Your Set Time For Favor | Joel Osteen

God bless you, and thanks for letting us come into your homes today. And if you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and be a part of one of our services. These are the finest people in all of Houston, Texas, right here at Lakewood. But come on out whenever you can. Thanks for tuning in. I like to start with something funny, and I heard about this Baptist man named Bill. He liked to sneak out to the horse races and bet. One day after losing almost all of his money, he saw a Catholic priest step out onto the tracks and bless a horse. Sure enough, that horse won first place. The next race, he blessed another horse. That horse won again. Seeing this, Bill went down to the ATM machine, took out all of his money. This time he saw the priest not just touch the horse's forehead, but his eyes, his ears, and all of his legs. Feeling confident, he bet all of his money. But on the middle of that race, the horse fell down dead. He couldn't believe it. He said to the priest, what in the world happened? He said, that's the problem with you Protestants. You don't know the difference between a blessing and the last rites. 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 your set time for favor. In the Old Testament, the Israelites had several different feasts that they had to observe each year. These feasts, like Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, were at set times based on the cycle of the moon and certain other criteria. The times had been ordained by God and couldn't be changed. These were special times that God had set aside to bless his people. He'd already established when to show them favor. Just like with them, there are set times God has already ordained to show out in your life. We can all look back and see these times where we got a break that we didn't deserve. Things fell into place. Maybe your career took off. After years of being routine, average, you came into a season of growth, a season of increase, a season of blessing. What was that? A set time of favor. I talked to a man recently.

For eight years, he's had back pain. He heard it playing football in college. He'd had surgery, gone through treatment, rehab, taken pain pills. Nothing seemed to help. He'd already decided he'd have to live with that pain the rest of his life. But about six months ago, out of the blue, things started getting better and better. He said, Joel, I don't know what happened. The doctors can't explain it, but today I'm totally free from this pain. Like the Israelites, he came in to one of his set times. In Psalms, it talks about how God's favor surrounds us like a shield. It doesn't come and go. Favor is always with us, but there are set times where God's favor will show out. Set times where God will thrust you from the background to the foreground. Set times where God will accelerate your dreams, make things happen faster than you thought. Set times like my friend, when you'll get well, even though the report says it's not going to happen. When a problem will unexpectedly turn around, even though it looked impossible. You need to get ready. I believe you've come in to one of your set times of favor. Maybe you've been struggling. Everything's been uphill.

You're going to see an anointing of ease. God is going before you. He's going to cause things to fall into place. Maybe you've been doing your best, working hard, but not getting the credit you deserve. People play in politics. Don't worry. In this set time, God is going to promote you. He's going to push you up. He's going to set you on high. Or perhaps you've been through some relationships that didn't work out and now you think you'll always be lonely. No, in this set time, God is bringing a divine connection. Somebody better than you have imagined. He's named to come across your path. Now, you may not see how this is going to happen. Your mind will tell you, you'll never get well, never meet the right person, never accomplish that dream. Don't believe those lies. The creator of the universe has already established your set times. His power. greater than any force that's trying to come against you. Now do your part, get in agreement with God. Lord, I believe this is my set time for favor. The medical report may not look good, but I believe it's my set time to get well. My dream looks like it's going to take years, but Lord, I want to thank you that it's my set time for acceleration. Now you may have tried things in the past, but it didn't work out. The business wasn't successful, the loan didn't go through, the diet didn't work. Now you're thinking, I just threw that one in. You need to try it again. This is a new season. A man in the lobby told me the other day how he

had a dream to start his own business and he got it going, everything was fine, he was so excited, but he hit a series of setbacks. Unfortunately, it didn't make it. He thought he was done, that it would never happen. No, it just wasn't the right time. Don't give up on what God promised you. Don't let that dream die stillborn. It may not have happened in the past, but you've come in to a set time. God has favor waiting for you, ideas waiting for you, the right people waiting for you. Try it again. The scripture says a good man falls seven times, but the Lord raises him back up. The loan didn't go through, you didn't qualify for that new house, try again. You're in a set time of favor. You tried to lose the weight, tried to get back in shape, it didn't work out, try it again. God is breathing in your life in a new way. He's giving you ability, determination, strength to do what you couldn't do before. All through the day, especially in the tough times, Lord, I want to thank you that it's my set time for favor. Thank you that you're helping me do what I could not do on my own. Psalm 102, this man that was having an incredibly difficult time began to pray. He went into great detail to list all of his troubles. He said, God, I'm sick. I'm down to skin and bones. I can't sleep at night. I've lost all of my income. I'm lonely. My friends have left me. My enemies all day long taunt me. Now I'm just sitting among the ashes. For 11 verses, he goes on and on telling how miserable his life is, how he feels overwhelmed by his trouble. Just reading it can make you feel depressed. Just when you think he's about to give up, just ready to throw in the towel, he said in verse 12, but you, oh Lord, are still on the throne for you will arise and have mercy on Zion for the time to favor her. Yes, the set time has come. Zion is the church. You can put your name in place of Zion for you will arise and have mercy on Linda for the time to favor her. Yes, the set time has come. You will arise and have mercy on those people at Lakewood for the time to favor them. Yes, the set time has come. In the midst of his sad song, in the midst of listing all of his difficulties, deep down he knew there was a set time of favor in his future. At that point, the Israelites had been through 70 years of hardships, all kinds of struggling. God said, don't worry. Things are about to change. You've come in to

your set time of favor. The scripture says, God will arise and have mercy. In this set time, God will step in against your enemies. You won't have to fight those battles. The most high will arise. And when he arises, enemies will be scattered. When he arises, sicknesses will be defeated. Addictions will be broken. Lack, struggle, poverty will come to an end. He's going before you, clearing the path, pushing back the forces of darkness, making a way where you could not go before. In this set time, the enemies you've seen in the past, you will see no more. The addictions, bad habits, things you haven't been able to overcome, this is a new day. God is arising. It's your set time for freedom, set time for wholeness. Those obstacles in your career can't seem to get the break you need, can't get over the hump. Things are about to change. God is fighting your battles, causing you to stand out, bringing you from obscurity to notoriety. This is a set time for God to thrust you where you could not go on your own. I'm challenging you. Don't talk yourself out of it. You may feel like you're in verse one through 11 right now. Like that man, you can come up with good reasons why you won't get well, why you won't be successful. Joel, I've got a lot of powerful people coming against me. I have this medical condition that looks permanent or I don't have the experience, the resources, the connections to really be successful. That may all be true, but don't stop in verse 11. Come on down to 12 and 13. Dare to say, but you, oh Lord, are still on the throne. You have set this time to favor me. What God lifts up, no person can push down. What God breathes life into, sickness cannot take away. What God blesses, all the forces of darkness cannot curse. Our attitude should be, yes, this obstacle looks big. This sickness, this legal situation, but I know a secret.

God is still on the throne and he has set this time for me to overcome. This is my set time to break through. This is my set time to live in victory. It says, God will arise. Let me tell you, when God gets up, the enemy trembles. In your set time, God is not going to sit idly by. And yes, we all have seasons of testing and trials where we have to stand strong, prove to God that we'll be faithful. But in this set time of favor, that's when God gets up and says, okay, that's enough. Let me go to work. He'll put a stop to what's trying to stop you. He said, the trap the enemy set for you, they will fall in themselves. He said, no weapon formed against you will ever prosper. Don't be intimidated. You're not weak. You're not lacking. The most high God has risen in your behalf. He's got your back. He's got your covered. He's saying it's your set time for favor, your set time for healing, your set time for acceleration. Now you have to let this seed take root on the inside. It's easy to think, well, that's a good message today. I enjoyed that. And two hours later, you don't really remember it. It's not going to be effective like that.

All through the week, you need to have this expectancy. Lord, thank you that it's my set time for favor, that you're giving me power to do what I could not do before. Lord, thank you that you're causing me to stand out, drawing the right people to me, that your blessings favor is overtaking me. Well, Joel, I believe maybe one day that'll happen for me. No, I'm asking you to come over into the now. Today is your set time for favor, not in three months, not six years from now. God said the time to favor you has come. The Amplified Version says the moment designated is here. There are moments God has already designated to show out in your life. I believe this is one of your moments. You're living in a favor season, a growing season, an acceleration season. You're going to have a new confidence to do things that you couldn't do before. You're going to see your gifts and talents come out in a greater way. God is going to give you more influence, more notoriety, a bigger platform. His face is going to shine down on you and cause you to stand out. Family members that have been off course, seems like they'll always make poor choices. Those forces are being broken. Things are about to change. They're going to start making good choices that honor God.

People are going to think, how in the world did they turn around so quickly? Here's how, you came into a set time of favor, a moment already designated by the creator of the universe. Think about a set time. Sometimes at night, you'll set your alarm for the morning. You program your clock. You say, I want to get up at 6.30 and you set the hour, set the minute. That's the set time. Or maybe you're cooking something that takes an hour and a half. You set the timer on the oven for 90 minutes. You're waiting and waiting. But when the alarm goes off, you don't keep waiting. The set time has come. You change your position. You change your posture. You take the food out. It's done. You wake up. The morning has arrived. I believe God is saying to us, the alarm is going off. The set time has come. Change your position. Change your attitude from, I don't think it's ever going to happen to Lord, thank you that it's here. Thank you that my set time for favor has arrived. Start expecting God's goodness.

See, life can get so routine that we're not really releasing our faith. We've been lulled into thinking, oh, it's never going to happen for me. It's been so long. I'll never get where, I'll never meet the right person. No, every morning when you wake up, just imagine the alarm is going off. God is saying, it's the set time. Our attitude should be, this is my day for favor. This is my day for increase. This is my day for divine connections. Not maybe one day it's going to happen. No, I know today is my day. By faith, I can hear the alarm going off. It's favor time. It's healing time. It's acceleration time. It's blessing time. Some of you know what Miller time is. I'm talking about breakthrough time, victory time, abundance time. I've seen this set time of favor in my own life. That's why it's easy for me to encourage you. I shouldn't be where I am. I didn't train to do this. I wasn't planning on being a minister. Never thought I could get up in front of people. When my father went to be with the Lord and I did step up to pastor the church, we never dreamed it would grow. We thought if we could maintain what my parents had built, that would be a win. This is the sovereignty of God. I came into a set time of favor that the creator of the universe had ordained for me before I was formed in my mother's womb. God had already set aside, that's the time I'm going to show out in Joel's life. I couldn't have made it happen. I couldn't have orchestrated this facility, the influence, the growth in my own strength. It was the hand of God taking me where I could not go on my own. God set the time for us to have this building. He set

the time for me to meet Victoria, set the time for my mother to be healed from terminal cancer. In the same way, God has already designated these moments of favor for you. He's already set the times. You're living in one of those right now, a set time of acceleration, a set time of greater influence, a set time where God wants to show out in your life. But if this is going to happen down in your spirit, you have to hear the alarm going off. Through your eyes of faith, you have to see God arising, fighting your battles, moving obstacles out of your path, preparing the way for you to step in to a new level of your destiny. I talked to a young lady that moved here from another state. She tried to get her business started in the Northeast, but things didn't work out. She felt like she was supposed to take a step of faith and move down here. For 13 hours driving to Texas, she listened to my messages on SiriusXM, said she never turned it off. 13 hours? I get tired of hearing myself. She heard that message. I spoke at the first of the year about how God can accelerate your dreams and he can make things happen faster than you thought. Something came alive on the inside. She thought, yes, that's for me. She started her new position. She works in sales and realistically she knew it would take a while to build up her clientele and really get things going. But she said this first month here, she sold more than she sold in the whole year back at home. She was so excited. She said, Joel, there's still six days left in this month. I'm going to sell even more. What happened? She came in to her set time of favor, her set time of acceleration. I wonder what would have happened if she'd have thought, I'm never going to see favor. I'm never going to see acceleration. It's going to

be rough getting started in a new city. That would have limited her destiny. God works where there's faith. You may not see how it can happen in the natural. That's okay. He's a supernatural God. You don't have to figure it all out. All you have to do is believe. Take the limits off of God. Dare to do like she did and say, God, just like you promised in Psalm 102 that it was the set time to favor Zion. God, I know I am Zion. I am the church. So I believe it's my set time for favor, set time for acceleration, set time to go to a new level. A mother called the other day and told how she has an adult child that's physically challenged. And this child recently had a stroke and needed constant care. And this mother is a widow and couldn't afford to quit her job. And there was a well-respected facility not far from where she lived that took care of disabled people. But when she inquired, she was told that there was a 10 year waiting list to get in. She didn't know what she was going to do. And this mother wasn't raised in church. She didn't have any kind of spiritual background, but through watching us on television, she had come to know the Lord. She heard me talking about acceleration in her own simple way with a childlike faith. She said God they said it's going to take 10 years to get my child in but Lord I believe that you can make it happen sooner three weeks later the facility called back and said we've had an opening come up Unexpectedly, we'd love to have your child What could have taken 10 years? God did in a fraction of the time a set time of favor a moment God had already designated The common denominator with both of these ladies is they released their faith They had an expectancy if she had a thought all great ten years just my luck. What am I going to do? Maybe the door wouldn't have opened. Maybe the set time would have been delayed Instead of being negative talking themselves out of it. These two ladies acted like the alarm was going off

They changed their position changed their attitude they even dared to ask God for what seemed impossible When that alarm is sounding when it's your time, that's a window of opportunity It's not going to last forever Don't let the negative voices convince you that you're never going to get well never get out of debt Never get your child and too many people in front of you In this set time God knows how to take you from the back to the front He can open doors that no man can shout. He'll take you where you could not go on your own My father had a sister named Marion for years She struggled with the condition that caused her to have violent convulsions and terrible headaches It was so bad that it was crippling her life at one point. She started having these hallucinations Her mind became unclear She'd been in the hospital for a long time. They finally sent her home. She couldn't recognize people. She couldn't feed herself She had to have 24-hour care My father lived in a different city and he traveled a lot and didn't realize how sick Mary was One day his mother called and told him about Mary's condition He was scheduled to go out of town the next morning But while he was praying he heard God say to him not out loud But this distinct phrase right down in here the hour of Mary's deliverance has come He heard what God said in Psalm 102 the set time for Mary's healing is here Instead of taking his planned trip that morning He drove from Houston to Dallas where Mary lived when he went in her room It was dark the shades were pulled very depressing Mary didn't recognize him. Her hair was matted her eyes glazed over Something rose up in my father not just a boldness But a holy anger like the scripture says in this set time God won't sit idly by he'll rise up against your enemies. My father could feel that power rising up through him He went over to Mary's bed and after he prayed for he said forcefully Mary I want you to get up out of this bed all of the sudden Mary sat straight up She had not walked in months But that moment she got out of the bed and was able to walk through the house her mind cleared up

She was able to talk to my father That day she went to the table and fed herself She no longer needed her medicine no longer needed the 24-hour care totally healed a moment of favor My father asked her later Mary. Why did you get out of bed? So suddenly? She said because I heard God tell me to get out. He kind of laughs said no Mary. It was me I said it she said no John. I heard the voice of God telling me to get out of bed He Said Mary I Was standing right there. I'm telling you. I'm the one that said it. She said listen here John I know what I heard and I heard the creator of the universe the Most High God telling me to get out of bed and When I heard that every chain was broken off of me every fiber of my being came back to life Friends when it's your set time all the forces of darkness cannot hold you back Our God is more powerful than any sickness any addiction any depression any person any hater? Every chain will be broken. Every stronghold will come down Every limitation will be loosed the creator of the universe will make you come alive He'll push you into your destiny. I believe right now God is rising up against your enemies Rising up against that sickness that legal problem that spirit of lack and struggle those forces are being broken Your destiny is being released Psalm 102 goes on to say in this set time of favor people People all around you are going to notice what God has done. He's going to show out in your life in such a way that you will be an example of His goodness. So blessed, so healthy, so strong, so generous, so talented, people all around you will see the hand of God is upon your life. But sometimes when we've been waiting a long time, waiting for the miracle, waiting for the healing, waiting for a dream to come to pass,

it's easy to get into a wait mode where we're not expecting anything. God is saying the wait is over. The alarm is going off. Victory is here, healing is here, favor is here. The moment designated has come. Now you may not see it yet, but here's the whole key. You have to walk by faith and not by sight. All through the week, Lord, I thank you that it's my set time for favor. Thank you that you're pushing back the forces of darkness. Thank you that you're accelerating my dreams coming to pass. Well, Joel, I tried this, but my business didn't work out. I didn't break the addiction. The loan didn't go through. I'm asking you to try it again. This is a new day. In this set time of favor, God is not going to sit idly by. This time, He's going to arise and fight your battles. This time, He said He'll get off the throne and do what you could not do. He's breathing in your direction in a new way right now. It's your time to possess the land. If you'll do this, I believe and declare God is going to show out in your life in a new way. You're going to see new levels of influence, notoriety, a bigger platform. Like my father's sister, healing from what looks permanent.

Like those two ladies, you're going to accomplish more in a fraction of the time. You're going to see acceleration where God thrusts you to the next level of your destiny in Jesus' name. And if you receive it, can you say amen today? We never like to close our broadcast without giving 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. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take you places that you've never dreamed.