Joyce Meyer - Make a Fresh Start - Part 1

Well, thank you for joining me today on, "Enjoying Everyday Life," where I'm gonna talk to you about a subject that I think is very important for all of us. And for some of you, it may be a life-changing subject. I wanna talk to you about "Making a fresh start" at how you feel about yourself or how you see yourself. You know, if we could just see ourselves the way God sees us, our lives would be so much better. And you know, God wants to do so much for you. But if you have a really bad attitude about yourself, you feel really bad about yourself, it's very difficult to receive the things that God wants to give you.

2 Samuel 9:1-13. "David said", he was king by then. "Is there anyone left to the house of Saul to whom I might show kindness for Jonathan's sake"? To me, that's equivalent to God saying, "Is there anybody that I can show kindness to for Jesus' sake"? You know, God doesn't, he's not always kind to us, just for us, he does it because of what Jesus has done for us. "And of the house of Saul there was a servant whose name was Ziba. When they called him to David, he said to him, 'are you Ziba'? And he replied, 'yes, I am'. The king said, 'is there not still someone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the [unfailing, unsought, unlimited] Mercy and kindness of God'"?

How would you like to have that unlimited mercy from God? "Ziba replied, 'Jonathan'", who was Saul's son, who also was in covenant relationship with David, and that meant a lot to them. "'Jonathan has yet a son who is lame in his feet'". Now, you wanna keep that in mind. "And the king said, 'where is he'? And Ziba replied, 'he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar'. Then king David sent and brought him from the house," where he lived. "And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face, worshiped him. And David said, 'Mephibosheth,' and he answered, 'behold your servant'. David said to him, 'fear not, I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your father [grandfather], and you shall eat at my table always'".

Now, listen to this. "And [the cripple] Bowed himself and said, 'what is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I am'"? He had a dead dog image. This was the grandson of the previous king, the son of Jonathan who was in covenant relationship with David. And I'm sure he had to know that he had rights and privileges. I'm sure you hear as you listen to the teaching of God's word about your rights and privileges as a believer in Christ. But he had never gone to the palace to claim them, and it was because of the way he felt about himself.

Is it possible that there are many rights and privileges that are yours through what Christ has done for you that you have never claimed because you feel you don't deserve them, because you don't feel good about yourself? I want you to take some time after this program and really do a deep dive and think about how you feel about yourself, what is your attitude toward yourself? Are you holding things against yourself from a long time ago? Today is the day to make a fresh start.

"Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, said to him, 'I have given your master's [grandson] All that belonged to Saul and to all of his house. And you shall till the land for him, your sons and your servants, and you shall bring in the produce, that your master may have food to eat: and Mephibosheth, your master's son or [grandson], shall eat always at my table'. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. And Ziba said to the king, 'your servant will do according to all my Lord the king commands'. So Mephibosheth ate at David's table as one of the king's sons".

You know, that's what God wants for you. He wants you to eat at his table, so to speak, participating in all the privileges that Jesus died for you to have. I just feel today that so many of you are doing without so many things that God would love to give you, but you won't even ask because of the way you feel about yourself. You know, we feel like we don't deserve to have God do anything for us, and that's right, we don't. But Jesus deserved it in our place, and as we go to the father in Jesus' name, we're not presenting to him all that we are. We are presenting to him all that Jesus is.

Now, listen to this. The last two verses. "So Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was micha. And all who dwelt in Ziba's house were servants to Mephibosheth. So, Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king's table, [even though] He was lame in both feet". Now see, what I get out of that is he ate at the king's table even though he still had flaws and weaknesses. And we need to realize that we're always gonna have flaws and weaknesses until we're out of this fleshly body. And thank God for Jesus, and thank God that when we pray and ask God to do things for us, we pray "In Jesus' name," not our own name.

Do you know that our handicaps don't limit God, but we often allow them to limit us? God was willing, but Mephibosheth wasn't. How do you see yourself? As we see ourselves, so we are seen by other people. It's kind of interesting when you think about it, because however you feel about yourself, you project that image, whether you know that you do or not. And then that, like, if you have no confidence, you'll project that, and then that will cause other people to have no confidence in you, either.

In numbers 13, Moses had sent twelve spies into the land of Canaan to spy out the land to see if it, indeed, was as good a land as what they had been told. And when they came back out, ten of the spies said, "'we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come from the giants'", and listen, "'and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight'". You see, there's biblical proof that however we see ourselves, that's the way other people see us. They didn't believe that they could defeat the giants. And so, the giants already had an upper hand over them, because you're never gonna go beyond what you believe.

Two of the men, Joshua and Caleb, came out and they said, "We are well able to conquer it. Let us go up at once and do it". And that's the kind of spirit that God wants to see in us. He wants us to take action, not procrastinate. He wants us to believe that he's always with us and that we literally can do all things through Christ, who is our strength. What do you have coming up in your future? Is it something you're afraid of, something that you're not capable of, something you're not up to? Well, maybe you're not, but God is, and so, you be praying about it and let your confidence be in God, not in yourself. Don't even look back at your failures.

You know, just because we failed at something in the past doesn't mean that we're gonna fail at everything in the future. Then there's another man in the Bible who had, what the Bible calls "A limp". And I look at that again, as a weakness. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, very important man in the Bible. Had a limp, but you'll see at the end of this story that after he wrestled with God, even though he didn't deserve the blessings that he ended up getting from God, he limped away with his blessings. Genesis 32:24-28: "And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak".

You see, Jacob had cheated his brother, Esau out of his birthright. Now Esau gave it up, which he had a problem too. He sold his birthright for a bowl of stew, and the birthright, in those days, meant a lot more to them than what it might mean to us. It gave them a double portion of the inheritance, and they got the blessing of the firstborn. And that blessing was extremely important to them. It was a prayer that the father prayed over them for them to be blessed.

And to give that up was really very disrespectful, and he did it just because he was hungry. But Jacob was always afraid of Esau after that, and so, he had spent years running away from him, not even being aware that although Jacob was angry at first, that somewhere along the line he forgave him and actually would have liked to have had a relationship with him. So, Jacob came to the point where he wanted to change. Are you at the point maybe in your life where you want to change? You know, before we can change, we have to come to the point where we want to. And before we can change, we have to be at the point where we're willing to face the truth about ourselves, not be blaming all of our problems on somebody else, but take the responsibility ourself.

You know, I was abused as a child, and I blamed everything on that for a long time. And God finally spoke in my heart, and he said, "That's why you are the way you are, but don't let it be an excuse to stay that way". So, let me just say to you today, if you've had a rough life, if you've had some unjust and unfair things happen to you, I'm sorry that you went through what you did. And I know that God hated to see you go through that pain, but he will use it for a good purpose in your life if you'll let him.

So, don't use it as an excuse for any kind of bad behavior. "When [the man]", who, the man, it's capitalized, who happened to be Jesus or his angel, the angel of the Lord, "When he saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh: and Jacob's thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him", which gave him this limp, "Then he said, 'let me go, for day is breaking'. But Jacob said, 'i will not let you go unless you declare a blessing on me'".

Now, that, to me, sounds pretty bold. What do you think? "God, I am not gonna let you go until you bless me". You know, I understand that to a degree because there have been some things that I've said to God: I've prayed and prayed and prayed about 'em, and I've said, "I am not gonna shut up until I see a breakthrough in this area". And do you know that God likes persistence? He likes persistence in prayer. And when there's something in the Word of God that tells you that you can have something, that something is yours, you have a right to it because of the blood of Christ, don't give up on it. Just because it doesn't come right away, don't give up on it. And if you've sinned, repent, admit it, talk to God about it, but don't let your past sins keep you from your present blessings.

I believe it hurts the heart of God when he sent Jesus to do so much for us, and sometimes we receive so little. Get your eyes off of what you do wrong and get your eyes on what Jesus did right. Let me say that again. Get your eyes off of what you do wrong and onto what Jesus did right, for you. He did it for you. "And [the man]", once again, a representation of Jesus, or his angel, "Said to Jacob, 'what is your name'"? Well, he very well knew what his name was, but he had a purpose here.

"And [in shock of realization, whispering] He said, 'my name is Jacob, [supplanter, schemer, trickster, swindler]'"! He faced himself. "I've been a cheat. I've been a swindler. I've been a schemer. I've been a trickster". But he wanted to change. "And God said to him, 'your name shall no more be called Jacob [supplanter], but Israel, [contender with God]: for you have contended and have power with God and with men, and you have prevailed'". Always do it respectfully, but don't be afraid to press in with God and say, "Lord, this is in your word, and I'm claiming it for myself. If there's something that I need to repent of, show me. If there's something that you need me to do, show me. But I am not gonna give up on being blessed because that's what you promise in your word".

Some of you have settled. I know that in my heart, right now. You have settled, and you just kinda have the, "Well, you know, I guess I'm just not one of the ones that God's gonna bless". No, you listen to me. God wants to bless you. And he wants to bless you outrageously. He wants to do more for you than what you can even begin to imagine, but you need to begin to believe that he will do it for you. Even though you may still have a limp, you can still eat at the king's table. Jacob limped, but he limped away with his blessing, and I like that. He had been a wrong man, but now he wanted to be a right man. And now he was gonna come face to face with Esau, and he sent out some men ahead of him with gifts, really bribes, and trying to make peace with Esau, and Esau told him, "You're my brother, and I don't need these presents".

However, he did it, he let him know he wasn't mad at him, and he wanted to have relationship with him. "God blesses the outcasts and the limping ones," according to the Word of God. Listen to this scripture. This is such a wonderful, wonderful scripture. Zephaniah 3:17-19. "The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a mighty one", see, the Holy Spirit lives inside you. You are the home of God. Wow!

If you are a child of God, if you have surrendered your life to Christ, he sends his spirit to live inside of you. "You are a mighty one, a Savior [who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy: he will rest [in silent satisfaction] And in his love, he will be silent", now listen to this. "And make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]: he will exalt over you with singing". Wow. You know, have you ever had an argument with somebody and maybe you're trying to work through the situation, and they said, "Well, I'll forgive you, but don't forget you did this and this and that and that and something else"?

Well, it kind of makes you feel like they're forgiving you, but they really don't want to. Well, I love this, that it says, "God rejoices over us with joy, and he doesn't even mention or recall our past sins". You know why? The Bible says that when we repent, when we admit our sins and we're sorry for them, and we're ready to turn around and go in a brand-new direction, like Jacob was, he was tired of doing what he was doing, and he was ready to meet with God and do it God's way. Are you ready to meet with God and do it God's way?

When he did that, and he received forgiveness for those sins, and let me say, by the way, some people ask for forgiveness, but they never really receive it. And what I mean by receiving it is they never forgive themselves. You could even, right now, today, you could be believing that God forgave you, but you still won't forgive yourself. "Let go of what lies behind and press toward the things that are ahead". I feel that some people are really getting helped by this, right now. When God forgives our sins, the Bible says, he "Forgets them", wow, "And he moves them as far as the east is from the west", which nobody can figure out how far that is, but it's far, far, far, far.

"And he remembers them no more". Stop talking to God about your past sins because he doesn't know what you're talking about. He already forgot it. I know as a young woman in my 20s, just starting to go to church with my husband every night, I would bow by my bed and ask God, "Forgive me for my sins, make me a good wife and a good mother, and most of all, make me a good Christian because I know if I can be a good Christian, then everything else will work out all right". That was my prayer every night. And I don't know how long I prayed like that, a long, long time, but one night I heard in my heart the Lord say, "I forgave you the first time you asked me". Wow!

So, you see, the first time I asked God to forgive me, he forgave me, but I had not forgiven myself. And so I kept, the sins I was talking about was sins from my past. It wasn't even current sins. It was sins from my past. He says, "I will gather those belonging to you, [those Israelites in captivity] Who yearn and grieve for the solemn assembly [and the festivals], on whom [their exile and inability to attend services at Jerusalem have brought derision and] The reproach of it is a burden".

Now listen to this. "Behold, at this time I will deal with all those who afflict you", wow! Let God deal with your enemies. You don't have to do it. He will do it. "I will deal with all those who afflict you: I will save the limping [ones]", if you're a limping one, God is saying, "I'll save you". "And I will gather the outcasts and I will make them a praise and a name in every land of their shame". This is so good. You know, God wants to help those with special needs. He wants to help the abandoned and the forsaken, the forgotten, the abused, the rejected, the abandoned. He wants to help anybody who has been hurt.

And you need to see yourself in a brand-new way. You need to see yourself in what the Bible calls "In Christ". Those two little words, air quotes, "In Christ". That makes all the difference in the world. I don't present myself to God in Joyce, in my works, in my good record. I present myself to God in Christ. I come to him "In the name of Jesus", presenting to him all that Jesus is. You see, Jesus took all your bad stuff, and he gave you all his good stuff. And all he's asking you to do is believe it. Maybe you've never even believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe you've never surrendered your life to him.

Well, you know, there's a number on your screen and we would love to talk to you about that. If you're not a Christian but you wanna be one, if you wanna have your sins forgiven, why don't you call that number and talk with one of our operators and tell 'em you'd like to know more about being born again. You'd like to know more about salvation. Don't put your confidence in who you are, and what you can do, and what you look like, and what you own, and where you work, and what your job title is at work. Put your confidence in Christ.

Philippians 3:3 says, "For we [Christians] Are the true circumcision, and we worship God in spirit and by the Spirit of God and we exalt in glory and pride ourselves in Jesus Christ, and we put no confidence or dependence [on what we are] In the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and external appearances".

Let me ask you a question. If you do have any confidence or when you do have confidence, what do you put it in? What makes you feel the most confident? Is it when you think you look really good or is it when you win a game of sports you're playing? Don't get your confidence from anything that you do. Get your confidence from who you are in Christ. He lives in you and through him you can do whatever you need to do. He's your strength, he's your wisdom, the Holy Spirit is in you to guide you and to lead you and even if you have to limp away with your blessings, you have a right to every blessing that Jesus died to give you and I personally don't want to see you go without them not one more minute. Thank you so much for being with us today, and let this be a turning point in your life.