Joyce Meyer - Give God Your All - Part 1

Well, welcome to, «Enjoying Everyday Life». I’m so glad that you’ve joined us today and we have a lot of other wonderful, beautiful, handsome, if you’re a guy, crew here today to help get me excited while I bring you the word. Amen? And so today I wanna talk about giving God your all. I want you to really think about that because we may think we are and maybe we’re not. Are there any areas of your life that you have just shut the door on and said, «Well, I can’t let you in to that door»? Or anything that you’re not willing to give to God if he asks you to give it.

In John 17:10, Jesus said to the father, «All that I have is yours, and all that you have is mine». Very small word, «All,» three little letters, but boy, it’s such a big, big meaning. And I felt like that God told me one time, a long time ago, «If you take care of my business, I’ll take care of yours». And so, I think that’s the key. When we give God our all, you offer it to him, he may not ever ask for your all, but it needs to be on the table for him to have it. And let’s take time, for example. You know, are you so busy doing other things that you really have a very hard time finding regular time to spend with God? So many people have a problem with that. But God should always come first in our time.

So, if we give him our all, «God, my time is yours. You let me know when you need me, what you need me for. I have a plan today, but I’m willing to change my plan if it’s not your plan. Just let me know where you need me when you need me». Well, what have you not released to God? You know, sometimes even the hurts and the wounds that we have, we’re not willing to open up and let God in there to do the healing that only he can do. Sometimes we have things hidden for years and years and years that we haven’t told anyone. I was on a radio interview the other day, and they wanted me to talk about my testimony.

And so, I talked about the abuse that I went through, and we had a couple of people call in afterwards, and they said, «I was abused. I’m 66. I was abused as a child by my father, and I have never told anybody». And see, there’s so many people like that, that they have these secrets. And I think sometimes it’s our secrets that make us sick. And of course, if you’re gonna talk to somebody, it should either be a counselor, God, even if you talk to God openly about something, that’s good, or a pastor, or a very trusted friend, if you can find somebody that will keep your secrets, which I admit is a little difficult today. But we need to let God into every single area of our life. Give God your all.

Let me remind you again of what Jesus said, John 17:10, «Father, all I have is yours, and all that you have is mine». I think you could sit with that scripture for a couple hours and just think about it, because it’s a quick scripture to just gloss over and not really think about the meaning. Paul begged that those he taught would dedicate their all, all their members, all their faculties to God as a living sacrifice. Let’s think about that. Romans 12:1, «I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and I beg of you in view of [all] The mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication», it’s a decision, «Of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] As a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable», not unreasonable, but «Your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship».

So, he’s saying God expects us to give our all as a living sacrifice. Under the old covenant, they gave dead sacrifices. But he wants living sacrifices. He wants to work through people. And he says, «Offer all of your faculties». So, that’s my mind, how I think, my mouth, what I talk about, my feet, where I go, my eyes, what I watch, my ears, what I listen to. Everything that we are, we’re to offer it to God. I think all of our money should be offered to him. And I know that I can almost feel people pull back when you say that. You know, we wouldn’t have any money at all if God wouldn’t have given it to us.

And so, we’ve got to get over this, «Mine, mine, mine, mine,» because we’re not owners of anything. We’re stewards of everything. And I know, you know, under the old covenant law, tithing was part of the law. Everybody had to give 10 percent. And actually, if you really figure out all the different offerings and thank offerings and special offerings and tithings, I mean, it was, I forget what they said the percentage was, but it was like pretty high, like 40, 50 percent they ended up giving. And of course, people today say, «Well, that’s under the law». And I won’t really even bother to argue that point because I don’t think that, Jesus fulfilled the law, and we don’t tithe under the law, but we should give generously, the Bible says, in the New Testament.

So, I have a feeling if you looked up the definition of generously and the definition of 10 percent, you’d find that generously is a lot more. And I feel like if they could tithe under the law, what should we be doing by grace? And, you know, sadly today, so many people are not even taught about giving because preachers and pastors are afraid of making people mad. They don’t want to hear it. But just listen to this before you get angry at me for talking about money. If you’re doing what you know is right, then why would me talking about it bother you? Right? I mean, there’s nothing to get bothered about if you’ve gotta good conscience about what you’re doing. And don’t use that excuse, «Well, I’m gonna give some preacher my money just so they can take it and waste it».

Just because there have been people that have publicly been known to have wasted and misused ministry money. If you gave to God, God will take care of you. And there are doctors that are quacks. That doesn’t keep you from going to one if you get sick. So just because there are preachers in ministries that do wrong things, that should not be put off on all of us. Amen? So, that’s what I have to say about money. All. What do you listen to? Do you listen to people gossip or talk bad about other people or you just say, «I’m sorry, but I’d rather not hear that».

What do you listen to on television? If, you know, stuff you know you shouldn’t listen to comes on, do you turn it off? It’s hard sometimes when you’re really interested in something, and you just want so bad to hear the rest of it. But, you know, we all have our own agreement or standard, I guess, with God. But there’s just certain things that I know that I’m not supposed to listen to. And I know I fought that battle, you know, «Well, maybe they won’t say it again». And, you know, «I just got to see how this ends». And you know what I found out in my life? Obeying God is much easier than having a guilty conscience.

I think I want to say that again. Obeying God is much easier than having a guilty conscience. There’s no pillow that’s harder to lay your head on than a guilty pillow, so, Genesis 6:22, «Thus did Noah: according to all that God commanded him». Now, I wonder how hard it was for Noah to build that ark. People had to think that he was absolutely nuts. «What are you doing»? «Well, I’m building this big boat that God told me to build because it’s gonna start raining and we’re gonna have a flood». Well, they had never seen rain. They didn’t know what rain was. And he didn’t either for that matter. I tried to find out how long it took him to build the ark.

And I found several different experts with several different opinions, which I think is always funny. And it was anywhere from 5 years to 75 years. But the average is like more people thought 75 years than anything else. But let’s just say it took him a long time. Even if it only took him five years, that’s a long time to have people making fun of you and saying unkind things to you. So, one of the things I’ve discovered, if you’re gonna give God your all, you have to be willing to also give him your reputation. I mean, to be full on with God and give him your all, I can promise you the devil’s gonna provide some people that are not gonna like it. They’re gonna tell you, they’re gonna reject you.

If you’re gonna follow God all the way, they’re gonna reject you. You know, a lot of people want enough of Jesus to stay out of hell, but not enough to really walk in victory. Amen. How much obedience do we walk in, especially if God asks us to do something that makes no sense to our mind? «Well, that doesn’t make any sense. Well, that’s not reasonable». You know, when God asked me to take care of my mom and dad when they got older, at first, I rebuked it as being the devil. I said, «There is no way that God would ask me to do that. He just would not ask me to do that». So, I thought, «I’ll go ask Dave and Dave will tell me, 'no way. We’re not gonna spend all that money on these people that did nothing but abuse you'».

And I went and asked Dave. And what do you think he said? «Well, if God told you to do it, you better do it». I thought, «Well, you didn’t help at all». Noah probably became the laughingstock of the region. I’m sure his obedience hurt his reputation with men. How willing are you to obey God if it means you’re gonna lose your reputation with people? Or if you’re gonna lose some of your friends? When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, and we began to share with people what God had shown us and what had happened.

When I started teaching a Bible study, we lost most of our friends. I can only remember two who stuck it out with us. A lot of family turned against us, and we got the left foot of fellowship at our church. We got asked to, they gave us two options: to leave or shut up. And shut up wasn’t a good option for me, which you can probably understand. And Paul said, «If I were trying to be popular with people, I would not now be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ». I wonder how many people really lose their whole destiny with God because they’d rather keep people happy than do what they believe God’s telling them to do. And you know, sometimes we just think too much. It’s like, you know something in here, but then when you lay your mind to it.

The Bible says that we receive ourself, this is in James 1, «We deceive ourselves through reasoning that is contrary to the truth». How quick it is to reason out, «Well, that can’t be right». We have to learn how to follow the spirit and people always ask me, «How do you start a ministry like yours»? I’m like «Well, first of all, you don’t start it. And if you do, God won’t help you finish it». And the only answer I can ever give 'em is you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. But sadly, not very many people are taught how to do that today. They always want to go to somebody else, «Well, what do you think I should do? Well, what would you do in this situation»?

Well, in the first place, they don’t know what they’d do because they’re not in your situation. And you have to follow peace in your heart. And sometimes, it takes working through some things to get to that. You know, when you really, really want to do something, or you really don’t want to do something, it’s easy to convince yourself that God doesn’t want you to either. But if you sit on it a while, you’ll get that little itchy, scratchy place down there where you know, then we go ahead and we make some more excuses, but eventually we give in to God. The Bible uses a couple of words that we’re not familiar enough with. Let’s take a look at the word dedication and the word consecration.

I love to read older books. I mean, I want you all to read my books, but I like to read older books. And I hope when I’ve been gone from here a 100 years that people are reading my books and saying, «I read this old book the other day and heard some things I’ve never heard before». But I really had to go back to 16th and 17th century books to learn some of the things that I walk in today. Because I don’t think sometimes, we go deep enough. When you start talking to people about sacrifice and dedication and consecration, giving their all, man, they want to find a new church to go to right away.

Dedication means devoted to something, devoted to a being, a divine being, or set aside for a special purpose. And that’s the thing that I wanna get across to you and people watching by TV or YouTube or wherever you’re watching it. You are set aside for a special purpose. You don’t belong to yourself. «Know you not that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit». You have been purchased with a preciousness, the blood of Jesus Christ. You are no longer your own. Mmm. So, the least we can do every morning is say, «Well, God, here I am. Is there anything that you want to use me for today? Who can I help today? Who can I be a blessing to today? I’ve got my plan. This is what I’ve got planned. But I’m here». I mean, we could at least do that, right? We could at least offer ourselves.

Now, sometimes, you know, you might be afraid to do that, «Well, I mean, I’m planning to go shopping. I don’t want God to get in my way. I’m planning to do this or that. I don’t want God to get in my way». But you know, there’s no happier place to be than right in the middle of God’s will. That’s the best place to be. And then the word consecration means anointed with the Holy Spirit for a special purpose and not to be used for other things made sacred by a ceremony. You know, this is my cup. And I just bet there’s nobody else around here that drinks out of this. You know why? Because it’s my cup.

I’ve gotta couple of Sippy cups. It’s got my name on 'em. Because if I don’t drink out of a Sippy cup, then I get my lipstick all smeared. And so, nobody drinks out of my Sippy cups. And on the road, I’ve got a nice pretty crystal glass that I drink out of. And they know that’s «Joyce’s cup». Now, that’s a silly example, but the truth is you’re set aside for a special purpose like that and not to be used for other things. But always, at least, be available to God. He may not call on you, but you should always be available.

Romans 1:7, «To [you then] All God’s beloved ones in Rome, called to be saints and designated for a consecrated life: grace and spiritual blessing and peace be yours from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ». Everybody say, «Consecrated». 1 Peter 2:5, «Come and, like living stones, be yourselves built into a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated)», wow, both words are in this scripture, «For a (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] Spiritual sacrifices [that are] Acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ».

Now, you know, there are Christians who are really dedicated to God, consecrated to him, and they do everything they can to live right before God. But there’s also a lot of compromising Christians. And that’s one of the reasons why Christians are not affecting the world like they should be, is because sometimes it’s very difficult to tell the difference between who a Christian is and who a carnal person is. Sometimes we go to church just because that’s what we’ve always done, or, you know, we just put our time in there and think. It’s amazing how many people you ask, «Are you a Christian»? And their answer is, «I go to church». «I go to church».

Well, I can go sit in the garage all day and that doesn’t make me a car. You know? We’re called to be separated and consecrated unto God, not just to go sit on a pew once a week and listen to somebody talk and be looking at our watch, hardly able to wait to get out of there so we can go eat. Being a Christian means that you’re a follower of Christ. You’re a Christ follower. You try to live the life that he lived. The Bible says that we are destined to be made into the image of Jesus Christ.

So, when we’re born again, what God wants is for us to welcome the Holy Spirit into our lives, and he is the one that teaches us. I’m teaching you today, but for you to really get out of this what you need to get out of it, I need to be anointed with the Holy Spirit and you need to be listening like you really intend to do what you hear, not just come to see what Joyce is wearing today or just to, you know, be in the studio and see what it’s like when she’s filming or not just to go to church because you don’t want mama to get mad at you or grandma to get mad at you. We need to look at our motives and know why we’re doing the things that we’re doing. How about the word sacrifice? That’s an ouchy word, isn’t it? Mmm. Because to sacrifice means to give up something that we want to keep.

Now, you know, I don’t mind at all to give away my clothes that I’m finished with, that I’ve worn for a long time, and I’m done with them, not wearing them anymore, and they’re still in great condition, but I don’t mind giving those up. But I had God ask me one time to give away a brand-new dress. I mean, it was still under the plastic bag.

Now, that’s another story. I kinda just rushed past that prayer and passed what I thought God was saying, and lo and behold, the next time I was in that closet, it seemed like that was all I could see was that dress. Well, God never said that you can’t give away something new. Sometimes, to be honest, when you buy something, you’re not even buying it for you. And I’ll tell you a secret, once God puts his finger on something and asks you to give it, if you keep it, you will never enjoy it after that. Because once God asks for it, it no longer belongs to you.

So, you might as well just go ahead. I felt like over the last few days that God was asking me to give a special thank offering just to thank him for his goodness in my life. And I prayed about it some more, prayed about it some more. And finally, this morning I thought, «Joyce, just write the check, get it over with».

There’s no point in waiting to see. You know, we don’t need a bunch of confirmations and two angels to appear, you know, a prophet to come in town and call us out of the crowd. We just need to do what we feel in our heart God is asking us to do. Amen? Well, you know, how we finish is more important than how we began. And there’s people in the Bible that began right, but they finished all wrong. And then there’s people in the Bible that began wrong, and they finished right.

Now, I was one of those people, I began wrong, but I’m having a good finish. And I don’t know about you, but I am so glad that God is the God of a second chance, a third chance, or however many we need to get it right. God will never reject you if you come to him. No matter how many times you’ve failed or fallen. «The righteous man falls seven times and gets up again,» the Bible says. No matter how many times you have fallen, if you go back to God, sincerely, he will never, ever reject you. The Bible says, «He will never reject any who come to him». And that’s good news for somebody that’s listening today. God’s waiting for you with open arms.