Living Joyful | Joel Osteen

God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes and if you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you, we'll make you feel right at home. I like to start with something funny and heard about this man. He was walking up to a country store and there was this little boy sitting on the front porch with a huge dog next to him. He said, son, does your dog bite? Boy said, no sir, my dog doesn't bite. The man reached out to pet him. The dog took about half of his arm off. He said, son, I thought you said your dog didn't bite. The little boy said, that's not my dog. 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 living joyful. It's easy to let the pressures of life weigh us down. We have traffic to deal with, bills to pay, people that are rude. If we're not careful, we'll look up and we don't smile as much. We're not as friendly. We never laugh, never have fun anymore. We have too much pressure, too much responsibility to enjoy life. But God didn't create you to live with a heaviness. You're not supposed to go around solemn, serious all the time, burdened down by problems. Taking time to laugh, to have fun, that re-energizes you. It helps keep you in balance. If it's all work, all stress, all dealing with problems, that's going to weigh you down. You can get so busy raising your children, changing diapers, getting them to school, making sure their homework is done, that you don't enjoy your children. It's all work, no time for playing. And sometimes we think we have to be serious to show that we're responsible, but you can be responsible and good-natured at the same time. God created you with a sense of humor. You were made to laugh, made to have fun. Have you let the pressures of life weigh you down? Are you always solemn, always serious? If you don't make this adjustment, not only will you not enjoy your life to the full, but you won't have good relationships. Nobody wants to be around a grumpy, sour person. That pushes people away. We represent Christ here on this earth. If you're a believer, you need to notify your face.

Put a smile on, be good-natured, be friendly, learn to laugh. The Scripture says a merry heart is like taking a good medicine. Every day you need to take your medicine. Find something that makes you laugh. See the humor in life. It's one thing I love about Victoria. She laughs all through the day. I can be in another part of the house and I'll hear her laughing. It echoes through the whole house. Sometimes I'll go in to find out what it was. It wasn't even funny. It was just something small. Most people would have ignored it. Not Victoria. She's looking for opportunities to laugh. She loves to have fun. She keeps a joyful atmosphere in our home. A while back, we were standing on the front row during worship. I had my eyes closed, my hands folded, thinking about what I was going to say next. Victoria is much more outgoing. She had both hands in the air, very expressive. All of a sudden, as I was contemplating in deep thought, Victoria threw her hip into mine and about knocked me over. I looked at her. She said, come on, Stiffy, lighten up. She calls me stiff. I tell her the right word is dignified. A few years ago, I was preparing a message along these lines and Victoria came in my office at home and asked me what I was going to speak on that week. I said, I'm going to speak on staying full of joy, seeing the humor in life. She put both hands in the air and said, woo-hoo, I don't need that, but you sure do. We've been married going on 30 years now and people ask me... They're clapping for me, Victoria. People ask me all the time, what is the secret of a good marriage? Always tell them, treat each other with respect and keep laughter in the relationship. The family that laughs together will stay together. But too often, we used to laugh when we were dating, we used to have fun, we used to enjoy each other, but now we've let the pressures of life cause us to become more solemn. We don't have time to laugh, we have bills to pay, we have children to raise, we're dealing with problems, we don't see eye to eye on every situation, but the joy is what's going to help you get through the tough times. Laughing together, having fun, that's going to help keep you together. I know a couple that was having difficulties in their marriage, they're good people, they

just let the pressures that come with everyday life drive them apart. They were about to separate, but they decided to try something for a few months. Once a week, they rented a funny movie and watched it together. They would sit there and laugh and laugh. They told how that one simple thing helped change their perspective, it helped heal the wounds. They fell back in love, today they're happily married. Maybe you would see your relationship go to a new level if you would get more joy in the home. Living with pressure, stress, tension, division, that's going to drive you apart. If you'll take time to laugh again, have fun together, enjoy each other, that's going to breathe new life, freshness into your relationship. How long has it been since there was laughter in your home? The enemy can't stand to hear you laugh. He can't stand to hear you having fun, laughing with your children, laughing with your spouse, enjoying each other. He wants there to be tension, pressure, strife. Why don't you get on the offensive and start laughing more often? Laughter is spiritual warfare. Laughter brings down walls. Laughter will help your family stay together. And yes, we all have to deal with tension and stress, but you need to create a joyful atmosphere in your home. Don't bring in pressures from work, stress from school, offense from what somebody said. Your home needs to be a retreat from the negative things you have to deal with during the day. I heard about this man. He had a tree in a pot next to his back door at home. He was walking into the house with a friend. He stopped and he touched the tree. His friend asked him what he was doing.

He said, this is my trouble tree. I leave all my troubles on this plant. I don't take any worry inside. I don't take any problems, any disappointments, any offense. I leave it at the door. We all need a trouble tree. Your home should be a cheerful place. If you're bringing in stress, pressure, strife, that's going to weigh you down. Leave the negative outside. Keep a joyful atmosphere in your home. There was a hospital that did an experiment with patients that had been sick for a long time and they weren't getting well. They started taking them out to the park several hours a day to watch the children playing. They discovered when they heard the children laughing over and over, the sound of laughter stimulated the body's natural healing process. It not only affected the patient's outlook, but research showed they begin to recover faster. Just hearing other people laugh helped bring healing. Imagine what happens on the inside of us when we live joyfully. We take time to laugh every day. It not only affects us mentally, our attitude, our moods, it affects us physically. Laughter will help you stay younger. Every time you laugh, what's known as the youth hormone increases 87%. That's the hormone that slows down the aging process, helps you stay younger and fresher. You've seen people that have been through a difficult time in life. They were under stress and pressure. You see them two years later, it looks like they've aged 20 years. Why is that? When we don't laugh, we're not releasing the healing that God put on the inside.

When we live stressed, somber, discouraged, those chemicals God designed to keep us younger are sitting there inactive, ineffective. Well, Joel, that's just not my personality. I'm a more solemn, serious person. I realize God made us all different. My earliest baby pictures, I'm smiling from ear to ear. We have different demeanors, but most of the time what's happened is we've forgotten how to laugh. The average child laughs 150 times a day, the average adult laughs three times a day. Some people haven't laughed in so long, their laugher has gotten rusty. You need to get that thing out, dust it off every day, find some reason to laugh. Start taking your medicine. I read where a common ingredient in people that live way up into their 90s wasn't their diet, wasn't their exercise routine, it was the fact that they are extremely joyful people. They never forgot how to laugh, they don't take everything so seriously. I met a man after the service a few years ago that was 106 years old. He looked 40 years younger, he was so happy, his mind was sharp, he stood in line 40 minutes waiting to visit. I said, we could have gotten you a chair, you could have sat down. He said, I don't need to sit down, when I get old I'll sit down. He was a black man, as handsome as can be, he didn't have one wrinkle on his face. I said, I can't believe that you're 106, you look like you could be 70. He put his arm on my shoulder and said, Joel, black don't crack. We laughed and laughed. When he went to walk away, he turned around and said to the whole group, I'll see you next year. I thought about, no wonder he's so healthy, he's full of joy. He still has his sense of humor, he loves to laugh. Think about all those years healing was flowing on the inside. I realized, we're all going to get old, eventually we're all going to die, but I've made up my

mind, I'm not going to turn into a grumpy old man. I'm not going to get more and more sour the older I get, the more responsibility I have. I'm going to stay full of joy. When it's my time to go, I'm going to go like him, happy, friendly, good nature. When I'm in my 90s, I'm still going to have a smile, still be telling my jokes, still have my hair. It may not be real, but I'm going to have some. Sometimes we think the older we get, the more solemn we're supposed to be, the less fun we're supposed to have. That's not God's way. The scripture says we are to finish our course with joy. If you don't have joy, if you don't take time to laugh regularly, if you're not good natured, you're not going to finish your course the way God wants you to. I've learned old is all in our mind. Just because our physical body ages doesn't mean our attitude and our thoughts have to get old. I knew a man at the gym that was 83. He was as happy and fun to be around as can be. He acted like he was my age. I asked him how he stayed so young. He said, Joel, I don't think old thoughts. I don't think of myself as an old man. I think of myself as in my twenties. See your spirit person, the real you that lives on the inside is ageless. It's going to live forever. Sometimes we talk ourselves into being old and sour and solemn. When my father was 75, we'd be walking by a group of people and he would see somebody maybe in their sixties without thinking, he'd say, Joel, look at that old man. I would think, daddy, he's 20 years younger than you. But in my father's mind, he was still young.

My father was a respected pastor. He was serious about his relationship with God. He was a responsible person, but he still loved to have fun. One time we were in Mexico. I was a little boy and these American tourists came up to my father. They were looking for the post office. They couldn't find anybody that spoke English. They said to my father, post office, mail a letter. My father looked at them kind of confused and said, no comprende, Espanol. They said it even more dramatic, post office, mail a letter. Daddy said, Oh, post office. They got real excited. Yes, yes. Post office. Daddy said, you're looking for the post office. It's right around the corner. That man looked at my father and said, boy, I ought to whoop you. Don't ever lose the child on the inside. Look for opportunities to laugh. You may have to retrain yourself to have fun, retrain yourself to see the humor. Sometimes if we're not working, we feel guilty. We're stressed out thinking about what we should be doing, but all work and no play is out of balance. Give yourself praise. mission to enjoy your life. Start taking your medicine, not once a month, not once a week, but every day. You may have a serious position like my father, but you can still have a lighthearted spirit. During a Sunday service, I was about to come up to minister and Victoria told me that my hair was sticking up and I needed to go in the back and spray it. I asked where

the hairspray was and she said, it's in the bathroom on the counter in a big red can. I went in and found the can, sprayed my hair, but it wouldn't keep it down. So I sprayed and sprayed and sprayed, still wouldn't keep it down. After the service, Victoria said, Joel, why didn't you spray your hair? It was still sticking up. I said, I did, but your hairspray doesn't work. She said, show me what you use. And I brought it to her. She said, Joel, this is not hairspray. This is air freshener. I smiled and said, at least I have the best smelling hair around. When you're secure, you can even laugh at yourself. Getting upset wasn't going to make it any better. If you can't change it, there's no reason to lose your joy. These days, people are very uptight, on edge. There's so much divisiveness in our society. If we're not careful, we'll think this is no time to enjoy life, no time to laugh, no time to see the humor, but just the opposite is true. More than ever, this is the time to live joyfully. Be a part of the solution. Bring some cheer to the people around you. Put a smile on your face. There's too much sadness in our world. Every person deals with hurt, disappointments. We all have stress and tension. Don't let that deceive you into living with a heaviness, discouraged, solemn. Well, Joel, I have a good excuse. I've had a lot of bad breaks. Jesus said, in life, you will have difficulties. He acknowledged that we're going to have challenges. Everything's not going to be perfect. He went on to say, I have the solution. Be of good cheer. He didn't say be discouraged, be sad, be offended. In the tough times, you need your joy. Joy is what gives you strength. But if the enemy can deceive you into living with a heaviness, discouraged, solemn, he'll be able to defeat you at every turn.

Don't fall into that trap. Your circumstances may not change, but you can change. Quit letting everything burden you down. Make a decision right in the midst of the difficulty. You're going to be of good cheer. Studies show that living joyfully boosts our immune system. It lowers our blood pressure. People that laugh regularly are 40% less likely to have a heart attack. Laughter releases the body's natural tranquilizers that cause us to calm down and sleep better. The United States represents 6% of the world's population, but we take 90% of the world's tranquilizers. We're too uptight. You're not supposed to live stressed out, always thinking about your problems. Your mind needs a break. Sometimes we give our body a vacation, but our mind never gets a day off. You can go to the beach, watch the sunset and still be worried about your health, stressed out of your finances, thinking about what you should be doing. You need to give your mind a break. The scripture says in God's presence is fullness of joy. If you don't have joy, you've disconnected yourself from God's presence. If you go through the day worried, stressed, somber, you are separating yourself from the blessing, the favor, the strength that you need. And I realize every day we're not going to be jumping up and down, laughing all the time. We have real issues to deal with, loved ones that have illnesses, situations in our health, in our marriage. What I'm saying is don't let those problems weigh you down to where you live with the heaviness. You can't have fun. You can't laugh. You're dealing with serious issues. You have to have times where you can still be lighthearted. That's what helps you to get through those times. I've been to several funerals. It can be very sad, very heavy, but I've noticed when someone gets up and starts

telling funny stories about the person, the audience goes from crying to laughing, you can feel the atmosphere change. It's like healing is taking place. The whole room is being lifted. God Creates you to live with the heaviness to go around Overwhelmed you have to get some joy in your life some fun some laughter That's what helped balance out the difficulties that we have to face I read about a lady that hadn't slept well in years. She was constantly taking Tranquilizers, she'd been on them so long. They hardly had any effect on her She tried everything different diets different medications different doctors nothing helped She went to a new doctor. He gave her an unusual prescription He told her every night before she went to bed She was to watch something funny funny movie a funny comedy something to make her laugh She started doing this night after night. She began sleeping better and better Today she's off of all that medicine. She can sleep like a baby. What was the problem? She was having to take man-made Tranquilizers because she wasn't releasing the natural tranquilizers that God put in us Could it be that you would receive the healing you've been longing for? the headaches the chronic pain the depression the insomnia would go away if you would just lighten up and Learn to laugh more often Much of the sicknesses we face today are stress related We're too uptight And if a doctor gave us a prescription to take a pill several times a day We would be very strict to follow his instructions. Even if we had to get up in the middle of the night. I Have a prescription for you not from a doctor but from your creator He says stay cheerful laugh every day be good natured see the humor in life If you will stay on your prescription have a merry heart. You'll sleep better You'll be more creative these areas of chronic pain and sicknesses will begin to go away Friend of mine is a doctor and this lady came into his practice that had a severe case of fibromyalgia It's very painful she would spend hours a day in bed suffering she had chronic fatigue no energy She was in poor health. Not only physically but emotionally she'd gone through tough times and lived a very depressed life

He gave her medicine for the pain, but he knew that was only treating the symptom and not the root cause After talking to her and realizing how depressed she was he asked her How long has it been since you had a good hearty laugh She thought about it a moment and said doctor I haven't had a good laugh in over 30 years since I was a little girl He said your prescription is to go rent every funny movie You can find read every funny book and laugh as much as you can She began to do that lying in bed instead of feeling sorry for herself She started laughing little by little she got her joy back every day She would laugh more and more she noticed the pain started subsiding. She had more energy. She felt better Several months later. She went back to the doctor the moment she walked in the door He said he knew something was different. There was a sparkle in her eye She had a smile on her face. She said doctor. I've never felt this good in all of my life Month after month as she relearned how to laugh she got healthier and healthier Today, she's free from all those illnesses. There is healing power in laughter when you have a joyful spirit Health wholeness is constantly flowing through you Let me ask you what he asked her How long has it been since you had a good laugh a day a week a month? ten years in The Old Testament one way an army would overtake a city is they would clog up the wells That provided water to that city. They would fill it full of stones Before long people didn't have anything to drink and they would have to come out from beyond the protected walls The army would attack in the same way all of us have a well of joy on the inside When we were children it flowed freely we laughed we had fun We were good-natured, but too often our well has gotten clogged up with stones of worry stones of stress Stones of pressure now the water doesn't flow like God created it to Genesis 26 says Isaac re-dug the wells that the Philistines had clogged up I think it's interesting Isaac's name means laughter. It's significant that Isaac was the one that re-dug the well.

God is saying, if you want to get your well unclogged, if you want to see his goodness flow in new ways, you have to get your joy back. Laughter is one of the best ways to unclog your well. I'm asking you to develop a lifestyle where you see the humor in everyday life, laughing with your children, laughing with your family, being good natured. The scripture says in Job, God will fill your mouth with laughter. That's God's dream that your life would be full of laughter. Are you living stressed, somber, worried? Make a change today. Get your well unclogged. Take time every day to laugh. Keep a joyful atmosphere in your home. If you will make this decision to have a merry heart, I believe and declare, you're going to see chronic pain and illnesses go away. You're going to have better relationships. You're going to feel younger, stronger, fresher, and you will finish your course with joy. 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. Come into my heart.

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 and keep God first place. Victoria and I'll be right back to speak a blessing over you.