that you can handle what he's entrusted you with. God gave Joseph a dream as a teenager that he would be in leadership, but he was betrayed by his brothers. They took his coat of many colors that his father had given him, it represented favor. They threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery. He was falsely accused and put in prison. These weren't just random bad breaks. God was testing his character. It wasn't fair, but Joseph didn't get bitter. He kept passing the test. His brothers took his robe, but they couldn't take his favor. They took his freedom, but they couldn't take his anointing. They took him from his home, but they couldn't take his dream. All these steps were necessary. They were preparing him for the weight of glory. If you had a small destiny, you would have small challenges. If you were going to have little influence, little resources, then you would have little opposition. The reason you have big giants is you have a big destiny. The reason the winter is so long is because your harvest is so big. 13 years later, Joseph was brought out of prison and made the prime minister of Egypt. His brothers, the same ones that sold him into slavery, traveled to the palace looking for food. There was a famine in the land. They didn't know Joseph was still alive. They pulled up to the palace. Joseph was in charge of the food supply. When he saw his brothers, he could have thought, okay, great. It's payback time.

28:33 This was his big chance to get even, but he wouldn't do it. He treated them with kindness. He had them go get their father and come back and live at the palace with him. God is not going to give you influence so you can get even. If you're waiting to get the promotion, the favor so you can show your enemies who you are, let them have it. You're not going to see the increase that you should. There's a responsibility that comes with favor. You have to have the character that will handle the influence the right way. You have to bless your enemies, not talk badly about them. Well, they're criticizing me. I'm going to criticize them. You'll get stuck where you are. God is testing your character. Are you going to complain in the winter seasons, live discouraged, I'm asking you to be a Joseph. Do the right thing when it's hard. That difficulty is not there to stop you. It's there to prepare you. God is about to release a new level of favor, influence, resources, but he's looking for people he can trust to carry the weight of glory. I believe you are one of those people. You wouldn't be hearing this if God wasn't about to do something new. Don't be discouraged by how long winter is taking. That's a sign something bigger than you've imagined is on the way. Now God is getting you prepared. Keep passing that test.

30:03 Every morning, remind yourself you can do all seasons through Christ. If you'll do this, I believe and declare a shift is coming. Winter is ending. You're about to suddenly come into spring, suddenly see opportunity, healing, promotion, breakthroughs, a harvest like you've never seen 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 give you some free information on your new walk with the Lord. Just text the number on the screen or go to the website. I hope you'll get into a good Bible-based church and keep God first place.