Simplifying Your Life for Peace

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game Well, with the name Y your prrice tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills Try it at progressive. com. Progressive casualty inssurance Company and A affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law, not available in all states This program is supported by you, our viewers, and our partners Never free until you no longer have a need to impress people We don't need to live to impress one another. We need to learn how to be free to be ourselves I'm Joyce Meyer and I believe that God can heal you everywhere you hurt Is there anybody here who ever has any stress in your life. Some people put up both hands so speak. Well, The world is not going to change I want you to listen, the world is not going to change. I prayed for years for God to change my circumstances And then I found out it was actually me he wanted to change out. Would you be willing to change if your circumstances never changed Because you see, it's not really our circumstances that upset us, it's the way we react to our circumstances upset us I'm going tell this bealf of the congregation that Be we We think, well, I just didn't have this circumstance But see, then you wouldn't be in the world Because Jesus said in the world, you will have tribulation Cheer up I've overcome the world And so We really need to get it through our heads that just Praying for our circumstances to go away is not the answer. We need to pray that God will change us It's interesting. Paul never prayed You can't find a place where Paul prayed for people's bad circumstance to go away which I find interesting because that's what we do all the time God changed his circumstance, changed his person Well what Paul prayed for the people was that they would handle whatever came with good temper. I've never had anybody come to the altar and ask me to pray for them to have a better attitude toward their circumstances. they always want their circumstance to go away. I think it's important that I camp here for a minute and we get this because It is a big deception that we have in life that I just want my circumstance to change. O I want my spouse to change I want my kids to change We always want everybody else to change, but God wants to change us. It's his goal for us. We are predestined And predestant doesn't mean it's going to happen no matter what you do. It means that God has already predetermined hisis will But how we respond is important. We're partners with God. and He has a part and we have a part. and no matter how much He does his part, if we don't do our part, we're not going to have what he wants for our lives And so he has already predetermined that we are to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ That's his goal for us that we all become like Jesus And so really More than we need our circumstances to change, we need the willing to be changed to be whatever God wants us to be. And I like to teach on spiritual maturity. I intend to teach quite a bit on that this year And I believe that spiritual maturity is coming to the place where you no longer are always telling God what you want but you start asking him what he wants You know, if you have kids, you You raise your kids, you take care of your kids and They reach a certain point where you really you don't want to spend the whole rest of your life doing for them you'd like them to do for you M My kids are all really good. I'm proud of them, you know, they Every one of our children would help us in any way that they possibly could. and And they do a lot. and that means a lot to me and they don't just come when they want something. they come because they love us. God wants us to be that way. He doesn't He wants us to seek hisis face, not just his hand That's a big transition in your life when you reach that point. I remember when God taught me that what a big transition that was for me that I didn't have to seek H hand all the time. Not just what can you do for me, but to just seek H for who He is because I love himim Amen Matter of fact, when God was teaching me this, he challenged me. He said, I don't want you to ask me for another thing except me until I give you permission to. Wow. And I'd start to say Well, God, what you do? And It was life changing. So I want to say again I like to teach on spiritual material, and I've been thinking a lot late in like, what's the simplest way I can explain what it is And I think it's coming to the point where you no longer It's not that you can't ask God for what you want, but But that that's not your main theme in life. And we're all that way when we first come to Christ. and to be honest, he He does a lot for us to establish relationship with us and to show us that he loves us. But he wants us to come to the point where we're not just telling him what we want We need to ask God every day, God, what can I do for you today Don't use me today, Lord. How can I make somebody else happy today What can I do for somebody else today? What do I have that I can bless somebody else with Today, we need to be others minded not just self minded and self centered all the time I'll tell you a secret, you can't be selfish and happy So in teaching on stress I have to tell you first of all that You can't just pray all the time for your circumstances to change. You have to want God to change you. And I really wonder sometimes how many people want God to change them ' I'm gonna tell you another little secret. You really can't change without some suffering No worry, I won't stay there long But it's true. And you say, well, wait a minute, I thought Jesus did all the suffering. I'm not talking about getting on the cross like He did, But you know, anytim you tell your flesh, no, your flesh is going suffer I don't care if it's even just don't eat the piece of cake. Your flesh is not going to like it. So in order to grow up to mature spiritually in Christ, which should be our number one goal That should be everybody's number one goal is to grow up and mature See, we are his ambassadors in the earth. And I love what Second Corinthians five twenty says and in the amplified Bible, I love it that we are Christ's personal representatives that He is making His appeal to the world through us Wow Do you know that for some people, you're the only Jesus they'll see And part of our problem is just to going to church but then not leaving and acting like what we should be acting like. Christianity don't need to just stay in here Some on, we got toa get it out there where the people are And you're all preachers whether you know it or not and you don't You don't have to preach like I'm preaching, but you preach with your life Most of the people that need Jesus are not going to come into church to find Him But they're where you work, they're where you go to school, they're where you grocery shop They're everywhere. And believe me, people are desperate for somebody to love them. I mean, we live in a desperate world and things are so crazy out there, people don't they don't have anything to hang their hope on And we need to start doing random acts of kindness. Be nice to people you don't even know for no reason except that's just how you are. Amen and really listen to the Holy Spirit when you're out about what you might do for somebody else. I just feel led to tell you this story I went to a coffee shop one day. and u I wanted to pour overver and they didn't do pour oververs there And she said, let me make you a French press. And I said, I don't like French presses They're usually too strong. She said, We've got a new press and J said I'll tell you It is so good. Let me make it for you. And if you don't like it, you don't have to pay for it. I'll make anything else you want. So sure enough she made it and it was just Absolutely great. And in the process of talking to her And let me just say she wasn't like me at all. Her hair was about four different colors and she had Piercings and tattoos everywhere You know, we need to learn that We can be nice to and fellowship with people that aren't like us. I I quit being so snooty religious Amen. H Sometimes the more radical people are is just a signalal sign that they're looking for love. And u She said, Yeahah, I really want to get one of these. She said, I'm saaving up my money because the I've got one of them at home and they're just nice because all you really need is hot water So put your coffee in them in the hot water and you pressed it through and you got a great cup of coffee wherever you're at. So she said Yeah, I want to get one of these as soon as I get enough money saved. Well, I left and I got about yay far down the mall And the Holy Spirit said buyer one And I'm thinking, no God I don't know this girl She is going think I am stupid. Besides the way that that the way the world is today, I thought, I don't know. She might think I'm hitting on her or something Well, I'm just telling you the truth. What what I thought I thoughtel I knew But anyway You know, I don't always like it when God tells me to do things for people I don't know, but He does it anyway And so I By now I know enough it's not going to do any good to disobey them ' I'll be miserable all day. So I went back and I waited for her to hopefully be as alone as she could be You know, if you're going to be a fool, you'd like to be it in front of as few people as possible So I I called her over and I said, Listen, I said, I I want to buy you one of those coffee pots I thought was like one hundred and ten dollars or something. Oh, no, no, no, you can't do that. I said, yeah, I want to do it for you. just I feel like it's something that I'm supposed to do. and so I gave her the money to buy the coffee pot and she was crying and just So blessed and so on and so forth. Well God's not finished, so. I go ahead and I'm doing my shopping and lo and behold, I go to the bathroom upstairs in another store And I'm coming out of the bathroom and she's coming in and hits me almost right in the face And she says to me, now listen, She says, Why are you the kindest person in the whole world I said, Well, I'll tell you what is that I'm a Christian and God has been so good to me. And if I can be good to anybody else, I want to do it. She said, Well She said to tell you the truth, I've been pretty mad at the man upstairs for a long time because my mother died with cancer. but after this, I might have to rethink it So Now I'm not telling you that to brag on myself. I'm just giving you an example of The effect that you can have on people If instead of just going to church and then spending the rest of the week asking God for everything you wants If you'll ask him what you can do for him. one does anybody understanding me and hear that I'm a little off course from where I'm supposed to be going, but I feel like this is important. You know, I don't know how much time we have left People always ask me, what do you think's going to happen in the world? I don't know I mean, Jesus has been coming back as long as I've been in the church. so I don't I don't know when he's coming, but one thing's for sure, Bible says it's going to be like it was in the days of Silon Gamor, and I think we passed that up a long time ago I mean, the things going on in our world today are crazy And so I think we all better be ready for Jesus to come any timee Amen. because The Bible says all over the place that we should watch and pray and be ready and stay awake and be alert not be sleepy Christians I just want to say again, I think church is wonderful, but so many people think that Church is all there is while I go to church. Well, I can go sit in a garage all night and that won't make me a car. Amen So just because you come here every Sunday or every Saturday and Sunday My question is, what are you doing when you go out there That's the big question. What are you doing when you go out there? Amen And that's the big question for all of us What are we doing when we go out there So I'll just tell you your circumstance or some of your circumstances will change. You may get out of debt, you may get a raiseed, you may get some of the things you want, but You know I hope this isn't discouraging, but you're going to have Very few times in life that you're not going to have some kind of an issue E Bradin Amen. It's not the refrigerator, it's the stove. It's not the stove, it's the furnace. If it's not the furnace, it's the kid. If it's not the kid, it's the husband if, you know Come on, you know what I mean. And so We have to learn how to react differently Two things. And you can, you can learn how to react differently to things. I know because nobody could have been worse than me at having a bad reaction to uncomfortable circumstances I mean, we just are addicted to comforts Amen When you go to India and you tell them how you got depressed because your air conditioner went out for two hours, they're not very impressed Amen So we're kind of spoiled And we don't take any kind of discomfort too easy. And boy, the world we live in today, you better toughen up a little bit. you ain't going make it because it is stress Cm in So the first thing you got to do is be willing to change and trust me, God will change you if you really want to change How can you have less stress in your life? Simplify, simplify, simplify Let me just ask a question. How many of you are complicated people I mean, I've learned, thank God, this has been many years ago, but I mean, I'll never forget when Dave and I went to church and this is actually before I was filled and We went to church and I loved God I didn't know much But I love the Lord and we were in the Young couples grouping played volleyball and all the different things you do. I can remember on a Sunday after church saying to our little group of friends, Hey, what next Sunday, whyyn't you coming over to the house after? church and we'll just Throw some hot dogs on the grill and It's some potato chips and potato salad but just fellowship and play some games. Now, you know, that sounds doable, don't it? But do you think I could leave it alone No The hot dogs had to become steaks that I couldn't afford And then we had to plant flowers so everything would looked pretty. hadad to paint the lawn chairs because One of them fixed, O course you had to clean the whole house By the time the people got there, I didn't even like them Anmore. probablyrobably didn't like most of them when I invited them Come on I was exhausted when everybody left I'm getting ready to make a statement. You need to hear it. You're never free until you no longer have a need to impress people. Never free till you no longer have a need to impress people We don't need to live to impress one another. We need to learn how to be free to be ourselves Simplify, simplify, simplify Things are so complicated. I remember The leper in India When I was in the leopper colony ministering to the lepers He wanted me to see his home And he took me to his home that he was so proud of and so excited about. And it was a A hole dug out of the side of a hill It was, I don't know, maybe. eight feet long and I don't know, maybe as deep as from here to the edge of the stage And It was all dirt, dirt walls, dirt floor He had a hammock in there, and over in the corner he had a few beat up dishes. and he was so proud of his home Honestly and truly, I have found as I've traveled around the world that people who have less are happier than people who have more And you know, they're happy because they don't know what they're missing We see what somebody else has, and then no matter what we have, we're not happy unless we can have what they have if what they have is a little more than what we have. Let's stop being so materialistic Amen. You got a nice car G'sot forty seven thousand miles on it Who cares if it's seven years old Do you really need to go in debt that you can't afford to go into to buy another new car? just Now you might use some of that money to help somebody else. Well, blessed God, I'm gonna go work all week and give all my money away O than just go ahead and be miserable Seven ways to simplify your life Number one, clean out the clutter. Get yourself what I call a giveaway box. I keep one going all the time. And every time you run across something you're not using throw it in the box. Take it to the good willill I take a bunch of stuff to my office because we got five hundred employees or There's always somebody that wants it You know, pruning is necessary for growth We prune trees, but the word pruning only means to cut back That's all it means to trim away or to cut back. And we cannot grow as believers unless We allow God to prune us And you're not going grow in peace unless you learn how to prune some of the stuff you've got way too much of Plutter makes you miserable. The neater your surroundings are, the more peaceful you feel What value do you put on peace? I want you to ask yourself, what value do you put on peace When you decide you want peace bad enough, you'll have it But you won't have it without making some changes Today's local weather is a mixst bag of clouds and rainall. If you've been parked at the same place way too long, you're stuck. I think it's delayed. It's time to blast out of that place and say, I've had it. I'm no longer gonna let the past control me. shower. I am gonna get well, get on with God, and have the life He intended me to have The only thing standing between you and the life you want is that nasty feeling of being stuck Stuck in routines are patterns that no longer work, they don't inspire you, and you can't seem to break free Well, escape the monotony and the procrastination with Joyce's book Getting Unstuck. It's God's path to breakthrough thinking. This is such a huge key. This book will help you find that turning point support a path of rediscovering purpose and hope You were never created to live stuck or settling for less than God's best Break destructive mindsets with God's word and move from just surviving to thriving with getting unstuck Being stuck isn't a life sentence. It's a signal that something deeper is waiting for you. When you request your copy of Getting Unstuck, you'll also receive Joyce's book Power Words, What You Can Say Can Change Your Life. A handy little book that can make a world of difference in our attitude, joy, and even success. today For your gift of any amount. For forty dollars or more, you'll receive this Battlefield of the Mind journal valuable study tool to record life's progress and capture God's promises God designed you to move forward with courage Cidence and unshakeable faith Break through the muck and reroute your destination. a renewed mind and real transformation with getting unstuck. 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