Joel Osteen Sermon Keep Believing For Your Loved Ones: Joel Osteen talks to you today about “keep believing for your loved ones” we all have someone that we’re hoping will change a family member that’s off course, a child that’s not making good decisions or a friend that’s struggling with an addiction. We’ve been praying and believing but it doesn’t look like it’s making any difference.
It’s easy to get frustrated and think that we’re wasting our time but if they’re going to reach their destiny, they need someone who will wait on them, someone that will keep praying keep encouraging, keep speaking faith into their future, telling them you may be off course.
You may be compromising, but I still believe in you, i know you have seeds of greatness the hand of God is on your life they need someone that will stand in the gap, that will believe for them when they can’t believe for themselves, someone that will cover them with mercy not judge them, not find fault but that will help love them back into wholeness.
We write people off too easily, where they are now is not where they’re going to end up; don’t judge them by the present. Before the apostle Paul was a follower of Christ, before he wrote half of the New Testament, his name was Saul and he hated believers he was the biggest enemy of the church, he went from city to city having believers arrested and even killed.
If we had seen him we’d have thought this guy doesn’t have a chance, he’s a terrorist, he’s against everything we stand for yet God told Ananias go pray for Saul he’s a chosen vessel to bear my name.
Some of the people we’re tempted to write off are chosen vessels, they’re going to advance the kingdom, they’re going to do great things, all they need is for someone to wait on them, someone to say yeah they’re off course but I’m going to send them a text and let them know that I’m praying for them, I’m going to invite them to lunch not to straighten them out not to judge them but to let them know that I love them, that I believe in them that if they need anything all they have to do is ask.
Will you wait on someone while God is changing them? In John chapter 4, Jesus was in Samaria waiting by a well, he had sent the disciples into the city to get food. While he was waiting a Samaritan woman came out to get some water, then the Jews and Samaritans didn’t have anything to do with each other but Jesus asked her for a drink of water she said, sir you’re a Jew and I’m a Samaritan why are you asking me for something Jesus said, if you knew who I am, you would ask me and I would give you living water, she said sir please give me this water Jesus asked her to go call her husband she told him that she didn’t have a husband Jesus said, you’re right you’ve had five and the man you’re living with is not your husband she said sir you must be a prophet, we know one day the messiah will come Jesus looked at her and said I am the messiah this woman went back home told everyone.
What had happened? The scripture says many Samaritans believed in Jesus because of her, what’s interesting is Jesus could have gone into the city to get food with the disciples, he was hungry but he chose to wait at this well. Notice who he was waiting for? a woman that didn’t have a good reputation, he waited for a woman that had been married five times, a woman that had blown it, people had written her off, the thought that this lady is messed up and when she walked by we can imagine the whispers, there she is wonder who she’s married to this week they laughed gossip.
We looked down on her because she was married so many times, the truth is this woman had been rejected by men, she’d been pushed down by life, Jesus waited for a woman that didn’t feel valuable, a woman that had very little self-worth, you would have thought he would waited for the mayor of the city for someone with prominence and influence after all Jesus was busy, he had a lot of demands but he chose to wait for a woman that didn’t have it all together.
He didn’t judge her, he didn’t condemn her, he spoke life into her, he lifted her and he valued her, Joel Osteen wants us to emulate Jesus.