Joyce Meyer - Righteousness - Part 2

Thank you for joining me today on, "Enjoying Everyday Life". We're so glad that you tuned in. And I believe that you're gonna enjoy the program. Today, I wanna talk to you about the search for self-worth. And I think most of us do spend at least some time in our life searching for self-worth. And many of you may still be doing that. But we tend to look for it in all the wrong places. We look for it in how much education we have. We look for it in what kind of automobile we drive, what the label is in our clothes, what kind of title we have at work, how we look. There's, you know, how much success we have, how much money we have, and it can be absolutely exhausting.

I was listening to a little bit of a program yesterday, and the man, at one point, had been a pro football player, and since then, he's become a minister, and he had written a book about the difference between success and significance. And that most people think that success will give them significance, but he said, "I found that keeping my success at a high level was exhausting". You know, and so when you try to get your self-worth out of all those outward things that are constant, I mean, like, your looks, for example, no matter how good you look, you're not gonna stay that way forever. So, what happens when you get a few wrinkles or you get a little bit older then are you no longer worth anything?

You know, I've thought about myself a lot and you know, I wanna be very careful not to get my worth and value out of what I'm doing in the ministry because although I believe that I'll be able to do it till Jesus takes me home, what if someday I can't do this? You know, what if I'm not Joyce Meyer, but I'm just Joyce Meyer? Will I? And I hope I never hear anybody say, "Did you used to be Joyce Meyer"? That I would have a good answer for them. So, what does it mean to be worthless? Because the devil really loves to try to make you think that you're worthless. And it means good for nothing, no good, without value, piece of junk, incapable, therefore, having nothing anyone would want, and being useless. And this can occur through many different things.

A lot of times through abuse, verbal, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse in your childhood or even like some women that are battered in their marriage or in a relationship with a man. They put them down so much that they begin to believe that they are no good and they actually deserve these beatings that they're getting. So, the devil loves to try to make us feel bad about ourselves. I was just talking to somebody yesterday and they were changing jobs and they said they were gonna have to take a pay cut to change jobs. And then somebody talked to them and said, "No, you go back in there and you stand up for yourself. If you don't value yourself, they won't value you".

And so, just by confronting it, they got what they wanted. And a lot of times, we don't have enough value in ourselves to make other people value us. You know, for me, like, if I'm around somebody that's confident, it causes me to have confidence in them. But if I'm around somebody that's shy and insecure and afraid of everything, then that's not the kind of person that I enjoy working with because I don't feel like I can count on them to come through when I need them to. And so, there's a lot of reasons, you know, why you can begin to feel worthless. I mean, it could be words that your parents spoke to you, it could have been being compared to other siblings, you couldn't do what they did, or "You're not as smart as Johnny," or, you know, it could have been something that happened to you in school.

But the point is, is that you are worth the death, the bloodshed of the only Son of God. And to think today that he would have done that if you would have been the only person on earth. So, you really need to take it personally. You know, yes, he did it for everybody, but look at it like he did it for you. And the Bible now says, I think it's in 1 Corinthians 6, that we no longer belong to ourselves, that we've been purchased with a precious price, the blood of Jesus. We've literally been bought back from the devil who thought that he owned us, but God had a big surprise for him. Amen? And so, you're worth more than what you can ever possibly imagine, and I'm talking to those of you watching by TV too. You're worth more than you can possibly ever imagine. And you have gifts and talents and abilities that will never be released in you if you don't gain confidence in who you are in Christ.

Now, obviously, we're warned in the Bible about pride. So, we don't wanna get full of ourselves and start thinking that, Bible says don't think more highly of yourself than you ought to. So, what we always need to do is see ourselves in Christ. I always like to say "I'm an everything, nothing". I'm everything in Christ and nothing in myself. Apart from him, I can do nothing, but through him, we can do all things. Each one of you is capable of more than what you can even imagine. But how often does fear keep us from even stepping out or trying? And I wonder how many times, you know, there's a job opening, and you'd love to apply but you're afraid you won't get it, so you don't apply. And what would be the harm if you applied and didn't get it?

See, if you know who you are, then that kind of stuff doesn't have to bother you. Then you can just say, "Well, that wasn't what God had for me". "That wasn't God's will for me at this time". When we totally put ourself in God's hands, and we really begin to believe that he is ordering our lives, then you don't have to try and figure so many things out. And you don't have to take on a false sense of responsibility and make yourself responsible for things that you're not responsible for. Maybe somebody doesn't like you. Well, that's their problem, not yours. I mean, yes, you can ask yourself, you know, "Am I doing something, I shouldn't be doing that's causing this problem"? But statistically, 10% of people won't like you no matter what you do.

So, I figured a long time ago, if I'm gonna go out and be in the pulpit all the time and preach, I might as well just be bold enough to say what I believe God's telling me to say. Because no matter what I say, somebody's not gonna like it. Amen? Two kinds of cover-up. We either, if we feel like we have no value, we either become extremely shy, timid, fearful, and withdraw, and just kind of live this lonely, isolated life where we don't want to get involved in any way, anything, that way we can't make mistakes, and nobody can judge us. Or we go to the other extreme and become extremely bold with a harsh forwardness that attempts to hide our real insecurities.

And it's interesting how people respond to abuse because I know a woman that became the shy, fearful, timid because she was abused sexually in her childhood. I went to the other extreme where I was like extremely bold. And I mean, I have a bold personality anyway, but I was obnoxious, and there's a difference in that. And so, the search can end at Christ. He's the end of your search for self-worth, because in him, you're accepted by God, made right with him, 2 Corinthians 5:21, wonderful scripture. "He that knew no sin became sin".

See, it's amazing, he didn't just take on our sin, he became sin. I can't even imagine what that had to be like for one so holy and perfect to literally, on that cross, become sin. So, sin died with him on the cross. That doesn't mean we can't sin, but it no longer has any power over us. And you know what I believe the power of sin is? I think it's guilt and condemnation. I think that's, you know, how many people, Christians, do something wrong and they ask God right away to forgive 'em, but then they still continue to feel guilty about it? I did that for years, and years, and years, and years, until God showed me that I actually was trying to pay for my own sin with that guilt. And that he did a perfect job and I didn't need to try to add to that, you know.

And so, think about it. If the sin is gone and the Bible says he not only forgives us, but he removes our sin, "Remembers it no more". In Isaiah 53 it says he "Bore our sin and our guilt". And so, I remember a long time ago the Lord saying to me, speaking in my heart, and he's saying, you know, "You've tried to use your faith for everything imaginable, now if you want a real challenge, use your faith to stay free from guilt". So, I love this scripture, Isaiah 43:25. "I, only i, am he who wipes out your transgressions", but listen to these next four words, "For my own sake, and I will not remember your sins". He wipes out our sins for his own sake. And I think that's why he wants us to forget the sins of other people and forgive them. It's really not for them, it's for us. Because we're the ones that are tormented when we're full of hate and bitterness for somebody.

And it still amazes me, even this last women's conference that we had, 16,000 and a half people in attendance, and when I asked how many needed to forgive somebody for something, at least 90% of the people stood up. And you know, I have to talk about this every time I preach, because the Bible says that if we won't forgive, then God can't forgive us, so that puts a wedge between our relationship with him and everything is messed up. So, that's like a key issue. We receive the forgiveness that God gives us, that he gives us for his own sake, because he doesn't want to have that between us and him. He wants us to have that good relationship. And what an example to the rest of us about how we should forgive other people, and how we should look at other people.

One scripture, in the Amplified Bible, says that God "Views us as righteous". It's just how he's decided to see us, you know. Well, what would happen in relationships if we would just decide to always believe the best of every person? You know, we are supposed to love one another, and we're certainly not gonna be any example to the world as long as all the Christians are fightin', and not getting along. And you can't get along without the forgiveness. So, you need to get so good at forgiving that while somebody is still offending you, you're already forgiving them. That's my goal. Just while you're still trying to offend me, I'm gonna go ahead and forgive you because I'm not gonna let that stuff get stuck in me and live like that. God chooses to see us as righteous, why? Because he wants to. Not because we deserve it, not because we're good, but because he's good. God chose to love us and view us as blameless because he wanted to, it pleased him.

And here's the scripture, Ephesians 1:4-5, "Even as [in his love] He chose us [actually picked us out for himself as his own]". He picked you out. You might say he picked you out and he picked you up. "In Christ", it's always in Christ, it's through our faith in Christ, "Before the foundation of the world". Why? Because he can look down through time and he already knows who's gonna receive him. So, before you're ever born, if God knows you're gonna make the decision to believe in Christ, he already says, "I love you". What did he say to Jeremiah? "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and I chose you as my instrument". Amen? "That we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for him) and blameless in his sight, even above reproach", which is shame and blame, "Before him in love. And he foreordained us, (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted and (revealed) as his own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of his will [because it pleased him and was his kind intent]".

So, the good news is, is everything that God's done for us really has nothing to do with us. It's not our goodness, or our good behavior, or our good record, but it's all because that's what he wanted to do. And if we understand that, how can you not respond to that then with spending your whole life wanting to please him and love him? And then what's important to him? That we're good to other people. So, what comes to you should flow through you. So, he forgives you, you forgive other people. He loves you, you love other people. To you and through you. Amen? He's kind to us, we're kind to others. He's patient with us, we're patient with others. Because he's given us everything that we need to do what he wants us to do.

Now, the Bible says that God adopts us. And you know, our oldest son David is adopted by Dave. I had him from a first marriage when I was 18 years old, desperate to have anybody that would take me. Because of being abused, I thought nobody would ever want me. And I knew I was doing something dumb when I did it, but, you know, desperate people do dumb stuff. How many of you know that? And interestingly enough, I named him David. And then, met Dave when he was 11 months old. And I remember when Dave asked me to marry him, I said, "Well, you know, I have a son". And I love his answer. He said, "Well", he said, "I haven't had a relationship with David, so I can't say that I love him, but I love anything that's part of you".

And so that's kind of like when God adopts us. He's like, "You know, on your own, you haven't done anything to make me love you, but if you're part of Christ", see, "Then I love anything that's part of him". And in our home, you never hear the half brother, half sister, there's no half. He's wholly and completely dave's son and my son and has all the same, when we went through the adoption process, I remember the lawyer saying to Dave, "Now, you do realize that if you adopt him, that he has all the same rights, privileges to inheritance, that your blood children have. There's never any difference".

So, that's why we talk about being joint heirs with Christ. You see, what Jesus earned, we get because we're in him. Wow. You know, you can spend a lifetime thinking about this and never get tired of thinking about it, but I think sometimes we don't spend enough time thinking about it. You know what a lot of people do? They spend more time thinking about what's wrong with them than they do what God has done for them. We have redemption in him. And "To be redeemed" means "To be bought back, to be purchased". Ephesians 1:7, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace". We are redeemed because we are precious in God's sight.

Isaiah 43:1 and 4, "But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, o Jacob, he who formed you, o Israel: 'fear not, for I have redeemed you: I have called you by name, you are mine'". So, I like to say in my morning prayers, "I'm yours and you're mine. I'm in you and you're in me". You know, confessing the word is a good way to keep it stirred up on the inside of you. Remind yourself of what the scriptures say. Verse four says, "Because you are precious in my eyes". So, anybody listening to me who feels worthless, it's a lie from Satan, because if you have placed your faith in Jesus as your Savior, you truly have given yourself to him, then the Bible says, "You are precious," in the eyes of God, "And honored, and I love you, I will give men in return for you, and people in exchange for your life".

Now, when we talked about the word "Worthless," I said, "It's considered to be a piece of junk". But it's very interesting that the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1, that God uses what other people would consider trash and throw away. I love it. I'm your least likely person to be doing what I'm doing. But God picked me out and chose me. But if the world would have been taking my application, there would have been no way. I don't have the right education for this. I don't have the right training. Sometimes, I think I don't even have the right voice.

You know, I don't sound like nice and sweet. But, you know, it doesn't matter what you have or don't have. It's not even my level of education. I could have 25 degrees and God still couldn't use me. You know what qualifies you? The anointing. And the anointing is the presence and the power of God on your life. And with that anointing... Wow. The anointing destroys the yoke of bondage. So, if I'm anointed as I teach the word, that word can actually break bondages off of you and heal your wounded soul. But somebody can stand next to me and preach the exact same message word for word with no anointing and it would put you to sleep. It's amazing. So, we might as well take a look at it.

1 Corinthians 1:26, "For consider your own calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise: God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong", and here it comes, "God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are". He chose you and wants to lift you up, give you favor, give you honor, and have people just with their mouth hanging open in awe, "I can't believe that's you. I can't believe that you could ever do that". "So that no human being might boast in the presence of God".

Now, that doesn't mean that God doesn't use smart people and people that are highly educated. I mean Paul, the apostle Paul was, I heard yesterday, that he, in all probability, was a genius. And yet, he said that his speech was not eloquent, which I think is interesting. So, he apparently wasn't an awesome speaker, but he was anointed. And he was chosen by God to do what he did. And so, he wrote two-thirds of the New Testament. He had to be brilliant. So, yes, God uses brilliant people, but Paul was totally dependent on God. And so, that's the key. You know, I don't think that there's very many people that God can allow to do great things without them getting full of themselves. Staying humble, as God lifts you up, is the key to staying in that position, and even being promoted beyond that.

And I can tell you one of the quickest ways that you can see pride in somebody is if they mistreat other people under them. If they mistreat people that are, they are in authority over. Nothing aggravates me worse than to see somebody in ministry that's got a large staff treating them like dogs, or talking to 'em, like they're no good or they're stupid. I absolutely hate that. "Because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so as it is written, 'let the one who boasts, boast only in the Lord'". Amen. We're everything in Christ and nothing in ourselves. So, thank you for being with me today, and I pray we'll see you again tomorrow, when I end up this series talking about a sure foundation and how important the foundation of righteousness is in your life. God bless you.