Joel Osteen - The I AM Advantage

I want to talk to you today about the "I am" advantage. Two of the most important words we can ever say are "I am." They are just small, ordinary words, and we use "I" and "am" in different ways all through the day, but when you put them together, something powerful happens. Whatever follows "I am" will come looking for you: I am blessed; blessings are coming. I am strong; strength is coming. I am healthy; health is coming. This is great when we use it positively and declare good things over our lives. The problem is it works in the negative as well: I am unattractive; unattractiveness comes. I am lazy; laziness comes. I am unlucky; bad breaks come. Whatever you put after "I am," you're inviting it into your life. Just imagine you're sending it an invitation. I am talented; you just invited talent to come. I am disciplined. I am focused. I am a masterpiece; you're inviting things that make you better and move you toward your destiny. But how many times are we inviting things we don’t want? "Joel, I’m just ordinary." You’re inviting ordinary. "I am poor. I am broke. I am so in debt." You’re inviting lack, struggle, and not enough. Or, "I am weak. I am tired. I am lonely." You're inviting the very things you’re trying to get rid of. Pay attention to what you're sending invitations to. The good news is you get to choose what follows "I am." No more, "I am limited. I am out of shape. I am at a disadvantage." Do yourself a favor; cancel those invitations. Quit sending out what you don't want. "Well, Joel, I'm just telling it like it is. It's the truth: I am sick. I am broke. I am undisciplined." The scripture says, "Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'" God didn't say, "Let the weak say, 'I am weak.'" Let the insecure say, "I am not enough." Let those who have made mistakes say, "I am unworthy." God says use the "I am" to declare who I say you are. The circumstances may say you're sick; the medical report may not look good, but don't go around saying, "I am unhealthy," "I am going down," or "I am so worried." You're prophesying your future. Change what follows "I am." How about, "I am healthy," "I am strong," "I am an overcomer," "I am armed with strength for this battle?" You declare that, and healing starts coming—strength, vitality. Instead of "I am limited," "I am at a disadvantage," or "I am not up to par," turn that around: "I am equipped," "I am empowered," "I am anointed," "I am well able." Look at what you're inviting: power, favor, anointing, the goodness of God. The scripture says with our words, we can bless ourselves or curse ourselves. Sometimes it's not the enemy holding us back; we're holding ourselves back. We're using these negative "I am's," and we may not even realize it. Pay attention to what follows "I am." What are you saying about yourself? One reason the "I am" is so powerful is that it’s one of the names of God. Moses had been hiding in the desert because of a mistake he made; he had to flee from the Egyptians. After 40 years, God came to him in a burning bush and told him to go deliver the Israelites from slavery; that’s what he was originally called to do. He thought he had missed his purpose. He told God how the Pharaoh wouldn't listen to him and how the Israelites wouldn't follow his leadership. He had all these excuses. He finally said, "God, if I go, the Israelites are going to ask me who sent me. What should I tell them?" Your name is? God said, "You tell them my name is 'I am.'" He could have said, "My name is Jehovah," "My name is Yahweh," "My name is the Most High," but out of all the names he could have chosen, he simply said, "Tell them 'I am' sent you." Every time we say "I am," we are saying the name of God. That’s why what follows "I am" has so much power. When you say "I am healthy," you are saying, in effect, "God, I believe that I'm healthy." That statement has the authority of the Creator of the universe. It's not just being positive or speaking nice affirmations over yourself; when you use "I am," it’s backed up by the Most High God. You may be struggling; you have some things coming against you, but when you declare, "I am blessed," "I am victorious," "I am more than a conqueror," "I am the head and not the tail," you're not just hyping yourself up. The power of the living God is behind those "I am's." You could be worried about your children, stressed over your job, upset over people at work, but instead of giving life to all that defeat, you declare, "I am peaceful," "I am calm," "I am secure," "I am confident." When God hears those "I am's" declaring what he said about you, angels go to work, forces of darkness are broken, and miracles are set into motion. His power is backing up the "I am." That’s his name. But imagine how God must feel when he has created us in His image, crowned us with his favor, put the enemy under our feet, and called us more than conquerors, yet he hears us using "I am" to devalue who we are, to criticize ourselves, to speak mediocrity. It’s like using his name in vain: "I am not talented enough. I'm not really smart enough. I am not attractive enough." No! God calls you a masterpiece. He put in you everything you need to reach your destiny. I can hear God saying, "Don’t put my name on that. Don't use my authority for something I didn't call you".