Sermon for today by Joel osteen: THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Topic :THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Every man must choose to let the inner man dominate his
life.

If we are going to live like kings and enjoy the abundance of God, our spirits must be in control. Given a choice to love or
to hate, our spirits will choose love. Given a choice to be encouraged or to be discouraged, we will choose to be
encouraged.

These decisions come out of the newly created spirit—the inner man through the Holy Spirit. You can strengthen the inner man as you study the Word of God and
begin to see what God says about you.

There is a story about a great roaring lion and a little puppy. No one would ask, “Which one do you think can whip
the other one?” What a foolish question.

However, you could change the outcome of that fight. All you would need to do is stop feeding the lion and start feeding the puppy. If you were patient and continually fed that puppy week after week, he would become strong and healthy. After a
time, the lion would become so weak that he could no longer lift his paw.

When you become a Christian, your inner nature is likethat little puppy. It must be fed, taught, and trained. Your outer, fleshly nature, like the lion, must be starved until it has no strength.
The people who do not live in the abundance of God are those who feed the lion. They spend very little time in Bible
study and prayer. They are unconcerned about attending a good Bible teaching church.

Some sit in front of the television
and computer screen and feed their carnal natures by the hour.
The old lion roars, and they wonder why they do not walk in victory. What you feed your spirit is important. The new inner
spirit will not grow as you eat a steak. It must have spiritual food, and there is only one source. “It is the Spirit who gives
life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

The devil’s trick is to keep many believers in doctrinal chains and hide the great truths of God fromus. For years I was kept in ignorance. As a minister, I walked in all the light I knew for many years. I am sure other denominational ministers are doing all they know to do also, but many of us were kept in ignorance.

We trusted our teachers and were not taught the complete truths of God’s Word. We were taught fear and condemnation. We were beaten down and constantly reminded of how weak and unworthy we
were.

I was taught that part of my responsibility as a preacher was to keeping telling other people just how bad they were.
The more I did it, the more acclaimI received. They thought that was good preaching.
It reminds me of the story of a little bird that was hatched in a cage. He did not know anything about life outside of that
cage, for he had never been outside. As he grew, he began to notice those appendages on his sides and wondered what they were.

One day he learned that his wings would lift up and down. He flapped his wings so fast that he flew into the side of
the cage. He did that over and over. Deep inside he heard a little voice saying, “You are not made for a cage.” But that was
the only life he knew.

Then someone mistakenly left the cage door open, and the bird flew out for the first time. Can’t you hear that little bird
saying, “This is it! I was made for something bigger than a cage!”
The devil has made certain that the body of Christ is all caged up. We have been fed biblical bird seed when we need
meat to become eagles.

Millions of Christians are behind cages,
locked up in doctrines that say miracles have passed away and the days Of supernatural direction are over.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, these cages are being opened, and we are beginning to fly together. We are learning the great truths of the Word of God. We are experiencing the abundant, victorious life of Jesus Christ!