We have to live the life we say we believe in. Trying to be popular with people can steal the plan of God for your life.
Joyce Meyer, one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers and New York Times best-selling author, shares encouragement and advice to help us enjoy our daily lives.
With a heart to share Christ and love people, Joyce’s messages help people in all walks of life to grow in their faith, learn to study the Bible, find healing from the wounds of life, get answers to life’s questions and encounter the love of God in a powerful way.
the following program is paid for by the
friends and partners of Joyce Meyer
ministries
you have to decide that you are going to
dedicate every area of your life to God
your mouth your thoughts your ears what
you’re even willing to listen to your
eyes what you’re willing to look at your
entertainment your social life your
friendships how you dress your appetite
finances we need to have a return to
more holiness and real holiness is not
legalism it doesn’t mean you can’t do
anything it doesn’t mean you can’t have
any fun we have lots of Liberty in
Christ
wonderful beautiful Liberty Paul said
all things are allowable for me but not
all things are the best thing for me to
do God is he’s given us the freedom of
choice and there are many things that
you can get by with and it won’t send
you to hell but it will keep you from
living a victorious life here now did
you hear me I must say it again there
are many things that you can do and it
won’t send you to help but it is going
to hurt your witness it may make you
unusable by God because he said we
should be vessels fit for the Masters
use and we must be anointed by God to
work for God and God does not anoint the
flesh the anointing oil was never put on
the flesh dedicating ourselves is very
easy to say I could stop right now and
have a dedication service and I could
have people up here at this altar
bawling and squalling and we could lay
hands on people it didn’t have any hair
left and lay everybody out in the floor
and I mean it would just you’d go home
thinking man the glory was there well I
tell you where I want to see the glory I
want to see it in your home
I want to see it when you go home and
you follow through amen
some of you know very well right now
specific areas that are hindering you
that are displeasing to God God’s
already been dealing with you about it
all he’s doing right now he’s just sent
me as another confirmation to you not
like you haven’t had others but here I
am now has another confirmation to you
we’re educated way beyond our level of
obedience how many times we’re going to
have to hear the forgive your enemies
message before we do it much easier to
say Amen in here than it will be to go
home and pull it off but I believe that
you’re going to get the message tonight
and you’re going to learn how to finish
what you start there’s some wonderful
examples in the Bible first of all in
Hebrews chapter 6 verses 10 and 11 the
Bible says that it is God’s desire that
we go all the way through but we do
strongly and earnestly desire for each
of you to show the same diligence and
sincerity all the way through say we get
started but somewhere in the middle we
give up that we might enjoy the
fulfillment of our dreams in the end a
woman came to the altar one time to ask
me to pray far about losing some weight
and as I just as I touched her I just
had a vision of her and I saw her like
she’d make a decision she’d get started
and then she’d turn around and go back
and she’d get prayer somewhere again and
then she take off and she’d get started
and then she’d give up and go back and
get prayers somewhere again and she had
spent years just come on I’m talking to
somebody I said I’m talking to somebody
let’s see right here is where it gets
kind of hard and this is a place where
you got to go so you can come out with
some victory somewhere on the other end
and please remember you never have to do
this by yourself
any person who will say to God I am
going to go all the way through with you
let me tell you I mean he gets all over
it you know when I sense God’s anointing
on me to do what I’m doing when I step
out here I don’t feel it before that if
you’re waiting to feel the right thing
before you do the right thing it just
doesn’t work that way you know the Bible
is full of people who went all the way
through with God there are a few that
you read a little bit about and then
something happens and they just kind of
fizzle out and you never hear from him
again but Hannah for example was a woman
who was unable to bear children and she
prayed and prayed and prayed that God
would give her a child and she said to
God if you’ll bless me and let me have a
child I’ll give him back to you and I
promise that he’ll serve you all the
days of his life now when she gave her
child back to God it wasn’t like us
doing a baby dedication and giving our
children to God and taking them home and
still doing what we want to with him I
mean when she decided to give her child
to God that meant when she weaned that
child she had to go take him to the
temple
and that’s where he would live for the
rest of his life in priestly service and
it’s beautiful if you read it how she
waited until she weaned him and then on
the day when she was supposed to take
him she went and she spoke to the
Prophet and she said I’m the woman who
stood by this altar and prayed that God
would give me this child and as I
promised you I have now come to give him
back to you if people would just keep
their promises if they would just keep
their word
we need integrity in our world today we
need people who will say what they’re
going to do and do what they said and
there’s such a lacking of that in our
society and let me tell you something
church the sinners aren’t going to
change if anybody’s going to spark up
the world it’s going to have to be us
we’ve got to get out there and be bright
light stars and beacons shining out in a
dark world we have to press in and every
individual person who calls themselves a
Christian must begin to live that life
out in society where it makes the
difference people don’t pay all that
much attention to what we say but they
do pay attention to what we do let’s
look at Acts chapter 5 is anybody
feeling anything stirring on the inside
tonight actually I’m going to back up
into Acts chapter 4 the last two verses
it says now Joseph a Levite and a native
of Cyprus which interesting enough we
have an office in Cyprus now well
actually we broadcast to the Middle East
out of that area
so Joseph a Levite and a native of
Cyprus who was surnamed Barnabas by the
apostles which interpreted means son of
encouragement sold a field which
belonged to him and brought the sum of
money and laid it at the feet of the
Apostles now you know I don’t know maybe
when maybe when they did that the people
just like oh that’s great Joseph you’re
a great guy loo you
well then Ananias and Sapphira seeing
what went on they said oh we’ve got a
field we’re going to sell it and we’ll
bring the money too you know sometimes
we make commitments in the flesh and
it’s not even something that God’s put
on her heart and but you know what I
believe that even if we make a
commitment when we should have just kept
our mouth shut
God expects us to keep our word and if
not the very least he wants you to do is
go back and say you know what I was just
totally in the flesh I wasn’t hearing
from God at all didn’t even pray about
it and I need to ask you to release me
but very often we don’t want to do
either one we just ignore it
and then it just doesn’t look good but a
certain man named Ananias with his wife
sapphire sold a piece of property and
with his wife’s knowledge and connivance
he kept back and wrongfully appropriated
some of the proceeds bringing only apart
and putting at the feet of the Apostles
but Peter said Ananias why has Satan
filled your heart notice when we don’t
keep our commitments is because Satan
fills our heart with something that you
should lie to an attempt to deceive the
Holy Spirit and should in violation of
your promise withdraw secretly and
appropriate to your own use part of the
price from the sale of the land as long
as it remained unsold was it not still
your own and even after it was sold was
not the money at your own disposal it is
that you have proposed and purposed in
your heart to do this thing so he didn’t
have to say I’ll give it all he could
have sold it and said I’m going to give
part of it the whole message here is not
keeping your word the whole message here
is not doing
what you say you’ll do not finishing
what you start how could you have had
the heart to do such a deed you have not
simply lied to men playing false and
showing yourself utterly deceitful but
you lied to God verse five upon hearing
these words Ananias fell down and died
you know this is really serious now I
just want you to stick with me hear from
him because I’m going to show you a
correlation so he fell down and died and
terror took possession of all who heard
it verse 6 the young men arose and
wrapped up the body and carried it out
and buried it now after an interval of
about three hours the wife came in not
having learned yet of what had happened
and Peter said to her tell me did you
sell the land for such and such amount
of money and she said oh yes for that
much then Peter said to her how could
you two have agreed and conspired
together to try to deceive the Spirit of
the Lord listen the feet of those who
have buried your husband are at the door
and they will carry you out also and
instantly she fell down and died now
isn’t this an encouraging message
tonight and just think this is almost
over and I can send you home with these
thoughts and the young men entering
found her dead and they carried her out
and buried her beside her husband now
watch this and the whole church and all
the others who heard of these things
were appalled in great awe and strange
terror and dread seized them now by the
hands of the apostles the special
messengers numerous and startling signs
and wonders are being fahrt performed
among the people and by common consent
they all met together in the temple now
you notice that an Isis of fire fell
down dead from lion but you also notice
that great signs and wonders and
tremendous miracles were happening in
the church and people are being added to
the church daily by the thousands now if
we wonder where the miracles have gone
well come on you’re all smarter than
that
then maybe we need to have a great
return to holiness and have a little
more reverential fear and awe
Dave and I were just talking about this
last week this very thing
and we both feel very much that there’s
just a little too much looseness in the
church God’s our buddy and he’s our
friend
but he’s also God Almighty a holy God a
righteous God a God of justice and we
should never have a wrong fear of God
but we should know that God means what
he says and it’s not wrong to have a
righteous reverential fear and awe of
God and when we do things will change
even just some of the rude behaviors
that we have you know this is not about
trying to hurt somebody’s feelings or or
embarrass anybody but I mean even just
like at the end of a service when the
pastor is trying to have an altar call
to have people give their life to the
Lord and the only thing that 20% of the
people are concerned about is trying to
get out of the building so they can get
their car out of the parking lot
so they can get their hamburger
I mean are we really in that big a hurry
that we have to be rude to the holy
spirit and maybe interrupt somebody
who’s lost and going to hell that the
Holy Spirit is trying to bring
conviction on we should not have to be
told those things because every person
who does that who’s truly born again
knows in their spirit when they get up
that it’s wrong
you know Joseph was a consecrated man
and he didn’t lose his dedication and
consecration through all kinds of trials
and tribulations and he ended up second
in command in the whole nation of Egypt
let me tell you something paid I’ll come
payday will come and when God’s payday
comes
Esther had her own plan she was a young
maiden and I don’t know what Esther had
planned but it sure wasn’t to go be part
of a harem in the king’s palace she was
asked to put her life on the line but
because she dedicated herself she saved
a whole nation you have no idea what God
could do with you now this last little
bit of time that I have left I want to
talk to you about an area of dedication
that I think is important for all of us
and it’s dedicating your reputation to
God you know our reputation is what
people think of us it’s their opinion
and we’re way too concerned about what
people think it’s just like it’s almost
like a disease in our society and
everybody wants people to like them
there’s no doubt about that but I can
tell you right now everybody’s not going
to like you I don’t care what you do not
everybody’s gonna like your new haircut
but everybody’s going to like your new
clothes not everybody’s going to like
the car you picked not everybody’s going
to like your personality I mean not
everybody’s going to like you thank God
a lot of people will but not everybody
will and you will have to learn how to
experience some rejection in your life
and yet shake that off and go on with
God I’m reading a book right now by aw
Tozier of course he wrote this book a
fair a number of years ago so they had
the same problem in the church then and
he said what we have in the church now
is deadly respectability and
in the midst of it Christians are not by
and large respected by the world and we
should be even if they don’t like us or
want to be like us they should respect
us and the only way they will is if we
live the life that we say we believe in
we have to live the life that we say
that we believe you know the Apostle
Paul said in Galatians 1:10 if I were
trying to be popular with people I would
not right now be an apostle of the Lord
Jesus Christ do you know that trying to
be popular with people trying to
maintain your relationship can steal the
plan of God for your life do you know
that I’m quite sure that no I had to
lose his reputation to build the Ark
what do you think I bet Abraham didn’t
have very good reputation when he walked
off from his whole family and everything
that he knew and left and said God’s
calling me
well where you going Abraham I don’t
know God just said go and I’ll show you
why you nutcase come on Jesus didn’t
have a good reputation but the Bible
says in Philippians 2:7 that he made
himself of no reputation
he just went ahead and got it all over
with the start with his brothers thought
he was crazy people thought he was a
madman but he just stayed focused and
kept doing I don’t even know how to
explain to you what all I went through
when God first called me to do this over
35 years ago and it was a very hard
lonely time for me and I said to Dave
about two weeks ago I said you know what
I just I have no idea how I got from
where I was to where I am I do not know
how I managed to get
through all of the stuff that came
against me except that one day at a time
I took it with God and I one of the
things I hadn’t let me finish one of the
things that I had I mean I had this I am
NOT going to give up I mean it’s just
like quitting is just like something I
can’t even get into my brain I am NOT
going to quit and give up and I know
that God gave me a lot of grace
certainly I wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for
that but I’m just going to tell you that
anybody can quit that doesn’t take any
talent at all or any help from God
anybody can quit so the next time you
say well I’m just going to give up you
just ought to turn around and kick your
own self in the room because that is
just something you should never do if
you can’t have any other testimony at
least have this one I’m still here amen
I’m still here no matter what the devil
threw against me I’m still here and I’ll
tell you what I’d rather have God as my
friend than to have 1,000 half-baked
phony hypocritical
pretenders who the only way they’re
going to be my friend is if they can
control me and manipulate me and I’ll do
everything they want me to do either
love me for who I am or just don’t
bother loving me at all amen
I believe when I was studying today that
God showed me that this is one of the
main things he’s wanting to get at
tonight some of you are never going to
finish what God wants you to finish in
life if you don’t lay this reputation on
the altar now I can tell you right now
that it’s going to be very easy for you
to agree with me here but you’re going
to get tested everything worth anything
has to pass the test and let me tell you
something God tests and tries us that we
might come out like pure gold
now listen to me you won’t finish what
God’s got for you to do if you care too
much what people think you’re always
going to be changing your decisions to
make them happy
unless they think that you’re wrong or
crazy or weird or you know how many of
you agree that it’s a real problem that
were that concerned about what other
people think and I mean it is a massive
massive problem and I can actually look
back at my history and ministry and I
can see now that each time God was
trying to do something major in my life
like when he was calling me into
ministry you wouldn’t believe the flack
I got just for trying to teach a Bible
study in my home I mean it was
unbelievable it was like all the Devils
in Hell came out
and you know the enemy works through
people and sometimes godly people or at
least they’re supposed to be but hey
before we point the finger to many other
people let’s remember the sometimes we
let him work through us – amen
and that rejection was so painful to me
so painful and I remember one day when I
was still like in my early 30s and God
had filled me with the spirit and called
me to preach and I was listening to a
teaching CD about righteousness and I
was so excited the very thought of being
right with God was just like almost more
than I could stand because I’d had a
lifetime full of guilt and shame and
condemnation and all these people were
coming against us and our friends were
rejecting us and laughing at me and
telling me I was crazy who do you think
you are and all these things and I’m
trying to hold on to this little dream
and vision didn’t know anything about
dreams and visions to start with
probably thought I was crazy myself it
was hoping I wasn’t and I remember
getting in my kitchen floor on my knees
and I had that teaching on righteousness
in my hand and I said god I don’t even
fully understand all this but I know
that you’re trying to do something in my
life and if I lose every friend that
I’ve got and everybody thinks I’m stark
raving mad I’m going to press forward
with you
and I’ve had to do that a number of
times in my life probably about four
times that were really really really
really major for me where I’ve had major
hits of rejection from people that I
really thought were my friends
you know it’s painful when you think
people are your friends and then you
find out that they’re not it’s probably
one of the most painful things in the
world but I’m still here amen
and I’m not going away hallelujah