Pronounce Before You Possess | Joel Osteen

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. And I'd like to start with something funny. I heard about this pastor, and he found a dead mule on the church grounds, and he called the health department, and they said they couldn't pick it up without authorization from the mayor. Well, the mayor was known to be rude and hard to get along with, and when the pastor called, the mayor didn't disappoint. He started ranting and raving. He finally said, isn't it your job to bury the dead? Why are you even calling me? The pastor asked God to give him the right response. He said, yes, mayor, it is my job to bury the dead, but I always like to notify the next of kin first. 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 pronounce before you possess. All through the Scripture, God has given us incredible promises of healing, freedom, abundance. It's important to believe the promise, get it down in your spirit, but believing alone is not enough. What activates the promise is by speaking it, by declaring what God says about you. Your words have power. They set things into motion, either blessing, favor, breakthroughs, or sickness, lack, and can't do it. One of the last times Moses spoke to the Israelites was in Deuteronomy 11. He told them how God was going to bring them into the promised land, and how they'd have houses they didn't build, and all these crops and livestock, amazing things. But he said there's a couple conditions. Number one, you must obey the Lord your God. And number two, verse 29, when the Lord God brings you into the land to possess it, you must pronounce a blessing. He was saying the blessing, the promised land, the houses you didn't build, it's not going to happen just because I promised it. You have to declare it. You have to pronounce the blessing before you receive the blessing. You have to pronounce your healing before you get well. You have to pronounce the breakthrough before you get free. Pronounce the abundance while you're still in not enough. The promise is an invitation. It's not a possession. It's not done just because God said it. It's an offer. It's God saying this is what I want to do for you. This is what I have in store,

but you have to get your words in agreement and speak what I say about you. This is where the Israelites missed it. The first time they came to the promised land, the parents of these people, God gave them this same promise. This is your land. You're going to have these houses and these vineyards, fruits so big that the cluster of grapes take two people to carry. God said I'm going to fight your battles and defeat these enemies and give you this land. They had this incredible promise. All they had to do was get in agreement. Lord, thank you that this is our land, that we are well able to take it, that you are fighting our battles. That's what activates the promise, pronouncing the blessing. But they did just the opposite. They looked at the people living there and saw how big they were. Instead of pronouncing a blessing, they said we don't have a chance. The giants are too big. Even though God promised them the land, even though he said it's yours, they never did go in. Not because of giants, not because of walls, but because of their words. Your words are deciding whether you inherit the promises or whether you forfeit the promises. What are you saying about what God has promised you? God said he's restoring health back into you. The number of your days he will fulfill. I don't see how I can get well, Joel. You should see this medical report. You're doing what they did. You're canceling out the promise. God said you will lend and not borrow, that your cup will run over. I can't get ahead. I take one step forward, two step backwards. That's keeping you out of your land. God said your children will be mighty in the land, that your seed is blessed. I don't think my son's ever going to get back on course. I don't know what's wrong with him. The problem is you're pronouncing the wrong thing. God has given you the promise. You may even believe it in your heart, but if you pronounce defeat, you're going to see defeat. God told the Israelites to pronounce the blessing while the opposition was still on their land. They were still outnumbered and outside the city. They could have thought, why are we going to pronounce the blessing now? Once we get in, once we're victorious, living in those houses, then we'll say we're blessed. But this is what faith is all about. You have to speak what God promised you before you see any sign of it. You have to pronounce healing when the medical report's not good. You have to pronounce abundance when your finances say you're barely going to make it.

You have to speak freedom when the addiction seems strong as ever. When you get your words in agreement with what God says, angels go to work. The chain breaker shows up, supernatural power, provision, healing. Things you couldn't make happen, God will make happen. Now don't forfeit the promise by speaking against what God says about you. Get in agreement. Have a report of victory, health, abundance. If you'll keep pronouncing the blessing, then you will possess all God has for you. Back in the Bible days, the way a king took new land wasn't just by force, but first he proclaimed it was his land. He made this public declaration to all the people, his supporters, and the opposition that this was his territory. He didn't wait to conquer the city to take ownership. He didn't wait to build the infrastructure to say it was his. His words marked territory. His words established dominion. It's the same principle with God. That's what he told the Israelites. This land is yours, I'm giving it to you, now you have to pronounce the blessing before you possess it, not after, not when you see what you're believing for. When the trouble turns around, when you get that promotion, before you go into the land, you need to announce, this is your land. Your words are marking territory. Your words are setting boundaries. You are announcing not just to people who are for you, but you are announcing to the enemy, you are on my territory and you are not welcome here. You are drawing that line in the sand. You are exercising your authority. It's like you're putting a stake in the ground with the flag of your country, establishing ownership.

When you say healing is mine, you're marking that territory. Abundance belongs to me. Salvation for my family, good relationships, successful business, bright future. That's not just being positive, hoping, wishing like kings back in their day. You're making a public declaration that that land belongs to you. You have to mark the land with your words before you mark it with your feet. When you speak that promise, in the unseen realm, boundaries are established, forces of darkness pay attention. You are setting your flag, putting on notice that you are coming for the territory the Most High God has promised you. Now, let's start marking some new territory. God told the people of Israel, you've gone around this mountain long enough, same thing, over and over, 40 years complaining. We can't do it, it's hot out here, it's never going to change. Oh, it's time to take new ground. It starts with our words. Lord, I want to thank you that you promised to do exceeding, abundantly, above and beyond what I ask or imagine. You're setting your stake in new territory for God to exceed your expectations, to show out in your life, to surprise you with His goodness. Maybe you have children that are off course. It's been that way a long time. It's easy to settle in that land, just keep going around the same mountain. Well, Joel, I'm making it. God's been faithful. Yes, it's good to be grateful, but how about stretching your faith? God, you promised that as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Thank you that my child will fulfill his purpose. Holy Spirit, thank you that you're helping him do what he can't do on his own. That's marking new territory.

That's announcing to the enemy that you can't stay on that land, that's God's property and I'm coming for you. With your words, you're establishing dominion. You're setting boundaries. You're making that proclamation. We're not just in the natural, but in the unseen realm, you're taking authority, declaring what God promised will come to pass. It's not up to you to make it all happen. God said, I want you to obey me, pronounce the blessing, declare what I said about you. That's when God will do what you can't do. He'll make way. ways where you don't see a way. With your words, you're marking territory. Now, pay attention to what you're marking. Well, I've had this problem so long, I don't think I'll ever meet the right person. Everybody in my family struggles with an addiction, or nobody can get ahead. We'll never have enough. That's like the Israelites going around that same mountain. Giants are too big, always going to be this way. That group never did go in. The next time they were at the Promised Land, 40 years later, God told their children, in effect, don't be like your parents. Don't defeat yourself with your words. You have to pronounce the blessing, not pronounce the problem. That's going to keep you circling. Why don't you start pronouncing your healing, pronouncing your abundance, your children honoring God, your business excelling, your future filled with peace, joy, new levels. You can't wait for it to happen. You have to mark the territory. You have to put your flag in the ground, so to speak. This land belongs to me. God, you promised me healing. I believe healing is mine. God, you said I have a sound mind, free from worry, anxiety, confusion. Lord, I thank you for your peace. God, you said I'd be the happy mother of children. Experts say we can't have a baby, but God, I thank you that a child is on the way, that I will conceive and give birth. That's how you possess the land. Speak the blessing. Declare what God promised. That's marking your territory. We have a little dog at home named Evie. She's a Shih Tzu, and she weighs about 10 pounds.

Nicest, friendliest dog ever. When we take her for a walk, every 30 feet or so, she'll stop and mark her territory. That smell tells the other dogs that they don't belong there. This is her street. She's very small, but she doesn't know her size. She thinks she's a Great Dane. In her mind, she's a big, powerful dog, not afraid of anything. Another dog will pass 10 times her size. She'll go right up to it, growling, snarling, barking. I have to hold that leash so tight to not let her get away. She's not afraid of the other dog, but I am. I think, don't get him mad at us, but Evie is letting that other dog know that he doesn't belong there. She's already marked her territory, set her flag in the ground. She better get out of there fast or there's going to be trouble. She marks her territory a different way. We mark our territory with our words. When you speak God's promises, you are establishing ownership. And it's good to believe the promise, but the Scripture says the spirit of faith is in our words. Words give life to what you're believing. God has given us all these incredible promises. Like the Israelites, He's promised us the land, the healing, the freedom, the family. But here's where we can miss it. Silence leaves the territory unclaimed. Silence is not neutral, silence is surrender. You have to pronounce the promise before you possess it. When you speak what God says, that gives life to your faith. You are marking territory, you are setting boundaries, establishing ownership. But I wonder if you're leaving territory unclaimed because you're not speaking it, are you surrendering land that belongs to you, promises of healing, freedom, abundance, because you haven't spoken the blessing? If you don't pronounce it, you won't possess it. And it's good to believe that your family will come to know the Lord, good to stay in faith, be positive, but when you say, Lord, I want to thank you that as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, that takes it to a new level. Just imagine you're putting your stake in the ground, claiming this territory belongs to me. It's good to believe that you're blessed and wish good things will happen, but when you say, Father, thank you that I am blessed, that your favor surrounds me like a shield, surely goodness and mercy are following me. I haven't seen, heard, or imagined what you have in store. That's putting a stake in the ground for a bright future, for promotion, increase, or abundance. Perhaps you struggle with your self-worth, feeling like you're not enough, insecure. You do your best to think the right thoughts and that's a great start, but you need to take this next step and pronounce

the blessing. God has promised you freedom, confidence, value, but you have to declare it. Something happens when you speak. Forces of darkness are broken. Strongholds come down. Every morning you need to say, Father, thank you that you created me in your own image, that you crowned me with your favor, that I am a masterpiece fearfully and wonderfully made, valuable, talented, worthy, a prized possession. That's exercising your authority. That's marking your territory, setting new boundaries, letting the enemy know that that land belongs to you. And that's when God will fight for you. You don't have to defeat the enemy. He's already defeated. God will go before you and clear the path. He'll make the wrong things. He'll move them out of your way so you can possess the land. This is what David did. Seventeen years old, he heard Goliath taunting the Israelites. They were on one side of the mountain, the Philistines on the other. These two armies were in a standoff. Well, Goliath would come out twice a day and shout threats and insults to the people of Israel. He was a giant that stood over nine feet tall, the champion of their army, the most skilled and talented warrior they had. The land God promised you will probably have some giants on it. Opposition will inhabit your land. It's easy to back down, but you have to mark that territory. You have to take ownership of it, and God will defeat your enemies. You don't have to fight Goliath by yourself. The sickness, the addiction, the struggle, it may be too much for you. You can't do it in your own strength, but that's not your part. Your part is to pronounce the blessing, declare what God says, and once you put your stake down, God will go to work. All the Israeli army was afraid when Goliath came out. They ran and hid and thought, oh man, there's no way. He's too big. As long as you're silent, you're surrendering territory. Giants will occupy your land, not because they're stronger, bigger, but because you haven't marked your territory. You haven't established ownership. This is not something that God is going to do. You have to do it. Faith is activated through our words. One morning, Goliath came out making all this noise. David didn't run. He didn't hide. He said, Goliath, you come against me with a sword and a shield, but I come against you in the name of the Lord God of Israel. David didn't just

believe the promise. He didn't just hope God was with him. He spoke the blessing. He went on to say, this day I will defeat you and feed your head to the birds of the air. That wasn't just trash talk. That was territorial talk. David was marking his territory. He was establishing ownership, saying this land belongs to us. You are not welcome here. He went up to him, slung that rock, and hit Goliath in the forehead and knocked him to the ground. That's recorded in 1st Samuel 17 verse 49, but the real victory happened four verses earlier in verse 45 when David said, I will defeat you. He had to pronounce the victory before he could possess the victory. Had David gone in there and thought, I don't know, man, he's big. Look at his armor. He's got all this experience. If David had talked defeat, we wouldn't be talking about him today. If he had not marked his territory with his words, if he had stayed silent, he would have never defeated Goliath. And here's the key. Goliath wasn't just a giant. He was a squatter living on the land that belonged to the Israelites, taking their inheritance. All the Israeli army was quiet. They were afraid. Silence gives permission for squatters to stay on your land. When we stay silent, we surrender the territory. On the way to your destiny, there will be some Goliaths on your property, giants inhabiting places that God has promised you. Imagine squatters on your land, sickness, depression, generational dysfunction on your property, enjoying your house, eating from your garden. It's time to serve some eviction notices. You have to tell depression, you are not welcome on my property. Tell shame, insecurity, not good enough. You don't belong here. Your time is up. Sickness, you can't stay on my land. I will live and not die. Dysfunction, you have no right here. I will break generational limitations, and I will start generational blessings. Or how about giant of addiction? You have overstayed your welcome. This is a new day whom the sun sets free, is free. Indeed, I'm coming into freedom into wholeness into victory You don't evict Giants with your power your might your thoughts you evict them with your words David said this day the Lord will deliver you into my hands. That's where he won the battle Giants don't leave because you don't like them. They leave when you evict them

Eviction happens when you speak the promises when you declare what God says about you Goliath had been out there for 40 days before David showed up and evicted him had it not been for David He may have lived there 40 years He may have permanently kept them from the promised land. Why don't you be the David in your family? Why don't you be the one to rise up and set new standards? When you see things that are limiting you keeping you from freedom Wholeness abundance, you know the secret you don't have to accept it joy. That's just who we are This addiction depression Mediocrity, this is all I've known God has you hearing this because you're the one to change it If you will pronounce the blessing you can break bondages of the past and possess the new levels that belong to you The enemy would love for you to stay silent He doesn't want you to take your ground He knows he's on your territory Living off of what belongs to you. You need to send some eviction notices Your words carry power When you declare what God says about you angels are dispatched Forces of darkness are broken. God will take your slingshot so to speak and you'll bring down giants that were much bigger You're not doing this on your own It's not just up to you to defeat Goliath your part is to pronounce the blessing Put your flag in the ground and say this family belongs to God I claim the healing the freedom the peace the salvation the victory You have to mark the land with your words before you will mark it with your feet Don't stay silent Silence is surrender Well, Joel, I don't think it could work out I got this opposition this trouble at work this sickness That's what held the first group of Israelites back. They were next door to the promised land, but they complained Focused on the opposition. I believe many of you are next door to your promised land You are close to a breakthrough Close to healing to freedom to new levels, but there are giants on your land

It's easy to retreat I don't see how it can happen you don't have to figure it out You don't have to have all the answers just get in agreement with God and speak what he says about you That's when Giants fall. That's when chains break. That's when the right people show up That's when you have a baby when you were told you couldn't that's when you're healed from a serious illness like my mother Are you putting any stakes in the ground? Are you establishing any boundaries? Are you marking your territory with your words? The enemy doesn't respond to our thoughts He's not moved by what we're thinking. He responds to our words. That's where the power is Think about Jesus. He didn't just go around thinking good thoughts and people got healed. He spoke to the situation The demon-possessed man, he said come out of him. He spoke to the blind man be healed He spoke to the storm peace be still he spoke to Lazarus come forth out of that grave authority has to be vocalized a Silent believer is a powerless believer You have to speak the blessing before you see the blessing mark the territory before you live in the territory When we were trying to acquire this building the former compact center Victoria and I would come up at night when no games were going on no events when the security guard didn't run us off We would walk around the building and thank God for making a way Thinking he was opening doors. We couldn't open and thank him that he was bringing the right people The natural didn't seem possible. All the odds were against us, but we put our stakes down We marked our territory with our words We said God we believe You've given us this building to spread the gospel around the world to bring hope to people and you can do things that we can't Do we don't see a way but Lord you have the final say and we know you being for us is more than what's been Against us. So God our trust is in you We weren't just hoping we weren't just wishing we were setting boundaries Establishing ownership and evicting squatters off our land. Not people, but forces that were trying to keep us back. God caused things to fall into place. That's 23 years ago. Here we are today, still going strong. But what God has put in your heart, the dreams, the promises, what you're believing for, you have to pronounce it before you'll see it. Don't stay silent. Don't just wish. Silence is surrender. Silence is letting Goliath stay. Be a David. Speak to those giants, not in your authority,

but in the authority of the Most High God. Depression, I will defeat you. Cancer, you cannot stay on this ground. Healing belongs here. Lack and debt, that may have been how I was raised, but this is a new day. I live under the open windows of heaven. Start putting your stakes down. Tell the enemy he doesn't belong on your land. Mark your territory with your words. When you do that, you are setting boundaries, establishing ownership. I believe and declare what God promised the Israelites, He's promising you. As you pronounce it, you're going to possess it. Giants are about to fall. Walls about to come down. The right people show up, healing, promotion, breakthroughs, the fullness of your destiny. In Jesus' name, if you receive it, can you say amen? 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, and we'd love to send you some free information on your new walk with the Lord. You can text the number on the screen or go to the website, but I hope you'll get into a good Bible-based church and keep God first place.