God Will Provide | Joel Osteen

We all have dreams and goals we want to accomplish. We know God's put it in our heart. Start a business. Build that orphanage. To send our children to college. But we don't have the means to do it. We don't have the resources. The position. The influence. Seems like we're limited. But the scripture says the wealth of the ungodly is laid up for the righteous. One version says it will be transferred into the hands of the righteous. You may not be able to accomplish your dreams on your own. What's in your heart is too big for your bank account. You have the vision. You want to leave your family better. But you don't have the position. The good news is a transfer is coming. God doesn't give you the vision without having provision. He's already lined up these transfers. Good breaks. Promotion. Divine connections. Because you're the righteous. Because you keep God first place. You're faithful. You're generous. You're good to others. God said he's going to take from those who are not using their resources in a positive way. They're not using their influence. Their means to help mankind. They're only focused on themselves. And he's going to transfer that into your hands. It's going to be out of the ordinary. Where you have the means to accomplish things you never dreamed. You can leave an inheritance, like the scripture says, to your children's children. You can expand your business. You can support that girl's home. You can move into that nice neighborhood. Here's the key. You don't have to chase the blessing. Chase after God and the blessing will chase you. These transfers will track you down. The scripture says when you honor God his blessings will overtake you. One version says they will catch you by surprise. You didn't see it coming. You never dreamed you could pay your house off. You thought it would take 30 years but then suddenly a transfer. God favors you. Promotion. An inheritance. A business opportunity. You never dreamed you'd be running that department. You thought you were stuck in the background. You never dreamed you could send your children to college. You thought you were limited. What happened? You came into a transfer. God suddenly shifted things. You went from the back to the front. From renting to owning. From not having enough to more than enough. And this transfer is not just material things but it's influence. It's honor. Prestige. Where people see you in a new light. They look down on you. Didn't give you credit. Wouldn't take your ideas. You keep doing the right thing. Keep being your best where you are. They don't control your destiny. They may discount you now but a transfer is coming. There will be a day when the roles reverse. They have the upper hand now but when the transfer happens you'll be in a position of honor. Influence. Prestige. We see these transfers all through the scripture. Egypt was one of the greatest superpowers of that day. They had more wealth and affluence than any other country. When God delivered the Israelites out of slavery as they were leaving Egypt the scripture says the Egyptians gave them all their gold silver and fine clothing. They didn't leave empty-handed. A transfer took place. These people had oppressed them for years. They had the upper hand. They were forced to work without pay in unfair conditions while their oppressors lived comfortably in nice homes with whatever they needed. The Israelites suffered in life not having enough being mistreated but the time came where God said I'm going to take from those who are not using their resources for the right purposes and I'm going to transfer them into the hands of my people. The Israelites went into the desert loaded down with the wealth from their oppressors. God knows how to transfer resources, transfer influence, transfer abundance. You may be in a situation that looks like you're stuck. You're at a disadvantage. You're not being treated right. My encouragement is stay in peace. Keep doing the right thing. A transfer is coming. God knows how to make it up to you. He has good breaks that will suddenly shift things in your favor. The Israelites wandered in the desert for years when they finally went into the promised land. The scripture says they lived in houses that they didn't build. They reaped from vineyards that they didn't plant. The clusters of grapes were so large it took two people to carry them. They didn't have to start from scratch. They didn't have to go in there and build, plant, work their way up. It was transferred to them. God has some of these transfers in your future. Houses that you didn't build, vineyards that you didn't plant. That means promotion where you weren't next in line. Opportunity you didn't see coming. Blessings that chase you down. You didn't earn it. You didn't work for it. It's simply the goodness of God transferring resources, influence, favor into the hands of the righteous. That's what happened with us in this building. For 30 years, the Compact Center was the premier facility in all of Houston. Two million people came through this building a year. The Rockets won two world championships here. Practically every major entertainer had played in this building. Elvis, Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones. When we were looking for property to build a new auditorium, someone mentioned that we should try to get the Compact Center. In my mind, that was so far out. I couldn't fathom that being a possibility. I said, what do you mean? That building is worth $400 million. We could never afford it. My mind said, there's no way. But deep down, I could hear a still small voice saying, yes, Joel, it's supposed to be yours. It was a long battle, but we ended up signing a 30-year lease with the city of Houston for $11 million. That comes out to be a little over $300,000 a year to lease this building. We do events in buildings like this across the country. They cost about $300,000 a night. We rented this building for the same amount for the whole year. But here's how amazing God is. Seven years into the lease, the mayor called, said that the city was behind on tax revenue, asked if we wanted to purchase the building. We always wanted to buy it, but the lease was the best way to get the facility at the time. I said, yes, mayor, we'd love to purchase it, but it depends on how much it is. She said, let us run an appraisal and we'll make you a good deal. We had a 30-year lease with an option for an additional 30 years. So they had to appraise the building based on the fact that we could be in it for 60 years. The appraisal came back, not at 300 million, what the building is worth, not at a hundred million, not at 50, not at 25. They said, we'll sell it to you for $7 million. The land is worth many times that amount. What was that? A transfer. God putting resources into the hands of the righteous. See, in my twenties, I had season tickets to watch the Rockets play basketball here, right back there in section 104. I never dreamed one day we would own the compact center. God has these transfers in your future that are going to boggle your mind. Things you never imagined, resources, influence, favor. The key is, is your heart to build the kingdom? To help others, to take your family to a new level. If it's just for me to build my ego, to show off what I have, if I'm self-absorbed, that's going to limit what God will do. God is looking for kingdom builders. People that will use the resources, the influence to be a blessing, to accomplish your God-given dreams, to support that charity, to pay off that single mom's house, to leave your family better than it was before. In the scripture, Nehemiah was living in a foreign country, working as a cupbearer for the king. He had an ordinary job. One day, his brother came to visit him. He told how the walls of Jerusalem, their home city, had been torn down. Gates were burned. How the city was unprotected. The people were in danger. The scripture says, when Nehemiah heard this, he wept. He was heartbroken. For days, he mourned. He asked God to do something. God put a dream in his heart to go back home and rebuild those walls. That seemed impossible. He was living a thousand miles away. He didn't have the funds, the materials, the crew, the experience. But God won't give you vision without provision. You may not see how. The odds are against you. But what you can't see is there are transfers coming. Things that you couldn't make happen, God will make happen. The king asked Nehemiah why he was so sad. He said, it's because our people are in danger. Our city is unprotected. The walls are down. King could have said, too bad. It's not my problem. Don't bring your trouble to me. But the king said to Nehemiah, how can I help you? What's interesting is this king didn't worship Jehovah. He didn't believe in the God of Abraham, yet he's wanting to help Nehemiah. God will cause the right people to be good to you. Everyone that's going to help you accomplish your dream may not believe like you believe. They may not be living a godly life, yet they've been positioned in your path to help you move into your destiny. One of the main people that helped us acquire the compact center was the biggest partier. He loved to drink, to curse. He liked me, but he would make fun of the church. A colleague asked him to attend Lakewood with him. He said, no, I don't like going to the circus. He didn't offend me. I like the circus. Our brother Paul's going to come out in a high wire in a minute. I thought you can make fun all you want as long as you keep using your influence to move us forward. He was the big reason that we got the building. You may be surprised at who God uses to fund your dreams, to open that door, to put in a good word for you. The king told Nehemiah that he could take time off, go back and rebuild the walls. Nehemiah was grateful, but he said, I don't have any materials. I don't have any funds to buy the wood, the stone, the rock, the mortar. The king said, that's no problem. I'll give you a letter requiring people to give you what you need. Nehemiah said, that's great, but it's dangerous traveling back home. I don't know if I'll make it there safely. The king said, don't worry. I'll let all the governors know that you're traveling through their city. They'll watch after you. Should have taken Nehemiah years, but he rebuilt the walls in just 52 days. How could this happen? This king who didn't worship Jehovah transferred his funds, his materials, his favor, his influence. God will put dreams in your heart that you can't accomplish on your own. Don't be intimidated. God is setting you up for a transfer. He's put the right people in your path. People that will use their influence to thrust you ahead. You may not have the experience, the funds, the connections, but God does. You're just one transfer away from seeing that dream come to pass. One transfer and you'll pay your house off. One transfer and your business will take off. I believe many of you are close to seeing this happen. You wouldn't be hearing this if there wasn't a transfer on the way. Now don't talk yourself out of it. It'll never happen for me, Joel. I don't have the resources. I don't come from a prominent position. How can I do something great? You're right where Nehemiah was. He dared to believe. He dared to go to the king. He dared to pray bold prayers. Don't be intimidated by the size of your dream. God doesn't give big dreams to small people. There is greatness in you. There are new levels in you. There is a world changer in you. There is a history maker in you. That's why God put something big in you. He knows what you're capable of. Like with Nehemiah, he has people who will fund your dreams. People who will use their influence to open doors. People who will go out of their way to be good to you. It's significant that Nehemiah was weeping over what he wanted to make better. His heart was broken over the wrongs that he saw. This wasn't about having a big position. Being well known. Acquiring more. His dream was tied to building the kingdom. Helping people rise higher. Seeing his family, his relatives reach their potential. When your heart is to make a difference. When you're moved over that child you want to send to college. Moved over those people you want to help. Moved over those loved ones who are struggling. When your motives are right, then you will see these transfers. God is looking for Nehemiahs. People he can entrust with influence. With favor. With resources.