Estás saliendo | Joel Osteen

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God bless you. It's a joy to come to

your home. If you're in our area, come

and participate in one of our services. I

promise we'll make you feel at home.

Thank you for watching us today. And again,

thank you for being here. I like to start

with something funny, and I heard about a minister in

AC Colorado who gave a sermon on self-control.

He said with great passion, "If I had all

the beer in the world, I'd throw it in the

river." With even greater fervor, he said, "If I had all

the wine in the world, I'd throw it in the river."

Almost at the top of his lungs, he shouted, "If I had

all the whiskey in the world, I'd throw it in the

river!" He sat down, and the

worship leader stood up. He said, "To close, we'll practice

the hymn '365. We'll meet at the river.'

Lift up your Bible and say with conviction, '

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 receive the word of God. I confess that

my mind is alert, my heart is

receptive. I will never be the same again. In the

name of Jesus, God

bless you." I want to talk to you about what's coming out. We

all face situations

that seem permanent. Our health, our

career, and it's easy to think it will always be this way.

I will always struggle with

this

addiction, I will always have to deal with

this depression, I will always be at this same

level, I will never break the routine. Look at

something great. Just because it seems

permanent to us doesn't mean it's

permanent to God. God doesn't

allow you to get into something He can't get you

out of. Even if the problem was your fault,

God wouldn't

have allowed it. If you didn't have a way

out, He knew how to get you out of the problem

before you got into it. He

knew the end from the beginning. He had

the solution before you had

the problem. It may seem like it will never

change, but God tells you it's

temporary. You are coming out of that illness. You are coming out of

the chronic pain. You are

coming out of the loneliness. That debt, that

addiction, that legal problem won't last

forever. It didn't come to stay; it came

to pass. God has already created a way

out. He has already planned your

exit party. It's only a matter of time before you

see the breakthrough, the healing, the

abundance, the restoration, the new level.

Scripture says in Job that God

set an end to the difficulty, He

set an end to that mess. God is

the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the

end. He has already set an end to that

illness. That addiction, that

injustice at work, its

end date has already been set. When

thoughts tell you it will never change, you better accept it. It will

never get

better. You don't have to remind yourself, I won't

always be alone. God put an end

to this loneliness. Bring someone

wonderful into my life. I won't always struggle

with my finances. God put an end to

this lack. He has promotion, increase,

abundance coming to me. Or this

wayward child won't always cause me

anguish. The Creator of the universe, the One

who created the world with words, has already

decided the end date. Or perhaps that

addiction, these bad habits, won't

interfere with my whole life. God has already set the end

on His calendar. My time will come.

Freedom, fulfillment, victory are in my

future. That happened to a young woman I

knew. She had been addicted to cocaine

for 14 years. She knew it would destroy her

health, her family, her future. She was about to

lose her job again. She had done

everything she could in her own strength

to quit, with counseling and

treatments, without success. She wasn't

religious, as they say. I didn't grow up in a church like I did,

but I watched us on television, and every

morning I started praying, "God, please."

Help me, I can't do this alone. God, I

need you. Simply acknowledging God,

the scripture says, "Call to God and he will

answer you." The months went by, I wasn't

going to signify any change, I continued

fighting, but one morning while I was

praying, I felt this warmth come over

me. I couldn't explain it, I said. I felt such

peace, such joy, that I started to cry and

cry. Sitting there crying, it was

as if it was cleansing me. A

healing took place. From that

moment on, I never felt a

craving for cocaine. I didn't have to go through

detox, I didn't have to gradually quit.

Instantly, the addiction was broken. I

saw her a few months later in the

lobby. She looked like a

different person. Before, she was very thin and frail. She had

regained weight, her skin had

improved, she had this beautiful,

radiant smile. What happened? She reached the

final date set by the creator of the universe,

and if she remains in faith, a time will come

when God says, "Enough is

enough." You are my son, you are my daughter. I didn't make you to

live with addictions,

disease, scarcity, mediocrity, being

used by others. I made you to be

victorious, to be healthy, to be free to

lend and not to ask. Maybe God has

allowed it, but not I would have let him

in there if I couldn't get him out. He has already

set the end of the illness, the

legal problem, the family situation,

the struggle.

He knows that final date. It could be today, it could be

this week, it could happen

this month. What if he knew that in two

months, on the date God set

to end the difficulty, he wouldn't be

discouraged, thinking, "No, I never

have good changes." I recovered from

this illness. No, you would go out every

morning with energy and joy, with a

big smile, talking as if it were going to happen,

acting as if it were going to happen.

That's what faith is about. You have to believe it

before you see it; you have to act as if it were

true before you see any sign of it

happening. If someone asks, "Are you still

dealing with that illness? Are you still not

feeling well?" Don't report in 20

minutes how bad you feel, the

bad thing on the medical report. Your answer

should be, "Yes, I am still dealing with

this, but I can tell you that I am coming out.

I am getting better. God is

restoring my health, and He will fulfill the

number of my days." "Well, you are still struggling

with your finances and still have debts?" "Yes, I

am still there, but I am coming out. It is

only temporary. I will lend and not borrow." "

Are you still in the same boat?" Company,

same position. I thought you wanted something

better. Yes, I'm still there, but I'm getting out.

My new job is on the way.

God opens doors that no man

can

close. You have to be in agreement with

God.

He says that where you are is not where you will

stay. You go from drought to

abundance, from fear and worry

to peace, from pressure to joy, from

constant struggle and adversity

to God's favor. Maybe you don't see how it can

happen, but don't believe those lies. The

final date has already been

set. David put it that way. Even though I walk through the

valley of the shadow of death, he didn't say, "I'll stay in

the valley. There I built my house." I'm

stuck in the valley. In fact, he said, "I'm getting

out of this valley." The valley is

temporary; you're supposed to pass through it. It's

not your

permanent home, but if you let it become

permanent in your thinking, it will separate you

from your destiny. We are all struggling with

something: our health, a

financial difficulty, a struggle at work. Very often

we settle in the valley

thinking, "Oh no, I will always struggle, Joel. I will always have

back pain. There will always be

conflict and division in my

family. That's how we are. We plant

our stakes and build in the

valley." I ask you to do what David did:

pack your Take your belongings, pull up your

stakes, the valley is not your home, you are

only passing through, you are not a citizen

of the

valley, you do not belong there, you are in the

valley. You are not a citizen of debt, you are not a

citizen of cancer, you are not a citizen of

mediocrity, that position is temporary.

Maybe you are there for a season, but

the good thing is that your departure day has already

been set. God has already bought your

ticket. Maybe you are in the valley of

sickness now, the medical report is not

good, but cheer up, your ticket is

headed to good health. Your ticket

says you will live and not die. Maybe you are

in the valley of struggle, scarcity,

insufficiency. Your ticket says you are

headed toward more than enough, to

excess, abundance. Maybe you are in the

valley of loneliness, you don't have much

company, stay cheer up. Your ticket

says that divine relationships are coming,

new friendships, the right people. Maybe you are

in the valley of dilution, something didn't

work out, you went through a breakup, the business

failed, a friend betrayed you. Don't be

discouraged, don't let self-pity and

bitterness take root, that is not your

final destination. Your ticket says crown by ashes, your

ticket says what was meant to hurt you,

God will use it to... Your favor. And if he is a

prisoner of Hope, Zechariah said

God will bring you out with double what you

had before. He will remove you for the

unjust things that have happened. A friend

recently lost her father. She had a very

close relationship with him, and it was very difficult for her. She

is in the valley right now suffering this

loss, and I want us to see that we are not

supposed to stay in the valley.

Maybe we will cry at night, but in the

morning we will be happy. It says

new beginnings. Don't get stuck in the

valley. Don't drive your stakes into

dissolution, loss, and pain, thinking that you

saw your best days. Psalm 84 says, "

Passing through the valley of tears,

you will find springs of blessing." It

means that when you are in the valley, if you

maintain faith, knowing that God

has you in the palm of His hand, He will take

your tears and turn them into

springs to refresh you. You will have the

strength you need for every

situation. In Genesis 15, God told

Abraham, "I am sending your people, the Israelites, to a

foreign land. There they will be

enslaved for 400 years. Afterward,

they will come out with great riches." It is

interesting that God... Who sent them

into slavery? He said he's taking them to a

place that's going to be difficult. If that were

the end of the story, it wouldn't sound good at all.

We'd think, "God, don't do me any

favors." Actually, that setback was an

adjustment. There was something better. God brought him out with

great riches, with more than he

had before. When he goes through a

difficulty, a dissolution, maybe you don't

understand, but God wouldn't have

allowed it. Not only would He not be able to bring him out,

but He'll take him a step further and

bring him out with great riches, better than he

was before. A young friend of mine

recently had his car stolen. He was

going to school one morning, and his car wasn't there.

That was the first car he'd ever had;

his dad had bought it for him. They filed

a police report. A week went by, and

the car wasn't found. Another week and another. And every now and then,

when I asked his

dad, "Hey, have they found your

son's car yet?" he'd say no, but we're not worried. We

know God is in control. He

fights our battles; He'll take care

of this. Six weeks later, the

insurance company paid for the car because they never

found it. The young man thought he was going to

buy another used car like the one he

had. Before, but God never takes you out the

same. If you maintain faith, He will bring you out with

greater riches, greater joy, greater peace,

greater resources. His dad had a

very nice, luxurious sports car. It was perfect, it

looked brand new. One day, a friend

of his dad called him and said, "Hey, come to

my house. I want to give you something." His dad had helped

this man a few times. He thought he was going to

invite him to dinner or do something

nice, but instead, he gave him one of the most expensive, most

luxurious cars, the best of the best there is.

His dad couldn't believe it; he was

amazed. He thought, "Well, I don't need my

sports car anymore." So he cleaned it well,

detailed it, and gave it to his son. That's

how God works. Before the car was stolen,

the young man paid a monthly installment.

After it was stolen,

the insurance company paid it off

completely; he had no payments left. Besides, he and his

dad had better cars. That

stolen car was God's preparation to

bring them out with greater

riches. Psalm 66 says, "We went through

fire and flood, but you

brought us to a place of great abundance."

Perhaps he is in the fire now. Perhaps he is in

the flood. Well, prepare yourself; your

next step is in God's abundance. He will do

more than you could ask or think.

The fact is, God was able to prevent the

car theft. He is God; He controls the

entire universe. When you go through a

difficulty, when you face

adversity, maybe you don't understand it. Maybe you don't like it,

but God wouldn't have

allowed it if in the end He wasn't going to use it

to your advantage. Recognize that it's

preparation for God to do something

greater. In Exodus,

when God told Moses to tell

Aaron to let the people go, the

scripture says that God hardened

Pharaoh's heart so that he would say no. God was the one who

told him to let the people go,

but He also wanted him to say no. He

continues, saying, "I have planned this to

receive great glory at Pharaoh's expense."

There are enemies that God will allow in your

life,

not to make you miserable, but so that

God may receive great glory. Every time I see

my friend's new car, I think, "Look what he

looks at, what the Lord did." Maybe he's going through

a difficult time, but when

God brings him through, when he beats cancer,

when he overcomes that addiction, when his

marriage is restored, when he pays off his

house, when he achieves his dreams, everyone

will know that it wasn't just you; it was

God's favor. He wants to be noticed. In his

life, he wants to make an example of His

goodness, but we pray, "God, keep me from

all difficulties. God, don't let me

face any opposition." But if that were to

happen, number one, we wouldn't grow as we should be.

Our character

develops in difficult times; it's

when our faith is tested and

strengthened. And number two, if we never had

obstacles to overcome, we would

n't see the greatness of

God's power when we have difficulties. Many

times we think, "Why is

this happening to me? What am I doing wrong? I

couldn't be doing anything wrong."

God perhaps just wants to show Himself in our

lives; perhaps He wants to use this situation

to grant Himself great

glory. Once, Jesus saw a man who

was blind from birth. His disciples

asked, "Who sinned, this man or his

parents?" Jesus said, "No one sinned. He was born

this way so that the glory of God

might be seen." Jesus closed his eyes, healed him, and brought him out

of blindness for the rest

of his life. It was a testimony of

God's goodness. When the

city council voted for us to keep

this facility, we had worked

on it for almost two years—a dream

come true. We were very excited,

but a week later, a company

sued to Trying to stop us, I could

hear God telling me

inside, "Joel, just keep the faith, and when He

gives you this building, everyone will know it is

the Lord your

God." This building is a testament to the

greatness of our God. We can all

say, "Look what the Lord has done!" Your

situation may seem impossible, like

ours: the obstacle is very big, the

illness very bad, the business very slow, the

marriage has gone too far. Don't prepare yourself; you

are an excellent candidate for God to

show His strength. He specializes in

cases that seem very big, impossible,

without a chance. So when He

changes you, you will give Him great glory at the

expense of your

enemies. Scripture says, "God made

Pharaoh harden his heart." That tells me

that God is in control, including

our enemies.

When Satan wanted to tempt Job, he had to

ask God for permission even to

touch him. In the book of Acts, when

Saul was persecuting the church, he had to

get permission from the chief

priests to subdue believers. He was

heading to Damascus with papers in his hand,

thinking, "I have permission to make their

lives miserable. I have permission to

bring them down." But as he traveled, a

bright light shone down on him from heaven,

falling from his... The horse was left lying on its

back. What's my point? Even though he had

permission, God stopped him. There are times when

God will give the enemy permission to

test us. The enemy has the papers in his

hand, but just like Saul, God will

stop him. This young woman, addicted to cocaine for

14 years, God said, "That's it, I'm stopping her." We

can all look back and see the

times we know God stopped them. I

was on the highway once. I was

barely in my 20s. It was raining really hard, and I

lost control of my car. It started spinning

and spinning. At one point, I looked

up and I was going the wrong way. On the

highway, there was a cargo truck right in

front of me. It seemed like I could reach out

and touch the front grille. Just a

few feet away, I was revived in an

instant. I thought, "That's it, I'm dead." But

God doesn't let you get into something you can't get out of.

That truck should have

come running. The enemy had the

papers in his hand, but God said, "I'm not going to

use this to show my power in a greater

way." God stopped him. I escaped the

truck. The driver pulled over to the side

of the road where I was. It seemed like he had

seen a ghost. His words

were, "Kid." You must be living

well, he said, that he felt a great gust

of wind that lifted his entire trailer and

moved it into a lane. Just in

time, what am I saying? Whatever comes

against you, God can stop it. He can

stop the accident, stop addictions, the

family problems. The enemy will not have the

last laugh; it will be you. David said in

Psalm 129, "From my early youth

my enemies have pursued me,

but they have not succeeded in destroying

me." I can tell you that that difficulty will

not finish you. That setback, destruction,

sickness is not the end. God has the

last word, and He says that you will come out with

great wealth. You will come out better than you were

before. I read about a little fish called the

Moses flounder. It is a small fish

found in the Red Sea. There are also

sharks in those waters. Typically, those

sharks would eat this type of fish, but

researchers discovered something

interesting about the Moses flounder.

All the other fish in the same

size and weight category were eaten by

sharks, but they did not eat the

Moses flounder. And that is because it has a

unique defense system. When it perceives

any danger, it naturally releases venom from

its glands.

This causes the

shark's jaws to become immobilized. They showed a

picture. The fish swimming inside the

shark's mouth, all it had to do was

close it and it would have food. The only

problem was that the shark couldn't

do it. God put something in that little fish

to protect it. As big as the

shark is, it couldn't close its mouth; it had to

stay away for a few seconds before

its jaws would snap shut.

In the same way, as a child of the Most High

God, He has put something in you that

cannot be

defeated. Sometimes it may seem like those

jaws are going to close. The

medical report is bad, business is declining,

the odds are against you, but

Isaiah said, "No weapon formed against you shall

prosper." Perhaps it is forged, perhaps it

seems impossible, but the good news is that

God will stop it; it will not prosper. This

said David, "My enemies cannot

destroy me." Remain at peace. God has your

back; He fights your battles. He has

done it in the past and He will do it again in the

future.

The Hebrew teenagers, Shadr, Meshach, and Iego, refused to bow down

to the

king's golden idol. He was furious; he was going to have it

thrown into a fiery furnace.

Surely they prayed, "God, save us from the fire."

God, this... It's dangerous, we could die in there.

They wanted God to do it

one way, but He chose to do it

another. Sometimes God will deliver you from the fire,

other times He will make you fireproof and put you through it.

Those boys had their hands and feet

tied with ropes. They threw them into the furnace. It

seemed like the end, it seemed like they were

finished, but God never lets you go into

something you can't get out of. The

only thing that fire burned were the

ropes that bound them. The king

checked on them. He looked through

the furnace window. He couldn't believe it.

He asked the guards, "Didn't we throw

three bound men in here? I see four men

loose, and one looks like the living Son of God."

King Nebuchadnezzar said, "Listen,

boys, and from now on we will all

worship the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and

Abednego. Your

friends, your enemies cannot finish you off. They do

n't have the last word, but God does.

Perhaps He can." You are in the fire right now, you do

n't see a way out, but stay

encouraged. Where you are is not permanent, it's

temporary. You are coming out, not the same,

but better, with great abundance. When you

come out, all your family, friends, and enemies

will know that God's favor is on your

life. It will be a testimony

of God's goodness. Now remember, the

end of the difficulty has already been set, the

end of the problem, the scarcity, the addiction. The

final date has already been established. The good news

is that it could happen this week.

Get up every morning thanking

God that it is coming. If you do that, I

believe and declare that you are coming out of

sickness, coming out of depression,

coming out of addictions, coming out of

scarcity and struggle. The course of the battle

is changing. You could start planning

your coming-out party like the

Israelites. God is going to bring you out with great

abundance, great joy, great peace. There are

great victories in your future in the

name of Jesus. If you receive Him, you can say

today, "

Amen." We don't like to end our

program. Give the opportunity to be the

Lord of your life. Can you pray

with me? Just say, "Lord Jesus, I

repent of my sins. Come into my

heart. I make You my Lord and

Savior." That simple prayer is done.

We believe. Born again and a

church that teaches the Bible, keeping

God first, which will take you to

places you've never

dreamed of. From

New York Times bestselling authors Joel and

Victoria Austin comes a highly

inspiring and highly anticipated daily devotional

for couples, Our Best Life Together.

This new devotional will strengthen your

relationship and also remind you that God

brought us together to help each other

succeed and be all that God wants us to be.

Order your copy of Our

Best Life Together at Joelaustin.com. [

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