A Place Called There

John Osteen
ISBN 0-912631-19-8

Copyright © 1982
John Osteen
All Rights Reserved
 1 A Place Called There
Life is so exciting. Our main interest and
desire in life should be to ask ourselves, "Am I
following Jesus? Am I where He sent me? Am I
doing what He told me to do? Am I in the place
that He has led me?"
I am convinced that if we will follow Jesus,
every one of our needs will be met. Maybe you
have needs today. Take time to get with Jesus and
let Him minister to you. Look back over your life
and reflect upon how He has led you in the past.
You will see that He has led you to the right place
each time. He has supplied your needs.
Jesus said, "Follow Me, and I will make you
fishers of men." He will lead you to where the fish
are. He will lead you to where the gold is in the
fish's mouth. He will lead you to the place where
there is silver. He will supply your needs.
Matthew 4:18, 19, "And Jesus, walking by the
sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called
Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into

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the sea: for they were fishers. And He saith unto
them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men."
There are great rewards when you follow
Jesus. If we will follow God, follow the Lord Jesus
Christ, He will supply our needs. He will give us a
life where His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
I realize we are always going to have to command
the devil to get out of the way. The devil is always
going to be there to contest everything God has for
us. The devil is going to contest everything that
you try to do for God. You have to stand up to
him, stand your ground, demand your rights, shake
him off, chase him off, and resist him steadfastly.
Living a life of faith is following Jesus. It is
not just being in a stationery, comfortable place
where you say to yourself, "I've got it made." As
ministers of God and as members of the Body of
Christ, we are continually subject to the call of the
Master. In Matthew 4:19 Jesus says, "Follow
Me...." He did not say follow Me for a while and
then sit down and stop following. Wherever Jesus
goes and beckons you to follow Him, you should
continue following Him.
I know of a missionary who had a great need

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for an automobile. He had some great needs in
some other areas also and his needs were not being
supplied. We were praying with him about the
situation. The Lord Jesus led him to go to the
Island of Bermuda.
Jack and his wife went all the way to Bermuda
and nothing seemed to happen. They almost quit
and came home. They were so discouraged.
Just before they came home, they went to a
black woman's church. I believe she was expecting
him and knew God was going to send him. The
people in that church had been saving money.
Right there in that little church, a place where
nobody would ever dream could help him in such a
way, they bought him a brand new car and gave
him several thousands of dollars. His every need
was met because he followed Jesus.
Our responsibility is to follow the Master. You
are not to make up your mind as to what you want
to do and where you want to go. Follow Jesus! Our
main duty in life is to follow as Jesus directs us.
When you are following Jesus, no matter what
hardships you endure, He has just passed by them
and He knows they are there. He has walked the
same path you are now walking. He knows every

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crevice, every obstacle and every blessing. He
said, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of
men." After Jesus said that, the disciples did follow
Him. As they followed Him throughout Galilee,
He taught them how to be fishers of men. How can
you get crowds to come hear the Gospel? How can
you become fishers of men? What did they do?
They got up and followed Him and Jesus
demonstrated what every minister should know
about getting humanity into the Gospel net.
Read Matthew 4:23-25: "And Jesus went
about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and
healing all manner of sickness and all manner of
disease among the people. And His fame went
throughout all Syria: and they brought unto Him
all sick people that were taken with divers diseases
and torments, and those which were possessed
with devils, and those which were lunatic, and
those that had the palsy; and He healed them. And
there followed Him great multitudes of people
from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from
Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond
Jordan."
No wonder people followed Him! Turn your

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attention towards the great arena of human
suffering. Turn your attention to ALL sick people
with various diseases who are tormented, who are
possessed with demons, who are lunatic, who have
the palsy. Begin to teach and preach to them the
glorious glad news and sound the Gospel trumpet
that Jesus bore their sins. He bore their sicknesses.
He tasted their death. He took their curse. They
have a right to be free. When you do all this, you
will never lack for people to preach to. We have a
responsibility to the demon-possessed. We have a
responsibility to the tormented. We have a
responsibility to the sick. We have a responsibility
to those who are oppressed of the devil. We have a
responsibility to those people who live in
psychiatric wards. We need to stop playing church
and having "bless-me" clubs. We need the house of
God to be a house of prayer, where prayer is made
and captives are set free!
In I Kings 17, the story is told of Elijah, the
Tishbite, lifting up his voice to God and to Israel
and saying, "As the Lord God of Israel liveth,
before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor
rain these years, but according to my word."
Elijah was following the Word of God. God

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had said that if Israel rebelled and started after
idols, He would shut up the heavens. He said if
they would repent, He would open the heavens
(Deuteronomy 11:13-17). Elijah saw them turning
from God. He knew the Word of God in regards to
this matter. He knew they had broken the
covenant. When they turned back to God, he knew
the rain would come, because they had restored
their covenant-relationship to God.
We are living in a world filled with trouble.
We are in a world of stress. We are in a world that
is in chaos. No doubt the end time is upon us and
our days are similar to those we read of in I Kings
17. Elijah represents the man of God, the preacher
especially leading his flock, or in his ministry.
During this period of famine, in the time of
drought, in the time of great distress and upheaval,
it is of utmost importance that Elijah listen to God
and do EXACTLY what God tells him to do. Our
business today is to tune our spirits to the Holy
Spirit, to listen to God, to do what God tells us to
do, and go where God tells us to go. When we do
these things, our needs will be supplied and we
will be safe!
Elijah drew aside from his daily routine and

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prayed. He sought God. It is important to get in
touch with God, to hear from God. We need to get
away from people. There is a time we need to draw
away. People will confuse you. They will
discourage you. They will talk about other people.
They will drag your faith down many times.
Sometimes you just have to get alone and climb
the hill of God, above the fog and smog of this
world. Wrap your fingers in the garments of God
and say, "My Father, my Father, I will not let you
go until you bless me!" We must seek God
diligently and follow His direction for our lives.
I Kings 17:24, "And the Word of the Lord
came unto him, saying...." Elijah heard the voice of
God. Now God told him where to go and what to
do. He said, "... Get thee hence, and turn thee
eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith,
that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou
shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded
the ravens to feed thee THERE."
God can tell you where to go. There is a
PLACE for every person called "there." That place
called "there" is where God said, "I have
commanded the ravens to feed thee." If you are not
in that place called "there," and the ravens come

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and bring the food "there," it is not God's fault if
you are starving!
God sent me back to Lakewood Church from
the Philippine Islands to pastor. I did not want to
come. But you see, Lakewood Church was my
place called "there." If I had said, "No, no, no, I am
not going to go," I would be in a mess. This is
where God commanded the ravens to feed me. If I
had not come, I could not blame God. I might still
have had a good ministry. But there would be a
strain, a grating and a pulling down in my system.
There would have been a strain and a burden upon
me. When you are in the place called "there," His
yoke is easy and His burden is light.
I believe there is a place called "there" for
every minister. Every believer can apply this
principle to his own life. THERE IS A PLACE
CALLED "THERE"! That does not mean there
will never be battles to fight. That does not mean
you are not going to come against some tests and
trials. There can never be a testimony without a
TEST. When you are secure in the place called
"there," you can command the devil to leave you.
The devil may try to prevent the ravens from
bringing your bread. Command the devil in Jesus'

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Name to "GO! GOD SENT ME HERE TO THE
PLACE CALLED 'THERE' AND I CHARGE
YOU GET OFF M Y TERRITORY!"
Then you can enter into God's peace and just
praise God. Soon, the little ravens will come by.
When you are in the place called "there," they will
come. Now if they never come, you need to
evaluate the place you are in.
Major on loving Jesus. Wrap yourself up in
your devotion to Him, make Him first in your life,
and go where He directs you (no matter what men
say). GO TO THAT PLACE CALLED "THERE,"
AND HE CAN FEED YOU WITH THE BIRDS
OF THE AIR!! God has unlimited resources. God
is in charge of this world!
Even a tiny worm brought destruction on King
Herod. The Bible says he was eaten of worms. God
can take the worms and destroy the enemy. God is
interested in anybody that will spread the Gospel.
Our responsibility is to go where He told us to go,
to do what He told us to do, and to stay where He
told us to stay. We have no right to do what we
want to do. We are to obey His divine orders.
Just because God sends you to one place, does
not mean you are going to stay there forever. I

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Kings 17:5-7 tells us that Elijah "... went and did
according unto the Word of the Lord: for he went
and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before
Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and
flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the
evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to
pass after a while, that the brook dried up,
because there had been no rain in the land."
Do not try to stay when your brook dries up.
More problems in churches come after the brook
has dried up and GOD WANTS YOU TO MOVE
ON AND YOU JUST HANG ON. God is not
going to do everything in the same way throughout
life. Do not try to hold God to doing certain things
the same way all the time. If your brook dries up
and just suddenly everything goes wrong, examine
yourself. Go before God and say, "God are you
through with me here? Are you trying to tell me
something?"
I Kings 17:8, 9: "And the Word of the Lord
came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to
Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell
there...."
In the midst of the great calamity of that day,
the man of God was responsible to stay in touch

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with God and continually do what God said and go
where God sent him.
God told Elijah, "Arise, get thee to Zarephath,
which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold,
I have commanded a widow woman there to
sustain thee."
I want you to notice two things here. First of
all, in both instances, God commanded somebody
to take care of Elijah. He commanded ravens, and
He commanded a widow. It was a starving widow,
a widow that did not have anything, but a widow
that could get rich and be taken care of if she
would do what God said. It was a widow that could
see miracles. God is deeply interested in this man
who represents all of us. He said, "I have
COMMANDED the ravens; I have
COMMANDED the widow." Quit trying to raise
money by pleas of impending disaster. Stop
begging!
Be reputable. God commanded a widow. If
you will seek God and follow where God wants
you to be, and stay close to Jesus and stay in love
with Him, and obey Him, and go where He wants
you to go, He will command people to take care of
you. God has people who will obey His command.

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God has people He will command to give you one
hundred thousand dollars. He will COMMAND
them to give you an airplane. He will COMMAND
them to give you a ship. He will COMMAND
them to give you a home. He will COMMAND
them to give you something out of their bank
account. People will be glad to bless you.
If you are one of those that God commands to
do it, it will be such a joy. Whenever Jesus has
spoken to my wife, Dodie, and I to bless others, it
has been such a privilege to be commanded to
give. Tears of joy came to us in knowing that Jesus
would trust us to be channels of His blessings.
Those who are commanded of God are not to be
pitied, they are to be envied because they are
honored by the Lord Jesus Christ. When you have
a burden for some ministry, or some evangelist, or
some mission outreach and God keeps putting it on
your heart, do not push it aside, rejoice, rejoice!
Obey as quickly as you can, because the devil will
try to rob you and deter you from what God
commands.
God commanded a widow because He wanted
glory. God wanted the glory. If it had been a rich
man, he might have only given from his

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abundance. This widow woman had nothing. She
was preparing to gather some sticks and cook her
last cake and die with her son. I Kings 17:12-15:
"And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have
not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a
little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering
two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and
my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah
said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast
said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and
bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for
thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The
barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the
cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth
rain upon the earth. And she went and did
according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he,
and her house, did eat many days."
Throughout the famine the cruse of oil did not
fail nor the meal barrel fail. This widow woman
who had nothing was chosen of God and
commanded of God to take care of a ministry. To
do it she had to have daily miracles. So, if God
commands you to do something and you do not
have the wherewithal to do it, say, "Hallelujah,
hallelujah, God is going to keep me in miracles!"

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 I Kings 17:9 says, "Arise, get thee to
Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell
there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman
THERE...." There is a place called "there." If I am
there in the place called "there," where Jesus sent
me, He will sustain me. He will take care of me
because He has commanded that I be taken care of
"there." If I am not there, I cannot blame God. I am
going to be there! "There" is where God has
commanded the ravens and the widow to take care
of me. If I am not there and the ravens come, and
the widow supplies, I will not get what God
provided. I am going to go to the place called
"there."
Seek God. Know with assurance that you are
in that place called "there." God will then cause
your every need to be met and you will blossom
into the fullness of your ministry.
Make this your prayer:

Father, In Jesus' Name, I seek Your

divine guidance for my life. I thank You
that Jesus lives in me and the Bible says
that He is made unto me wisdom. You
told me that if I lack wisdom, to ask You,

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and You would supply me with all
wisdom for every situation liberally. As I
now ask You, I thank You, Father, that
from this time forward You are supplying
me with the wisdom that I need.
I am Your sheep and I do hear Your
voice, and no other voice will I follow. I
trust in You, Lord, with all my heart and I
do not lean unto my own understanding. I
acknowledge You in all my ways and I
know that You are directing my path. I
will follow the way of peace, for Jesus,
the Prince of Peace, lives within me.
Your Word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path. As I read and
meditate in Your Word, You will speak to
me. I thank You, Father, that the Holy
Spirit lives within me and He will guide
me into all truth. He will not guide me
into error, but only into truth and good.
My spirit does bear witness with the Holy
Spirit confirming the will of God for my
life.
I rebuke any confusion or frustration
and I boldly declare that I will rest in

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 Your love. I commit my way unto You,
and You shall bring it to pass. Thank
You, Lord, for keeping me in Your
perfect way! Amen.

The preceding confession is based upon the following

scriptures: I Corinthians 1:30; James 1:5; John 10:4;
Proverbs 3:5, 6; Isaiah 9:6; Psalm 119:105; John 16:13;
Romans 8:16.

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