Displaying Christian Sermons by tag: Textual Sermons Of Famous Preaachers: Joyce Meyer, Joseph Prince
The sermon "What to Do When God Doesn't Pick You" - Joyce Meyer (online). Every day is not a great day. There's good days and then there's not so good days, but even the not so good days sometimes are good days in disguise, we just really don't realize it.
Joyce Meyer (June 21, 2018) - The Parables of Jesus: The Laborers in the Vineyard - Part 2. Life can be frustrating at times. Learn how God can transform the trials in our lives into blessings, as Joyce teaches on the parables of Jesus.
Joyce Meyer (November-26-2019) Sermon: The Great Exchange - Part 2. God has NOT given up on you! Be encouraged to exchange guilt and condemnation for the truth that God loves you!
Joyce Meyer - Sermon: God, What Do You Want Me to Do? - Part 1 online. Are you tired of running your life by yourself? Learn from what Jesus taught His disciples along the seashore!
Joyce Meyer: can I tell you, there is nothing, nothing that you do that God is not interested in, and there's no place that you go that God is not there? You're never alone. It amazes me, I continue to be amazed at how much is in just one chapter of the bible. But if we just read through it, many times, we miss a lot of what's there. And so, today, I wanna share with you this morning out of John chapter 21. In John chapter 21, there are nine different lessons, just in that one chapter of the bible. I won't stand here and promise we'll get through all nine, because I know how I am, but we'll do the best that we can. All right, John chapter 21, verse 1: "after this, Jesus let himself be seen and revealed [himself] again to the disciples, at the sea of tiberias. And he did it in this way." Now, just try to kinda get a picture of this. "there were together simon peter, and thomas, called the twin, and nathanael from cana of galilee, and the sons of zebedee, and two others of his disciples." So, they're all sittin' around in a group, I guess, kinda thinkin' about what they wanna do, like we do some days. "and simon peter said to them, 'i am goin' fishing!'" Exclamation mark, now, that always caught my attention because of the exclamation mark that's there. So, he must have said it with some emphasis, or maybe, and I don't know this for sure, but maybe peter and some of the disciples were just a little bit, I don't know, frustrated. You know, they had these thoughts about Jesus and what was gonna happen, and here, he died, and he's gone now, and I don't know. Maybe they thought he was gonna come back and do somethin', and they haven't seen him in a while, and nothing's happening. And so, peter was a fisherman before Jesus called him, and so now it kinda seems like he's just decided he's gonna go back and do what he used to do. You know, you gotta be careful if you feel like Jesus hasn't shown up in your life for a while that you don't decide to just go back and do what you used to do, amen?
Joyce Meyer: now, see the lesson there that we wouldn't have got if we wouldn't have slowed down and really looked at that. Second thing here is, "and they said to him, 'and we're comin' with you!'" Exclamation mark, well, I like that too. Do you know that a leader, or the head of a family, they have--there's a certain gift on them for persuasion? And, you know, it's bad enough to send yourself, but it's doubly bad when you drag other people into it. And so, it's just interesting, whatever a leader does, without even really telling other people to do it, people will follow them. Years ago, when I first started what was a women's ministry at that time, my hair was a little bit longer, and I wore it pulled back on the side with combs. I pulled it back with combs, and they had a little decoration on 'em. And I never told anybody to do it, but it wasn't long, and almost all the women in the church were wearin' combs in their hair
Full Sermon
Joyce Meyer: with their hair pulled back. So, you need to realize, if you wanna lead something, that you better be leading people in the right direction. Because now, you're not only responsible for yourself, but you're gonna be responsible for some of the things that you lead and guide them to do. Same way with parenting. Your kids are gonna do a lot more of what they see you do than what you tell them to do, amen? See what we're learnin' already? Now, "so they went out and they got into the boat," and here comes the next message, "and throughout the night they caught nothing." See what happens when you just jump up and make your own decision and do your own thing? "ooh, nothin' else has happened. I'm goin' fishin'." "yeah, we're gonna come with ya." And guess what? They caught nothing. Some of you haven't caught anything in a long time.
Joyce Meyer: and you don't understand why God's not blessin' your plan. Come on, now, God doesn't have to bless our plan. His plan is already blessed. Come on, maybe somebody this morning could just make a slight turn and things would get so much better for you. Now, you know, I'm not suggesting that you have to have a 3-day prayer meeting to decide if you can fishin' or not. I mean, we all do a lot of thing that we'd like to do, but there is a principle here that we don't wanna miss, and that is that the bible says in proverbs, and I love this, "in all your ways acknowledge him." So, I just think it's good to start your day, "now, Lord, this is what I have planned today, but if what I have planned is not what you want, then you're welcome to interrupt me and give me the grace to go in whatever direction you want me to go in," amen?
Joyce Meyer: James 4:13 says: "come now, you who say, 'today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and carry on our business and we'll make money.' Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what might happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor," doesn't make you feel too important, does it? "(a puff of smoke, a mist)," sometimes when I share this scripture, I will bring a can of hairspray up into the pulpit with me and just spray it once and just kinda watch it float off, and just say, "there we go."
Joyce Meyer: I mean, in light of eternity, our years that we have here and our importance compared to who God is, so it's not that we're not important to God. He assigns great importance to us, but he's just makin' a point here. You know, "you're not in charge. You're not as important as you think you are. You're not as smart as you think you are. So, instead of just makin' all your plans for the future and expecting me to bless 'em, how 'bout just slowin' down here and sayin' this?" "you ought instead to say," verse 15, "'if the Lord is willing, we shall do this thing or that [thing].' But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. And all such boasting is wrong." So, they had their own plan. Their plan didn't work, and throughout the night, they caught nothing. Verse 4: "morning was already breaking when Jesus came to the beach and stood there. However, the disciples did not know that it was Jesus." Wow, how could Jesus be in our midst and us not know that it's Jesus? But it happens all the time. You know, what we need to--and I'm not tryin' to be overly religious here, but I don't think believers need to use the word "luck." "well, well, I was just lucky." No, God gave you favor or you were blessed, but luck is for the world.
Joyce Meyer: we're not just lucky. "well, wasn't that a nice coincidence?" No, I don't think so. Because God busies himself with our every step. And, you know, this wasn't the only time that the disciples were standing right with Jesus and didn't know that it was him. You'd think that those men who were literally with his physical presence day in and day out would've recognized him. So, one of the things that I like to pray is, "God, any time that you're doin' somethin' in my life, please don't let me miss it." I don't wanna miss the things that God does in my life, because I think that's part of what makes every day of our life special, is to know that God is concerned with every little teeny-tiny detail of our life. Can I tell you, there is nothing, nothing that you do that God is not interested in, and there's no place that you go that God is not there?
Joyce Meyer: you're never alone. I'm actually preparing a message right now that i've just gotten into. You're never alone. I read somethin' last week that impressed me. A certain preacher had accomplished a great deal I his life, just a phenomenal amount of work, and somebody said to him toward the end of his life, "how in the world have you accomplished all that you have accomplished?" He said, "well, you have to remember, there's two of us." Isn't that good?
Joyce Meyer: there's two of us. We're not alone. We have a constant companion. Now, verse 5 is just actually really cute: "so Jesus said to them, 'boys (children), do you have any meat (any fish)? [have you caught anything to eat along with your bread?]'" In other words, he's not calling them, "sons," representing maturity. He's calling them, "boys (children)," representing that it's obvious they're still quite immature because they're still just jumpin' up and doin' their own thing. Come on, is anybody gettin' anything out of this?
Joyce Meyer: and so, I just love this chapter because it's like Jesus is sayin', "okay, is it working?" I tried for years to change my husband and make him be what I wanted him to be. And finally, one day, honestly, dave has always loved, loved, loved sports. Well, I never grew up with any of that. My dad didn't like sports, and the way I was raised, what he didn't like, nobody got to like. And so, I didn't have any love for any of the sports. And so, because I didn't like it, I didn't want dave to do it. Now, I know none of you other ladies had that problem, but I did. I didn't like it, and I didn't want him to do it. And so, he played golf. He watched football. He watched baseball. He watched basketball. He got into tennis. He got into bowling. Anything that rolled or bounced, dave liked it.
Joyce Meyer: Amen? And so, I keep tryin' to get him not to like this, not to like this, not to like this. And one day, he was watching a football game, listening to a baseball game, and shining the driver for his golf clubs at the same time, and my lightning-fast brain, after many years of misery, finally thought, "you know what? What I'm doing is not working." So, maybe I could just ask you today, is what you're doing working? Maybe some of you need to just get out of control and love it. Come on, a few of you'll get that. I think that would make a good book: "out of control and loving it." In other words, how wonderful would it be if we could ever get to the point where we knew that we did not have the ability to run the world and make everybody in the universe do what we want them to do? My goodness, I wonder what it would be like if we could just get through one day without havin' opinions about what everybody else is doin'. "'boys (children), is your plan working?' 'no!'" Exclamation mark, "and then he said to them, 'well, cast your net on the right side of the boat.'" Come on, somebody needs today, you need to cast your net on the right side of the boat 'cause you've been fishin' on the wrong side of the boat and not catchin' anything. Actually, the title of this message today is, "God, what do you want me to do?" Now, sometimes we say that in frustration, like, "well, i've done everything I know to do, and nothing's working. God, what do you want me to do?" But I'm lookin' at a more sincere question, like, "God, what do you want me to do?"
Joyce Meyer: I can say it again if you don't all like it. "God, what do you want me to do?" You know, sometimes, when I'm in the middle of somethin', if I just stop and say, "okay, God, I'm feelin really frustrated. I've lost my peace here. What do you want me to do?" So often, i'll just hear him say, "just leave it alone. This is not somethin' you can do anything about. Just let me take care of this." You know, there's so many things in our lives that God wants to take care of. But he won't unless we let 'em go. "cast your care on the Lord, and he will care for you." First, we have to stop trying to do everything, showing that we trust God to do it. "so he said to them," verse 6, "'cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find [some].' So they cast their net, and now they were not able to haul it in because it was such a big catch." I love that. How many of you would love a big dump truck to pull up to your driveway and just dump a haul of blessings right at your front door?
Joyce Meyer: Amen? "then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to peter, 'it is the Lord!'" Great revelation, when he saw the miracle, another lesson here, he believed it was God. But, you know, Jesus told thomas, who said, "i will not believe unless you show me your sides and your hands, the scars in your side and your hand," Jesus met him where he was at, which I love about him. He will meet us where we're at. And so he showed him so thomas could believe, but then he said, "blessed are those who believe and have not seen." Hey, it's easy to get up and get excited if you've received your healing. It's easy to get up and get excited if you've had your miracle, if you've had your breakthrough. But don't forget about what it was like while you were still getting that testimony you're now giving.
Joyce Meyer: 'cause the only way you get a testimony is to go through a test. And like we said last night, we need to love Jesus just as much when things are not going the way we want them to as we do when they are. And I believe with all of my heart, if you cannot love God in the hard times, you will not love him in the good times. And I know people think that doesn't make sense, but it actually does because we are more inclined to seek God when we've got a need than we are when we don't have a need. So, if you love him just as much in the valley as you do on the mountaintop, then you're likely to stay in the right place and keep your priorities straight. See, maybe you've got your breakthrough now, and you've had your haul, and everything's good for you. Well, just a couple things to remember. Don't forget to have compassion on those who haven't come through yet.
And don't forget, just because you don't need a miracle now, that doesn't mean that you don't need Jesus just as much every single moment of your life. 'cause you know what? When he said, "apart from me, you can do nothing," he meant it, amen? "then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to peter--" and boy, you know, John wrote this book of John, and he constantly called himself, "i am the disciple whom Jesus loved." Now, I'm enough like peter that I know that had to grate on peter.
Joyce Meyer: "I'm the disciple whom Jesus loved." It's like, "blah, who do you think you are?" What confidence he must have had. More than any of the other disciples, he was focused on not his love for Jesus, but Jesus' love for him. And he outlived 'em all, amen? That's another whole message. "then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to peter, 'it is the Lord!' And simon peter, hearing him say that it was the Lord, put (and girded) on his upper garment (his fisherman's coat)--for he was stripped [for work]--and he sprang into the sea. And the other disciples came in the small boat, for they were not far from shore, only a few hundred yards away, dragging this net full of fish. And when they got out on land (the beach), they saw a fire of coals there and fish lying on it [cooking], and there was bread." Now, here comes another amazing lesson. "and Jesus said to them, 'bring some of the fish that you have just caught.' So simon peter went aboard and he hauled the net to land, full of fish, 153 of them;" which, my goodness. I looked all over the place, and nobody can give a reason for that 153. The only thing that i've found, and they're not even sure this is true, is somebody said that there was 153 different species of fish at the time, and part of the miracle was, was that there was 1 fish of each species. But I think this. I think if, for no other reason, those fish were counted and it was recorded in the bible just to show us what great attention God pays to every little detail in our life.
Joyce Meyer: i've been reading in leviticus and numbers. Well, let me rephrase, i've been trying to read leviticus and numbers. And I mean, the detail of the ark, the detail of the tabernacle, the detail of how the priests had to dress, I mean, just everything was just these intricate details. But then you get all the way over into the new testament and the bible says that "he has numbered the very hairs on our head." Now, I know for some people, that's not as big a job for God as it is for others, but. Amen? Just think about that for a minute. I don't know what we think. You know, God is just not in our life for an emergency. The great thing about bein' a christian is you get a helper, a companion, a friend. There's no longer one of you. There's two of you. And last night, we had a fairly large number of people receive christ, and I pray that same thing will happen today because you don't wanna go out of here and live your life alone, doin' your own thing, and spend your life catchin' nothin'.
Joyce Meyer: it's so much better today to just surrender and just admit that you're not doin' a good job runnin' your life, and ask Jesus to take over, amen? Ask him to come in and control and take over. And then I love this, verse 13. I shake my head every time I see this. "and Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and also the fish." Now, in case you missed this, Jesus cooked them breakfast. What? The resurrected Lord, he had died, gone to hell, take the keys of hell and death away from satan, rose out of that grave victorious, took his blood into the holy of holies. Came back during the 50 days, revealed himself to his--the resurrected, the king of kings, the Lord of Lords, the everything of everything.
Joyce Meyer: and he cooked them breakfast. What an example. And then we have to think about John 13, and boy, that's so full of lessons. Peter was talkin' this morning about, "do you know who you are?" You know, the only way you can really serve other people with a good attitude is to know who you are. Jesus knew who he was, so therefore, he didn't have to prove who he was. He cooked the breakfast. You know, dave'll ask me once in a while, "you wanna cook me some eggs?" And I don't. Now, I mean, I cooked a lot when my kids were little, but I gave it up a long time ago. And now, at this point, my family's glad. But let's just say that when anybody mentions breakfast to me, I don't have the good attitude Jesus had. You know, I'm so grateful that we have a helper in our life, the holy spirit, who's promised to never leave us nor forsake us, to be with us and to help us and guide us. So, whatever may be coming up on the horizon of your life, you can know that you're not ever going to have to do it alone. And you can have fun while you're doing it. You can enjoy your life. Today, I wanna offer you a book that i've written that I'm really fond of called "the power of simple prayer." You know, we all wanna pray. We know we should pray. But really, prayer is not an obligation. It's more of a privilege that we have. And I'm gonna encourage you to start praying more than you ever have before. And even when I say, "more," I'm not sayin' you have to sit down in one place and pray a lot longer at one time. I just want you to learn to pray your way through the day. Start letting God in on everything that you do. Invite him into every situation. And we're gonna offer you, we're gonna give you this prayer journal, which is a nice little leather journal, and you can write down maybe some of the things you've prayed, and then record when you see those answers coming in your life. I believe a lot of times, we pray about things, and then maybe 2, 3, 4, maybe even 6 months later, the answer comes. And we forget to really thank God for what he's done in our life. So, learn more about prayer. Write some of it down, and be amazed at what God will do in your life. Thank you for bein' with us today.
How Should I Deal With All the Hurt in the World? - Sermon of Joyce Meyer,.
Today Joyce tackles some of life's biggest questions. How do we deal with all of the hurt in the world? How can God use my pain for my good and how can I appreciate what I have? Stay right where you are.
Ginger: as we walk through each new day, we all have questions. They're just part of life. But did you know there are answers for you? God says when we look, we'll find him. He's not trying to hide anything. So together, we are discovering life's everyday answers. Ginger: you know, many of the really well-known people in the bible are just as much known for their struggles as they are their victories: people like king david and joseph and paul. So if you're going through a struggle right now know you're not alone, we all face them, and that there is a great opportunity for God to bring victory in your life. So know that those struggles are temporary. God has something good ahead for you. We have a question that comes from laura today and she asks this: "i know that God will get me through all my difficulties and trials. But why doesn't his grace make it any easier?"
Well, we're getting real now. That's a great question, laura, and here is Joyce's answer to "how can my pain help me?" Joyce: I think one of the most amazing things about our relationship with God is that if you love him and you trust him, now I didn't say if you behave perfectly, I didn't say if you never make mistakes, I didn't say if you go to church every sunday and never miss one, if you read your bible through three times a year. I said if you trust God and you love him. I don't care what has happened or what does happen, God will take it and make it somehow or another work out for your good. Joyce: now, boy, to me, this is one of the most exciting things about our relationship with God.
That doesn't mean it's gonna feel good. That doesn't mean we're gonna like some of the things that we have to go through. That doesn't mean that. But i--and I don't know how he does it. God can take a bad thing and we may never wanna say the thing was good but somehow or another God can miraculously work in that thing and he can make us a better person. Joyce: I mean, if you don't get anything else out of a problem, you get more compassion and you behave differently when somebody else tells you they've got a problem. Have you ever tried to talk to somebody about your problem that is--doesn't have any? Joyce: oh man, they're quick to tell you, "well, I do this and I do that," and it sounds so simple for them. And you just want somebody to say, "oh, my gosh, I know what you're going through. I know how hard it is." And then it's fine to tell them what God can do for them but there's nothing worse than somebody who has no compassion. All they can ever give you is a scripture. Joyce: don't be that kind of a Christian. Sometimes, somebody just needs you to cry with them. Sometimes, they need you just to understand. Everybody who comes to you for help doesn't always want an answer. Sometimes, they just want you to understand. Did you hear what I said? Everybody who comes doesn't want an answer. They don't want a sermon. They just want somebody to understand what they're going through. And the best way I know to get a boatload of compassion is to go through stuff yourself.
Joyce: and I'll be honest with you. If you're gonna be used by God very much, you're gonna have to have some compassion and that means you're gonna have to have some experience. Joyce: I'm glad you're still smiling. Joyce: and I know there are tragic things have happened to people. I mean, I know you're probably thinking, "well, you know, this happened or that happened and how can you possibly tell me God can work good out of that?" I don't know how he does it but I know if we love him and if we trust him and obviously that includes having a decent attitude but, you know, "i don't understand this, God, but I trust you and I believe that you can work it out for my good." Whatever you might be going through right now or whatever you have gone through in the past, if you've never done this before I want you to start believing today that God can take that thing and he can make it work out for good in your life. Joyce: this is a happy day, amen?
All right, now, genesis 50:20. I'm not gonna tell you the whole story of joseph. Most of you probably know it. Let's just say that he was cruelly treated by his brothers. They hated him, they sold him to slave-traders. Whole bunch, a series, of bad things happened as a result of that.
He ended up in prison for many years for something he didn't do. All that time, he kept trusting God. There was a famine in the land. He was now in charge of all the food. It's amazing how this person over here can mistreat you but if you put your trust in God he can actually promote you. Joyce: he is a God of justice. And so there was a famine in the land and so the brothers came to get food and they had to go through joseph to get it. But they didn't know it was joseph. You know, God changed him so much his brothers didn't recognize him. I'll tell you what, probably some of the people that abused me wouldn't recognize me today either, amen?
Textual sermon: How Should I Deal With All the Hurt in the World?
And God's doing the same thing in your life. And so when they did realize it was joseph, then they were afraid and they thought, "well, there's no tellings what he's gonna do to us now he's got a chance to get us back." And this is what joseph said to them, genesis 50:20: "as for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive, as they are this day." In other words, God used that situation, that cruel situation, to get joseph into a place where he could actually use him then to help the whole nation when the time came around and was right. Let me tell you something. You may be headed somewhere and right now you feel like you're headed in the totally wrong direction in your life. You may have no idea that this is the exact route that you need to get where you wanna be and just don't understand how you're going this way, c'mon. Joyce: acts chapter 7, verse 9. I love this. "and the patriarchs [jacob's sons], boiling with envy and hatred and anger, sold joseph into slavery in egypt; but God--" those are two of my favorite words in the bible. "but God." Doesn't matter what anybody else does. If God be for me, who can be against me? If God is on my side, whom shall I fear? Joyce: they did all this stuff to him "but God was with him."
And I'll tell you the truth. You don't even need to know what God's gonna do as long as you know that he's with you. I don't know what route you'll have to take to get where God wants you to be but if you keep loving him and you keep trusting him, he is gonna get you into a place that is gonna just leave you with jaw-dropping awe. Joyce: see, I've done this journey. I've been doing this 40 years. I'm not making stuff up here. I know where I was at when I started. I know what I was like when I started. And I'm not only sharing the word of God with you. I'm sharing experience with you to say I know that I know that I know that I know that there's nothing that can destroy you if you put your hope in God and you believe that something good is gonna happen to you. Joyce: c'mon, nothing. There's nothing. And then, of course, romans 8:28 would go along with this: "we are assured and know that [god being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who," what? "love God and want his will." Simple. Love God. One of the first things, probably the first thing that I say every morning when I wake up is, "i love you, Lord." I'll tell you what, if you just love Jesus, it goes a long, long, long, long way into taking care of everything else. I love you, Lord. I love you. Tell him that a hundred times a day, "i love you, Lord. I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you." That pretty much says it all.
Ginger: loving God and trusting him will guide you. It's kind of like walking through a dark woods where you can't really see everything that's happening around you but you've got this really bright beacon that is just shining a path and helping you through the things. You don't see everything but you have complete confidence in the one who is giving you the light to make you walk through it in confidence. And with that help, you'll see how he makes something good out of really difficult circumstances. Today's message, what you just saw, that answer, is from Joyce's teaching series called "my favorite scriptures." Now, you can get this as a digital download or on cd and I think you're really going to love it. It's 24 scriptures that changed Joyce's life. And it also comes with those scriptures printed in a booklet so you'll always have them handy with you too. So pick this up today. Don't wait around. Call us or go to the website right now and let that change begin. Shine that beacon where you need it. Here's a look at what's coming up next week on "everyday answers." Joyce: God always works through people. Get that in your head. God always works through people. If you ask God for a miracle he may show you something you need to do. Ginger: are you dissatisfied with the people in your life?
Are you not enjoying things the way that you used to? Well, there's probably a very good reason for that and it may not be exactly what you think. Listen as Joyce shares the answer to the question: "how do I appreciate what I have?" Joyce: I have a scripture on my heart that I wanna share with you and what I'm gonna share with you in a minute could be the one thing that God sent you here to get. Ecclesiastes 6:9: "better is the sight of the eye--better is the sight of the eyes [the enjoyment of what is available to one] than the cravings of wandering desire." So what's he saying? It's better to enjoy what you have than to always be wanting something that you don't have. Now, c'mon, some of you are not happy with what you have but the truth is maybe you've been so unhappy with what you don't have that you have forgotten to take a look at what you do have. We'll just let that kind of drift across the room here. Joyce: maybe you're married to somebody or you're in relationship with somebody and you have focused on what's wrong with them for so long that you've completely forgotten why you ever liked 'em to start with. Joyce: there must have been something there that you liked at some point-- Joyce: in the relationship. You know, I used to not be very bright.
I didn't know how to apply all this to my life and I had plenty of things on my list that I thought was wrong with dave. Of course, there was nothing wrong with me. It was just all--how many of you get me with that? It's all the other person. Joyce: and I can actually remember making a list of all the things that was wrong with dave that I wanted God to change. It never helped. Joyce: it didn't help at all. It just kept making me more unhappy and more unhappy. You know why? What you focus on becomes larger in your life. The more you focus on what's wrong, the more miserable you're gonna be and the bigger it's gonna seem. And I think we all have found out by now that we are capable of blowing things completely out of proportion. So sometimes what we need is a little bit of perspective. I have a story that I read sometimes and I probably won't get all the details right but this girl was in college and she sent her parents this letter and just went on and on about "i'm sorry I haven't written but, you know, my apartment caught on fire and I lost everything that I had. And I had to jump out the window and, you know, I did break my leg. And then I had to go to the hospital and, you know, the guy who took care of me in the hospital felt sorry for me 'cause I didn't have a place to live.
He took me in and we became close and, you know, we have a relationship. And I do need to tell you, mom and dad, that I am pregnant now and I know that you'll be happy to be grandparents and, you know, he's not my race, he's not my religion, but I know you'll receive him with open arms and he does have a slight disorder but I know you'll look beyond that." And then she said all that and she said, "now actually, mom and dad, none of that has happened but I have failed history." Joyce: I mean, I'm sure they were, like, "oh, thank God you just failed history." But if she would have written home and said, "i failed history," they would have been having a fit about that. So what are you upset about that maybe you could just calm down a whole lot this morning if you'd actually take the time to count your blessings, amen? How many of you walked in here this morning? See, well. Joyce: you can see, right? Amen.
We've got so many things to be thankful for and I actually have come a long way, thank God, by his grace and mercy. And not too long ago, I sat down and wrote a list of everything that I like about my husband. And there's a whole lot of stuff, you know? He's good looking, he takes care of himself, he's just so easy-going.
He kind of just lets me do whatever I want to unless I just get kind of really too feisty and then he'll stop me. He actually loves me just the way I am. Does this apply to anybody in the room today? Maybe you have been focusing--c'mon, has anybody maybe been focusing a little too much on what you don't have, what God has not done for you, and not focusing enough on, "hey, I'm saved. I'm not going to hell, wow." Joyce: that's gonna be pretty exciting. Let's learn how to love people and value them where they're at, not where we would like them to be. And if we do that, then God can work in our hearts and change us and, oops, maybe he'll just change the other person too and we can still enjoy our life while he's doing it, amen? All right, likewise, I think that many times we look at what we don't have and what we can't do to help other people instead of looking at what we do have and what we can do. You know, when Jesus was ready to feed the 5,000, he said to the disciples, "what do you have?"
And they proceeded to tell him how little they had. But all God really wants us to do is to be willing to give him what we do have and even though it may not be enough, he can then multiply it and make it work out, amen? Joyce: you know, just a little side note since I'm into this. I think a lot of people, they never get around to doing the things they'd really like to do because they kind of think they couldn't do enough to make any difference and, you know, my husband's been working out and exercising for 55 years, thus that's why he looks as good as he does.
And for years and years he tried to encourage me to work out but I always thought I was too busy, there's no way I can do it. How can I do that with all the traveling we do? Just about the time I get started, then I won't be able to do it anymore. And so, long story short, God dealt with me about it and I finally made this decision.
Now, c'mon, this is gonna help somebody. I decided that I was gonna do what I could do instead of being concerned about what I could not do. I mean, I decided if I could only work out and exercise 10 minutes a week then doing something is better than doing nothing, c'mon. Joyce: doing something is better than doing nothing.
Maybe you just feel like you have got such deep debt that there's no way you could ever get out of debt so now you just don't bother to pay your bills at all. You just keep going out and spending more and more money. Well, I don't care if you pay $1 on your debt a week, it's always better to be going somewhere.
You know, there's a lot of things that we can do in life but one thing we must never do is nothing. Because the more we do nothing, the more we're gonna have nothing good happen in our lives. And so as a result of making that decision 12 years ago, I now work out with a trainer 3 times a week and I walk 5 miles every morning.
All because I decided I was gonna do what I could do instead of being concerned about what I could not do. How many of you need to start doing something, lest you do nothing, amen? Ginger: so you can learn to enjoy the things you have in your life right now and still strive to improve your situation whatever it may be. The choice is yours. You know, where we live, all of us at Joyce meyer ministries, we're located in missouri and it's hilly and beautiful but this morning when I woke up I was listening to the radio and I heard that there was a lot of fog outside. And with that situation, the first thing you think is, "oh, I'm gonna have to leave earlier, the traffic's gonna be bad. I'll have to be extra careful and go slow." And, you know, no one wants fog but when I started driving, it was spectacularly beautiful because up higher you could see the fog down low in the valleys and the sun was shining through it. It was gorgeous.
But I had to choose to look up from the fog to see that beauty. The choice is ours. Take the time to see the beauty that God puts in our difficult circumstances. We have to choose. You can also choose to share your voice with us. We love to hear from you. Let's check it out now. [music] ginger: this is some great stuff that we all need to listen to because we asked you to share how you love people who are difficult to love and here are some of your responses. Eluny from south africa says, "i used to focus on what the person did that made it difficult for me to love them. It can be so frustrating but all you have to do is pray, pray, and pray.
Ask God for his guidance to see that person through the eyes of Jesus. I stopped focusing on their failures and I appreciate their victories. I ask God to help me deal with negative feelings so I am at a place where I can love them." That's beautiful. Thank you, eluny. You know, she was at our women's conference so I had a chance, you know, to talk back and forth with her a little bit so that was exciting. Here's another friend, janee from arkansas. She says, "i came from a family where love was absent. My parents, extended family, and even the church I grew up in offered no love. I grew up thinking I was worthless and unlovable.
God is replacing those lies sown in my heart from years of emotional neglect and abuse with his truth that he loves me. He's teaching me to love his people that way, his way. I've learned to love my family even though they cannot love. Sometimes I must love from a distance because they are toxic and harmful to be around but I still love and pray for them." Janee, that's beautiful and a great encouragement for many people who, I'm sure, have experienced similar situations. And you know, there are just a lot of hard-to-love people in the world but God calls us to love them. And the great thing is he doesn't just tell us to do it. He helps us do it.
Today, we want you to take some time to encourage people who feel that they are alone and unloved. Write whatever you want, a scripture that's helped you, an encouraging note, whatever God puts on your heart. Use those social media channels and don't forget to put #ea and just encourage someone today.
Whether you're a believer or a non-believer, a new Christian or experienced, the answer to today's "help me" question may help relieve some pressure you're experiencing. Ginger: this is from stephania: "how should I deal with all the hurt in the world? I can't find peace of mind--in my mind about all those people that I can't reach."
Joyce: well, first of all, and I don't mean this to sound crude at all, but God had to teach me a long time ago, you know, Joyce, you're not the savior. Ginger: we do all need to tell ourselves that. Just remind ourselves. Joyce: you know, that he is and so it's great to have that kind of compassion in your heart but, at the same time, first of all, there's no one of us that can do it all. Not one of us can do it all. And I had to come to grips with that because, to be very honest, I'd like to solve every problem on the planet. I mean, there's no kind of outreach that I would not like to be involved in. And even here at the ministry, we've had to come to grips with the fact that we can't do it all, you know? And so no one person can solve all the problems in the world. Only God can do that. But even he is gonna respect people's free will. So people who won't let God into their life, not even God can do anything for them so certainly we can't.
And the bible says in psalm 37 that we're not to fret over the wickedness in the world. So yes, there's terrible things going on, there's a lot of people that are lost and they are without Christ, but instead of focusing on that, let's focus on the good and helping as many people as we can without getting depressed and downtrodden about the ones that we can't help. Ginger: well, the wrong thoughts can be paralyzing. Joyce: oh, absolutely. Ginger: I mean, if we're concentrating on what we can't do rather than the part that God asks us to play, that will change everything. Joyce: he wants us to be positive about everything.
You know, I can focus on all the wickedness in the world or I can be aware it's there and pray about it and do what I can but focus on God and the good. Ginger: make sure you share your questions with us. Do it on social media. Use the hashtag "ask Joyce" or on our "everyday answers" page on our website, and also contact us for today's resource offer. I love this. This is Joyce's teaching called "my favorite scriptures." And this is Joyce walking us through those scriptures that really changed her life. So there is great stuff in here that will apply to you. It applies to me. It would apply to any life. In fact, she talks about 24 different scriptures in here, in depth, and it really is encouraging and it's inspiring and it makes a difference. You can get this as a digital download or on cd and it comes with a little booklet inside that prints out all those scriptures for you too. So this is really great. These are those scriptures that changed her life and you know what she's been through, an abusive childhood, and changed her into the woman she is today. Because God is so good and he loves you that very same way. God bless you so much. Enjoy your day. We'll see you next time.
The fragment of video "Joyce, Help Me! Is God Even Real?" - Joyce Meyer. If you desire to have a relationship with God, but sometimes doubt if He hears or sees you, watch the video above. Joyce wants to encourage you! Jessie`s question: «Joyce, I've never been much into church, but long to have my own relationship with God. I feel he doesn't hear me or isn't listening. There are billions of people on earth. Can he hear me, see my pain and sorrow as I seek him, or does he not even exist? I'm at a crossroads, but I don't want to give up.»
full text of Joyce`s answer "Joyce, Help Me! Is God Even Real?" - Joyce Meyer
Joyce Meyer: well, obviously God is everywhere all the time, and he definitely hears us even when we're not praying according to his will, he still hears us. But 1 John 5 says that when we ask according to God's will, he hears us, and we know with absolute and settled assurance that we have given to us the things that we've asked for. But there's nothing in there about when they manifest. And I love this statement that a delay from God is not a denial. Actually, when we're not getting what we want as quick as we think we should have it, that's when really our faith is being tested and when we're growing. Now, I realize that this is somebody who's looking to know that God is real. And so, they're wanting God to do something in their circumstances to prove that he's there. Well, I can't say that God never does that, but he certainly doesn't always do it because faith is the substance of things that we hope for, the evidence of things that we do not see. So, I would like to encourage jesse to look to his heart instead of his circumstances. And I mean, really how can you not believe that God is real? I mean, to me, it would take more faith to believe that God is not real than to believe that he is. How could we possibly even look at the way our own bodies function and are put together and just how amazing they are, and think that all just kind of sort of happened one day? And so, believing in God is the basic foundation to anyone having a good life. You know, now I don't believe that God is going to give us things that are not according to his will. So, I don't know what jesse's asking for. If he's asking for something that's not right, then God's not going to give it to him. And I think when you have a deep enough relationship with God, and you know, it took me a few years to get to this, but I've kind of come to the point where I believe that if God doesn't give me what i'm asking for, it's not because he's holding out on me and wanting to make me miserable. I believe it's because he has something better in mind, and i'm just not wise enough to know how to ask for that better thing yet. Ginger: yeah, it's often mercy, isn't it?
Joyce Meyer: so, whether God gives me what I want or he doesn't give me what I want, God is still good, and he has our best interest in mind, and things will come out right in the end.
Ginger: as I read this question from jesse, it says, "I long to have my own relationship with God." So, it seems like the Holy Spirit is willing and working there, that there is something that is happening or that statement wouldn't even mean anything.
Joyce Meyer: well, and to be honest, the thing for him to go after is not so much whatever it is that he wants to see God do, but pursuing that relationship. Because when your relationship with him is right, then you're able to trust him to do what's right at the right time. So, we want to make sure that we seek God's face and not his hand, to seek to know him and not just what he can do for us. He'll get there.
How Can I Find Balance In My Life? 4 - Joyce Meyer (sermons online).
Coming up, Joyce talks about maintaining balance in our life. She also helps us to understand the Holy Spirit. And our help me question is the very basis of everything, does God exist? Stay tuned for some really helpful answers today. Ginger: as we walk through each new day, we all have questions. They're just part of life. But did you know there are answers for you?
God says when we look, we'll find him. He's not trying to hide anything. So, together, we are discovering life's everyday answers. Ginger: the Holy Spirit is a major part of our journey with Christ, and it's such a gift. He is something that I would not want to go a single day without because he helps on so many levels. But understandably, there is some confusion. He's difficult to understand because he's not really part of the physical realm that we are used to dealing with. But if you really dig into God's word, then you can understand who he is and how he helps. Check out this question from twitter. We get a lot of questions on the Holy Spirit. This is from Jesse, "how do you know when you've been baptized in the Holy Spirit? What does it feel like?"
Full text of How Can I Find Balance In My Life? - Joyce Meyer
Well, Jesse, today Joyce will answer your question and many others when she answers, what is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Joyce: I want to talk to you for a moment about the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, I don't think he gets the attention he deserves. We serve one God, but a triune God: God the father, God the son, and God the Holy ghost. And when Jesus ascended on high, he sent the Holy Spirit to take his place. And the great well, there's many great things about the Holy Spirit, but one that comes to my mind right now is that Jesus, because he was in a human body like we are, could only be one place at a time. But he said, "when I go away, you're going to be better off." Well, I'm sure the disciples thought, "how could we possibly be any better off?" But you see, the Holy Spirit can be everywhere with every person at the same time. And he has come to live in us. When you were born again, when you received Christ as your savior, you received the Holy Spirit. But the Bible teaches us that we can and should be not only filled with the Spirit, but ever filled with the Holy Spirit. And that's so important. If you want to know the truth, the Holy Spirit is the power that you need to live the Christian life. Amen? Now, you don't necessarily need to be filled with the Spirit to be saved, but you need to be filled with the Spirit to live saved. If you want to live the life that Jesus died to give you, then you need to be completely filled with the Holy Spirit. And we need power. I don't know about you, but I need all the power, all the Holy ghost help that I can get.
And so, in acts chapter 1, Jesus told the disciples to go and wait for the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He said, "john baptized you with water, but not many days from now, you shall be baptized with (placed in and introduced into) the Holy Spirit." And in verse 8, it says, "but you shall receive power [ability, efficiency, and might] when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." Don't you like that? Power, ability, efficiency, and might when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. "and then you shall be my witnesses." I love this, it doesn't say you'll go out and do witnessing, it says you'll be, you'll be. There's a difference in being because if you are, then you are that all the time. But if you're doing, you can turn it on and off. You can do church on sunday morning, and then get out in the world and not be the same as you were on sunday morning.
And they waited in the upper room in chapter 2, verse 1, "and when the day of pentecost had fully come, they were all together waiting in one place. When suddenly there came a sound from heaven like the rushing of a mighty wind. And they were all filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."
Now, in 1976, I was a Christian, had been for a long time. Dave and I went to a large, well-known denomination, and we were very faithful. Dave grew up in that church, he was an elder in the church, I was on the church board. We were there every time the church door opened, and I was miserable. I didn't have any victory in my life, I'd been abused in my childhood, and I wasn't receiving the healing that I needed or the help that I needed. So, I was definitely one of those people, I acted one way on sunday and a completely different way at home behind closed doors. I cried out to God, and he touched me, and I didn't even really know what had happened to me except it sure was wonderful. And I just i felt so different. I felt like I'd been baptized in love. I felt like I was drunk on the love of God. And I wasn't a very loving person, so that was pretty it was a real difference there. But you have to be hungry. You need to be hungry. And if you're not hungry enough, then just wait another year and have another year's worth of mess, and see when you come back around if you're hungry enough then, amen? But don't be satisfied with just status quo. "i'm okay. I go to church, I go home, I go to church, I go home." My goodness, there's so much more to life than that. When the Holy ghost has come upon you, you shall receive power, power. You know, there's many gifts of the Spirit. There's the ministry gifts, the offices that minister to us, apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. There's other gifts like gifts of organization, gifts of giving, gifts of exhortation, all kinds of gifts. There's musical gifts and speaking gifts, but then there's these supernatural endowments of power is what the amplified Bible says, and they are words of knowledge, words of wisdom, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, discerning of Spirit, the gift of faith, the gift of miracles, prophecy, and things like that.
And I know that some of you know exactly what I'm talking about. But let me tell you something, I have read so many books on this, and I have studied, and I have studied everything in the Bible. And if you are hungry for more of God in your life, then you are going to do the same thing. You are not going to sit there and wait for somebody to spoon feed you everything that you know. [audience applauding] Joyce: amen? And I tell you, when you seek God for yourself and he touches your life, nobody can ever tell you. Nobody can ever tell you that God you know, people say, "well, well, what happened?" It's like, you know what?
I don't know, I just know it was God. And I know that I've never been the same since, amen? All right. How many of you've been baptized by the Holy Spirit, you enjoy these gifts? Okay. So, now look, so let me say something. If you have not known about these things, either the rest of us are stark raving mad or there's something you should look into. Amen? Okay, now I'm just going to pray. Father, we thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. And I believe that there are hungry people here today. There are people whose who have desperate situations in their life, and they need your power. And then there are people here that are filled with the Spirit, but they've kind of leaked out, and they need to be ever filled. We need a fresh touch from the Holy ghost. And I want my share too, Lord. I'm hungry, I'm hungry for more of you. Like paul, I'm determined to know him and the power of his resurrection that lifts me out from among the dead even while I'm in the body. So I pray, Lord, for everybody in this room that's hungry for you to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, learn about these gifts. And I pray that you would give them gifts as they need them, and as it is proper, and as it will edify and minister to them and the body of Christ. And we thank you for your grace and mercy in Jesus' name, amen. The ushers are going to hand out these books. Awesome. We need to be reminded sometimes that we're not a bunch of wimps and weaklings. Everybody say, "i can do whatever I need to do through Christ. I can do whatever I need to do through Christ."
So, God is good, and he'll give you everything that you need to do what he's called you to do in this life, amen? Ginger: you know what really helped me with the Holy Spirit was just experience with him in my life and digging into God's word. So, you can do that. For more information, if you just want a little bit of help, you can go to Joycemeyer.org/study. There is something right there that will help you. If you click on, "what does the Bible say about the Holy Spirit?" I think you'll really enjoy it. Check it out, it's absolutely free. Now, it's time for your voice. [music] ginger: well, you shared some very practical ways that God has used to lift you out of the lowest point in your life. Jody from missouri shared this, "i lost my daughter kyla to suicide december 26, 2015. I've been through a lot of tragedy in my life, and always turned away from God and turned to alcohol when bad things happened. God has helped me turn this tragedy into helping people. I now have a thrift store in her memory, and I've raised money for suicide awareness. Every day is hard, but for the first time in my life, I know God will not leave me." Well, jody, I'm so sorry for your loss. My heart just breaks when I hear that. But thank you for doing something that is helping other people and hopefully sparing them from some of the pain that you've been through. And God is good to walk us through these situations. Anne says, "i've been depressed my whole life. It affected every aspect of my life. Then God arranged for me to see a Christian counselor who prays for people. I've been free ever since." And let's do one more, this is laura.
She says, "god gave me everything I have today. I was a single mother, and he gave me the love of my life. I had financial problems, and he gave me the idea to create my own business. I had depression, and of course he gave me Joyce. She was the voice I listened to when I felt lonely, desperate, and hopeless. She would raise my hopes up and help me to stick to God." Well, God is very practical. He knows exactly what it is that we need. And today, we invite you to share with us a time in your life where you had to start over. Maybe a new job, new home, new friends. How did God walk with that through you? How did he help you begin again? Use social media, tell us on facebook, instagram, however you want to. We just want to hear from you. Coming up, Joyce will explain how she keeps priorities straight in her life and how it will help you. But first, here's today's help me question. "Joyce, I've never been much into church, but long to have my own relationship with God. I feel he doesn't hear me or isn't listening. There are billions of people on earth. Can he hear me, see my pain and sorrow as I seek him, or does he not even exist? I'm at a crossroads, but I don't want to give up." Joyce: well, obviously God is everywhere all the time, and he definitely hears us even when we're not praying according to his will, he still hears us. But 1 john 5 says that when we ask according to God's will, he hears us, and we know with absolute and settled assurance that we have given to us the things that we've asked for. But there's nothing in there about when they manifest. And I love this statement that a delay from God is not a denial. Actually, when we're not getting what we want as quick as we think we should have it, that's when really our faith is being tested and when we're growing. Now, I realize that this is somebody who's looking to know that God is real.
And so, they're wanting God to do something in their circumstances to prove that he's there. Well, I can't say that God never does that, but he certainly doesn't always do it because faith is the substance of things that we hope for, the evidence of things that we do not see. So, I would like to encourage Jesse to look to his heart instead of his circumstances. And I mean, really how can you not believe that God is real? I mean, to me, it would take more faith to believe that God is not real than to believe that he is. How could we possibly even look at the way our own bodies function and are put together and just how amazing they are, and think that all just kind of sort of happened one day? And so, believing in God is the basic foundation to anyone having a good life. You know, now I don't believe that God is going to give us things that are not according to his will. So, I don't know what Jesse's asking for. If he's asking for something that's not right, then God's not going to give it to him. And I think when you have a deep enough relationship with God, and you know, it took me a few years to get to this, but I've kind of come to the point where I believe that if God doesn't give me what I'm asking for, it's not because he's holding out on me and wanting to make me miserable.
I believe it's because he has something better in mind, and I'm just not wise enough to know how to ask for that better thing yet. Ginger: yeah, it's often mercy, isn't it? Joyce: so, whether God gives me what I want or he doesn't give me what I want, God is still good, and he has our best interest in mind, and things will come out right in the end. Ginger: as I read this question from Jesse, it says, "i long to have my own relationship with God." So, it seems like the Holy Spirit is willing and working there, that there is something that is happening or that statement wouldn't even mean anything. Joyce: well, and to be honest, the thing for him to go after is not so much whatever it is that he wants to see God do, but pursuing that relationship. Because when your relationship with him is right, then you're able to trust him to do what's right at the right time. So, we want to make sure that we seek God's face and not his hand, to seek to know him and not just what he can do for us. He'll get there.
Ginger: if you have questions, bring them on, we want to hear them. You can do it on twitter, use the #askJoyce. You can go to our everyday answers page on Joycemeyer.org. We'd love to answer your questions. Now, most of you know Joyce raised four children while traveling around the world sharing the gospel and writing books. And today, in her 70s, she continues to teach, write books, and deal with a lot of responsibilities. So, basically she has a lot to do, but she's not overwhelmed. Check out this question from twitter because we have all felt overwhelmed at times. "when God pulls you in many directions, how do you keep your life balanced?" Well, great question. Here's Joyce's answer. Joyce: one of the first scriptures that I remember God really speaking to my heart about is 1 peter 5:8 and 9 out of the amplified translation. And it says, "be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind] be vigilant and cautious at all times for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger] seeking someone to seize upon and devour." Well, to be honest, there's already about five messages just in that little bit. Be well balanced. Anytime that we're out of balance in our life in any area, it opens up a door for the enemy. If you don't spend enough time with your family, you're gone too much, you're not taking the right time to sow into your relationships, it's going to open a door for the enemy and there's going to be problems in the family. If you are too selfish, it's going to cause problems.
But if you never spend enough time on yourself and you don't take care of yourself, that's going to cause problems. You can look at 1,000 different areas and see how important balance is. And we hear a lot about eating balanced meals, so even from that, God is showing us that we need enough protein, we need enough carbs, we need enough of this, we need enough of that. And if you just eat all sugar, you're going to be sick. If you just drink all coffee and soda and you don't drink any water, you're going to have kidney problems. We need to have balance in our lives. And yet, I think that most of us realize that americans in particularly, and probably other cultures in the western world, we really are bad at getting out of balance. Amen? For example, way too many people work way too much and they don't rest enough. And then there's a lot of people who don't sleep enough. Well, that's going to cause you problems. And so, I just want you to realize that if you're out of balance in any area in your life, the enemy is going to take advantage of it. If you talk too much, that's out of balance. But then some people don't communicate enough, and so that's out of balance. How many of you understand what I'm saying, you know? We need balance in our life.
And balance, like people say to me a lot, "how do you keep the schedule you keep, and write the books, and you have a family?" I've got 4 kids, 11 grandkids, 2 great grandkids. "how do you " this is what they, "how do you keep your priorities straight, and how do you stay in balance?" And you know what I've learned to say? I'm always straightening them out. In other words, you don't just get in balance and stay there because the devil loves excess. He's always going to try us to be excessive in one way or another. Like you might spend too much money on yourself, but then if you don't ever spend any money on yourself, either one can cause problems. And so, I think that we have to do a little balance inventory every once in a while and just take a little time, spend a little time with God, and just say, "am I out of balance in any area of my life?" Maybe you're watching too much television and not spending enough time in the word.
Or you know, maybe there's so many different things that we could think of. And let me just suggest to you that when you get unhappy, you're having too many bad days and too many sad days and too many mad days, just check and see if you're out of balance in some area of your life. Because a lot of times there's just something that needs to be adjusted. Matter of fact, I'll bet just as I'm standing here talking about this right now, I'll bet you that there's lots of people in this room you already, if I said, "what area are you out of balance in your life?" You could lift your hand up and tell me just like that. How many of you already can think of some area?
Okay, look at that, that's almost everybody, pastor. So, so maybe I shouldn't even go to my second favorite scripture, maybe I just ought to camp here the rest of the night. And you know, no matter how much of Jesus you have in your life, you can't break his natural laws and expect everything to work out for you in your life. I don't care how much you pray to feel good, if you're not going to rest, you're going to feel lousy. I don't care how much you pray to feel good, if you're not going to sleep, you're going to feel lousy. I don't care how much you pray to be happy, if you don't take any time to relax and enjoy yourself and laugh and do things that you enjoy, you're not going to be happy. So, we have to stay balanced in our life. And this scripture tells me that if I don't stay balanced, I am opening a door for the enemy. He roams about like a roaring like a lion roaring in fierce hunger, seeking someone whom he may devour. He can't devour anybody, but one person he can devour is somebody who is out of balance in their life. And I think we ramp it up to another level when we're not only out of balance, but we know we're out of balance. Come on, all you people who raised your hand. We're out of balance and we know we're out of balance, and we don't do anything about it. I can tell you for a lot of years I worked way too hard, and I did it in Jesus' name. But I still ended up getting burned out, and getting sick, and paying for it. I don't care how much of Jesus you have, you still have to have balance in your life or he's going to get in and cause you problems, amen. Well, that's better than you're acting. Now, it says, "be vigilant and cautious once in a while." No, it says at all times, at all times. Verse 9, "withstand him, be firm in faith." And this is another one of my favorite parts is, "against his onset." I get some things out of the amplified translation that I'm not going to get anywhere else, and I like that. When do I resist the devil? The minute he starts in on me. When do I resist the enemy? At his onset. You don't wait until you got some deep-rooted problems before you decide, "oh, that's the devil. He's a liar, and I guess I better stand against him."
No, the minute the devil lies to you, you say, "you're a liar." The minute that he tempts you, that's when you say, "no." We need to deal a little more violently with temptation instead of just saying, "well, I just wish I wasn't so tempted." Well, you can wish all you want to, but you're still going to be tempted. And so, what we need to do is get a little more violent with it. What has Jesus said? "if your eye offends you, pluck it out. If your hand offends you, cut it off." Well, he obviously doesn't want you to pull your eye out and cut your hand off, but what he is saying is if you're tempted to look at things you shouldn't be looking at, cut it off. If you're tempted to do things with your hands you shouldn't be doing with them, then cut that sin off. Just deal violently with sin and say no, and do it at the enemy's onset because the longer you let him rule in your life, the harder it's going to be to get rid of him. [audience applauding] Joyce: "(rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined), knowing that the same identical sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians throughout the world]" so, another message I get out of that is don't sit around and feel sorry for yourself, Joyce, because you're having temptations, you're going through problems.
Everybody goes through stuff, amen? All right, so get a little balance in your life and it's going to help you. Ginger: so listen, balance is tough. Our lives are busy. I've got so much going on. I'm sure that you do too. But it's necessary and it takes effort to make the changes that we need to keep those priorities straight all the time. I've seen the way Joyce deals with balance and keeping priorities in her life, and this teaching will help you because she's been on both sides of this. She has been really, she would tell you, out of control as far as balance goes. And now, she has really learned from God's word and from experience walking with him how to maintain that balance.
This is her teaching called "unplug, unwind & de-stress," 4 hours of teaching. You can get it as a digital download or on physical cds like this. And today, we are offering this to you for any amount because we know that it's so important to get this into your life. And as we say any amount, we are just trusting and believing that you'll give what you can. We are here to help you, that is our real goal. We just want to get this to you, so give your very best, and really start reprioritizing your life according to scripture. You know, we love you so much. We're grateful for you, we're glad that you tuned in. And as we leave today, here's a little glimpse at what we'll do together next week, bye bye. Joyce: I'd like to solve every problem on the planet. I mean, there's no kind of outreach that I would not like to be involved in. And even here at the ministry, we've had to come to grips with the fact that we can't do it all, you know? And so, no one person can solve all the problems in the world, only God can do that. But even he is going to respect people's free will.
Joyce Meyer - Sermon: Taking Back What Belongs to You. We crave and want change, and yet we're afraid of it. Learn how God can help you let go of the old and take hold of the new life He offers to you.
In sermon Taking Back What Belongs to You Joyce Meyer says: so, i'm going to say some really cozy, comfortable, ooey-gooey wonderful things, like god loves you as much right now as he ever will. Doesn't that feel good? That feels great. But i may say a few times in here, "straighten up." But that doesn't mean that god's going to love you more when you do. It means you're responding to his love, come on now, by saying, "god, i love you so much. I appreciate so much what you've done for me. I want to do everything exactly the way you want it done. Please help me." Joyce: well, i'm doing a little series here this weekend about transformation, about how we can be changed into the image of christ. And how, as believers, according to the bible, we become new creatures in him, old things pass away, all things become new. But i think sometimes, that can be a little bit confusing to us because we think, "well, if i'm so new, then why do i still act so old?
Full Sermon
You know, if old things have passed away, why do i still do old things?" And the thing is is we are in a process called transformation, which actually means complete change. And it's interesting because we all crave and want and need change, and yet most of the time, we're really, really afraid of it. You know, we're done with the old, we don't want the old, we want the new. But yet somehow, we're afraid to let go of this old thing because we're not real sure what the new thing is going to be yet. And we're going to talk more about that tonight, the process of change, and how our emotions act during change, and all those different things. But the thing that we always have to realize, and it took me so long to learn this, but it was so helpful to me when i did, that when we're born again, we receive the nature of god in us, but it comes as a seed.
All the fruit of the spirit is in you, but it's in you as a seed. And seeds have to be what? Watered. And they have to take root. And then after they take root, they will eventually begin to produce fruit. And so i'll just tell you ahead of time, if you're going to be impatient, and want everything right this moment, and if you're not willing to make any investment of time or study, or put any effort or energy into anything, you may go to heaven, but you will not have victory here in this life and you won't really enjoy the journey, and chances are your life will not be much of a witness to anybody else. Because if there's anything that the world needs--i don't know so much that it's another sermon that they need. Sermons are great and i'll continue to preach sermons, but what they really need is to see the witness of changed lives, and people with peace, and people that are joyful, and people that walk in love, and people who can actually have a testimony and say, "this is what happened to me, but now over these period of years, god has worked in my life and i can say that i'm free." A woman asked me the other night, she said, "are you really free from all that? I mean, like, are you really free?"
And i said, "yes." Now you know, that doesn't mean that i never have anything that i have to deal with from my past because there are certain things that i still do have to deal with. But freedom is not ever having to deal with anything, it's understanding what you're dealing with. Now listen to me, it's understanding what you're dealing with and being able to say, "that's fear and i'm not going to bow down to it." It's not that i never feel fear, but i don't have to let it control me anymore like i did all the years that i was growing up. And so, what i'm trying to teach you this weekend is that you can be completely changed. When adam and eve sinned in the garden and that sin nature was passed on to all the rest of us--seems like a bad deal, i know, but you know, it kind of gets fixed whenever jesus did everything right, and that gets passed on to us. So god did fix it, amen? And what he wants for us really is to totally return and be able to go back to his original plan for us, which was to be blessed, and to walk in victory, and to be a blessing, and to enjoy god, and to enjoy our lives, and to have peace, and joy, and good relationship with him.
So today, i'm calling this "taking back what belongs to you." And the first thing i'd like to say is we've been robbed. One of the first revelations that i received after i started really diligently studying the word. And i always say this. I was a christian a long time before i became a serious christian. So there's a difference in being really committed to this. And i'm sure most of you are or you wouldn't have taken the time to come out here on a friday morning. But we're ministering also to tons and tons of people that are watching from all different parts of the world. And i just need to say that you need to make a full-on commitment in your walk with god, and not have one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom. Don't be a christian on sunday morning and something else on monday morning. Amen? So when i really got serious--and i got serious because i finally realized, look, i am just miserable. I'm miserable, i'm a christian, i'm going to church, we're tithing, we love god, but i am just miserable. And i think we need to realize that a miserable christian is an oxymoron. Surely we can understand that the two just don't mix. And i'll tell you what, there are a lot, a world full of miserable christians. [audience applauding] joyce: i mean, that's just the truth. It's one thing to be a miserable sinner, but who wants to be a miserable saint? I don't. I think there should be a change somewhere in there. So you know, let me just tell you, if you've got a problem, don't just put up with it.
Get around to saying to god, "what is wrong?" You'll be amazed what god will show you if you'll just ask him, "what is wrong?" And be open to the fact that it could be something in you. We really would prefer that god tell us it's somebody else. I love the it's the devil thing, don't you? I like that one, "well, it's the devil." But when god started giving me a lot of revelation, a lot of it was it was me, it was things that i needed to learn and change. So, one of the revelations i received was i've been robbed. And boy, it made me mad at first. Because you know what the biggest thief was in my life? Religion. Now, when i say that, i'm not talking about your religion or my religion. You know, we get that phrase all mixed up, you know. You say, "well, what religion are you? I'm a baptist, i'm a methodist, i'm a catholic, i'm a lutheran, i'm a, you know, pentecostal, whatever it is." That's really not--that's not what the bible's talking about when it uses the word "religion." If jesus had a beef with anybody in the new testament, it was the religious people of his day. And he said, "you load people up with rules and regulations, but you won't lift a finger to help them. You see certain people as better than other people. There are certain people you wouldn't even let in to your church, let alone up close to the front." We pray for revival, but most of the people that need help might not smell good, they might not look like you, they might not cut their hair the way you cut your hair. [audience applauding] joyce: and the truth of the matter is not all churches, but many churches are not even remotely ready to handle people like that. They would tell them they needed to clean up, cut their hair, do this, do that before they could come in and be a part of anything that was going on. Religion can tell us what to do, but it never gets around to telling us who we are in christ. And that is the greatest tragedy of all. It's like, "do this, do this, do this, do this, do this." And then we fall into the trap of thinking, "well, if i read enough of the bible, and if i pray enough, and if i do a few good works, and if i go to church on a regular basis, then i'm okay with god." But boy, when you miss one of those things, now you feel guilty because you think god's mad at you. So, people just stay on that treadmill of trying to do enough to think they're making god happy, and yet somehow or another, they never feel like they're making him happy.
Well, can i tell you something? God's already happy. Amen? And he already loves you. And i told the people last night god will never love you one bit more than he does right now, no matter how many good works you do. You are loved completely, perfectly, unconditionally right now. Now, that doesn't mean that we don't need to change, but me changing has nothing to do with god loving me. God is love. It's not something that he does in degrees. It's not like, "well, you're not so good, so i'm going to love you a little less. And you're a little better than that guy, so i love you a little more. But oh wow, boy, i really love this person because they, like, read the bible through every year or something, i don't know, you know." And sadly, very sadly, that's where so many people live. And the scripture that we share a lot is john :, "the thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy." But jesus said, "i came." Aren't you glad he came? I tell you, i could take those two words and just preach. But, "i came that you might have and enjoy your life." Wow, i never knew you could enjoy life. I felt guilty if i was having fun and enjoying myself. I felt like i needed to be working all the time. "i came that you might have and enjoy your life, and have it in abundance, to the full, until it overflows." Well, the thief we always assume is the devil, which it is the devil, but if you really read all of john chapter , the thief that he's really talking about is the system of religion. Amen, which is perpetrated by the devil.
The last thing god wants you to know--i mean, that the devil wants you to know is how much god loves you. The last thing that he wants you to know is what you already have in you as a gift from god. And that really, The whole thing that's supposed to be happening now is the holy spirit comes to work with you in your life to help work what's in you out of you, and to work this transformation and this restoration in our lives. And here's the good thing about the holy spirit. He's the only one who knows just the right timing in your life, and just the right way to do things, just the right person that can help you and minister to you. And i'll tell you the truth, he is the counselor. And if you go get counseling from anybody else, you better make sure they're getting counseling from him. Amen? In my life, for example, when i was so desperately needing to recover from all this abuse in my past, i thought when i walked away from my father's house that my problem was over, but i had it in my soul. It was in the way i thought. You know, some of your problems from the past are etched into the way you think. And you don't even realize that your thinking is not right.
And the only way you'll ever know it's not is to compare the way you think with the word of god. [audience applauding] joyce: i was in church years and years, and i didn't know that it was a problem for me to hate my father. I didn't know that. I thought he deserved it. Why would i not hate him after what he did to me? I didn't realize that if i forgave him, that i was helping myself. It really didn't have much to do with him. It was helping me. My soul didn't have to continue to be poisoned by something that happened to me a long time ago. So, i wasn't really learning what i needed to learn. And i mean, there are--thank god for the church, amen? Thank god for all the wonderful churches. But i'll tell you the truth. I don't want to make anybody mad, but you know, if you're going somewhere where you're not learning anything, and you're not growing, and you're not changing and you're not serving, and you go out of obligation and you can't wait to get out of the place, and you're bored silly the whole time you're there, then you really should seriously consider putting your time into something that's going to bear really good fruit in your life. Amen? There's lots of wonderful churches. You just need to be in one where you're challenged and growing. I hope i do make you a little bit uncomfortable in some area today. I don't think our job is just to bring people in and do nothing but pat them on the head and feed them dessert. Amen? So, i'm going to say some really cozy, comfortable, ooey-gooey wonderful things, like god loves you as much right now as he ever will. Doesn't that feel good? That feels great. But i may say a few times in here, "straighten up." But that doesn't mean that god's going to love you more when you do. It means you're responding to his love, come on now, by saying, "god, i love you so much. I appreciate so much what you've done for me. I want to do everything exactly the way you want it done. Please help me." [audience applauding] joyce: and so, this is how the holy spirit works. So i'm floating along in my little, you know, thing there. And god was just really starting to open my eyes and work in my life.
And so, boy, i did something that we normally didn't do. I went to a meeting at another church, ooh, where they had a guest speaker. And she was somebody who had been sexually abused by her father. And dave bought me her book. I didn't really know what was in it. I had no idea what the holy spirit had up his sleeve when dave bought that book. The next morning, i opened it up, and boy, page one, she's saying exactly what happened to me, and here came all the pain. I took that book and threw it across the room, i said, "i'm not going to read this." And i mean, i clearly heard the holy spirit say, "it's time." But see, he knew the right time. And he had me in the right place at the right time. I wouldn't have even had enough sense to have bought the book for myself, so he urged dave to buy me the book, who probably didn't even really understand what he was doing.
Let me tell you something, god uses us when we don't even have a clue what's going on, amen? Yet i know that there's people that you're watching right now and you think you accidentally turned the program on. I don't believe that there are accidents where god's things are concerned. I think he guides and directs us. So, i knew nothing of being victorious over situations that came against me, moods that attacked me without warning. How many of you know every storm is not in the forecast? You thought it was going to be a sunny day, and lo and behold, one of the worst storms you've ever had in your life. Hate those days. That's when it's hard to say, "i believe that all things work out for good to those who love god and are called according to his purpose." I knew nothing about living without guilt and condemnation.
Had no peace, i had no joy, didn't have any real intimate, personal relationship with god. I thought prayer was a last ditch emergency effort, something you did when you were way over your head. I had no idea i was way over my head every moment of my crazy life. I didn't know that i had been robbed. Let's look at isaiah :. "but this is a people robbed and plundered." Everybody say, "i've been robbed." Audience: i've been robbed. Joyce: "this is a people robbed and plundered. They are all of them snared in holes and hidden in houses of bondage. And they have become a prey with no one to deliver them, a spoil with no one to say, 'restore them.'" So, i'm here today to say that god is in the business of restoration. Amen? And i have good news for you in case you've never heard it before. God can completely and totally restore you, and bring you back to a position better than you ever would have been if you would have never messed your life up. Now, if that's hard for you to believe, let's go back to last night for a minute, where the title of the message was "dare to believe." Dare to believe that no matter how long you've had a problem, that with god, all things are possible, amen?
The only thing that never changes is god. But he's in the business of changing everything else. Isaiah : and are a couple of scriptures that, man, these scriptures kept me--i used to turn to these things so often when i was going through hard times. What a great promise. "instead of your [former] shame you shall have a twofold recompense." That word means reward. How many of you know what it's like to have shame in your life? See, i was--i had a shame-based nature because my dad had abused me. It wasn't even so much about what he did to me. I became ashamed of myself, thinking something was wrong with me. And boy, the devil loves to get that message rooted in your head, "what's wrong with me, what's wrong with me, what's wrong with me, what's wrong with me?" Does anybody else have a copy of that record? That may be the best-selling record of all times. "what's wrong with me?" And the first thing that jesus gives us is what's right with me. "he that knew no sin became sin, that we might be made as a gift of god, by his grace, the righteousness." [audience applauding] joyce: because the devil wants you to do nothing but think about what's wrong with you, and concentrate and focus all the time on your faults. And the more you focus on your faults, it just gives him more and more strength over you. I'm not going to tell you to break bad habits; i'm going to tell you to form new habits. And when you work with the holy spirit on forming new habits, then there's no place in your life for the bad habits. I'm not going to tell you, "don't you walk in the flesh." I'm going to say, "walk in the spirit and you won't fulfill the lusts of the flesh." You don't have to get up every day and try real hard not to be mean, and not to be mad, and not to be impatient... What you do is say, "god, i want to follow the leadership of the holy spirit today.
Help me follow the leadership of the holy spirit." Because if you follow the leadership of the holy spirit, then you won't walk in the flesh. And thankfully, when you do, when you make a mistake, you can receive forgiveness and just go right on. Because remember, god already loves you before you ever start trying to do better. [audience applauding] joyce: "instead of your [former] shame you'll have a twofold recompense. Instead of dishonor and reproach, [your people] shall rejoice in their portion." Here it comes, "therefore in their land," not just when they die and go to heaven, "in their land, they shall possess double [what they forfeited] and everlasting joy shall be theirs." [audience applauding] joyce: now, i tell you when i was going through the process of working with god to let him change me, which i might as well just tell you it can sometimes be quite traumatic and painful. How many of you know that, all right? I'm not gonna lie to you and say, oh, just say, "well, god changed me." You know, i want you to say that but i also want you to realize that there may be some days where you're gonna feel like you've just been dropped over the belly of hell and nobody understands what you're going through. You don't even understand what you're going through and you're halfway in between where you were and where you want to be and you don't know how to go back and how to go forward. And all you can do is just sit there and go, "oh god."
Does anybody in the room know what i'm talking about? [audience applauding] joyce: "in this land you will possess double what you forfeited." Joyce: our enemy satan has stolen something from every one of us. Whether it's joy, peace, your childhood, your security, there's something that he tries to take away from everybody but through god's word, we can take back everything the enemy has stolen. What satan has taken from you, god will be happy to give it back to you multiplied many times over if you trust him to do that. Today, we're offering you hours Of teaching called "how to survive change." You know, change is difficult for a lot of people, some more than others, but if it's a change you want, then that's one thing but if something changes and you don't want it to change or it's a challenging change, we need to know how to navigate those times in our life and still be the person god wants us to be. We're also offering you a paperback called "how to be happy and flourish in a season of change," and it's days of things that you can look at that are gonna help you make it through the difficult times in your life. Now, stay with me and i'll be right back after this. Announcer: today, we're offering four teachings on "how to survive change." In today's broadcast, you heard a sample of what you'll find in this series. Joyce shares examples from her own life as well as life's everyday tasks to offer hope and encouragement for your journey. With this teaching series, we'll send you this -day survival guide for free. It's, "how to be happy and flourish in a season of change." This paperback by joyce will help you with practical steps every day that inspire you and keep you growing day by day. For a donation of... You'll learn not only how to survive, but how you can flourish and thrive on your journey. Call...
Or visit us at joycemeyer.org. Joyce: you know, i believe that i partner with you in your life by bringing you the word of god on a regular basis and that word is making you better. It's giving you more joy, more peace, and i would like to ask you if you will also partner with me by becoming a financial partner with joyce meyer ministries giving on a regular basis. Sometimes it's good to hear what other people are saying that they feel about their partnership so let's get a little testimony here from sandy from idaho. "your ministry has impacted my life because everything you do, whether it's feeding the hungry, water for villages, human trafficking, everything you do is what i want to be involved with. Since i am unable to go myself, i can become part of sharing god's love in ways that reach more people than i ever could by myself. It's my way of giving back what god has given me." You know, i appreciate sandy sending in this testimony because we need to hear how people feel about their partnership, and i believe that partnering with us will help you in many, many different ways. So, you can get more information online about how to partner, what it means. You can call the office. We'll give you any information that you want but prayerfully consider regular financial partnership with us. As we continue to partner with you in your spiritual growth, you can partner with us in reaching people that might not get a chance to hear if we don't continue doing what we're doing.
God bless you and thank you.
Joyce Meyer`s sermon "Do It Afraid" ( Enjoying Everyday Life). God is with you! Learn truths from His Word to help you overcome the fears you feel every day.
Joyce: ultimately, you're gonna have to decide if you're gonna be a man-pleaser or a God-pleaser. And if you're gonna be a God-pleaser, then I can pretty much promise you somewhere along the line and intermittently throughout your life there's going to be people that are going to reject you. Joyce: well, welcome to the program today.
I'm so glad that you've joined us. You know, I've had the privilege in my ministry career to write over 100 books. I think now the total is about 116 and I'm always writing more. And one of those books is called "living courageously." You can face anything if you'll just do it afraid. You know, there's a great big wonderful adventurous life waiting for each one of us but it's not just gonna fall on us. And to be honest, we can't just pray it into existence. Very often when we pray what happens is God shows us something to do. I don't want you to forget that. We're partners with God. He has a part and we have a part. We cannot do his part and he will not do our part. So we have to be ready to be active and to be obedient and do the things that God asks us to do. Fear is a factor in everybody's life. But "god has not give us the Spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind and a Spirit," the amplified Bible says, "of discipline and self-control."
Do It Afraid Full text
Well, we know that fear comes first to our mind and then when we receive fearful thoughts they begin to affect our emotions. So fear can make you shake. It can make you nervous, all kinds of lies come to our mind. You can actually feel so weak and incapable that you're not sure that you can put one foot in front of the other. But that Spirit is not from God. And many people spend their whole life running from things that they're afraid of or maybe as you become a believer in God and you learn that you can pray, you spend a lot of your time praying that God will take the fears away, "god, help me not to be afraid. Take away the fear, take away the fear." Well, I learned something about 25 years ago that was a little bit of a new way to look at fear and I learned it through a story that I read about a woman who had been controlled all of her life by fear. She wouldn't drive, she wouldn't go out at night. She basically was trapped inside of her house, was just afraid of absolutely everything. And she was a Christian, she was a believer. She was talking one day with a Christian friend and moaning, complaining, murmuring, which we're all pretty good at, about all these fears that she had in her life. "well, I'm just so afraid, I'm so afraid, I'm so afraid.
I'd love to do this but I'm afraid. I'd love to drive but I'm afraid. I'd love to go out at night but I'm afraid." And her friend just looked at her and gave her one little piece of advice: "well, why don't you just do it afraid?" See, the thing is, is when God tells us, "fear not," or if you take, like, joshua chapter when he was called to finish what moses had started, how would you like to have that in front of you, to take over moses's job? And just several times, just in the first chapter, God tells him not to fear. "be bold, courageous, don't fear." And the only reason why God ever gives us in the scripture for not fearing is "for I am with you. Fear not for I am with you."
And in 1 john 4 the Bible teaches us that "perfect love casts out fear." Well, that perfect love is talking about the perfect love that Christ has for us. And so when we know how much he loves us, you know if somebody loves you that they're not gonna let you get hurt, they're gonna take care of you and even if you go through something that's difficult they're gonna work it out for your good, then you can begin to live on the other side of fear. But no matter how old you get or how many scriptures you know or how much experience you have in life, there's going to be times when fear is gonna come against you. So the thing to learn is to feel fear is one thing; to be afraid is another. We can feel a lot of things but we don't have to be what we feel. And so that was, to me, just such an eye-opening thing and it's become kind of a hallmark of my teaching that fear means to run from. When he told joshua, "fear not, fear not," he was basically telling him, "fear is going to come but when you feel it, don't run." So the key is, is wherever you're headed in life, all along the way there's gonna be different fears, fear of failure, fear of being rejected by people, fear of losing your friends, I mean, just fear, fear, fear, fear, fear. And today we're gonna talk about a few of the fears that we wanna try to avoid in our lives but I just wanna tell you a cute story. This past weekend I was in washington doing a conference and a lady was there that was 102 years old. Now, her first Joyce Meyer conference she attended when she was 100. And she liked it so much she came back to this conference.
And she had her daughter with her who obviously took care of her but the woman was actually really in great shape. And so she was there on friday night. She was back on saturday morning at 9:30. She stayed for the saturday afternoon 1:30 session. I mean, she didn't look worn out. She didn't look tired. She was taking notes. I mean, she was engaged, she was listening. Well, I know that there were probably 25-year-olds that woke up on saturday morning, when they went to bed on friday night they thought, "well, yeah, I'm gonna go back tomorrow," and then they woke up on saturday morning, "ah, I'm too tired. I don't think I'll go."
And so, for her, she came because she'd made her mind up that was where she was gonna be. And see, we have to make our minds up what we're gonna do and stop letting how we feel determine whether we carry through or not. Well, they did a little interview with this lady and somebody was telling me about it on the trip home. She watches my tv program every day and they said, "well," her name was louise. "louise, why do you like Joyce so much?" And she said, listen to this. She said, "i just feel like she has such a sense of adventure." [audience laughing] Joyce: and I just thought that was so amazing that 102, she is interested in adventure. So obviously, she's taking chances, she's not just in this inactive, my-life-is-over-type attitude. How many people at 102 would be looking for some adventure and something new to do? So surely, if she can do that, we can all get a little better attitude today. And you know what?
I believe with all my heart that one of the reasons why she looked as good as she did and felt as good as she did was because of her mindset that she was really not too old to do anything. Now I know most of you in here today, you're real young but let me tell you something, you'll get to the point where the enemy will suggest to you, "well, you're just too old for that." And I believe that if we keep this sense of adventure that we can do a lot of things that we would have never even imagined that we could do. But every time, every time, you try to take a step to do something more, something better, something bigger, fear will come and try to stop you.
So you have to make a decision today that you're gonna live courageously, you're not gonna live fearfully. Now, I wanna read you a little story in here. I started this book with this little letter that I made up. So this is how the book starts. "say goodbye to fear. 'dear fear, I only refer to you as dear because of our long-term intimate relationship and certainly not because you are dear to me in any way. In fact, you've been a tormenting influence from start to finish. You've told me lies and prevented me from doing the things that I wanted to do and should have done. You are indeed a miserable, wretched companion and one that I am no longer willing to be involved with. I'm writing you this letter to let you know that from this point forward I will not fear. Although I may feel your presence, I will not bow down to your demands. I have a friend, you see, whose name is Jesus and he has promised to never leave me nor forsake me. But he is always with me.
He is indeed a powerful friend and, although you do have some power, his is far much greater than yours. You see, you can come against me but Jesus lives in me and the power of the one who is in me is greater than you. Although I cannot prevent you from coming to visit, I do want to give you notice that from now on you will be ignored. I am far too busy fellowshipping with my friend Jesus and developing intimate relationship with him to give you any of my time. The more I spend time with Jesus, the more courageous I become. He is teaching me a new way to live, one that is exciting and adventurous and one that is fearless. I will also inform you,'" and this is the part I want you to be sure you get. "i will also inform you that since I've had so much experience with you and know how self-defeating it is to listen to you, that I now intend to tell as many people as I can what a thief and a liar you are.
The years I have wasted with you will be redeemed and I will bear much good fruit. Thank you for driving me to Jesus. You see, you made me so miserable that I sought a way to be free from you and Jesus met me where I was and he set me free. Should you decide to waste your time and try to visit me even after my letter, I am letting you know ahead of time that you will be met by faith in a God, in my God, and a determination that I will not fear." And then I put a little place there for people to sign their name. So maybe all of you need to send a breakup letter-- [audience laughing] Joyce: to the Spirit of fear. I mean, honestly, it might do good for you just to sit down and write one out in your own words and just make a declaration, "this is it. I'm not gonna live in fear anymore. If you come around and try to torment me, you are absolutely wasting your time." So in this book, there's, I mean, the story's just worth getting the book for but, I mean, there are so many things in here: insecurity. You know, I believe that insecurity today is like a--of an epidemic proportion.
Oh my goodness, there are so many insecure people in the world. But our security is found in Christ. You don't have to determine your worth and value on who you know or what you look like or how perfectly you behave or where you were born or how you were treated when you were growing up. "if any man is in Christ he is a new creature. Old things pass away and all things become brand new." So I have some fears here that I have listed that I think that we need to avoid. So maybe some of this will just be eye-opening.
First of all, the fear of evil. You know, david in psalm said, "i will fear no evil." So I found in my own life that I always had, after coming out of the background that I came out of, I always had this vague feeling around me that something bad might happen at any moment. Anybody know what that's like? You know, sometimes when you've had a lot of bad stuff happen, you just get to the point where you're afraid of it happening again. And you've been disappointed so many times that you actually don't even wanna bother with expecting anything good because you don't want the disappointment of having to deal with it again.
And I recall one time in the early years of mine and dave's marriage when he asked me why I was so negative and I said, "well, if you don't expect anything good to happen, then you're not disappointed when it doesn't." Well, I've come a long way. I've come all the way from that now to refusing to give up my hope because we are born again into an ever-living hope and when you become, the Bible says in zechariah, a prisoner of hope, meaning that you're locked up with hope, there's no way you can get away from having a hopeful attitude, the promise there is that God will give you double, he will restore double to you anything that you ever lost.
But hope is very simple. It's a very simple definition. If you can get a hold of this, it can be life-changing. Hope means a positive expectation that something good is about to happen to me at any moment in my life. And every person watching today can have hope. You don't have to wait to feel hopeful. You don't have to wait to have a reason to hope. In romans 4 the Bible says: "all reason for hope being gone, abraham hoped on in faith that he would see the fulfillment of God's promises." In proverbs 15:15 it says: "all the days of the desponding and the afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of his circumstances]." So be careful about just having negative thoughts that something bad is about to happen. Let me tell you something. Even if something happens that you don't like, thinking about it ahead of time is not gonna make it any easier to deal with.
But if you have your mind on God and that no matter what comes you can overcome it, then even when things do happen, you're ready for it. How about the fear of rejection? You know, Jesus told his disciples in luke 10: "whenever you go into a town and they don't receive and accept and welcome you, go out into the streets and say, even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we are wiping off." I do a little teaching called "shake it off." You know, he told them, "when you go out and you start doing my will, you are going to be rejected by some people. You are going to be rejected." And what happens to a lot of people is let's just say maybe they hang out with this group of friends and they're all just going nowhere and they're just living lousy lives and doing all kinds of wrong things and so one person decides that they wanna get their life straightened out and they come into a relationship with Jesus, well, if you take a stand for your new life, the first thing that's gonna happen is all of your old friends are not going to want anything to do with you anymore. Well, that's painful because right then that's all you know. That's your life. You feel like you've made one good choice and now everything wrong is happening to you. And you know, sometimes we have the idea, "well, you know, if I'm gonna make a decision to serve God then everything in my life should be turning out good now." Well, it will but it's not gonna happen overnight. Think about this. How long did it take you to get into the messes that you're in? So surely we can give God equal time that we gave to the enemy in serving him.
Don't feel like that everything is gonna change overnight. You're gonna have to let God work with you and refuse to ever give up. So I love that and then in verse 16, luke 10:16, he says, "he who hears and heeds you [disciples] hears and heeds me; and he who slights and rejects you slights and rejects me; and he who slights and rejects me slights and rejects the one who sent me." And, boy, I had to hang on to that a lot in the early days of my teaching ministry because I've been teaching for 42 years now and when I started women did not do what I'm doing. And if they did, there were some who accepted you but it was not uncommon at all if I would get invited to a church for some of the men to get up and walk out. Well, that's hard to go through those kind of things because I just felt like I was just trying to do what I felt like God wanted me to do. Family rejected me, friends rejected me. The circles that I was in, nobody did what I was doing.
I just wonder how many people here today are willing to do something that nobody else has ever done before? I had a girl come up to me yesterday and I was actually in a nail shop getting my nails done and she came up to me and told me her story a little bit and she's in ministry and she ended her conversation by saying, "thank you for going before us and making a way for other women to follow." She said, "i know you paid a price and now I'm living in the benefits of that." Well, you know what, if you're willing to pay a price to have any kind of victory in your life, somebody else that's coming up behind you will benefit from that victory.
My children even still tell me and I have four grown children, "thank you for going through what you went through because I know that's why we have the life that we have today." So believe me, your life does affect other people and if you stay broken, you're not gonna be able to help anybody else but if you'll let God heal you, then everything that the enemy did to you, God can redeem it and he can work it out, not only for your good but for the good of somebody else. You know, paul experienced rejection and in 1 corinthians he said, "[as for me personally] it matters very little to me that I should be put on trial by you or that you or any other human should investigate and question and cross-question me. I don't even put myself on trial." So what was paul really saying? "i don't care what you think." Maybe we should practice that today. C'mon, I don't care what you think. Now say it like you mean it.
Audience: I don't care what you think. Joyce: now, you know, we all want people to think well of us and, you know, we wouldn't be too smart if we didn't but the thing is, is ultimately, you're gonna have to decide if you're gonna be a man-pleaser or a God-pleaser. And if you're gonna be a God-pleaser, then I can pretty much promise you somewhere along the line and intermittently throughout your life there's going to be people that are going to reject you. But Jesus said, "if they reject you, they're rejecting me or they're rejecting the one who sent me." How about a fear that things will never change?
I think that's a big fear in people's lives. 1 thessalonians 2:13. I love this scripture: "and we [especially] thank God continually for this, that when you received the message of God [which you heard] from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it is, the word of God," now listen to this, "which is effectually at work in you who believe." So what I get out of that, sometimes we read scriptures so fast we don't get out of them what God wants us to get out of them. But there's one sentence in there that I have drawn out of that that has helped me I don't know how many times. As long as I'm believing, God is working.
As long as I'm believing, God is working. As long as you're believing, God is working. Can I tell you something today? God needs your faith in order to work. Without faith, it's impossible to please him. I was asking God just a couple of weeks ago, "o God, I need you to do this. I need you to do that." And I just heard very clearly in my Spirit, "i need your faith." We're not gonna get anything from God going in fear and doubt and unbelief. We need to go in faith and, no matter what it looks like, say, "i don't care how long it takes, as long as I'm believing, I believe that God is working." There's nothing impossible with God.
We all love that scripture. I mean, I don't care how many times I wanna stand in the pulpit and quote that scripture, everybody in the crowd is gonna clap and cheer and get all excited. We wanna believe that all things are possible with God. So some people are afraid that nothing will ever change, but then there's also times when we're afraid of change. The thing that's interesting is we beg God for change and then when it comes it frightens us and we just wanna keep things the same way that they always were. "i [the lord] will instruct you," psalm 32:8. "i [the lord] will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you." You know, there's a lot of things that you're gonna come up against in life where you've never passed that way before. Many of you girls from the mercy home, you're about to embark on a whole new adventure and journey in your life. And a lot of things are gonna change.
First, God's changing you and then a lot of things are gonna change. But you're gonna be learning how to deal with things in a brand new way, handling situations that maybe you ran from before. So I just wanna encourage you, don't be afraid of change because everything around us is always changing.
And you know what? Someday, you'll look back and you will have changed so much that you won't even know that person anymore that you used to be a long, long, long time ago. When I talk about the little girl that was sexually abused by her dad now, honestly, I feel like that's somebody that I can barely remember, somebody way from my past that I used to know that I don't even really know anymore. How about this? And I think this is a big one. I really believe that this actually is a controlling factor in a lot of people's lives. How about the fear that you're not gonna get what you want? What if I trust God and he doesn't come through?
Well, first of all, God always comes through. He may not give you what you want. I'm gonna tell you today, you may not get what you want so there's no point in being afraid of it because I'm telling you now, it's gonna happen from time to time. But the whole thing is, is if God doesn't give us what we want, he's always gonna give us something better. And see, right now, what you want is all you know how to want. And maybe you have limitations on what you believe can happen in your life. But God has no limitations and so you may be asking for something little and he wants to give you something big. "you have not because you ask not."
And I believe that we can live with that trust that, God, I want what you want more than I want what I want. You know, even Jesus, "father, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, your will be done and not mine." What was he saying? This is what I want but if it's not what you want, then I want what you want more than I want what I want. You know what happens when you are afraid that you're not gonna get what you want? You may try to trust God but you always kind of have a back-up plan, just in case God doesn't come through. And I think that God wants to say to you today, "how about giving up the back-up plan?
How about not being a backseat driver anymore?" You know how they are. I try to help dave sometimes. "don't do this, don't do that. Aghh!" You know? God wants you to stop trying to tell him which way to go and how to do it and having your little back-up plan just in case God doesn't come through. He wants you to trust him with your whole heart. Now, remember, fear is always gonna come but you don't have to let it control you. And then the last thing I'll talk about just a little bit is the fear of failure. Not gonna say much about it but, you know, there is no such thing as a failure if you just refuse to ever give up. The only way somebody can fail is if they quit trying. But if you'll live with a sense of adventure and say, "i'm not gonna let fear control me, and I don't care how many times you knock me down, I'm a-get up again." The righteous man falls but he gets up again, amen? All right, today we're offering the book that I told you about, "living courageously."
Who could not want this? I think everybody should want all of them, you know, because I wrote 'em all so I didn't write 'em just for me although I do like to read 'em once in a while. You can face anything; just do it afraid. And we're offering this to you today for your gift to the ministry of any amount and all the proceeds from today's offer, whatever you feel that God wants you to send in is just gonna go to help support our television ministry. I'm sure a lot of you have watched the tv program for a long, long time and maybe you've never really given anything back. Maybe God's even put it on your heart many times but you just haven't done it.
Well, today you can make up for all those times you didn't do it and just do today everything that you should have done a long time ago and didn't do yet. We really need your help, not only to help pay for the program you're watching but especially to reach out to new people 'cause you know what? A lot of people are hurting in a lot of places and so you can help me help them. Thank you so much for being with us today. We love you and appreciate you. God bless you. announcer: pack your bags, we're taking the love life women's conference to tampa, florida and you're invited. Announcer: worship with natalie grant. Unstoppable God let your glory go on and on impossible things in your name they shall be done
Joyce Meyer - Sermon: Simple, Practical Changes with Real Results - Part 3. Joyce continues a series of teachings on how to make a bad day better. Learn how to find relief from feelings of dread, and overcome a problem before it begins.
Joyce Meyer: don't settle for mediocrity when God has called you to excellence. Joyce Meyer: you know what the word "mediocre" means? "to live halfway between success and failure." Joyce Meyer: learn some things about yourself. Now, how many of you think that sounds a little bit exciting? Just Joyce Meyer: and hey, I don't know that I'm ready for this myself, but I'll make it a suggestion to you in case you're further ahead than I am. If you're really bold and ready to be humbled, ask a good friend or a loving family member to tell you how they see you. Joyce Meyer: I'm trying to think if I've got a loving family member or a friend that I'd be willing to do that with. Joyce Meyer: my gosh, there's no tellin's what you might here. Tell somebody, "what do you see as my strengths and what do you see as my weaknesses?