Joyce Meyer - The Key to Promotion

TOPICS: Promotion

Welcome to "Enjoying Everyday Life". I'm so glad that you've joined us today. And I pray for you right now, that you will learn something today, that will be life-changing for you. I love God's word. There's power in the Word of God. Power to change us. Power to renew our thinking, and help us learn the right way to live, so we can have the kind of life that Jesus wants us to live. You know, I say this every once in a while, but I think it's important to realize, that everything that God asks us to do, is for our benefit. Sometimes we think, you know, God gives us something to do, or tells us not to do something, "And it's just so hard, well, it's just so hard". You know, "It's so hard to keep a good attitude when you're having such a rough time". But, you know, God never tells us to do anything that's not gonna work out for our benefit.

So, make your mind up today, that you are not just going to hear the word but you're going to be obedient to the Word of God. All right, do you know that God has made an investment in you? He has put gifts, talents, and abilities in you. And you might say, "Well, I don't know what my gift is". Well, one of the ways to find out, is to start tryin' to do some things and see where your comfort level is. I tell people when I first started having the desire to minister, oh, I just wanted- I just wanted to do anything that God wanted me to do. And one of the things I tried first was street ministry. The church that I was going to at the time, was really big on going out on Saturdays, and we'd go downtown in st. Louis, where I live, and pass out Gospel tracts.

Well, I found out pretty good that just wasn't me, I didn't like it, I didn't enjoy it, it was hard for me. And, you know, I'm not saying that everything God gives us to do is easy, but you'll know when something's right for you, because it will just, it'll fit. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean it's what you should be doing. Sometimes even a lot of other people will tell you, "Well, I believe you're supposed to do this, or I believe you're supposed to do that". But you're the one that has to believe it. I also tried working in the nursery, at church, because they were always asking for nursery workers. And it only took about two weeks, and me and the kids both, knew that I wasn't called to nursery work. I tried a lot of different things, but you know what? When I started teaching, wow, it was easy, there was a flow, people liked it, they got something out of it. I enjoyed the study that I had to do to do it.

If you don't know what your gift is, then try a few things and find out where you fit. Because if you're just living for yourself, you're not doing anything to be a benefit to anybody else, or you're not doing anything to help the Kingdom of God grow, I can tell you that you're not going to be happy. People that are selfish people, are unhappy people. God has given each of us talents, treasure, abilities, according to our gift to handle them. And he is gonna come back, and ask for an accounting, of what we have done with what he has given us. Romans 14:12 says, "Each of us will give an accounting of ourselves to God". You know, I think about that a lot, because when God comes back, he's not gonna ask me about my husband, Dave. So often we're concerned about what other people are doing, when we should be concerned about what we're doing.

You know, if there's somebody in your life that you believe is doing the wrong thing, I can guarantee you that you're not gonna be able to change them. You can pray for them, and God can change them, but you won't be able to change them. But you can do something about yourself. You could work with God, cooperate with him, to let God change you. "Yeah, but what they're doing is not right". Well, that's still not your responsibility, it's God that has to deal with them. Somebody was telling me recently that their child, who is a Christian, was about to marry someone who wasn't a Christian. And this person was very concerned about it, understandably. But she went to get some counsel from a friend. And the friend told her, "You're not responsible to make sure that your children marry a Christian. You're responsible to train them up in the way they should go, and then you have to let them make their own choices". That's a hard thing to do, isn't it? It's a hard thing to let go of your children, and watch them do things that you don't think are gonna work out, in their life.

Matthew 12:36 says, "On judgement day", yes, there will be a Judgment Day. And believers are not gonna be judged based on their salvation. Because our salvation was purchased with the blood of Christ. But there will be an accounting, and rewards will be handed out, according to what we have done in this life. You know, I don't know if we hear enough teaching about that. I mean, I think everybody should hear about the rewards. The Bible doesn't tell us exactly what these rewards are. But I'll tell you, anything that God's got that he's gonna give out is going to be good, I can tell you that. And I don't wanna miss my reward. Whatever God has for me, I want to get it. "On Judgment Day we will give an account of every empty, idle, useless, word that we have spoken".

Wow! My goodness. Even just trying to think about that makes me kinda nervous. How many words do we speak in a lifetime? And how many of them are useless, and idle, and non-working words? Let me tell you something, words are powerful, they are containers for power. It's up to us what we put in 'em. We can put negative power in 'em, say things that are gonna hurt us and other people. Or we can put positive power in them. So, let's be more responsible, more accountable for our words. Christians will not come under condemnation. They will not be punished for idle words. But they may lose rewards for the things that they have done wrong. Our words are more important than we realize. Just this morning, I saw somebody, they made a mistake, and they called themselves "Stupid". Don't say negative, downgrading things about yourself. That is one of the worst things that you can do.

Somebody needs to hear that today. Just because you make a mistake, doesn't mean you're stupid. We all make mistakes. There will be a time when we will all face God, and give an account of what we've done, with what he has given us. We will be rewarded if we have acted wisely. But we may lose rewards if we have not acted wisely. Revelation 22:12 says, "I am coming quickly, and I will bring my reward with me, to give each person according to what they have done". I'm talkin' to you today about the key to promotion. You know, we all wanna be promoted in life. I don't wanna just stay the same place forever, do you? I don't wanna stay in the same place financially. I don't wanna stay in the same place spiritually. I wanna grow as a Christian. I wanna be more and more like Jesus. I don't wanna just stay the same. I wanna grow. And I want God to be able to do everything that he can do in my life. And I want to have everything that God wants me to have.

In Matthew chapter 25, beginning in verse 14, we see what's called: the parable, well, this says, "The parable of the bags of gold". Some call it: "The parable of the talents". He says, "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them". Boy, God has entrusted his gifts and talents to us. We are ambassadors for Christ. We represent him in the world. "And to one man he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one, each according to his ability". You know, if you're not given as much as somebody else that you know, don't worry about that. Don't try to figure out why God's given them more than you. Just be faithful over what you have. And then, you can prove that you can handle more. When he went on his journey, and see, this is just exactly the way God does it. He gives us gifts and abilities and talents, and even different amounts of finances. And then, he's gone on a journey, but he's coming back someday for an accounting.

Well, this wealthy man went on a journey. And "The man who had received five bags of gold went at once". I love people that don't mess around and put things off until it's too late. "He went at once". Another translation says, "Immediately". "And put his money to work, and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money".

Well, let me ask you a question, are you just digging a hole in the ground, and hiding everything that God has given you? Or are you making use of the abilities, the talents, that God has given you? "After a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold, brought the other five. 'master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five bags of gold. Now see here, I have gained five more'. His master replied", now, listen to this, "'well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things: I will put you in charge of many things'", and I love this, "'come and share your master's happiness'".

Wow, if we're faithful over what God gives us to do, no matter how small it might seem, or how big it might seem. If we're just faithful over what God has given us to do, we will share in our master's happiness and joy. That's gotta be awesome. I mean, I don't know how happy God is, but boy, I sure wanna be as happy as he is. Well, the man who received the two bags of gold, did the same thing. His master replied. "The man who had two bags of gold came and said, 'master, you entrusted me with two bags of gold: now you see here, I've gained two more'. And his master replied, 'well done, good and faithful servant! You've been faithful with a few things: I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness'"!

Now, the guy who had one, and went and hid his, the outcome of his story is not very good. "Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. 'master,' he said, 'I knew you'd be a hard man'". Well see, he didn't really know the man at all. Do you know God? Do you know his nature? He's not harsh and hard. He's loving and graceful and merciful. You don't have to be afraid of stepping out in faith to try to do something, and if you make a mistake, think that God's gonna punish you. I don't believe anybody can ever be a success, without failing a few times. I like to say we fail our way to success. Or as John Maxwell says, "We fail forward". "He said, 'i knew you to be a hard man harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid'".

Come on, how many of you were doing nothing because you're afraid? You won't step out and take a chance on anything because you're afraid. You won't even invest any of your money because you're afraid you might lose what little bit you've got. You won't even spend any of the money that you have, because you're afraid you're gonna need it, later on in life. Well, there's a little principle in the Word of God called, use-it or lose-it. We either use the things that God's given us, or we end up losing them. "'I knew you to be a hard man, harvesting where you had not sown and gathering where you had not scattered seed. So I was afraid and I went out and I hid your gold in the ground. So here, now you can have back what belongs to you'. And his master replied, 'you wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvested where I have not sown and gathered where I had not scattered? Well then, you should've at least put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would've had it back with some interest'". So, here was the outcome. "'so take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten'".

My, my, my, he ended up with nothin', and the guy who did the most with what he had, ended up with what the third guy could've had and didn't have. Now, listen, let's get real practical about this. Let's just say that you really would love to have a new car. You've always had pre-owned cars, you've always had older cars, and you really, really, really want a new car. You hate your old car. Maybe you got trash in it from fast food restaurants, soda bottles, paper cups, hamburger wrappers. You don't wash it, you don't keep it clean. But you really want a new car. You know what? If you won't take care of the old one that you've got, you wouldn't take care of the new one, if God gave you one. You gotta be faithful over what you have, if you want God to give you some more.

Let's say maybe you don't have a lot of clothes. But you know what? The clothes that you have you can keep them neat and clean. Don't put your clothes in the dryer at night, and leave 'em sit there all night, and then, get up the next morning and put 'em on and they're all wrinkled and just go out lookin' like a bum. Whatever you have, no matter how little it is, take it and do the very best that you can with it. That's what it means to be an excellent person. Excellence is not perfection, it just simply means: to do the best you can with what you have. A lot of people don't respect a little, they always want a lot. And they don't realize that to get to a lot, you have to be faithful over a little.

Here's an example that I've noticed in my life. You know, frequently, we all find pennies on the ground. I can't see your hands if I asked you, but if I asked you for a show of hands, I'm sure that all of you in your life have found a few pennies. Well, did you pick 'em up or did you leave 'em there? I bet you haven't found very many $20 bills, have you? Why? Because anybody who saw a $20 a bill would pick it up. But people don't pick up pennies, because they don't think they're worth anything. God told me years and years ago, I walked over a penny and I saw it and kinda kicked it, and went on my way. And the Lord put on my heart, "Go back and pick that up". If you'll pick up pennies, someday you'll have a lot more. And there's just a principal there, being faithful over little things.

You know, Dave and I teach, and I think this is very important, whatever you have, no matter how little it might be, give some, save some, and spend some. Those of you who spend every penny you get your hands on, you're gonna end up like this third guy, you're gonna end up with nothing. Always be a faithful giver. We're talkin' about being faithful. The man with five bags of gold was faithful. He invested that, he did something with it. The man who had two was faithful, he did something with it. Give some of everything that you have. I personally believe in tithing. I believe in giving the first 10% of everything that God gives me. And I believe in going beyond that and giving offerings besides.

Now, some people like to say that tithing is not in the New Testament. Well, I'm not gonna have that argument with you. I'll just simply say, that if they could tithe under the law, what should we do by grace? If you don't wanna tithe that's fine, just do what the New Testament says, and be generous. And I can tell you being generous is gonna end up being a lot more than 10% of your income. Save some, save a little bit of everything that you get. I don't care, if you can only save $5 a month, save something, it'll show faithfulness on your part. And you know what? You'd be amazed, let's say $5 a week, at the end of the year, you're going to have $250. Well, you might be able to go out and do something with that $250. Maybe, you wouldn't have pressure at Christmas, and you could buy the people you love a nice gift.

If you will be faithful over what God has given you, then he will increase your borders, and you'll be able to do more and more. There's I believe a law in the Bible, the law of gradual growth. Our ministry grew little by little. Uh, so pitifully little by little. And I'm not the type of person that likes anything little, I want everything big. And it was hard for me to be faithful in those early years, when everything was so little. And I would work so hard and, you know, I studied just as hard then to teach to 25 people, as I do now, to teach to a whole arena full of people. Be faithful over what God has given you, and God will give you more. That's the key to promotion.

You know, Ruth was faithful to her mother-in-law. Her father-in-law got killed, her husband, her sister-in-law's husband. And there was only left the mom and the two women, Ruth and another woman. Well, Ruth decided she was gonna stay with her mother-in-law, no matter what. No matter how hard it was, no matter how little she had, she was gonna be faithful to her and stay with her. You know, faithful people stick it out even when it's uncomfortable. Faithful people always do what's right no matter how hard it is. Well, Ruth ended up marrying the richest man in the county, and ended up in the bloodline of Jesus Christ. That's not too bad. Moses was faithful, in all the house of God, as a servant. Noah was faithful to build the ark that God asked him to build. And I don't imagine it was very easy to do that. I'm sure he got laughed at and was made fun of.

I feel that I've been faithful over the ministry that God has called me to. And no, it has not all been easy. Matter of fact, there's been a lot of it that's been very hard. It's a lot easier now, than it was in the beginning. And you'll find that in your own life. But if you take everything that God gives you and you use it wisely and you invest it, God will reward you with more, and you will share in his joy and his happiness. The key to promotion is to be faithful over the little bit that you've got. Some people think little things are of no consequence. It's like walkin' over the pennies, "Oh, it's just a penny". You know, I'll dig a penny out of the dirt, and take it home and wash it, because I know there's a principal there, that if I'm being faithful over little things, and it's not really about the penny, it's the principle, the lesson that God was teaching me.

Don't forget what I said, you don't find many $20 bills laying on the ground, but there's always pennies. Which is kinda proof that people don't think very much of the little things in life. Don't hide your gift, use it. God changes us little by little. He doesn't change us all at once, he changes us little by little. Well, let me ask you, what are you doing with what God has given you? You know, time is a gift that God gives us. Today is a gift that God has given you. What are you gonna do with today? Would you be willing to make a commitment, to do your best to bless one person every day of your life, in some way? Maybe, it's just to make a phone call and say, "Hey, I just wanted you to know I appreciate you".

Sometimes it's not a big thing you have to do to be a blessing. But my goodness, how much different would our world be if every person on the planet would get up every day and say, "Lord, show me one person today that I can bless". But no, we get up and give God our list of everything he has to do to keep us happy that day. Let's get ourselves off our mind and be a blessing to other people. Would you make a commitment to put a smile on three people's face today? You know, just tell somebody, that color looks good on you, I like your hairstyle. It doesn't cost you anything to give somebody a compliment, but it can make a difference in somebody else's day. If you know of somebody that has a financial need and you could help meet that need, then why not go ahead and do it.

"Well, why should I give them my money"? Well, why shouldn't you? If you're faithful over what God's given you, and you share it with other people, then more will come back to you. Time is a gift. Each day is a gift. And all that we need to do, really, is say, "God, I wanna be led by you today. I wanna do everything that you ask me to do". And if you will be obedient to the things that God asks you to do, especially, in the small things, and I say, if you're obedient in the small things, you will be obedient in the big things.

Sometimes people say, "Oh, I tell you sister, Joyce, if I had a million dollars I'd give it to you". Well, if you won't give the $5 you've got, then you wouldn't give the million dollars. Be faithful over little things. Well, I love you and I hope that the teaching today will help you be faithful over some little thing in your life, and that you will end up being promoted. And God will bless you so much you won't even know how to handle it. Have a great day. God loves you. He's got a good plan for your life.