Better Together | Joel Osteen

Well, God bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes, and if you're ever in the Houston area, please stop by and be a part of our services. I promise you, we'll make you feel right at home. But I like to start with something funny, and I heard about these three men that were out in the wilderness. They came to this violent, raging river. They needed to get to the other side. The first man prayed, God, please give me the strength to make it across, and poof, God gave him big arms and strong legs. He was able to swim across in two hours. The next man prayed, God, please give me the strength and the tools to make it across. Poof, God gave him a boat. He was able to row across in 30 minutes. The next man prayed, God, please give me the strength, the tools, and the intelligence to make it across, and poof, God turned him into a woman. She looked at the map, hiked five minutes up the stream, and walked across the bridge. Say it like you mean it, especially the women. 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 better together. It's easy to do life on our own and think we don't need any help, but you won't reach your highest potential by yourself. God has ordained people to come into your life to strengthen you, to encourage you,

to push you toward your purpose. You've seen birds that fly in formation. When geese make that V, it takes 40% less energy for them to fly. They could do it by themselves, but they understand this principle. They won't go as far if they fly solo. Over 30 times in the Scripture, it says one another. Love one another, encourage one another, serve one another, comfort one another. You need one another's around you. Don't isolate yourself and think, well, I'm strong enough. I'm tough enough. I'm talented enough. You may be for what you have in mind, but not for what God has in mind. He has something bigger, something more rewarding that you can't do by yourself. Are you flying solo or do you have a community of faith? People flying with you, watching over you, encouraging you, inspiring you. After the football game the other night, the star running back was being interviewed. He'd had a great game, set a record for the amount of yards he had rushed. The reporter asked him how he did it. The first thing he said was, it was because of my offensive line. Those guys that block for me, they're the best, and my coaches have poured into me and made me better. My trainers have helped me to get stronger. He recognized that we need each other. You can be good by yourself, but you can't be great by yourself. You won't become all you were created to be without the right people around you. You can go 60%, but when you get in formation, when you have a family of faith blocking for you, praying for you, encouraging you, you'll go 40% further. The scripture says here, forsake not the assembling of yourselves together. When we come together as a body of believers, united in faith, there's something that happens that you cannot get on your own.

We draw strength from each other. As your praise gets mixed with their praise, power is released, healing is released, joy is released. Every time we come together, you're being refreshed, restored, re-energized. It's like your batteries are being recharged. What the weak took out of you, God is putting back in you. And it's good to worship on your own. It's important to pray by yourself, but something happens corporately that doesn't happen individually. That's why David said, let us magnify the Lord together. When we come together to magnify God, it's like the intensity is turned up. There is power in connectivity. People tell me all the time, when I drove into the parking lot, I could feel something different. A man came last week, he had never been to church. He had tattoos all over his face, his arms, looked like he'd lived a rough life. He said, I don't know what's wrong with me. The whole time I've been here, I couldn't stop weeping. I've never felt this before. This building is a former sports arena. I've never been large in my life. in here for 30 years. Nobody walked around weeping. What's the difference? When we come together in faith, an ordinary building becomes the house of God. Your faith mixed with everybody else's faith creates something powerful. It breaks bondages. It lifts depression. It brings healing. It restores joy. I'm glad you watch, glad you listen, but don't let this be a substitute for going to your local church. Let it be an addition. You need to be around a community of faith, and I know it takes effort. You have to get up early, get your kids dressed, drive somewhere on your day off. There's a lot of other things you could be doing, but you will never give God something without Him giving you more back in return. You give God the first part of your week. Take a few hours to assemble together. Connect with other believers. God will make up the time. He can give you one idea, one good break that

will put you six months down the road. God sees the sacrifice. Every time you obey, there's a blessing that follows. There have been times that I've come and had a lot on my mind dealing with challenges, but when I walk in these doors and hear the songs of praise and see the smile on your face, I can feel the victory in the room. All of a sudden, I have a new perspective. I'm reminded that God is bigger than anything that I'm facing, that He's in control of my life. It's like that heaviness lifts right off. I have a whole new attitude. What is that? God refreshing, restoring, re-energizing. I could have stayed at home and hoped to get better, prayed for joy and believed for a breakthrough, but there's power in connectivity. Your faith is making me stronger. Your praise is helping fight my battles. Your smile is giving me joy. When we come together, it's not only refueling you, but it's helping others. And sometimes we think, well, everything's great in my life. I don't need to come. Why don't you come and let your praise be for somebody else? Why don't you let your worship create an atmosphere for God to bless others? Your smile can be what keeps them going. Your hug can be what puts them back on their feet. I talked to someone that's been at Lakewood for over 40 years. When I was growing up, they helped take care of me as a young boy. They were telling me about how much the church meant to them and how they wouldn't have made it through some tough times if it wasn't for Lakewood. They were so grateful for what they had received. But all I could think about is how much I had received from them, about how many other people they've impacted with their faithfulness, giving, serving, year after year. You being here is making us all stronger. Your faithfulness is what's causing some people to keep moving forward. They came in and didn't think they could go on, but when they heard your praise, when they saw your smile, your encouragement, it breathed new life back into their spirit. Well, Joel, not me. I'm just one person in this big crowd. I'm just sitting way up top. Yes, but your presence made the atmosphere better. You brought God with you. You brought faith with you. You came with expectancy. And the scripture says where two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus, God is in the midst. How about when two or three hundred are gathered, or two or three thousand, or twenty or thirty thousand? I believe that it's multiplied. Every one of us is causing there to be greater faith, greater strength, greater joy. Together we're better. Together we're stronger. Together we're more powerful. It's good to watch. It's good to listen. I believe we're connected

in spirit. But if you live in this area, don't go the next thirty years and miss out. We need you. Not only will you make us better, I'll make a promise to you, we'll make you better. What you like on television is multiplied in person. But wherever you live, get plugged in to a good Bible-based church. Here's the key. Don't compare that church to this church. Your pastor may not be as good looking as me. I don't know why I say that. But that's okay. The blessing is in the obedience of assembling together. It goes on to say, as the matter of some is. That means some used to be plugged in. Some used to make God a priority. They used to make God a priority. to be faithful, giving, serving, attending, but they got distracted, they got busy. What they're really saying is, I can fly solo, I can do life on my own. The problem with not having a community of faith is you get out from under protection. When you're with a body of believers, you not only have people watching over you, but God covers you. He puts a hedge of protection that will make it more difficult to get off course. A man I know, he and his family, when I was growing up, they were some of our main leaders here at Lakewood, really great people, and I was friends with his children, but he got distracted. He decided he didn't need a community of faith, he's gonna fly solo, he's gonna live isolated, nobody to watch after him. He ended up losing his marriage, he turned to alcohol, he went way downhill, and now none of his children will have anything to do with him.

I thought about how different his life would be if he would have just stayed connected, if he would have continued that commitment to make God a priority, being here each week, serving with others. When you're in the house of the Lord, there is a protection that God puts on you. There are battles that you won't have to fight, temptations you won't have to deal with, struggles you won't have to go through because you're connected, you're plugged in, you're honoring God. Now, I can't think of a better gift to give your children than to raise them in the house of the Lord. Some people won't understand, why are you getting up early on your day off to not just go to church? You go early to serve, you stay late to help others, what's wrong with you? They don't realize that's not only refueling you, but the scripture says, when you're planted in the house of the Lord, you will flourish. When you're plugged in, faithful, you make being at God's house a priority, there is a blessing on your life that will cause you to bloom, to blossom, to flourish. You will reach levels that you could not reach on your own. David said, I love your sanctuary, the place where your glory shines.

You know what's happening right now? God's glory is shining down on you, his favor, his strength, his healing, his encouragement. Your week will go better because you're covered with the glory of God. That good break you had recently, that client that called and placed an unexpected order, that car that swerved just at the last minute and barely missed you, wasn't a lucky break, that was the blessing that comes from being planted in the house of the Lord. That's God's glory shining down, covering you, favoring you, protecting you, keeping you safe. But today there are so many distractions, good things can keep us from God's best. Well, Joel, I've got soccer today or I've got some errands to run, I've got a busy week, I'm gonna stay home and rest, all good things. But when you realize the benefits of coming together, you'll rearrange your schedule so you can be in the house of the Lord. It's all what we make important. I've seen people go to a sports, I've seen people go to a football game, sit outside in 20 degree weather, freezing cold, traffic is terrible, they have to walk a mile to the stadium, sit in the upper deck, can't even see,

their eyelashes are frozen, they don't complain, they don't get upset, they're a fan, they love their team. What if we had that same spirit? I'm a fan, I'm going to the house of the Lord, not to cheer on my team, but to worship my God, to thank Him for what He's done, to draw strength from other believers, to have His glory shine down on me. It says, don't forsake assembling together and so much more as you see the day approaching. It's saying, be sure you come together, but as the times start getting darker, there's more trouble, more calamity than make especially sure that you come together. We are living in a day where almost every week there's an incredible tragedy, school shootings, people driving buses into innocent people, viruses that are hard to contain, flooding, earthquakes. If there was ever a day we should come together, not out of fear, but to draw strength and encouragement from each other, it would be today. Yet this is a day when there are more distractions than ever, we're busier, we have more opportunities. You have to make it a priority that as for me and my house, we're not only going to serve the Lord, we're going to go to the house of the Lord. In the house of the Lord, there's protection, there's healing, there's encouragement. It prepares you for what you're going to face during the week. You'll make better decisions.

You'll have more creativity. You'll see more of God's favor. I saw a report on penguins. They live in a climate where the weather can get down to 40 below zero with winds of 120 miles an hour. The way they survive is they all huddle together. They stand side by side all around, as many as 6,000 in a group. Their feathers catch the warmth from their bodies. The temperature in the center of the huddle can get up to 70 degrees. Their protection is in their connectivity. But if one of those penguins decided he was going to do life on his own, he doesn't have time to huddle. He's got places to go, people to see. He's going to fly solo. It wouldn't be long until he was in penguin heaven. He couldn't make it by himself. His survival is dependent on staying connected. Same way with us. All that's going on in the world, distractions, calamities, opportunities for compromise, with all that cold, you can't make it by yourself. You need the warmth, the strength, the encouragement, the support from other believers. You have to stay connected. It's time to get plugged in. Don't go another year flying solo. You don't know what you're missing doing life without a community of faith. And the scripture says, when we come together in unity, there is a commanded blessing. We are here today from all walks of life, all races, all social standings, Democrats, Republicans, Aggies, Longhorns, Cougars, rich, poor, young, old. When we walk in the door, we put all that down. We are here as one family to worship a God who spoke worlds into existence.

Doesn't matter where you've been, the mistakes you've made, what nationality you are, who you voted for, what your occupation is. We realize even though we have differences, we are worshiping the same God because there is a spirit of unity because we know we're all a part of the same family. God says every time we come together, he's going to command a blessing. He commands favor, commands healing, commands joy, commands breakthroughs. What stopped you in the past? Every time you show up, it's getting a little bit weaker. You keep coming together faithfully week after week. One day that commanded blessing is going to break every force that's holding you back. You're going to step into a new level of your destiny. In Psalm 73, this man was having a lot of problems. People were coming against him. He was discouraged. He said, all I have is trouble all day long. Every morning brings me pain. I went to the edge of the cliff. I was almost done. After listing all these things that he was up against, he said in verse 17, then I went to the sanctuary. It tells how in the sanctuary, he got a new perspective. He could hear people thanking God, telling of his goodness. When he got around people of faith, people that knew that God was in control, that spirit of defeat, depression couldn't stay. A few verses later, he hadn't been in the sanctuary probably 15 minutes. He said, God, I know I belong to you. You're holding my right hand and you will lead me to a glorious destiny. He went from thinking all I have is trouble to I have a glorious destiny. What changed? Did he drink a Red Bull?

Did he watch Dr. Phil? Did he call the prayer hotline? No, he came to the sanctuary. In other words, he showed up at Lakewood. He could have been sitting down the road from you. Your praise is what created the atmosphere to break the depression. Your smile, your joy, your encouragement could have helped change his perspective. In the house of the Lord, we draw strength from each other. There are some breakthroughs that are only going to happen when you get to the sanctuary. Your faith alone may not be enough. That's why God has ordained you to be in a community of faith. In the sanctuary, your faith is connected to their faith and their faith and their faith. Before long, instead of small faith, you have mountain moving faith. What held you back individually could not hold you back corporately. I need your faith. I need your strength. I need your smile. By ourselves we're strong, but together we're unstoppable. By ourselves we'll get through the difficulty, but together we'll come out better. By ourselves we'll be blessed, but together we'll step into the fullness of the blessing. I wonder what would happen if you would get to the sanctuary more often, if you would make God a priority in your life. There's power when you're connected. In Acts chapter 1, Jesus had just risen from the dead and he told his followers to not leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit. Scholars say there were around 500 people there, but in chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit came, only a hundred and twenty were in the upper room. The other 380, maybe they were busy, maybe they had errands to run, maybe they were tired. Whatever the reason, they missed what God promised. Those hundred and twenty people in the upper room, the scripture says they were in one place in one accord. They were together in unity, and suddenly the Holy Spirit came like a rushing mighty wind. When you're in unity, connected with other believers, there will be some suddenlies. Suddenly your health will improve. Suddenly your business will take off. Suddenly you'll

meet the right person. In this year of yes, because you're planted in the house of the Lord, you're going to see unexpected favor, sudden turnarounds, things you couldn't make happen, God is suddenly going to cause them to happen. I read about redwood trees. They're the tallest trees in the world. They can reach heights of 350 feet and live for 2,000 years. They're incredibly resilient, withstanding strong wind, storms, pests, or things that would take other trees down. What's interesting is the redwoods roots only go down 6 to 12 feet in the ground. The largest root is 1 inch in diameter. How can these small roots that only go down a fraction of the height of the tree keep the tree up? What's unique about the redwood is its roots intertwine with other redwoods roots. They spread out a hundred feet and connect with the roots of all the redwoods around. So when the wind blows, even if it's a strong storm, the redwood doesn't just rely on its own roots. The whole forest is linked together. The wind is not blowing against one tree, it's blowing against thousands of trees. That's how the redwood can stand hundreds and hundreds of years. It has the strength of the whole forest. When you're planted in the house of the Lord, your roots get connected to my roots and their roots. Before long, you have a support system that cannot be shaken. When the storms come, what would have normally blown you over by yourself, because you're connected to other redwoods, we're there to stabilize you, to steady you, to encourage you. For that storm to take you out, it would have to take all of us out and that's not possible. One can chase a thousand, two can put ten thousand to flight. How about when we're all connected? Together, we can't be defeated. Together, we're powerful. The wind may be blowing against you today in your health, your finances, a relationship, trying to push you down, telling you it's never going to work out, you have too many obstacles. You need to know you have a lot of redwoods around you. You are surrounded by a community of faith. We're not going to let you go down. The enemy is not just dealing with you, he has to deal with all of us. Our roots are connected. We are planted in the house of the Lord. You may get weak, but we're going to be there to hold you up. The storms may blow, but

we're going to stabilize you. You may feel like giving up, but we're going to keep pushing you forward. That's the benefit of being connected. It's not just your prayers, it's all of our prayers. We're in this together, a family of faith. When my dad went to be with the Lord and I stepped up to minister, I could feel the strength from people praying. I could feel the support, the loyalty, how people wanted me to succeed. I was shaking. I didn't think I could do this, but I had a bunch of redwoods around me, people that helped me to stay up when I couldn't stay up on my own. You don't have to do life by yourself. If you're a redwood, All out on your own. You're not going to last very long You were designed to be connected. You need a family of faith. That's why we're here Every week we're going to steady you Encourage you challenge you inspire you we didn't meet by accident You didn't just flip across this channel. You didn't just decide to show up at Lakewood today God in his divine Destiny has connected us together We're better now. My question is are you flying solo? Are you doing life on your own? That's going to keep you from your highest potential We need you plugged in Committed faithful for the long haul without you. We won't be as strong You have something to offer that nobody else has when you're planted in the house of the Lord You'll not only go to new heights, but you're created an atmosphere for God to bless others This is the year to get connected if you'll do this I believe and declare because we're together in unity God is about to command a blessing on your life. You're going to bloom Blossom flourish and see the glorious future that he has in store in Jesus name If you receive it, can you 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. I Make you my Lord and Savior If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again get in a good Bible based church Victoria and I will be right back to speak a blessing over you