Joyce Meyer - The Power of Attitude - Part 2

TOPICS: Attitude

Well, in the world, happiness is based on what's happening. But in the kingdom, it's not that way. He says you're happy if you suffer for righteousness' sake. Jesus said we'd be happy if we served other people. Matter of fact, he said, "Forget yourself". Wow. "Lose sight of yourself and all your own interests. Serve others". But the world would say we can only be happy if everybody's serving us. Oh, your flesh don't like it when you serve other people, but your spirit does. And if you're happy enough inside, it'll get to the outside. Amen? John 13 is the chapter in the Bible where Jesus washed his disciples' feet. "Jesus", it says, "Knowing where he came from and knowing where he was going".

And I think it really means this: knowing who he was. It's so wonderful when you don't have to prove anything. It's so wonderful when you no longer have to try to impress anybody. When you know who you are and whose you are and where you came from and where you're going. Then you don't have to worry if somebody doesn't like you or they don't want you to come to their party or whatever it is. Says "He took off his garment", which kind of means he took off who he was for those moments in time. And he put on a servant's towel, and he knelt down, and he washed his disciples' feet. And when he came to Peter, Peter said, "No, Lord, you must never wash my feet". And I love what Jesus said, and boy, do we need to get this. He said, "If I don't wash your feet, then you have no part in me".

So, now, listen, you know what that really means? We don't really have relationship if we're not doing things for one another, if we're not serving one another and helping one another. Serving other people is not a belittling thing. It's a great thing. Jesus said, "The greatest of all is the servant of all". Probably the most famous sermon, is what we call "The sermon on the mount". And I'm gonna read it to you. It's just, it's really beautiful. And I'll tell you what I think each one of these mean. "Blessed is the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". I believe that's the humble. And humility is the hardest of all the virtues to come by and maintain. The absolute hardest. "Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted". I think that's those who mourn over their sin, they hate it when they sin. Thank God we don't have to feel guilty over our sin. But makes me feel bad when I disappoint the Lord. "Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth".

A meek person is not a weak person. It's a person who actually has a lot of strength, but they can keep it under control. A meek person is somebody who could do something, but they're also willing to wait on God. I'll give you an example. When Jesus was in the garden and the soldiers came in and Peter, right away, jumped, got his sword, and cut off one of the soldier's ears, thought he was protecting Jesus. Jesus put the guy's ear back on and said, "Don't you know that I could call 12 legions of angels? But if I did that, how would the Word of God be fulfilled"? In other words, he was saying, "I don't have to do this. I don't have to let these people treat me this way. I don't have to go to the cross". But he was meek, and so he was able to stay under the mighty hand of God and let him do what he wanted to, the way he wanted to do it.

When somebody hurts you, are you meek enough to forgive them and wait on God to deal with the situation? Or do you have to tell them off? "Well, bless God. If I don't say anything, they'll think they can just treat me that way anytime they want to". I mean, are we really meek enough to say, "I could do that, but I know you don't want me to"? A meek person is not a mousy person that lets everybody walk all over them. They're somebody with a great deal of strength that has a lot of self-control. When God called Moses, the Bible says he was the meekest man on the face of the earth. Wow. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled". Those who really want to do what's right. "Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy". Those are the people who are quick to forgive.

Don't stay mad at people. You're only hurting yourself. Forgiveness is not really for the other person, it's for you. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God". The pure in heart are those who believe the best out of everybody. They believe the best in every situation. You know, I used to be a very suspicious person, and I made a decision that I was not gonna be suspicious. And somebody told me the other day, "You're too trusting". And, you know, sometimes when you are, you get hurt. But I will not go around thinking the worst of everybody. I am not gonna do that. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called the children of God".

I think a peacemaker is, well, it's a lot of things. But one of the things it is, is a person who's willing to say "I'm sorry," first, whether they thought it was their fault or not and do whatever it takes to bring peace into the situation. "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil things against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you". This sermon is called "The beatitudes". I call 'em, "The be-attitudes," the way God wants us to be.

Now, I think it's time to get out of the wilderness and start living in the Promised Land. What do you think? You know, I went to church for a lot of years. I mean, I was back in the '70s when I first started going to church and there was just a real anointing for just hearing the word. And week-long camp meetings, three meetings a day, were quite normal. People thought nothing about going to church seven, eight, nine, ten days in a row and sitting there practically all day long. And if you think we preach long sermons today, you should have been around then. I mean, a church service that was shorter than three hours, you didn't even feel like you'd been to church. And I heard so much and I learned a lot, but I really wasn't changing all that much. And I didn't really, I didn't understand why.

I learned how to rebuke the devil, but he was still around. "I take authority over you"! But somehow, he didn't go away. You know, the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt. And Egypt, to me, would represent not being saved. They were brought out of Egypt. So, we'll say now we're born again. But then they spent 40 years in the wilderness. I think the wilderness is the place where we grow up, where we mature spiritually. And it took them 40 years to make, what the Bible says was, an 11-day trip. So, to me, that would say that I can get from the baby stage of Christianity to actually living in the promises of God, rather than just talking about them, more quickly if I will obey God. Now, if every time God deals with you about something, it takes six years to become obedient to it, then you're gonna have a long journey, too. Are you with me?

See, that Egypt wilderness Promise Land thing is, it relates to our walk with God. And the Bible says that there was a shorter route that God could have taken them, but he took them the long way. How many of you are on the long way? Well, I was too. And I needed to be, because if God wouldn't have taken the time to teach me the things he taught me, I wouldn't have anything to teach you. I mean, when God got hold of me, I was a mess. And yes, I started teaching the Bible in short shorts, smoking one cigarette right after the other. But it was anointed. Now, see, some religious people, I mean, if you're real religious, you wouldn't believe that at all, you'd think, "That can't". But see, God saw my heart. And here's the thing, God not only sees where you're at now, he sees all the possibilities for you. If he can just get you to listen. See.

And he said that he took them the long, hard way because they were not ready for war, which is a really interesting statement. But you see, when they did go into the Promised Land, it was different than what you might think. To possess the land, the word possess means that you have to first dispossess the current occupants. So, God gave them the land, but there were enemies, idle worshipers that God told them they had to do battle with. You think the devil bothers you in the wilderness? Well, wait till you get to the Promised Land. You think it's easy for me to do this? No, no. And this is not a feel sorry for me thing, I'm so grateful I'm doing what I'm doing, but there's a price you pay for doing it. God protects. God helps. God gives me the strength. But I tell you what, you gotta hang on to the vine. Amen? Cause I don't get to preach these things without getting tested in them. And I listen to my own program sometimes 'cause it helps me. Amen?

In Deuteronomy 1:6, "The Lord said, 'you have stayed long enough at this mountain'". So, maybe, I'll just say to you, tonight, some of you have been long enough at the same place. You've been around and around the same mountain long enough. It's time to move on. Amen? Come on. Well, I've studied that whole thing a lot. And the reason why they stayed in the wilderness so long was not their enemies. Just like I told you tonight, what you think is your problem is not your real problem, it's the attitude you have toward your problem. And they had really bad attitudes. I have a whole series of teachings I do on it. And I'm about to do it again, sometime. It's just, they were negative, they were irresponsible, they were ungrateful, they were impatient, they were selfish, rebellious, and proud, they were insecure, greedy, and at times downright pathetic.

"We hate this manna". You think, "Oh, if I could just have a miracle. If I could just have a miracle, then I could believe". Well, God says, "Blessed are those who believe and have not seen". You gotta make a decision to believe what the word says, no matter what you see or what you feel. There were two men out of the original group that entered the Promised Land. About one and a half million came out with Moses, and now there were more than that that entered the Promised Land, but they were not from the original group, they had been born out in the wilderness. Two! That's not a very good percentage. But they had great attitudes.

"Give me a mountain," one of them said. And he was, I think, 80 or something when he said, "Give me a mountain". They had great attitudes. Rebellion is a real problem. If you're tempted to think you don't have a bad attitude, just try to get through one day without complaining about anything at all. Our attitude is the prophet of our future. I like that one. It's our best friend or our worst enemy. See, if you have a good attitude, you can just have a good time all by yourself. Our attitude is the thing that draws people to us or repels them from us, and it's the primary force that determines whether we succeed in life or fail. "Choose you this day".

I really believe that some people tonight just, you need to make a choice. Rule number one, maintain the right attitude when the going gets rough. Everybody can have a good attitude when things go their way. Rule number two, realize the rough weather won't last forever. Number three, and this is important, do not make major decisions during the storms in your life. Matter of fact, I don't think it's good to make major decisions when your emotions are real high or when they're real low. I'll tell you why. When you're all excited, you think you can do anything, and you wanna do everything. And boy, when those emotions sink, you don't wanna do nothing. Rule number four, stay in contact with the control tower, which is God. Rule number five, try your best to keep things in perspective.

If you found it hard to sleep tonight, just remember the homeless man who has no bed to lie in. Should you find yourself stuck in traffic, don't get upset. There are people in this world for whom driving an automobile would be an unheard-of privilege. Should you have a bad day at work, just think of a man who's been out of work for three months. Should you despair over a relationship that's a bit troublesome, just think of the person who has never known what it's like to love or be loved. Should you grieve over the fact that your boss denied your request to work four days a week and have a three-day weekend, think of the women in dire straits working 12 hours a day, seven days a week, for $10 a week, just to feed their family in a third world country. They make a dollar, a day, and work 12, 16 hours.

Should your car break down leaving you a mile from any assistance, think of the paraplegic who would love to have the opportunity to take that walk. Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror, think of the cancer patient in chemotherapy who wishes they had some hair to examine. Should you find yourself discouraged because you cannot decide what your life's calling is, be thankful, there are those who didn't live long enough to ever get the opportunity to even think about it. And I love this one. Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness, or insecurities, remember things could be worse, you could be them.