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Chapter 1: What is the main message of Joel Osteen's podcast episode?
Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend? We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you. It's great to be with you today.
And I hope you'll stay connected with us during the week through our daily podcast, our YouTube channel, social media, and you can come visit us in person. We'd love to have you be a part of one of our services. I like to start with something funny. And I heard about this minister that died.
He was standing at the pearly gates and the man in front of him was dressed in a loud t-shirt, sunglasses and blue jeans. And St. Peter asked his name. He said, I'm Joe Cohen, taxi cab driver, New York City. Peter checked his list, handed him a gold staff and a silk robe, said, welcome to heaven. The minister stepped up, said, I'm Reverend Joseph Snow, pastor of St. Mary's Cathedral.
Peter checked his list, handed him a wooden staff and cotton rope. He said, wait a minute, that couldn't be right. The taxi cab driver got a gold staff and this is all I get? Peter said, sir, up here we work by results. When you preached, people slept, but when he drove, people prayed. All right, y'all, 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 just the opposite. We all have situations that don't look like they're gonna work out.
Doors have closed on a dream, medical reports not good, a relationship didn't make it. All the circumstances say that we'll always be lonely, always addicted, always have a child that's off course. But the scripture says God turns mourning into dancing. He turns sorrow into joy. God specializes in turning things around.
turning sickness into health, turning addictions into freedom, turning lack into abundance. He has divine reversals where what looks one way turns out just the opposite. My mother should have died with terminal cancer, but just the opposite happened. She's lived 44 years past that diagnosis. The church should have gone down when my father died. That's what all the critics said.
But just the opposite happened. We've gone to levels we've never dreamed. That addiction should have limited your life like it did your relatives, but just the opposite happened. God set you free and now you're healthy and whole. We see this all through the scripture. Goliath should have defeated David. He was twice his size, but just the opposite happened.
David defied the odds, brought down a giant. The three teenagers should have burned up in the fiery furnace. Just the opposite happened. They came out without the smell of smoke. Moses should have been stuck in the desert after he made that mistake and missed his destiny. But just the opposite happened. God came in a burning bush and gave him another chance.
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Chapter 2: How can we find hope in seemingly hopeless situations?
He went to the king and said, hey, there's a group of people that are causing trouble, they won't obey your decrees. The best thing we could do is annihilate them, not let them live. Sounded reasonable to the king. He didn't wanna be overthrown, so he agreed to Haman's request. He took off the ring on his finger and gave it to Haman, represented his authority.
He said, do as you have said with these people. So Haman wrote an official decree that on March the 7th, one year from then, all the Jews would be killed. Their property would be given to whoever killed them. He sent the fastest messengers to deliver this decree throughout the land. When the Jewish people received it, there was great weeping and wailing.
The scripture says, many stayed in bed in sackcloth and ashes, so depressed. Well, someone told Esther that Mordecai was in distress, crying at the city gates. She had an assistant to see what was wrong. Mordecai sent back a copy of the decree and explained what Haman was up to and how she must go to the king and tell him what was happening to plead for the life of her people.
You couldn't go to the king unless he called for you. She hadn't seen him in a month. She told Haman, gather all the Jews for three days, fast and pray, and I'll go see the king. She put her life on the line and went to see the king. The king was very gracious. He said, Esther, what do you want? I'll give you anything up to half of my kingdom. She didn't have the courage to tell him right then.
She said, I would like for you and Haman to come to a banquet that I prepared. The king agreed. Haman got the word, felt so honored. At the banquet, the king said, now Esther, tell me, what do you want? She still couldn't find the courage to do it yet. She said, King, if you're pleased with me, I want you to come to a banquet with Haman tomorrow night. Then I'll tell you what this is all about.
Verse nine says, what a happy man Haman was as he left that banquet. He went out of there on cloud nine, having dinner with royalty, gonna do it again tomorrow night. He bragged to his friends about how honored he was, all the authority he had been given. Sometimes it looks like your enemies are being promoted. They're being honored when you know they're plotting evil.
They're doing the wrong thing. Don't worry, their time is coming. God is your vindicator. You don't have to live upset and try to pay people back. He's going to take care of those who are plotting against you. They went to the banquet the next night. Haman sitting there so proud. The king said it again. Esther, what can I do for you?
She said, your majesty, this is my request that you would spare my life and the life of my people. The king was appalled. He said, who would dare try to harm you? She pointed at Haman and said, he has written a decree to annihilate me and all my people. The scripture says Haman grew pale with fright from honor to dishonor in one second.
The king jumped up in such a rage, so upset, he ran out to the courtyard. Haman came over and fell on Esther and began to beg for his life. About that time, the king came back in and saw him all over Esther. He said, are you even going to assault my wife right in front of my eyes? An assistant came over and said, Haman has set up some gallows outside to hang Mordecai on.
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Chapter 3: What biblical stories illustrate divine reversals?
But what he means for harm, God knows how to turn to your advantage. God has these divine reversals where it turns out just the opposite of what it looks like. Don't be discouraged by the circumstances. You may have a Haman in your life. An obstacle that's bigger and stronger. The medical report, an addiction, the debt, the anxiety. Seems like it has the upper hand.
You're at the mercy of what's against you. But God sees what you're going through. He knows who did you wrong, how you don't see a way, those lonely nights. Like with Esther, your time is coming. There will be a day where the tables will turn. Divine reversals. Your health turns around. You can't explain it. It's the hand of God. Your business takes off or that dark cloud lifts off of you.
Lies told you that you'd always be depressed, but it's just the opposite. You're full of joy. You've got your passion back. Relationship didn't work out. Someone walked away and lies will tell you just live with a broken heart. You'll never be happy again. Can I encourage you? It's going to be just the opposite. You will love again. You will laugh again. You will dream again.
You're going to meet someone so amazing, you don't think about what you've lost. Or how about the lies that whisper, you've reached your limits, you've seen your best days, quit waiting for things to improve. No, the truth is you haven't seen, heard, or imagined what's coming your way. There's uncommon favor, uncommon opportunity, uncommon influence that'll catapult you ahead.
Chapter 4: How does God turn mourning into joy according to scripture?
You're going to look back and say with Mordecai, it was just the opposite of what it looked like. Haman said we were doomed. The truth is he was doomed and we lived on. Haman said I was stuck, had no authority, but God turned the tables and gave me what Haman had, the authority, the king's ring, the influence. Are there situations that you don't see how they can work out?
your health, relationship, your finances, instead of believing those lies and letting all the negative play, try a different approach. Lord, I thank you that you have divine reversals coming my way, that you will do just the opposite of what it looks like. Father, turn this sickness into health. Turn this mourning into dancing. Turn this lack into abundance.
Lord, turn my child from poor decisions to his purpose and destiny. Turn my family from strife and division to peace and harmony. Turn these ashes into beauty. Turn my pain into purpose. Get in agreement with God and you'll see some supernatural turnarounds. Not where he just brings you out and things resolve, but it's going to be just the opposite. It's far better.
Something that you never imagined. That's what happened for Esther and Mordecai. There was economic reversal. All of Haman's estate was given to Esther. She didn't ask for that. But when God turns the tables, he's going to exceed your expectations. The scripture says the wealth of the ungodly will be transferred to the righteous. The good news is you're the righteous.
Part of the just the opposite is going to be a transfer of resources, property, opportunities that you didn't see coming. Mordecai saw leadership reversal. He had no authority, no influence. He had to stay outside the palace. Nobody paid him much attention. But Mordecai was a man that honored God and lived a life of excellence and integrity.
He took his niece Esther in as a little girl, made sure she felt valuable and loved. He overheard a plot to assassinate the king and he secretly sent word to keep it from happening. He didn't have to do that, but he was a man of honor. He did the right thing when he wasn't getting the credit. Nobody was thanking him. It looked like he would stay in the background, just watch others be promoted.
But when you stay faithful, you keep being your best each day, serving, giving, loving, nobody may notice right now, but there will come a time where God turns the tables, takes you from the background to the foreground, from working at that company to owning your own company, from always serving others to having others serve you, where you can rise higher, have greater influence, honor, and respect.
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Chapter 5: What steps can we take to align with God's promises?
the Israelites saw emotional reversal. When they got the bad news, there was all this weeping and wailing, so distraught that they couldn't get out of bed. But when the king reversed this decree, verse 16 says, there was great joy and gladness among the Jews. In every province, there was feasting and celebrating.
Few months earlier, there was sorrow and weeping, but look at how God can turn things. Now they're laughing, joyful, celebrating with their family. You may be in a time of sadness today, dealing with things you didn't see coming, a breakup, loss of a loved one, a dream seems like it's died. The scripture says God is close to the brokenhearted.
When you're going through these seasons of sadness and disappointment, God is right there with you. It says in Psalms, he even collects all your tears. The enemy will whisper, you'll never be happy again. What happened to you? You're a victim. No, weeping may endure for a night, but joy is coming in the morning. Just like God did for Esther, you're going to laugh again.
It's not gonna turn out the way the enemy is telling you. It's gonna be just the opposite. Mourning turned to dancing. Sorrow turned to joy. Sadness turned to gladness. Verse nine says, the king reversed his decree. They saw legal reversal, an official decree. The law had been passed, but God is not limited by natural laws. God can change a law to get you to your destiny.
There may be a decree, a report that says this sickness is going to end your life. You don't have the education to reach your dreams. You'll be defined by that loss. The good news is God has an override button. He knows how to supersede laws and change things that look unchangeable. The scripture says God can turn the heart of a king. We may not be able to change people's minds, but God can.
Some friends of mine have a successful business and for many years, everything was going great, but one of their accountants made some mistakes on filing their taxes. The IRS said they owed them $100,000. They didn't have those funds and this could put them out of business. They're faithful members here at Lakewood.
They know how to pray, believe and declare, but all the facts said they weren't going to make it. Thoughts whispered, you're gonna go bankrupt. After all these years of hard work, you're going to end up with nothing. They met with the representative at the IRS and asked if they could have some kind of payment plan to pay it off over time. But this woman was very harsh and not understanding.
She demanded that they pay it all in full right then or there were going to be even more legal penalties. They left that day so discouraged, not knowing what to do. The scripture says when the enemy comes in like a flood, God will raise up a barrier. You're not fighting by yourself. God won't let you get in a problem that he can't bring you out of.
They didn't see a way, but they kept thanking God that he would make a way.
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Chapter 6: How can we overcome negative thoughts and lies?
They went back 30 days later for the final judgment. They walked into the lady's office and sat down, waited for her to come in. In a few minutes, another woman walked in that they had never seen. They were surprised and asked where their representative was. She said she had moved to another state and now she was in charge of their account.
This woman could not have been more opposite than the other woman. Kind, understanding, looking for options. She took their material and said, let me go study this and see if I can find a solution. She came back in a half hour and said, I don't agree with what the other woman found. I don't think you filed your taxes wrong. You don't owe us $100,000. She said, I'll make a deal with you.
If you'll write a check for $100 today, this will be settled right now. They didn't see that coming. It was just the opposite of what they thought. God knows how to reverse things, how to turn the tables and move the wrong people out of your way. Put the right people, people that'll be for you, people that'll go out of their way to help you that want you to succeed.
Like my friends, you may be in a situation that doesn't look like it's going to work out. Thoughts are telling you all the worst case scenarios. You could live negative, dreading things. But can I encourage you? God has some of these just the opposite moments lined up for you. Things you never saw coming. Divine reversals. You couldn't make it happen. God turned the tables.
God reversed the decree. God changed the people's mind. Second Kings chapter six, the king of Aram had sent hundreds of troops and chariots to capture Elijah. They snuck up at night and surrounded his house. The next morning, Elisha's assistant went out and when he saw the army surrounding them, he was terrified. He ran back, woke Elisha up, said, there's a huge army surrounding us.
We're trapped. We have no way to get out. Elisha said, don't worry. There are more for us than there are against us. said, Elisha, are you still dreaming? It's just you and me. There are thousands of them. Elisha prayed, Lord, open his eyes so he can see. He went back and to look again.
This time he saw hundreds of thousands of the heavenly armies, these warring angels and these chariots of fire surrounding the other army. It looked like he and Elisha were surrounded. The truth is, it was just the opposite. The other army was surrounded. It may feel like you're surrounded today.
What you're up against seems bigger, stronger, but if you could see into this unseen realm, it's just the opposite. God is surrounding what's surrounding you. Feels like that cancer has you surrounded. It's just the opposite. God has the cancer surrounding. Seems like that debt, lack, can't get ahead, has you surrounded. Have a new perspective.
The most high God is surrounding everything that's surrounding you. January of 1999, my father went to be with the Lord and I started pastoring. There's a lot of momentum. The church was growing. I announced that October that on the first Sunday of 2000, we were going to start an additional Sunday morning service at 8.30. I'd prayed about it and believed it was the right thing.
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