Displaying Christian Sermons by tag: people
Charles Stanley (December-22-2022) Daily Devotional: An Advocate for the People
Like Nehemiah, we can make a big difference in our communities by praying for and acting on behalf of others.
Nehemiah 1 - The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capitol, that Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They said to me, ``The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire." When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, ``I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father's house have sinned. ``We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. ``Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, `If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.' ``They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. ``O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man." Now I was the cupbearer to the king.
Before a single stone was laid to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, Nehemiah began to humble himself before God. After fasting and mourning over his people’s vulnerability, He offered up a three-part prayer—confessing Israel’s sin, proclaiming the Lord’s promises, and requesting success for his plans.
Like Nehemiah, we should be committed to protecting our people. His response to Israel’s situation is a good template for us to follow. Perhaps you’ve never considered fasting over a local or national crisis, or interceding for your community’s disobedience to God. But taking action to protect and serve others is a believer’s responsibility (Matt. 25:35-40).
There are those who doubt that one person’s prayers or actions can make a dent in a nation’s future, but Nehemiah proved otherwise. God used him to gather supplies and organize the Jewish people to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls in just 52 days (Neh. 6:15 - So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days).
The impact of your intercession may not look like Nehemiah’s, or it may be unknown until you reach heaven. But if we’re to build communities where the vulnerable are protected and justice prevails, we must commit to small steps of change every day. And we should begin as Nehemiah did—with prayer.
Joyce Meyer (October-24-2020) Daily Devotion: Taking the Pressure off Other People.
Love and acceptance are universal needs we all have, including the people in our lives. If we demand that people change to be more like us or to suit our liking, we’re putting a tremendous strain on those relationships, and if we continue, it won’t end well.
I remember the years I furiously tried to change my husband, Dave, and each of our children in different ways. Those were frustrating years, because no matter what I tried, it didn’t work. My efforts to change the people I loved weren’t helping matters. In fact, I often just made things worse.
As humans, all of us require space, or freedom, to be who we were created to be. We want to be accepted as we are. We don’t want people giving us the message, even subtly, that we need to change in order to be approved or loved. Nagging is not an effective tool for change. Only prayer and God’s love will do the job.
This doesn’t mean we accept sin in other people or merely put up with it, but it does mean that the way to change is prayer, not pressure. For change to last, it must come from the inside out, and only God can bring that type of true change. If we love people and pray for them, He will give us grace to love them where they are, and He’ll do the work that needs to be done in their hearts.
Prayer Starter: Father, please help me love and accept the people You’ve placed in my life, right where they are. Thank You for doing the work that needs to be done in them and for always loving and accepting me right where I am. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Believe God over People - Joel Osteen Daily Devotion (November-16-2021).
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: …the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8, ESV
TODAY'S WORD: Sometimes we can be more aware of what other people think about us than we are of what God thinks. But people don’t determine your destiny. People can’t stop God’s plan for your life. People may not approve you. Don’t worry about it. God approves you. God called you; people didn’t call you. People don’t equip you; God equips you. People don’t anoint you; God anoints you. When you come to the end of your life, you won’t answer to people; you’ll answer to Almighty God.
Don’t let what some person say or do make you feel less than or unqualified. You’ve been handpicked by the Creator of the universe. You are lacking nothing for the season that you’re in right now. God used the rod that was in Moses' hand to help deliver His people from Egypt. What you have in your hand is what you need. When you dedicate it to God and do what He tells you, He’ll bless and multiply what you have in your hand and use it to take you further than you ever dreamed!
PRAYER FOR TODAY: Father, right now, I renounce the negative voices that have come against me and against Your Word. I choose to trust You. I choose to believe You. I choose to forgive others and believe Your Word which stands forever in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Frank Turek (October 19, 2018) - Are People Inherently Good? Addressing some issues about legislating morality, government and human nature.
Joel Osteen - Sermon: Don't Rely On People. Are you relying on what others say or don’t say for your value? Are you frustrated today because you don’t have the support from others around you? One of the greatest lessons in life is to learn that your true value does not come from people; it comes from Almighty God. Yet many people today rely on the complements, encouragement and approval of others to feel good about themselves and stay motivated. Paul said in Philippians 4:13, “I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency.” Let Joel show you who you are in Christ and how to go to Him for your value and self-worth. As you apply these biblical principles, not only will you live a more peaceful life, but your relationships will improve, too!
How Were People Saved Before Jesus Died For Our Sins? April 18, 2018 - Frank Turek. Check out my answer to this important one about the justice of God and the salvation of man before the arrival of Jesus Christ.
People Pleasers - Part 2 - Joyce Meyer (sermon online). What if you stopped listening to the opinions of others and started doing what God's Word says is right? Today, Joyce teaches about the wisdom and rewards of following God.
The Wealth of Evil People with Gloria Copeland and George Pearsons (sermon online). The supernatural wealth transfer is part of our harvest! Watch Gloria Copeland and Pastor George Pearsons on Believer’s Voice of Victory explain how reserves of the wealth of evil people have been stored up for the just. Now, it’s time for us to believe and receive the supernatural wealth transfer!
Joyce Meyer (August-03-2020) Watch Sermon: How to Love People That Are Hard to Love - Part 1. God can help you get along with everyone! Learn how to bring God into the center of your relationships on this episode of Enjoying Everyday Life.
I don’t believe anyone gets up in the morning and thinks, I just can’t wait to see how many people I can make miserable today. I often say that hurting people hurt people.
Most of the pain and anguish we receive from other people is a result of their own pain. When someone is miserable, it inevitably comes out somewhere—and it usually comes out on somebody. The truth is, we’re never going to be able to prevent people from saying or doing things that hurt our feelings. We will always have opportunities to get offended. But if we do things God’s way, we can choose to save ourselves a lot of misery and hardship. This doesn’t mean we allow people to abuse us. No, there is a time for confronting people and dealing with situations. However, the Bible commands us to love our enemies and forgive those who have wronged us. You may consider some of the people in your life and think, Joyce, that’s impossible! Believe me, I’ve been in your shoes and I know how you feel. But everything the Lord asks us to do in the Bible is ultimately for our good. In fact, when we choose to love our enemies and forgive those who have hurt us, we are actually helping ourselves more than anyone else. So, how do you love the people in your life who are hard to love? Well, I believe a good place to begin is to stop thinking, “I can’t!” Because whatever the Lord commands us to do, He is going to give us the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish it—and that includes loving and being good to difficult people! I personally believe that showing loving to someone who doesn’t deserve or expect it is absolutely one of the most powerful things we can do. Because in that moment they see God...and He’s the one Who can truly change their hearts. First Corinthians 13:7 says that ...love is ever ready to believe the best of every person.... When someone hurts our feelings or offends us, we have a choice. We can think, You did this on purpose just to upset me! Or we can choose to believe the best and think: Well, they must be having a difficult day and probably didn’t even realize they were being rude to me. Maybe something difficult is going on in their life. It most likely has nothing to do with me. I know that I desire for others to show me a lot of grace of mercy and give me the benefit of the doubt when I’m having a bad day or hurt their feelings without realizing it. No one is perfect, and we can all use a little room to be human. I don’t know how many years I prayed for God to change my husband Dave. In my mind, he was always the problem. Thank heaven, I finally learned the importance of adopting a humble attitude. Now I pray more like this: “God, I would like for you to change Dave. But Lord, I may not even see this right—I may be the problem. God, first deal with me if I need to change.” As we humble ourselves and ask the Lord to change us, it’s amazing how it will transform our relationships and our attitude toward others. Pray for Others We should pray that God will help people to be all He wants them to be and do all He wants them to do. Pray the Lord will help them get to the root of their problems and realize when they’re hurting other people. I truly believe that we can use kindness as a weapon to overcome the meanness in people. Because God’s love flowing through us is strong enough to melt even the hardest hearts. Let Them Out of the Dog HouseBelieve the Best
Pray for Yourself
It’s easy to give someone an ultimatum like, “If you don’t change your ways, I’m leaving you!” They may change for a while, but their bad behavior will eventually come back because their heart hasn’t changed.
Is there someone in your life who is difficult to love? If so, take a few moments to pray for yourself and them right now. Then choose to begin putting the following principles into practice.
