Joyce Meyer - What the Devil Doesn't Want You to Know - Part 2

Ephesians 6:17 says, «Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God». The helmet of salvation, I think, is thinking like a Christian. A helmet protects your mind, but thinking like a believer, thinking according to the Word of God, that’s the helmet that keeps your mind safe. If we know what to do, but fail to do it, we have no protection. So, listen to this. Paul received grace due to ignorance, but knowledge gives us responsibility. So, guess what? When you leave this room today, you’ll be responsible for more than you were when you came in. Because you’re hearing all kinds of things today.

Many of them are just reminders. Maybe you had some unforgiveness when you came in and you just kinda have stuffed it somewhere and it’s been there for a long time. And whoops, God now has reminded you that you need to forgive. I think that’s good to think about. Knowledge gives me more responsibility. God won’t hold me accountable for what I don’t know unless I’ve had an opportunity to know it and just didn’t wanna bother. But Paul was truly a man of God. He loved God, but he was living in the era where they lived under the law. And so, the Bible says that God gave him grace because he was ignorant. But knowledge gives us responsibility. Remember that.

Now let’s talk for a minute about eve. You know, the Bible, not the Bible says, but there’s a statement that «Curiosity killed the cat,» which I don’t know why it killed the cat, but… Curiosity killed the cat. Well, you start in the very beginning of the Bible with the deceiver being right there in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:1-4, «Now the serpent was more crafty», whoo-hoo, crafty, little sneaky, slimy, «Than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, 'did God really say'»?

See, he just tried to put a little doubt in her mind. «Maybe you misunderstood». «Did God really say, 'you must not eat from any tree in the garden'»? He put a question in her mind. Doubt. See? That’s why we’ve gotta get past thinking that we have to understand all this before we’ll do it. Doesn’t matter if I understand it or not. If God says, «Forgive those that you have ought against,» then my job is to work with God and let him teach me how to forgive. It’s not to think it’s fair or unfair or too hard or any of those excuses that we make up because satan will try to put doubt in your mind. Amen? And sometimes the longer you’re waiting for a breakthrough, the more doubt comes in. «Did God really say»? Sneaky. «The woman said to the serpent, 'well, we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, „You must not eat fruit from the tree that’s in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die"'».

So, she knew the truth. And then satan went a little further. He took it to the next level, and he said, «'oh, well, you will certainly not die'». So now he’s speaking directly opposed to the Word of God. And she should have just said right there, «Well, yes, he did. That’s exactly what he said». And probably she would have got rid of him at that point. But the devil questioned God’s word, «Indeed, has God said»? He put a question in eve’s mind regarding God’s goodness. Satan’s deceptive thoughts that must have come to her. «Perhaps you misunderstood». «Surely if God loved you, he would not keep anything good from you». «You know, eve, you probably should rethink this». «Perhaps God did not really say what you think he said». He tried to substitute his own lie for the Word of God.

God said that if you eat that fruit, you’ll be like him. And he was trying to drag her into the same thing that caused his downfall. He was kicked out of heaven because he said, «I will lift my throne above the throne of the Most High». He wanted to be not only like God, but above God. So now he’s deceiving eve by saying, «God knows if you eat of this that you’ll be like him, knowing everything he knows». And boy, one of our downfalls is we wanna know. Just that statement’s worth you coming today. You have to get to the point where you don’t have to know because you know the one who knows. Trying to figure things out and reasoning. The Bible says in James that, «Reasoning causes deception».

The more you try to figure things out, the more there’s an opportunity for satan to bring a lie in. Isaiah 14, I’ll read you about the downfall of satan, 12-14, «How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the Dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations»! Satan, Lucifer as he was called, was actually one of the Archangels. He was beautiful beyond description, but he just got a little too full of himself. «You said in your heart, 'i will ascend to the heavens: I will raise my throne above the stars of God: I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of mount zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds: I will make myself like the Most High'».

I’ll tell you somethin' I try to work with God on, all the time, is humility. You have to really resist, especially if God starts using you and people come around and tell you how wonderful you are and how much you’ve helped them. You gotta be careful not to do what I call sit around and wallow in that compliment in your mind. You know, just like, «Oh». When I start to do that, the minute I catch myself, I’m like, «No». Everything good that happens through me is just God showing himself. He finds somebody he can work with, and he shows himself strong through them.

See, God wants to be partners with us. He wants to, I mean, if you think about the whole raising of Lazarus from the dead. Jesus came to raise a dead man and he told the people, «Roll away the stone». Now, I ask you, if he was getting ready to raise the dead, did he need somebody to roll away the stone? So, why did he tell the people to roll away the stone? Because that act of faith is what released God to be able to do what he wanted to in that situation. See, so sometimes God might even ask you to do somethin' that seems ridiculous or somethin' that could certainly be done another way that would be easier for you. But he doesn’t always pick the easy path for us. One of the things that’s wrong in our society today is people for generations now have just had it too easy. They don’t know how to take anything hard or difficult.

2 Corinthians 11:3 Paul said, «I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ». Do you know that Christianity is supposed to be simple? It’s not supposed to be this difficult thing that’s hard to do all the time. And if we will just simply believe what God says, isn’t that where all of our struggles come in? God says, «I will deliver you. I’m with you always. I love you all the time». «I wonder if God loves me». «I feel like God doesn’t love me». Or, «I don’t feel God’s presence». «I don’t know if he hears me when I pray».

Well, the answer to all that’s in the word. «Ask and receive that your joy may be full». Believe when you pray that God is working on your situation. Maybe, maybe once in a while you get a quick answer, like I did this week. That was awesome. I love to pray one day and have it the next day. But that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes you might wait 10, 20, 30 years for something. I prayed for my dad to be saved, and it didn’t happen until he was 83. And I prayed for a long, not every day, but I would pray. And I finally said to God one day, «I’m going to ask you to do me a favor. I’m preaching to people all over the world, and they’re getting saved. I’m asking you to save my father».

And it wasn’t too long after that, and he did give his life to the Lord. Well, the mind is the battlefield, isn’t it? We always have to go back to that, watching what you’re thinking, being careful what you’re thinking. It’s just like, you know, whatever direction your thoughts lead you in, that’s kind of the way you go. «The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Jesus Christ». We take captive. Ask the Holy Spirit, «When I’m thinking something that’s not right, remind me. Show me».

The Holy Spirit has come to live inside of you to help you with all of these things. We can’t do it on our own. We need his help all the time. And then you have not because you ask not. You say, «Well, then why doesn’t he help me»? Well, did you ask him? We have two minds, the mind of the flesh and the mind of the spirit. «The mind of the flesh is [sense and reason without the Holy Spirit]». See, getting into that, it has to make sense. It’s got to be reasonable. How many of you have figured out that God is not always reasonable? And that everything he asks of you doesn’t make sense to you. But that’s «The mind of the flesh, [sense and reason without the Holy Spirit]. But the mind of the spirit is life and peace, [both now and forever]».

The mind of the flesh is fed by receiving satan’s lies as our own thoughts, but the mind of the spirit is developed by renewing it according to God’s word. I know you hear this all the time, but I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. This is so valuable. And this is not a law, but I really want to encourage you every day in some way, get some of the word in you. Whether you read it, or you, I mean, it is so easy to receive the word today. I mean, in the morning when I’m doing my hair and putting on my makeup, I pull up some good Bible teacher on YouTube, and listen to it. You know, when you drive to work, don’t drive thinking about all the people you hate at work. Or everything that’s wrong with your job. Listen to a good Joyce Meyer teaching.

And don’t just, it’s good to be encouraged, but don’t just listen to people that do nothing but tell you how wonderful you are. I love to tell people that everybody likes good news, but we also need a spankin' once in a while. We need to be reminded that our behavior in that situation wasn’t right. But you can never know too much of the word. If you would give 30 minutes a day to just reading and pondering and thinking about the word, just 30 minutes a day, just think of what all you would know at the end of a year that you don’t know now, 30 minutes. I think we could all manage 30 minutes. And in Ephesians 4, and I love this. I’m gonna read it to you kinda different. I’m gonna read you verse 22 and verse 24, and then I’m gonna read you verse 23, because verse 23 tells us how to get from 22 to 24. Twenty-two says, «Put off the old man». And verse 24 says, «Put on the new man». And verse 22 says, «To daily renew your mind and your attitude».

So, we put off the old man by renewing our mind every day. Get around people that talk about the word. Be with people that will build you up, people that are good examples, people that walk in the Fruit of the Spirit. Hang out with generous people. No Christian should be stingy. We should always be willing to do right. Satan is the destroyer. And that’s all he wants to do is destroy. We just got a few minutes left, but I want to end on a very up note. I want to talk about job. I want you to leave in a really good mood. Job was a very righteous man. «And one day when job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to job and said, 'the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the sabaeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you'»!

Wow. «While he was still speaking, another messenger came, 'the fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and all the servants and I’m the only one left to come and tell you'»! Well, this day is going good so far. «While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, 'the Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to death. I’m the only one left to tell you'! While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, 'your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they’re all dead, and I’m the only one left to tell you'»!

Well, do you have any more good news? «At this», after hearing all this, «Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head», which was their way of showing grief, «And he said, 'naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away: may the name of the Lord be praised'. In all this, job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing». Amen? When you’re having trouble, just keep saying, «God is good». «God is good. And I overcome evil by good. So, God, give me the grace to do good. Show me somebody that needs help. Let me keep my mind off of the uncomfortable thing that’s happening to me and be a blessing». «Then the Lord said to satan, 'have you considered my servant job'»?

Now, boy, you could really start having some questions here, because it’s like God called the devil’s attention to job. «'there is no one on earth like him: he’s blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil, and he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason'». Now, you could get into having a million questions about this, but I think there was somethin' goin' on between God and satan. And God just wanted to show satan that he had a man on earth that would not deny him no matter what. And in the meantime, job got a blessing because he actually did have a little problem. He was righteous, but he got a little self-righteous. And so, God got him corrected and on the right path during that. «'skin for skin'! Satan replied. 'a man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face'. The Lord said to satan, 'very well, then, he’s in your hands, but you must spare his life'».

Now, the thing I want you to get out of this is, yes, there are things that happen to us that we don’t understand, things that hurt, things that seem unfair, but the devil can never go any further than God gives him permission to go. It’s just like the ocean and the sand, that water can’t go any further than that Sandy beach God has provided. And otherwise, it would flood the earth. So, I like to remember when things are hard for me that I can do this because God’s not gonna let the enemy go too far. He always provides a way out. He always gives us a way out. And so then, you know, he got all these boils, and he took a piece of broken pottery and was scraping himself and his wife said, this was like putting a nail in the coffin, «Are you still maintaining your integrity? Why don’t you curse God and die?»! «Well, I have a cheery wife». «Thank you so much». You know, your body and your health are very important to God because he works through you. You’ve gotta understand that. God doesn’t just magically do everything from his throne in heaven. He works through people.

God works through, you know, maybe it’s just somebody who prayed about your situation. And God used that prayer to give you a breakthrough. But God uses people. When satan comes against your body, he’s attacking the temple of God. And I read something yesterday that said, «If you obey me, your enemy will become my enemy». You’re the apple of God’s eye. «Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God. You are not your own». And by the way, I can’t read any more of job because I’m out of time, but I will tell you the end of the story 42 chapters later. God told job to pray for his friends who had been very discouraging to him and really tried to lead him in the wrong direction. And the Bible says, «When job prayed for his friends», we’re talking about forgiveness, «When job prayed for his friends, God restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before». Amen. Give God a praise.