0:00

This program is made possible

0:02

by the partners of Joyce

0:04

Meyer Ministries. Hi everyone, Joyce

0:06

is on her way, but

0:08

first we have something new

0:10

to tell you about. Battlefield

0:12

of the Mind is Joyce's

0:15

best-selling book. And for the

0:17

first time ever, she's dedicating

0:19

an entire conference to all

0:21

God's words says about winning

0:23

those battles. It's time to

0:25

begin thinking differently. So join

0:28

Joyce and her guests, April

0:30

24th through the 26th in

0:32

Beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. Register

0:34

now at joycemyre.org/battlefield live. You can't

0:36

listen to how you feel and

0:38

you can't listen to your own

0:41

carnal mind. You've got a... really

0:43

go to the word

0:45

and listen for that

0:47

still small voice of

0:50

God. I'm Joyce Meyer

0:52

and I believe that

0:55

God can heal

0:57

you everywhere you hurt.

0:59

As you know I love

1:02

to teach the word. I'm

1:04

so honored that God

1:06

has allowed me to

1:09

teach his word. You

1:11

know, I'm gonna read you a

1:13

scripture and then I'm just gonna

1:15

show you a little example

1:17

I believe that many of you

1:20

God has called you to do something

1:22

and You've kind of know it,

1:24

but you get so wrapped up

1:26

and all the stuff that you're

1:29

doing doing doing that you just

1:31

forget about it and I think

1:33

Some of you had a dream, you've

1:35

lost your dream, it was taking too

1:37

long, you gave up on it, whatever,

1:40

you had a vision. And you don't

1:42

all have a vision to do something

1:44

like what I'm doing, but I don't

1:46

care if it's a dream to clean

1:48

your closet out. You need to have,

1:50

you need to be going somewhere. You

1:52

need to be making some kind

1:54

of progress in your life and

1:57

having something that you look forward

1:59

to. not meant to just

2:01

stagnate and do the same

2:04

day, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,

2:06

Wednesday, Wednesday, Monday,

2:08

Tuesday, Thursday, Thursday,

2:10

and gripe and murmur and

2:12

complain. We need to have

2:14

vision and purpose for our

2:17

lives. Amen. And so, Genesis

2:19

15, 1 through 6, says, after these

2:21

things, the word of the Lord

2:23

came to Abraham in a

2:25

vision, saying, fear not Abraham,

2:27

I am your shield. your

2:30

abundant compensation, and

2:32

your reward shall be exceedingly

2:35

great." And Abraham said, Lord,

2:37

what can you give me since

2:39

I'm going on from the world

2:41

childless? And he who shall be the

2:43

owner and the heir of my

2:45

house is this steward elisier of

2:47

Damascus. He had no error, and

2:49

he was going to have to

2:51

leave everything he had to, a servant

2:54

who worked for him. And

2:56

Abraham continued, you've given me

2:58

no child. And a servant

3:00

born in my house is my

3:03

heir. And behold, the word

3:05

of the Lord came to him

3:07

saying, let me stop here and

3:09

say, yes, God does speak to

3:12

you. I don't know why people,

3:14

I don't know, if you talk

3:16

to God, it's prayer, but if

3:18

he talks to you, you're crazy.

3:21

And I mean, all through the

3:23

Bible, from beginning to the

3:25

end, God spoke to his

3:28

people. And we are no

3:30

different. God shows us things

3:32

and he tells us things. And

3:34

the word of the Lord came

3:36

to him saying, this man shall

3:39

not be your heir, but he

3:41

who shall come from your own

3:43

body shall be your heir. Now,

3:45

I want to tell you that it

3:48

didn't happen right away. Matter

3:50

of fact, it didn't happen

3:52

for a long time. And you know,

3:54

when we... Wait and we wait and we

3:56

wait and we wait and we wait. I mean

3:59

if you're waiting. Well, part of

4:01

the reason why God brought

4:04

you here is for me

4:06

to remind you not to

4:09

give up. Amen. And I

4:11

love this part, and I

4:14

think this is what God's

4:16

done with you this weekend.

4:18

He brought him outside his

4:21

tent into the starlight. So

4:23

I've got my tent here.

4:26

And this tent represents... Your

4:31

life, your house, your neighborhood,

4:33

your job, and some of

4:35

you have been in it

4:38

so long, you've forgotten the

4:40

vision and the dream that

4:42

God gave you. And Abraham

4:45

believed God, that's all God

4:47

wants you to do, is

4:49

just trust him, just believe

4:52

him. No matter how impossible

4:54

it seems, just keep saying

4:56

God I believe you. And

5:00

he brought him outside, and

5:02

he said, look at the

5:04

stars. He brought him outside

5:06

of his tent, and I

5:08

love that. It's like he'd

5:10

been in there so long,

5:13

he'd lost his vision. And

5:15

God brought him out and

5:17

said, get your mind off

5:19

all that stuff and remember

5:21

what I said to you.

5:23

And I think that's what

5:25

God is saying to many

5:27

of you tonight. You've

5:30

had your nose stuck

5:32

in just the ordinary

5:34

for so long That

5:36

it's time to remember

5:38

the extraordinary thing Come

5:40

on that God wants

5:42

to do in your

5:44

life. Amen Come on

5:47

make more noise than

5:49

that for Jesus Okay,

5:51

well I've been in

5:53

ministry 45 years The

5:55

first five years, all

5:57

I did was teach

5:59

a... a couple

6:01

of home Bible studies and

6:03

I was faithful to 25

6:05

people who sat in my

6:07

living room floor for five

6:09

years. And those first five

6:11

years were testing ground for

6:13

me and God was testing

6:15

my faithfulness. I didn't make

6:17

any money for it. I

6:19

eventually quit my job so

6:21

I could study just to

6:23

do that and I had

6:26

this dream of doing what

6:28

I'm doing what I'm doing.

6:30

But it certainly didn't seem

6:32

then like it was going

6:34

to happen when I looked

6:36

at those same 25 people

6:38

every week And I just

6:40

want to tell you if

6:42

you want to see God

6:44

do extraordinary things in your

6:46

life You're going to have

6:48

to be patient Because one

6:50

thing God is not is

6:52

in a hurry Most of

6:54

you have figured that out

6:56

by now, right? And

6:59

God will test you. And sometimes

7:01

it'll look like there's no way

7:04

that what he spoke to you

7:06

is going to come to pass.

7:08

And those are times when against

7:11

all odds you need to say,

7:13

God, I trust you. I don't

7:16

understand this. It hurts, it doesn't

7:18

feel good, it doesn't make any

7:20

sense, but I trust you. Now

7:23

I didn't know how to do

7:25

that back when I was going

7:27

through this. And so all my

7:30

suffering you get to benefit from

7:32

because now I can tell you

7:34

the right way to do it

7:37

Even though I didn't know the

7:39

right way to do it I

7:42

had to learn it the hard

7:44

way I didn't have anybody to

7:46

tell me people asked me sometimes

7:49

who mentored you and I know

7:51

it The holy spirit I didn't

7:53

have a me to preach to

7:56

people every day on TBN and

7:58

day star and all these places

8:00

around the world matter of fact

8:03

when I started doing this very

8:05

many women. who did, and especially

8:08

not anything on any kind of

8:10

a large scale. But now thank

8:12

God, women are finding out that

8:15

they've got quite a bit going

8:17

on if they'll just let God

8:19

use them. Amen. And I want

8:22

to tell you something, and I

8:24

want you to please believe this.

8:26

Now some of you may be

8:29

called to a pulpit ministry, but...

8:31

That is not that is by

8:34

far not the most important thing

8:36

that you could be called to

8:38

do More people are going to

8:41

be one one on one That

8:43

are ever going to be one

8:45

From a place like this and

8:48

what is so important to me

8:50

is that I can get you

8:52

to understand how important you are

8:57

Quit gawking at people like

8:59

me and saying, I wish

9:01

I had a ministry like

9:03

you. You know what? You

9:05

probably don't. Because I want

9:07

to tell you, this is

9:10

a very little tiny part

9:12

of what I have to

9:14

do to stand here and

9:16

do this. And so, if

9:18

God makes you do it,

9:20

do it. But if not,

9:23

be happy to minister to

9:25

your neighbor. Amen. And

9:28

you've all got a pulpit.

9:30

Every single one of you

9:32

have got a pulpit. It

9:34

may be your backyard fence.

9:36

It may be your desk

9:38

at work. It may be

9:40

why you're checking out at

9:43

the grocery counter. And you

9:45

don't always have to preach

9:47

to people. Matter of fact,

9:49

sometimes it's better to live

9:51

it instead of talking and

9:53

not living it. Amen.

9:57

Everybody thinks witnessing is getting

9:59

somebody in a corner and

10:02

preaching the gospel to them,

10:04

but you witness more with

10:06

your wife than you ever

10:09

will probably with your mouth.

10:11

Amen. So tonight I want

10:13

to talk to you about

10:16

if I could go back

10:18

and do it all over

10:20

again, what would I change?

10:23

First of all, you can't

10:25

do that. The

10:30

main thing that you can

10:32

do from your mistakes is

10:34

learn from them. And then

10:36

part of the privilege I

10:38

have is I've been able

10:40

to use the mistakes that

10:42

I've made then to help

10:44

other people hopefully not make

10:46

them, but most people go

10:49

ahead and make them anyway

10:51

because we're kind of dumb

10:53

and we just got to

10:55

figure it out for ourselves.

10:57

Amen. I've been

10:59

through some stuff. So first of

11:01

all, the first thing I would

11:04

not do if I could do

11:06

it over again is I wouldn't

11:08

marry the first guy that I

11:10

married, which was not Dave. I

11:13

left home when I was 18.

11:15

My father had been sexually abusing

11:17

me for as long as I

11:19

could remember. I was probably somewhere

11:22

around... 12 to 15 years. It's

11:24

all I ever remember so I

11:26

don't know if I was three

11:28

four five or six, but I

11:31

know I was very very little

11:33

and My mother knew it She

11:35

let fear rule her life. That's

11:37

why I hate fear so much

11:40

and her fear Kept her from

11:42

doing anything to protect me and

11:44

It just destroyed her life ruined

11:46

her life so I left home

11:49

As soon as I graduated from

11:51

high school, I left home. And

11:53

I was 18 in June and

11:56

graduated that same time. So I

11:58

was 18 years old. I left

12:00

home and I thought that I

12:02

had got away from my problem.

12:05

I didn't realize that I

12:07

took it with me and

12:09

my soul. See, you can

12:11

look perfectly fine on the

12:13

outside and be an absolute

12:15

total mess on the inside.

12:18

And that's really what most

12:20

of us are. We smile

12:22

at each other in church

12:24

and say praise the Lord

12:26

and thank you Jesus. Glory

12:28

to God and how are

12:30

you? I'm fine. Thank you

12:33

Jesus and we're not fine

12:35

And one of the things

12:38

we need to do

12:40

is get honest with

12:42

each other Have some

12:44

honest sincere talks with

12:46

people you can trust

12:49

and say I need

12:51

help I need help

12:53

from God I We need

12:55

to stop blaming everybody else

12:57

for the messes in our

13:00

life and take responsibility.

13:02

But I'll get to that in a

13:04

few minutes. Now, I married

13:06

the first guy that asked me

13:09

because I was desperate.

13:11

I thought nobody would ever

13:13

want me because I'd been

13:15

sexually abused, and so... This

13:17

guy was handsome. He

13:20

was good-looking. I thought

13:22

it was a bargain. I

13:24

knew, not listen to

13:27

me, I knew, I

13:30

was making

13:32

a mistake.

13:34

It was just

13:36

a little,

13:38

knowing, but I

13:41

was afraid

13:43

and I was

13:46

desperate, so

13:48

I did it

13:50

anyway. And

13:53

I just want to tell

13:55

you, don't do that. Don't

13:58

be so desperate. that

14:02

you do something dumb It's

14:04

going to end up causing

14:06

you problems for years

14:09

and years and years

14:11

Abraham was waiting

14:13

for God to give him a

14:15

son and God told him it

14:18

would be a son from

14:20

his own body Not he

14:22

wasn't gonna have the baby,

14:24

but from his own body

14:27

and they got tired of

14:29

waiting so They got a

14:32

fleshly plan on how

14:34

they're going to get

14:36

God's will. We never do

14:39

that, do we? Bright idea.

14:41

I know what God wants

14:43

me to do. And so

14:45

Sarah said, take my

14:48

handmaiden as a secondary

14:51

wife. Now you got to be

14:53

dumb if you give

14:55

your husband another wife.

14:59

But just to be

15:01

fair culturally that was

15:03

not that far outside

15:06

of normal then and

15:08

I Frank you can't imagine

15:10

how that worked, but anyway,

15:13

you know, it's like you

15:15

can have him and I'll

15:18

get him tomorrow now, you

15:20

know, you know, that wouldn't

15:23

work too good. I

15:25

don't think and He

15:27

got her pregnant and

15:29

they had Ishmael now.

15:32

Here's what I want to

15:34

tell you 13 years later

15:36

I think it was they

15:38

had Isaac I don't know

15:40

how many years I

15:42

may be wrong about that

15:44

but long a time later

15:46

and If you get messed

15:49

up with Ishmael, it's going

15:51

to take a lot longer

15:54

to get Isaac Now you gotta you

15:56

know get in the spirit with me

15:58

here a little bit what I'm saying

16:00

is if you go off

16:02

and do your own thing

16:04

then it's going to take

16:06

longer to get the thing

16:08

that God had in mind

16:10

for you and so you

16:12

may get tired of waiting

16:14

but if you get tired

16:16

of waiting and go off

16:18

and do your own thing

16:20

you're just going to make

16:22

yourself wait longer and the

16:24

enemy will always Dangle-ish

16:28

male in your face

16:30

while you're waiting for

16:32

Isaac. I remember I

16:34

was in California and

16:36

I wanted to do,

16:38

I wanted to preach

16:40

like I get to

16:42

now so bad I

16:44

couldn't hardly stand it.

16:46

And everything I did

16:48

was little, little, little,

16:50

little. And I didn't

16:52

have any little dreams.

16:55

I'm not a person

16:57

that likes living. I

17:00

like everything big, you

17:02

know? If you're gonna

17:04

do it, do it.

17:06

If you're gonna wear

17:09

it, let it sparkle.

17:11

Make it shine. And,

17:13

uh... I like a

17:15

big bathroom. I like...

17:18

I want space. And,

17:20

uh... I was

17:22

in California, I had gotten

17:24

a speaking engagement, which I

17:27

was so thrilled to have,

17:29

and I was laying across

17:31

my bed one day and

17:34

praying about a situation that

17:36

had come up because a

17:38

man had came to Dave

17:41

and I, and he was,

17:43

I guess you'd call him

17:45

an agent, and he said,

17:48

you're really... Good at what

17:50

you're doing and if you'll

17:52

I'd like to take you

17:55

on as a client and

17:57

be your agent and I

17:59

can I can get you

18:02

speaking engagements I can get

18:04

you here and I can

18:06

get you there and I

18:09

can do this and that

18:11

and something else. Well, that

18:13

was my issue now. And

18:16

you don't know how bad

18:18

I wanted to say yes.

18:20

But as I laid across

18:23

that bed that afternoon, I

18:25

knew I'm deep in here.

18:30

I'll do what

18:32

needs to be

18:34

done. I'll get

18:36

you invited to

18:39

places. I'll open

18:41

the doors for

18:43

you. Don't do

18:45

this. And I'm

18:47

so glad I

18:49

didn't. Because I

18:52

might have missed

18:54

what God has

18:56

for my life.

18:59

And I just want you

19:01

to be so careful because

19:03

the Bible says in the

19:05

last days there's going to

19:07

be great deception. Great deception

19:09

coming on the earth. And

19:12

that means that you can't

19:14

listen to how you feel

19:16

and you can't listen to

19:18

your own carnal mind. You've

19:20

got to really go to

19:22

the word and listen for

19:24

that still small voice of

19:26

God. And many times it

19:29

doesn't come in words, it's

19:31

just, you just know, it's

19:33

just, I just wish God

19:35

would shout sometimes. But he

19:37

whispers. And you got to

19:39

pay attention to those whispers.

19:41

And I don't know why

19:43

he doesn't just come and

19:45

sit on my bed and

19:48

say joys do this, joys

19:50

do that. I don't know

19:52

why he makes it so

19:54

hard sometimes to, but he

19:56

wants us to press into

19:58

him. And he

20:00

wants us to take the time

20:03

for some things like this. Not

20:05

just because of what I'm going

20:07

to say, but just the fellowship

20:09

you're going to have with other

20:12

people, the worship, just getting away,

20:14

getting outside your tent and getting

20:16

your vision fresh again. And some

20:19

of you, if you did come

20:21

by yourself, man, two days in

20:23

a hotel room by yourself could

20:25

be the greatest thing that ever

20:28

happened to you. Amen. Listen

20:31

for that still small voice and

20:33

don't do dumb things. Because isn't

20:35

that we learn everything when we're

20:38

just being stupid? And we think

20:40

we're so smart. We think we,

20:42

you know, are doing just the

20:44

right thing and we're just doing

20:46

the dumbest stuff and then, you

20:49

know, God comes along, gets us

20:51

out of it and then on

20:53

top of that, uses it works

20:55

it out for good in our

20:58

lives. So I married this guy

21:00

and... We were married five years

21:02

and probably in those five years

21:04

we maybe lived together six months

21:06

and He had more problems than

21:09

me if that was possible and

21:11

he was a con man smooth

21:13

talker good-looking Lazy didn't want to

21:15

work He was a used car

21:18

salesman and they just not that

21:20

there's anything wrong with that. I'm

21:22

not trying to be rude to

21:24

anybody, but he just like to

21:26

hang out on the car lot

21:29

and pretend to be a big

21:31

shot and never made much money

21:33

and what he did I never

21:35

saw any of it and I

21:37

mean I woke up one night

21:40

and he was trying to get

21:42

my wedding ring off my finger

21:44

so he could sell it you

21:46

know and I cannot even tell

21:49

you how many times the guy

21:51

just disappeared in those five years

21:53

he would Leave to go somewhere

21:55

and he wouldn't come back for

21:57

four months or five months and

22:00

then he I mean, he abandoned

22:02

me in California one time and

22:04

he, 18 years old, and he

22:06

took me to Albuquerque, New Mexico,

22:09

and back then they would

22:11

pay people to drive cars

22:13

to other places if somebody

22:15

wanted to buy a certain

22:17

car in another state, they'd

22:19

pay somebody if the car

22:21

was here to drive it

22:23

there. Well, that was what he

22:25

did, to make money, and writing

22:28

some... payroll checks

22:30

that weren't mine and cash

22:32

in them and He sold my

22:34

car and we took off, you

22:36

know for this great life and

22:39

Before by the way God

22:41

made me go pay that

22:43

money back to them eventually

22:45

and that was quite interesting

22:47

You know I go in

22:49

15 years later I'm a

22:52

Christian and I stole some

22:54

money from you one time

22:57

God told me if I'm going

22:59

to give it back to you.

23:01

And I'm not telling you, you

23:04

know, you don't have to do

23:06

what I did, but you

23:08

know, when God does tell

23:10

you to do something, you

23:12

better do it. And that's

23:14

part of the problem we

23:16

have today is people are

23:19

doing what they please instead

23:21

of doing what God tells

23:23

them to do. Are

23:26

you following your dreams? When God

23:28

calls you to do something, it's

23:30

important to step out in faith

23:33

and trust that he will support

23:35

you. Faith is one of those

23:37

words that is commonly used, but

23:39

not always easy to understand. So

23:41

what is faith? Faith is a

23:43

complete trust and confidence in something

23:46

or somewhat. As Christians, faith goes

23:48

so much deeper. Our confidence and

23:50

trust are secure in God and

23:52

his promises. But you might say,

23:54

I don't feel God or I

23:57

don't see anything he's doing. We

23:59

get it. That's what faith means.

24:01

And let's be real, it isn't

24:03

always easy. Joyce's book, Unless Your

24:05

Faith, is Today's Offer, and it's

24:08

going to help you increase your

24:10

faith. It's filled with beautifully illustrated

24:12

scriptures, because faith comes as we

24:14

hear the word of God. Joyce

24:17

also shares three practical ways to

24:19

put your faith into action. Today's

24:21

offer, Unless Your Faith, also comes

24:23

with battlefield of the mind, New

24:25

Testament. which contains Joyce's commentary. Both

24:28

of these resources are available to

24:30

you for your gift of $30

24:32

or more. Call us today at

24:34

1,800, 331, 8,000 or visit us

24:36

online at joycemyre.org. Most of the

24:39

time if you're going to live

24:41

by faith, if you want to

24:43

really find out what God can

24:45

do for you, you are going

24:48

to have to so to speak,

24:50

take a chance. Living by faith

24:52

means you'll often have to take

24:54

step one before you know what

24:56

the next step is. Living by

24:59

faith requires you to take risks

25:01

because God's plan for you are

25:03

always bigger than what you could

25:05

ever accomplish or even imagine on

25:08

your own. Faith is your fuel.

25:10

As you read, unleash your faith.

25:12

You will be fed by the

25:14

beautifully illustrated scriptures. In it, Joyce

25:16

will help you to understand the

25:19

power of faith that God has

25:21

put in your spirit and how

25:23

to release it. And remember, your

25:25

financial gift will not only provide

25:27

the help you need through this

25:30

resource, but it will also help

25:32

reach the lost, beat the hungry,

25:34

and help women and girls find

25:36

freedom all around the world. Your

25:39

gift today makes it all possible.

25:41

Put your faith into action. Learn

25:43

how with today's offer unleash your

25:45

faith along with battlefield of the

25:47

mind new testament with commentary by

25:50

Joyce You know we talked

25:52

to you about partnership with

25:54

Joyce Meyer Ministries all the

25:56

time because we love to

25:58

because it is such a

26:00

beautiful thing We tell you

26:02

about how you can share

26:04

Christ all over the world

26:06

through humanitarian aid through things

26:08

like what is happening right

26:10

now teaching young women a

26:12

skill to keep them out

26:14

of human trafficking Feeding the

26:16

hungry providing medical care and

26:18

Presenting the truth of God's

26:20

word through Joyce's teaching self

26:22

with God partnership does all

26:25

that But just let me

26:27

tell you between you and

26:29

me as friends, okay friend?

26:31

If you want more joy

26:33

in your life, if you

26:35

want more purpose, if you

26:37

want to do something that

26:39

will bring a huge smile

26:41

to your face and many

26:43

others, then partnership is the

26:45

thing for you. We see

26:47

it all over the world

26:49

and I have personally received

26:51

so much joy from it.

26:53

So I invite you once

26:55

again. to pray and consider

26:57

becoming a partner with Joyce

26:59

Meyer Ministries. It means giving

27:01

on a regular basis to

27:03

present the gospel and provide

27:06

for these humanitarian aid outreaches

27:08

everywhere through hand of hope.

27:10

It means doing your best,

27:12

doing what you can, and

27:14

then you are right here

27:16

with us. everywhere we go

27:18

making a huge impact. Go

27:20

to our website right now

27:22

Joyce meyer.org to find out

27:24

more information and how you

27:26

can begin an amazing journey

27:28

in your own life. Everybody

27:30

want to say hi to

27:32

our friends? Joyce Meyer's Talk

27:34

It Out podcast. Join Joyce.

27:36

Aaron Cluelly and me, Ginger

27:38

Stockey, along with some amazing

27:40

friends. As we honestly share

27:42

the hard stuff, laugh through

27:45

those unpredictable moments and learn

27:47

to apply what God says

27:49

about it all. Sometimes you

27:51

just need to talk about

27:53

life with your girlfriends. So

27:55

we have a spot saved

27:57

on the pink couch just

27:59

for you. Watch or listen

28:01

to new episodes every Tuesday

28:03

wherever you get your podcasts.

28:06

We hope you enjoy today's

28:08

program. We are so grateful

28:10

to our Joyce Meyer Ministries partners

28:13

who make this and all

28:15

we do possible, including sharing

28:17

God's word and offering help

28:20

to people in need all over.