Day Forty One Is Coming | Joel Osteen

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I'd like to start with something funny, and I heard about this pastor, he was new in town, and he was going door to door inviting people to his church. He knocked on this one door, and he could tell someone was home, but no one would answer. He took his business card out and wrote on the back the scriptural reference, Revelation 320, and left it on the door.

“The next Sunday after service and usher handed him the same card under what the pastor had written”

was the scriptural reference, Genesis 310.

Here's what they say, Revelation 320, the pastor's words.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens the door, I will come in. The reply was Genesis 310. It says, "I heard your voice, and I was afraid because I was naked." All right y'all, say it like you mean it.

This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the word of God.

I will 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 day 41 is coming. We all go through seasons of testing and proving in times of adversity and struggle. We're praying and believing, but things aren't changing. In the scripture, these seasons are described as 40 days.

40 is a symbolic number. It refers to seasons of testing and struggle, where it doesn't look like things are going to change. After Noah built the ark, it rained for 40 days. Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days.

Goliath taught in the Israelites 40 days, Moses made a mistake, wandered in the desert for 40 years. In life, we all have a few 40 day experiences, where we're facing a giant that looks too big. A slow season in the desert, so to speak.

A storm where it keeps raining. Medical reports not improving. Child not coming home. Still haven't met the right person. It's tempting to get discouraged and give up on our dreams.

But when you're in one of these 40 days, thoughts telling you,

it's never going to change.

You have to know, day 41 is coming. The scripture says, "God has said in into the difficulty." I can't promise you, you will have some 40 days, but I can promise you day 41 will always come. But the number 40 gets a lot of attention.

You have to stay focused on the 41. Yes, it rained for 40 days, but on day 41, the rain stopped and Noah and his family were saved. Yes, the enemy tempted Jesus 40 days, but on day 41, angel showed up and strengthened him.

Yes, Goliath taught in the Israelites 40 days, but on day 41, David showed up and put it into him. You may be in a 40 day period now. Doesn't look like you'll ever get well or get out of debt. See your family restored.

You can complain and be negative. Try new approach. Father, thank you that my day 41 is coming. Thank you that you've already said an expiration date for this trouble.

When God told Noah to build the ark, it had never rained.

but he obeyed.

“He did the right thing when it was hard.”

He didn't have trouble because he was lazy and wouldn't listen. He faced his 40 days because he was faithful. Because he honored God and wouldn't take the easy way out. When you're in a 40 day period, thoughts will whisper, because you made those mistakes.

You should have done better. God's upset with you.

We think the storm is always God's judgment,

but sometimes like Noah, your 40 days is a result of being obedient. It's because you're honoring God. Not that you've done something wrong, but you've done something right. God can trust you to pass the test to keep an attitude of faith.

And no, we don't like the trials. It's uncomfortable, but that 40 days is positioning you for greater things. God knows the end from the beginning. We see the 40 days, but God sees day 41.

“He sees what He's about to do, and you have to go through it to get to it.”

You have to persevere. You have to stand in faith. The scripture says, "Having done all to stand." That means you just keep standing. You're attitude is, I will not give up.

I will not get bitter. Yes, it's still raining. I don't see a sign of things changing, but I know a secret. These 40 days is not how my story ends.

Day 41 is coming. God has not brought you this far to leave you. Get your passion back. This test is only temporary. God be in for you is more than what's coming against you.

Now love the faith of Noah, because everyone would have been making fun of him. This crazy guy building a boat out in the desert. His no water to put it in. He says, "It's going to flood." Despite all the negative chatter, he just kept doing what God put in his heart.

He finished building the boat and God him and all of his family on it. The scripture says, "God close the door." There was a time no one else could get in. Started raining one day, two days, a week, two weeks, three weeks. The whole earth was flooded.

“What did all the people and animals, plants, and houses?”

The scripture says, "It was torrential rains." Not just a little sprinkle, this was a huge storm. I'm sure it was chaotic, the boat rocking, the winds blowing. But think about how good God is. Noah was rising above what was destroying others.

Even though he was in a storm, God was sustaining him, not letting him go down. When you're in a 40-day season, you may not realize it, but God's not letting you go under. That sickness couldn't take you out. That trouble, it worked. It was hard, but you had the strength to endure.

That child that broke your heart. You look back now and think, "How did you make it through?" That was God keeping you, strengthening you, favoring you.

You can't always see it in the storm, but God is working.

He's a very present help in times of trouble. That means, in the 40 days, he's close to you. He's not allowing the difficulty to take you out. Now, I'm sure, after a couple of weeks of rain and wind, thoughts whispered to Noah, it's never going to stop raining.

This storm is permanent. Same thoughts that come to us. You'll always have that trouble and always struggling your finances. Always have to deal with this depression. Noah would wake up each morning.

I could imagine first thing he'd do was check. Oh, man, it's still raining. 19 days in a row, 25 days, 33 days. No sign of the rain stopping. He went to bed on day 40.

He might just another ordinary day. More wind, more rain, dark clouds, little did he know when he woke up on day 41, the rain had stopped. The wind had ceased, the sky had cleared, the sun began to shine. It was the dawning of a new season.

All those thoughts that had told him it was never going to stop raining.

He'd always been that limited environment. He realized they weren't true. That God had set an end to the difficulty. That it was just a season. Like Noah, you may be in your 40 days.

You've done the right thing. You've honored God, but it's raining. The medical reports are not good. Doors have closed on your dreams or you're dealing with that anxiety. Thoughts were whispers, never going to change.

God's forgotten about you. Can I encourage you day 41 is coming?

You are closer than you think.

“You can't see it, but things are about to shift in your favor.”

You're on the verge of a breakthrough. Your health turned it around, your child coming home, your business taking off. It's going to happen suddenly, unexpectedly. You didn't see it coming. Like Noah, you went to bed one night, they could everything would be the same.

You woke up the next morning and the rain had stopped. God stepped in and did what only he can do. See, some storms you can't stop. There are some battles you can't win. It's going to take the most high God breathing on your life.

The good news is he's watching over you. He sees a little sparrow when they fall to the ground. How much more is God concerned about you? He knows the struggles.

“He knows who did your wrong, what looks impossible.”

He wouldn't have let you get in that difficulty if he couldn't bring you out. The Scripture tells us to wait with expectancies, wait believing that it's coming, wait thanking God that it's on the way, wait expecting things to change in your favor. Not waiting discouraged and I don't think I'll ever get well.

I'll never get that scholarship.

This addiction's been in my family for years. You're the one to break it. God raised you up to set a new standard. May have been that way a long time, but don't accept it as permanent.

That's the mistake the Israelites made. They wandered in the desert 40 years because they never believed. They complained, had a limited mindset, but their children had a different mentality. They didn't see themselves as former slaves. These enemies are too big.

They had a victorious mentality. They realized they were children of Almighty God that defeat was not their destiny. After their parents wandered around the same mountain for 40 years, these children came into 41. They went into the promised land.

They lived in houses they didn't build. They ate from vineyards, they didn't plant. In a land flowing with milk and honey, abundance more than enough. That happened after 40 years of lack, 40 years of struggle, 40 years of mediocrity. There may be things that have been in your family a long time.

Can't get ahead, stuck in a limited environment, unhealthy relationships, people that compromise, addictions, loneliness, God is saying that 40 years has run its course. You're coming in to 41. In 41, you break out of the box and go into your promised land.

In 41, you see favor that your family's never seen.

In 41, there's opportunity chasing you down. The right people knocking at your door. In 41, there's creativity, ideas and talent that you didn't know you had. In 41, you're catapulted into influence, leadership, positions of honor and authority. You may be in some wilderness years now where there's struggle, adversity.

“You have to know that is not your destiny.”

Day 41 is coming. Six months after the rain stopped, the waters begin to recede and Noah sent a raven out to see if it could find dry ground. Hoping he could get off the boat, but the raven came back. There was nowhere to land. It was still flooded. When Noah didn't get discouraged,

thinking it was never going to change. He waited a few weeks and sent another bird out. This time, it came back with an olive lee in its beak. The bird couldn't land, but Noah knew things were getting better.

A week later, he sent a dove out and the dove never returned.

There was dry ground. They were able to get off the boat. But notice how Noah kept looking and believing, knowing that the boat was not his destiny. He knew that God was faithful, that it may storm for 40 days, but day 41 is coming. When you're in a storm, you have to do like Noah.

Keep expecting things to change. Don't let it become permanent. Keep sending out that bird, so to speak. Keep looking for God's goodness. Keep believing for your business to turn around. Keep thanking God that the right people will show up.

I talked to a lady that was in town for treatment at the medical center. She had been diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer. She had had it for six years. She had been through chemotherapy several times. The doctors had put her on a special trial, experimenting with new medicines, but with no success.

I couldn't encourage her. She would encourage me.

“She told me how that cancer was temporary,”

that it would pass, that she was going to be a testimony of God's goodness. Had this smile and agree with her. Well, she came last Sunday, so excited. She showed me the scans of her kidney. On one, you could see the dark spot, the cancer, but on the newest scan, it's perfectly clean.

There's no sign of cancer. The doctor said of all the hundreds of patients on this special trial, she's the only one that's seen improvement. She's not just the medicine, it's Jehovah Rafa, the Lord our healer. What happened? She came in to a 41st day.

You may be dealing with a sickness or some difficulty, and you're in your 18th day, your 25th day, your 37th day,

“you have to do like her and keep reminding yourself that the day 41 is coming.”

That the storm is not going to last, that the trouble is not permanent. The same God that stopped the rain for Noah is going to stop the rain in your life. The same God that took the children of the Israelites into the promised land is going to take you into your promised land. Where there's no more wandering, no more sickness, no more can't get ahead,

day 41 is on your calendar. God has already scheduled the turnaround, the healing.

It's already lined up the breakthrough, the divine connections,

just a matter of time before the wind cease. The waters were seed and you step in to a new level of your destiny. The scripture says, don't think it's strange when you face fiery trials that test the quality of your fame. Sometimes the 40 days is simply a test.

“It's a time to prove to God who you are to show him that you're not going to be discouraged by the rain.”

You're not going to get bitter over who did you wrong. You're not going to complain because your plans didn't work out. Your business hasn't taken off yet. You lost a loved one, you're attitude in the storm. How we respond to the trials will have a great impact on when we see the 41st days.

When you show God that you trust Him, you're not moved by the rain, you're still believing, praising, thanking, smiling, you're passing the test. That's when He'll release greater things in your life. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, He came up out of the water, the dove landed on His shoulder,

a voice boomed out of the heavens, said, "This is my beloved Son and whom I'm well pleased."

It was an incredible moment where Jesus was publicly announced for the first time.

You would think Jesus would go to the city and start healing people and do in great miracles. I'm sure He's all fired up and ready to go. But the scripture says, "The Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." It doesn't say that the enemy led in there, but the opposition was trying to hold him back, it said, "God led Him to the desert for a period of testing."

You can be in God's will and be in the desert. For 40 days, the enemy tempted Jesus. You hungry, turn these stones into bread and bow down and worship me. I'll give you the kingdoms of the world. Jump off this building, prove that you're the Son of God.

40 days, it was a struggle. Jesus was hungry, he had been fasting, he had endured, resist, not last, but he passed the test and proved that he was faithful, that he wouldn't compromise. 40 days, it was difficult, then day 41 came, angel showed up to strengthen him and empower him.

Day 41, Jesus came out of the desert, the scripture says, "In the power of the Spirit." He stepped into a new authority, a new anointing, a new dimension of His destiny. It says in Luke that he went to the temple, stood in front of the people and read from the scroll of Isaiah. It said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach the good news, to heal the set, to set it liberty, those that are captive, to declare the acceptable year of God's favor."

He rolled up the scroll and said, "This day, this scripture is fulfilled." Was 700 years earlier, Isaiah had written this prophecy. Jesus said, "Today is coming to pass." After being tempted for 40 days, on day 41, Jesus stepped in to what was declared

You may be in a time of testing and proving now. It's difficult, but you'll keep in the right attitude. The medical report hasn't improved, but you keep thanking God for healing. People that weren't didn't give you the credit, you keep being your best each day. You could be better over the door that closed, the person that walked away, but you know God

has something better coming. You're passing the task. Like Jesus, you're going to come in

to the 41st day. Not only will you feel a strength and power that you've never felt,

but you're going to step into things that God prophesied over you long before you got here. Things he has spoken over your destiny before you were born. God said to Jeremiah, "Before you were formed in your mother's womb, I ordained you to be a prophet to the nations." On your 41st day, you'll fulfill prophecy, favor, influence, greater than you've imagined. Now don't get discouraged in the testing, in the wilderness seasons. Those are times

“approving where you have to show God what you made up. You may be in day 15 now. Thoughts whisper,”

"This is never going to change." Day 22, you'll always be overlooked.

Day 34, just take the easy way out. Everyone's doing it. No stand strong. Keep doing the right thing. The end is already sad. The time of struggle, testing, loneliness, that exploration date is already scheduled. Day 41 is coming. Day 41 is an anointing of ease. Where what used to be a struggle is not a struggle anymore. Day 41 is when the person of your dream shows up. Someone better than you've imagined. Day 41 is when you see restoration, beauty for ashes. God work in all

things for your good. And some of you don't realize you're in day 38. Day 39, you're too close to quit. You're on the verge of what you've been believing for. This is not the time to get discouraged,

“give up. You have to dig down deep and say I am in it for the long haul. I will not be moved.”

God, I believe, but day 41 is coming. This storm will cease and I'll see your goodness in new ways. When you do that, you're going to fill a second wind. God breathing fresh strength, greater endurance, new vision, so you can make it to 41. My father, Pastor Lakewood, for 40 years, he and my mother started the church in 1959 and he passed in 1999. I stepped up to pastor and we thought if we could just keep the church going, we'd be doing great. If we could

just maintain and not let it go down, that would be a victory. My father was such a strong leader, powerful minister, big personality. He was my hero. If I could be half of what he was, I'd be doing great. Now I've been behind the scenes all those years doing the production and I'm naturally more quiet and reserved. I didn't have all the training, the experience, but when my father suddenly passed, I didn't realize I stepped in to year 41. I stepped into favor,

influence, opportunity, that my father never saw. 41 is where God catapult you ahead.

We were hoping to maintain the church, but here we are in the form of compact centers. You know what this is? Day 41. There are some 41s in your future. You've been faithful, you pass the test, you're going to see God show out in your life. Open doors, you never dream with open. Turn situations around that you thought were permanent. I don't believe those lies that you've seen your best days. Day 41 is coming. Goliath was the champion, the Philistine army. He was

over nine feet tall. This scripture says, for 40 days, he stood on the side of the mountain, morning and evening, and taunted the Israelites, making threats, insults, pestering them. When the Israelites army heard him, they were terrified. He'd run in high. 40 days paralyzed in fear. 40 days, they thought there were no way out, facing an angry giant twice their size. All of us

“will have some Goliaths in line. Not just the size, but how about the negative chatter?”

People that tell you, you can't accomplish your dream. You'll never get well. Sometimes the Goliath is our own thoughts. You're too small. You're not attractive. You don't have what it takes.

end to the difficulty. Day 41, a teenage boy named David showed up. He heard Goliath, mocking the Israelites. He saw everyone run and hide, but something rose up in him, a fire, a passion, a courage. He looked at Goliath and said, "Who is this uncircum sized, filistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" He was saying, in effect, this may have gone on for 40 days, but day 41 is here. He picked up a smooth stone,

slung that rock and knocked Goliath to the ground. He took Goliath's sword, cut his head off.

“Well, Joel, I can't wait till David shows up. Does something about my giant?”

Can I tell you a secret? You're the David. You're the one to defeat what's limiting you. God allowed it for a 40-day season, a certain amount of time, but it's not permanent. You're not supposed to run and hide, live in him and aid. This sickness is too big. These people

at work are so much more powerful. I'm the underdog. God loves to use the underdog. He loves to

take those who people think are too small. Don't have the training. They expect you to hide, live with the dysfunction, deep down. You're going to feel what David felt, a supernatural power, a divine enablement, a favor on your sling shot to where you rise up and say, "I'm the giant killer. I'm the difference maker. I'm the one to put an end to what's hindering my family. May have gone on for 40 days or 40 years God is saying, "Dae 41 is here."

The giant is about to come down. The sickness about to turn around. That struggle and lack is coming to an end. Friends, I can't promise you that you won't have some 40 days. Like Noah, where it rains and storms. Like Jesus, where in the desert being tempted. Like David, facing a big obstacle. Thoughts toning you, but I can promise you, day 41 is coming. God is faithful. He has you in the palm of his hand. He sees you be in faithful. Do in the right

thing when it's hard. You are passing the test. When those lives whisper that it's never going to change,

no remember God has said an end to your difficulty. He's already scheduled the expiration date. Now believe in the clear, like with Noah, the storm is about to cease. Like the children of the Israelites, bondages that have held your family back are being broken. Like David, that giant, this been toning you, the sickness, the addiction, the trouble it worked, is coming down.

“And you will go into your promise land. In Jesus' name. And if you receive it, can you say amen?”

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If you've never been to Lakewood, we have a great opportunity to come. We call it homecoming weekend.

We love to meet you and your family. You can see the building at 10-1 of the services. It's a great time to be a part of the Lakewood family. Looking forward to seeing you at homecoming weekend. [Music]