Your Time To Reign | Joel Osteen

0:00 It's another great day to be alive, and we are so blessed to be here with you today. Victoria my beautiful wife, and we're just praying for you guys to have a blessed summer. I sure hope you enjoy the podcast. I know I always enjoy these messages. They're so uplifting and encouraging and inspiring, so we hope you enjoy the message today. Hey, God, bless you. So good to be with you today. We're praying for you guys and your families and hope you'll stay connected with us all throughout the week. We have a daily podcast that you can download.

0:30 You can go to our YouTube channel and watch the messages anytime. Follow us on social media. We want to keep it encouraged and inspired. But thanks for tuning in again, thanks for coming out today. I like to start with something funny, and I heard about this lady. She was sitting on an airplane reading her Bible. The guy next to her said, you don't believe all that stuff in there?

0:51 Do you? She said, of course I do, It's the Bible. He said, well, what about that guy that got swallowed by the well? She said, you mean Jonah. Yes, I believe that too. He said, well, how could he possibly survive that long inside a well? She thought about it in a moment, said, I don't know. When I get to heaven, I'll have to ask him. He said, sarcastically. What if he's not in heaven? She said, then you'll have to ask him. 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.

1:35 In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want to talk to you today about your time to reign. We weren't created to go through life overcome by problems, struggling to make it in mediocrity. God created us to reign, to be the victor, not the victim. He's already lined up moments of fever. What he's going to make things happen that you couldn't make happen. You didn't have the experience, but suddenly you're promoted. The medical report said you wouldn't get well, but somehow your health turned around. Your family has struggled for years, but suddenly you come into opportunity, promotion overflow. That's God causing you to rain. You may have circumstances that look like they'll never change. It's easy to get discouraged. Think I'll never get well, I'll never

2:27 meet the right person, I'll never break this addiction. It's been too long. It may look permanent, but God is saying it's only temporary. You're about to reign over the addiction, rain over that depression. The sickness looks like it's the end, but you're going to reign over the cancer, rain over the heart trouble. Even now, chains are being broken. Things that have held you back are coming down. New doors are about to open. Healing is flowing into you. I can see fear, depression, anxiety lifting off of you. This is a new day. Things that have been reigning over you, the loneliness, the guilt, the bad breaks. There's about to be a turnaround. It's your time to reign. It's your time to be free. It's your time to step into abundance.

3:17 The scripture says God has crowned you with favor. That crown is symbolic he could have said I've given you favor, I put favor on you. That would have been good. But he used the word crown to let us know we're supposed to reign. God didn't crown you to live defeated, burden down by fear, addictions. You are crowned to defeat enemies, Crown to take your family to a new level, Crown to succeed, to excel, to leave your mark. Anything negative that's been reigning over you, dysfunction insecurity, people trying to pull you down. There's about to be a shift, a change in authority. You're about to reign over what's been reigning over you. Second Chronicles twenty three, there's the story of a young man named joe Ash. When he was

4:08 a baby, his uncle, the King of Judah, was killed. One of the king's sons should have taken the throne, but the king's mother, Italia, decided she wanted to be the queen. She had all of her children and grandchildren killed. That way, she wouldn't have any opposition. Someone heard what she was doing, and they took baby joe Ash, Italia's grandson, and hid him in the temple. He was the only member of the royal family that survived his grandfather. Atalia's husband was a descendant of King David. If she would have succeeded in getting rid of all of her husband's relatives, then the promise God made David that one of his descendants would always be on the throne wouldn't have happened.

4:57 What God promised you will come to pass. People can't stop it. Bad breaks can't keep it from happening. What God started, He's going to finish. The priest in the temple was named Jehoida. He and his wife took care of little joe Ash year after year, keeping him hidden, knowing that he was destined to take the throne. When joe Ash was seven years old, Jehoidah went to five different army captains. He told them what happened, and they agreed to help. They all came to the temple saw little joe Ash. Verse twenty three says Jehoidah said to them, the time has come for the king's son to reign.

5:39 It didn't seem like he was ready to reign. He was only seven years old. He didn't have the training, the experience, the size, the wisdom, none of the circumstances looked like he was going to take the throne anytime soon. Yet Jehoidah showed up and said, it's time for you to reign. I can imagine little Joe saying, what does rain mean? He didn't even understand it all. What am I saying? God is going to do things for you sooner than you think. It's not going to take as long as it looks. When it seems the least likely, no sign of it, nothing improving. God is going to show up. He does things at unpredictable times. It's going to be unusual, uncommon, out of season. You didn't see it coming. Everything may say it can't happen now, Joel,

6:31 we're in a pandemic. My business can't increase. It's going to take years to pay off. My house had this addiction since high school. When things improve, then I'll believe no. Get ready. God doesn't do things on a normal schedule. He calls Sarah to give birth at eighty years old, out of season at a wedding. He turned water into wine.

6:56 Wine should take years to make. He did it in a split second. You're going to see acceleration. God is going to speed things up. What should take you a lifetime to accomplish is going to happen in a fraction of the time. It's not going to take as long as you think to get well, to get out of debt, to meet the right person. It's going to happen much quicker than it looks. God's going to do things out of season. A friend of mine works in real estate.

7:27 He owns hundreds of rental properties. When the pandemic hit, he was very discouraged. He didn't know if his business was going to make it. For several months, they were completely empty, no income. Just when he thought he would go under, people started booking his properties left and right. They got tired of staying in their houses, and his business exploded. He didn't see it coming. It was unusual, out of the ordinary. He made more in three months than he normally makes in a year. Is not waiting for the conditions to be right so he can bless you.

8:03 He makes rivers in a desert. In the scripture, Isaac planted in a drought and reaped one hundredfold return. God is not limited by your environment, by the economy, by the medical report, by who's against you, by how you were raised. He's about to do some things out of season, out of the ordinary, things that catapult you ahead. Joe Ash was born into a dysfunctional family, a chaotic environment, his grandmother trying to get rid of him. Family all gone, strife, confusion, all the odds were against him. Didn't look like he had any kind of future. He should have lived defeated, struggling overcome. What made the difference was he was a king's son. Maybe you've had some bad breaks. You weren't raised in a healthy environment. You feel like you had

8:57 a disadvantage. You've been overlooked, pushed down. That would keep most people in defeat, mediocre, but not you. You're a king's son, You're a king's daughter. You have an advantage. There is a favor on your life that will cause you to go where you can't go on your own. A blessing that will lift you up when life trust to push you down, and anointing to excel when you should be limited, to rise higher, when you should be stuck, to defeat the odds, to outlast the opposition. Bad breaks can't stop you. You're a king's son. That disappointment is not how your story ends. You're a king's daughter. That breakup, that sickness, the trouble, It's only temporary. God is saying to you what he said to Joe Ash. It's time

9:49 for the king's sons to reign. It's time for the king's daughters to reign. Put your shoulders back, hold your head up high, have the right perspective. Child. Who told you you can't accomplish your dreams, Who told you you can't go to college, Who told you you can't be happy? You've had too many bad breaks. The obstacles are too big.

10:14 That may be true if you were average, If you were ordinary, I might agree with you. But I know something about you. You're a king's son, You're a king's daughter. You have royal blood flowing through your veins. You have the DNA of Almighty God. You are wearing a crown of favor. It's time for you to reign. You haven't missed your chance. You haven't made too many mistakes. Your obstacles are not too big. Get your passion back, get your fireback. You wouldn't be hearing this if God wasn't about to do something unusual, something unprecedented. You're on the verge of seeing favor that you've never seen. I know a man that lives in another state. He would come to Houston several times a year for cancer treatment at

11:09 M D Anderson. This had been going on for six years. He was told that the cancer was incurable. The only way he could stay alive was by taking the treatments. He never complained. When I'd see him out in the lobby, he would always tell me how blessed he was to be here. The last time he came for treatment, his doctor, one of the leading cancer specialists in the world, said, in all my years of practice, I have never seen this, but this disease that's supposed to be incurable is slowly fading away, and you don't need to keep taking this treatment.

11:45 God has the final say when it's your time to reign. That sickness cannot stop you. It may be raining over you now, but a turnaround is coming. You're about to reign over it. You're going to reign over the depression, rein over the lack, reiin over the injustice. The reason the enemy is fighting you is because there's a calling on your life. There's an assignment for you to fulfill.

12:13 That's why at times, like with Joe Ash, you'll encounter difficulties that have nothing to do with you. You didn't choose what family you would be born into. You can't help that. There's dysfunction, people that don't like you. You came down with an illness. That coworker is stirring up trouble. Here's the key. It's not about you. It's about the calling on your life. If you weren't a king's son, a king's daughter, you wouldn't have that opposition. The fact that you have forces trying to stop you is a sign that you have an awesome destiny. The enemy wouldn't be fooling with you if you weren't a threat. Like I tell you, there will be people and forces trying to keep you from your throne. The good news is

13:01 the forces that are for you are greater than forces that are against you. You are not fighting by yourself. The most High God, the creator of the universe, is fighting for you right now. He's pushing back forces of darkness. He's making crooked places strength, He's equipping you, empowering you, breathing in your direction. Joe ash was only seven years old.

13:27 There wasn't any way he could take the throne in his own strength, his own ability God fought for him. God is not going to let you miss your destiny. What he has purpose no person can stop, no bad break, no sickness, no injustice. It may be unfair, you don't understand it, but your time to reign is coming. God has not forgotten about you. He has seen everything you've been through, the hurts, the struggles, the lonely nights, the The scripture says He's collected all your tears. He is not going to just bring you out. He's going to bring you out better than you were before. I talked to a lady that was raised in a very rough environment.

14:13 Her mother and father weren't around. At fifteen, she was living on the streets and she got into drugs and all kinds of harmful things. She ended up in prison. She had such low self esteem, didn't feel any sense of value, and it seemed unfair she had had all these bad breaks, no one to give her guidance and watch after her. In prison, she started watching us on television.

14:38 She'd never had anyone speak faith into her and tell her who she was. And she heard me talking about how we are children of the Most High God and how he has handpicked us called us a masterpiece, and she gave her life to Christ right there in the prison, against all odds. A few years ago she was released from PRIs. Today she owns her own business. She's happily married, she has children. She said, I used to be homeless, but now I own a beautiful home. I lend, I don't have to borrow. She volunteers here at Lakewood. She never dreamed she would be this blessed, this fulfilled. You may have been through some bad breaks, but that didn't stop your destiny. God knows how to get you to where you're supposed to be. Instead of thinking of all

15:29 the reasons it's not going to happen, turn it around. Father, Thank you that it's my time to reign. I may not see away, the conditions may not look right, but I believe what you said. I'm going to reign over this sickness, reign over this depression, reign over this injustice. Jehoidah went out and got five armies to help this one little boy become king. When it's your time to reign, the Jehoidahs are going to show up. God has already lined up the right people that will go out of their way to help you people that will use their favor to push you into your destiny. And sometimes we have people conspiring against us. But when it's your time, God will cause people to conspire for you. Those co workers that get together try to make you look bad,

16:20 maybe family members that leave you out. Don't worry. God knows how to turn the tables. He knows how to cause people to be for you and not against you. When we were trying to acquire the Compact Center, we were one vote shy. We needed ten votes from the city council members, but we only had nine. We had worked on this for two years. The main vote was just two days away. Didn't look like it was going to work out. A young Jewish council member, a man that had been against us the whole time, received a phone call from an older Jewish woman that he hadn't spoken to in over twenty years. He knew her growing up and had great respect for her. She told him, in no uncertain terms that he was to vote for

17:07 Lakewood having the Compact Center. Because of that lady. He changed his mind. His vote gave us this facility. What's significant is I don't know who the lady is. I've never met her. I never asked her to call. But when it's your time to reign, God will make things happen that you can't make happen. He'll have the Jehoidas show up people that you don't even know to put in a good word for you. I believe you're about to see God do some of these unusual things favor that catapults you ahead good breaks that you didn't see coming, healing.

17:44 When the medical report says that it's not possible, joe Ash's grandmother, Italia was still on the throne. These five armies all gathered at the temple and they brought joe Ash out. Verse eleven says Jehoida put a crown on joe Ash's head. They anointed him, and everyone started shouting, long live the King. When a tale you heard all the noise, all the commotion, she came running out. When she saw joe Ash, this little boy wearing the crown, and realized who he was. She nearly passed out that day.

18:21 She not only lost the throne, but she lost her line. Don't worry about people that are against you. God knows how to fight your battles. Someone may be on your throne, so to speak. They've manipulated things at work to get that physician. Seems like they're holding you back. God is a god of justice. He knows how to move people out of the way. He knows how to vindicate you, how to promote you. You keep doing the right thing and trust God to fight your battles. You don't have to manipulate things, try to pay people back, work your way onto your throne. When it's your time to REI doors will open that no person can shut. People that were against you will either change and before you or like this lady, they'll take off running. Let God fight

19:11 your battles. What's interesting is Joe ash hadn't done anything significant. He hadn't defeated a goliath, he hadn't parted a red sea. Yet the people were celebrating him, shouting long live the King. When it's your time to reign, you're going to see favor that you don't deserve. Doors open that you couldn't open, promotion when you didn't have the experience. People are going to go out of their way to be good to you.

19:39 That's what happened with the Compact Center. I don't know how I had the faith to go after this, I had only been ministering for three years. I didn't have the experience, the qualifications, but deep down I knew this place was supposed to be ours. The scripture talks about having the faith of God. Sometimes it's not even our faith, it's God giving us faith to believe for things that are way over our head. When the city council voted for us and we got the Compact Center, like Joe Ash, it was simply my time to reign. I can't take credit for it. It was the goodness of God making things happen that I couldn't make happen. You don't know what God has in your future. What I want us to see is these things don't always happen when you

20:30 think they would. Joe Ash was only seven years old, yet he had all these people fighting for him, protecting him, favoring him. It's because he was a king's son and it was his time to reign. It may look like that you can't accomplish your dreams. You don't have the connections, the experience, you can't get well. Your child is not going to get back on course, there's no sign of it.

20:56 That's when God shows out the most I'm not waiting for the conditions to be favorable. The scripture says even in famine, the righteous will have more than enough. Don't put your faith on hold thinking when everything gets better then you can be blessed. God is about to bless you in the famine, promote you in the pandemic, heal you in the struggle, free you. Despite what it looks like, this won't happen for everyone. It's going to happen because you're a king's son, a king's daughter. You're going to see these moments of favor where God catapults you ahead.

21:34 And yes, there are seasons of testing where we have to be faithful and do the right thing even though nothing is changing. But at a certain point, God is going to say you pass the test. Now it's your time to be promoted. It's your time to meet the right person. It's your time to be healthy and whole.

21:55 It's your time to see that business flourish. Don't get discouraged by what hasn't happened yet. You don't know what God has coming. One touch of his favor will put you fifty years down the road. You're not falling behind. You're being prepared. Every day you do the right thing with a good attitude, you are passing the test. You're about to see what God was doing behind the scenes, getting things lined up for you to go where you've never dreamed. I love the fact that Joe ash didn't go after the crown, but the crown came to him.

22:33 God has blessings that are going to chase you down, increase that is going to come looking for you. This happened with David. He was a teenager out in the shepherd's fields when Samuel came to him. David wasn't seeking fame, power, notoriety. He was seeking God out in the shepherd's fields. He was being his best when no one was watching. It looked like he was stuck. It was boring, lonely. None of the conditions said you're about to be anointed king.

23:06 But one day there was a knock on David's father's door. The prophet Samuel came to Jesse's house to anoint David king. I wonder who's about to receive a knock, Who's about to show up at your door? Who's about to see a Samuel? An unexpected phone call, a divine connection, a good break that takes you from the background to the foreground.

23:30 Something that you didn't see coming. Well, Joel, I don't think this could happen, not during a pandemic. God does things out of the ordinary when it doesn't seem likely, when you don't have the connections, when things have slowed down. Get ready for a knock on the door, Get ready for something unusual. Well, Joe, you're just geting people's hopes up.

23:53 You can't have faith if you don't first have hope. If you don't want your part, God'll give it to somebody else. Why don't you step up to who you were created to be. You're a king's son, You're a king's daughter, David said, what would have happened to me if I had not believed I would see the goodness of God. I'm asking you to believe that it's your time to reign. Believe that favor is on your life.

24:21 Believe that something good is going to happen to you. Samuel came to David the least likely one, the youngest son out in the shepherd's fields, an insignificant position. But when that one knock on the door, David's life was never the same. After he was anointed he went back to the shepherd's fields. Now it was different. When he saw Goliath, he picked up a stone, put it in a slingshot, brought down the mightiest Philistine warrior. He became an overnight hero. When it's your time to reign, you will defeat big enemies with small resources. You don't have to have great talent, great influence, great experience. What you have, with God's favor, will bring down great giants, great obstacles.

25:10 You and God are a majority. Chapter twenty four says Joe ass was seven years old when he became king. He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight throughout his lifetime. I believe one reason God crowned him at such an early age is God knew he could trust him. He knew he would do what was right. Joe Ash tore down the pagan altars, and he kept Jehovah first place.

25:38 Same thing with David. The scripture says David had a heart after God. David wasn't perfect. He made mistakes, but he had a desire to honor God. When God can trust you, when he knows he can count on you to honor him, to handle the influence, the resources, the right way, then there's no limit to where God will take you. You don't have to be perfect. We've all made mistakes. It's not so much about your performance, it's about your heart. Keep God first place. Do the right thing when it's hard, say no to things that are pulling you down. You're not just anyone. You're a king's son, You're a king's daughter. God is saying to you what he said to little Joe Ash It's time for the king's children to reign. You are coming in to destiny moments.

26:28 God is about to take you where you can't go on your own. It's going to be unusual. It's not going to happen on a normal schedule. It's going to be sooner than you think. Whatever has been raining over you, the dysfunction, the lack, the sickness, this is a new day. There's about to be a turnaround. This is your time to reign. I believe and declare that every force that has held you back is being broken right now. Good breaks are about to find the Jehoidahs, the right people are about to show up. You're going to reign over the sickness, rein over the depression, reign over the lack healing is coming, promotions, breakthroughs, freedom, the fullness of your destiny in Jesus's name. If you receive it, can you

27:19 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'll make you my Lord in savior. If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. We'd love to send you some free information on your new walk with the Lord.

27:44 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. It's easy in life to wear labels, mistakes we've made and what people have said, disappointments we faced. Those labels can diminish our sense of value and cause us to forget who we really are. And have a new book called Made by God.

28:13 Know it, receive it, and live it. It'll help you see yourself the way God sees you, valuable, talented, worthy, a masterpiece you've been fearfully and wonderfully made. I'd love to send you by new book plus the Maide by God T shirt from a good friends at Copper Fit. When you know who you are and who you are a child of the most High, you can live with confidence and step in to who you were created to be.

28:39 As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount this month, we would like to send you a copy of Joel's brand new book Made by God. Know It, receive it, Live it. You were not made by your mistakes. You were not made by what people said. You were not made by your hardest season. You were made by God on purpose, with purpose, and nothing can change that. This powerful book will help you silence the label's life has put on you and finally see yourself the way God sees you. Valuable, talented, a masterpiece. And when you request your copy, we also want to send you the exclusive Made by God t shirt from our friends at Copperfit, a daily reminder you can wear as a declaration of who you are and whose you are.

29:29 Set down what was never yours to carry. Request your copy today.

29:34 You are not your past. You are not labels life has put on you. You are made by God on purpose, for a purpose, and nothing can change your value. Victoria I. Pray for you and your family every day. Believe in you're going to have a blessed summer. Thank you so much for your prayer and support. Your generosity helps us take this message of hope to people around the world.

29:58 The special thank you to our Champion of Hope partners for all you do to make the ministry possible. Until we meet again, May the Lord bless you and keep you.

30:07 Be sure to request your copy of Made by God plus your exclusive copperfit Made by God Tea available this month by visiting us at Joelostein dot com or call eight eight eight five sixty seven Joel. With an additional gift, you can also receive the complete Made by God Designed with Purpose collection featuring the Maid by God Tea, the Designed with Purpose Hat, and the Maid by God Tote.

30:34 Each piece is more than something you wear or carry. It is a declaration, a statement of faith, a daily reminder that your life is not random. God has a plan for you. Wherever your day takes you, you will carry a message that speaks life not only over yourself, but to everyone around you. You can request these inspiring resources by calling eight eight eight five six seven Joel or log going on to Joelostein dot com Today, Call or click anytime, twenty four hours a day,