Joyce Meyer - Fear Not (08/17/2019)
Joyce Meyer teaches from Genesis 12:1-3 that God's great promises of blessing, favor, and influence come only after obeying the call to leave the familiar—country, relatives, comfort—for the unknown land He will show. She shares how every new season requires letting go of the old, even when details are unclear, and stresses that fear is meant to be felt but not obeyed, urging believers to step out courageously despite fear to walk into God's prepared plan.
God's Call to Abram
Genesis 12:1 through 3, I love. I've learned a lot from this. All right. Genesis 12:1 through 3. Now in Haran, the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself, for your own advantage, away from your country, from your relatives, and your father's house, to the land that I will show you.
And I will make of you a great nation. And I will bless you with an abundant increase of favor. And I will make your name famous and distinguished. And you will be a blessing dispensing good to others. And I will even bless those who bless you, who confer prosperity or happiness upon you. And I will curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you. And in you will all the families and the kindred of the earth be blessed. And by you they will bless themselves.
The Cost of Blessing
Now, what a promise. Wow. Gonna make your name famous. I'm gonna make you wealthy. You're gonna have everything you need. You know. Man, you're gonna be so anointed and put together that even if anybody blesses you, they're gonna be blessed for blessing you. And it's like, whoa!
But you don't get all that unless you do verse 1. Leave everything that you know and you're familiar with, and go to a place that I will show you once you have already walked off from everything else.
Letting Go to Take Hold
I see, you're like... Okay, here's the thing, really. Anytime that God is calling you to something else, you're gonna have to let go of something to take hold of the next thing. And very often, you're not gonna have all the details of this thing. You just know this one's done. And maybe you've held on to it a long time to make sure it's done.
You kind of thought it was dying, but now you know it is dead with a capital D. Amen? It's like, can't do that anymore. Or if you keep doing it anymore, it's gonna have no life in it at all for you. No anointing in it at all for you anymore.
Holding On to the Dead
Now, we all have that happen to us, but maybe you don't recognize it. Maybe you even miss it. And you keep holding on to things that aren't fulfilling to you because you don't know what the next thing is. And a lot of people just have all this stress and all this pressure in their lives.
And God kind of gave me an example of what happens. It's like, if I'm over here holding on to this, and I'm like... You know, God will keep what the next thing is for you about that far from you. Come on. You know, God is in the mystery. Big time.
Faith in the Mystery
And so, it's like... Eventually, the only way you're gonna take hold of this is to let go. And that's where the faith comes in.
Okay, I can give you practical examples from my life. I hope that you can apply them somewhere in your own. When God touched me with His Holy Spirit in 1976, I had a full-time job. I actually made as much money as Dave did. My car was... The gas was paid for. I mean, Dave made good money, and I made good money. And so, we didn't have any kind of money struggles.
Leaving Comfort Behind
And I had a position of authority at my job. I had no intentions of quitting my job. And when God touched my life and called me to teach, I didn't... I had no education. I had no training. And so, some things started happening. The people that I had as friends then didn't like it. Family members didn't like it. My church didn't like it.
They told me how unqualified I was, how foolish it was. And if I persisted, I was gonna no longer be welcome at the church. Well, the bottom line is, in order to get to that next thing, I pretty much lost my friends, family, church, and everything else.
No Proof, Just Faith
Well, I didn't have any proof that I was ever gonna do this. I felt like I heard from God. But I didn't have any proof. I didn't... I mean, the whole thing didn't even make any sense. It just sounded stupid, really, to even think that me, from where I was from in the background I had, could actually do anything like this.
And I'm not asking anybody here to jump off the cliff and do a bunch of stupid stuff. But I'm just saying that, eventually, if you want to really find out what God has for you, you're gonna have to take a few chances and follow your heart. Anybody understand?
Negative Influences
What about it, Anthony? Have you ever had to do that? Just, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Now, it amazes me... See, the thing with Abraham that you may not know is his whole family, and I suppose he, they were idol worshipers.
Well, now, God has found somebody He thinks He can work with, but He couldn't really do... Now, listen to what I'm gonna say. He couldn't really do what He wanted to do in Abraham until He got him away from that influence. Come on now, I'm talking to somebody.
Breaking Free from Influence
Some of you, you feel pulled apart because there's something in you that you feel you need to do, wanna do, can do, but you gotta get away from the influence that you're around because it's a non-faith influence. It's a discouraging influence. It's a defeating influence. It's a sinful influence.
Well, see, here now, we don't wanna be lonely. We don't want anybody talking about us. We don't want anybody to misunderstand us. We don't want anybody to judge us. So we just keep staying with stuff that's dead. Hello. Is anybody understanding me? Yeah!
Short-Term Price, Long-Term Gain
We just keep staying with stuff that's dead instead of taking a chance that God is right. And being willing to pay a short-term price for a long-term benefit.
Now, I lost all my friends, but I got a bunch more now than I had then. Amen? I got asked to leave my church, but now I get asked to come to churches all the time. Come on, there's a message here.
Leaving the Job
I worked at a church for five years. That was kind of part of my journey. I did five years of home Bible studies. Then I worked in a church for five years. And then God said, I'm finished with you here now. Take your ministry, go north, south, east, and west.
Well, that was very equivalent to what God said to Abraham. Listen, when I have been going through difficult times in my life, I go to these scriptures. These are things that God has shown me, and I will go back to them, and they strengthen me, and they encourage me to go ahead and follow God and do what I believe He wants me to do. Amen?
Moses Is Dead—Move On
Leave your job. No paycheck. No invitations to go anywhere. North, south, east, and west, what am I supposed to do? Nobody knew me. My ministry was in St. Louis. Where do I go? Well, you got to leave to find out.
And I remember leaving my job, and I left with a calculator and a desk that had a dent in it, and no paycheck. And I was so scared, but I was so excited. Come on, does anybody know what I'm talking about?
Excited Yet Scared
You know why? Because I had left what was now dead to me, and not that... I mean, it was a good thing, but it wasn't what God wanted me doing anymore. And so, I walked away from that, and then leave, and I'll show you.
And you know what the Bible says in Hebrews 11, I think it is? That Abraham went, although he did not trouble his mind about where he was to go. Amen?
Starting Small
And so, long story, but I'm still here today. And I started by going to North St. Louis, East St. Louis, South St. Louis, and West St. Louis. And I mean, I have done so many meetings of 20 people and 25 people. And I remember one time, nine people, and I brought five with me.
So, you know... I mean, let me tell you something. And I have paid my dues and paid the price to be able to stand here today. And you've got to stick with something long-term if you want to see any victory in your life. Amen?
Scaling Back in Obedience
And so, that scripture just means a lot to me. And it reminds me, sometimes when God is dealing with me, to let go of something. See, even like through the years with our ministry, I used to do 36 of these conferences every year. That's three a month. I mean, that could kill a strong person.
And in addition to that, we were starting the ministry new. I was running around doing all kinds of speaking engagements. And I was so tired, I could hardly see. And we felt like God said, cut it down to 24. Well, man, that was hard to let go, because that was where our income came from. Come on, I'm talking to people. But you know what? What God orders, He pays for. And God made up the difference.
Joshua's New Season
Joshua 1, 2, and 3. You getting anything out of this so far? Moses, my servant, is dead. Well, God wasn't telling Joshua anything that he didn't already know, because they'd already been mourning Moses for 30 days. So, there's a message in that first sentence.
In other words, He's saying, okay, it's time to move on. That's finished and over with. It's time to go. You need to stop mourning over things that are finished and you can't do anything about. Amen?
Arise and Go
He said, Moses is dead. So, now arise. I love it. Get up. That's done. It's time to get up and move on. You know, we can sit around and think about the good old days and how things used to be, and we can get stuck in our problems from the past, but we can get stuck in our victories from the past.
Where, well, that was so good, and now what I'm doing now is no good compared to that. You know what? You've got to learn to live now and not be living somewhere else all the time.
Land Already Given
Moses is dead, so now arise, take his place, and go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land to which I am giving to them, the Israelites. Now, watch this. I love this. Every place upon which the sole of your foot shall tread, that have I already given unto you.
I love that scripture, because here's what it's teaching me. God has got a plan. He said, I've already given it to you. See, God had already laid out my whole life before I ever showed up on planet Earth, and He's already laid your whole life out before you ever showed up here.
Step Out to Possess
God's got Anthony's path already laid out, and all he has to do is be real sensitive to what God's saying, and then just walk in it. And every place on which the sole of your foot treads, that becomes yours. You take it as you step out in faith and walk it out.
You can't sit back here and say, well, God, I just, I don't know what you, I don't know. I mean, I feel this, but you know, God, I don't want to let go of this, and I want that, but I really like this, but I'm not satisfied, and I'm not happy, and I feel this, but I'm getting, you know.
Taking Steps of Faith
Is there anybody in the building in that place right now in your life? And here's the thing. You don't have to jump off the cliff. You can find out if you're going in the right direction. You take a step, and you see what God does.
And you know, listen, if you step into a snake pit, step back. But the only way you're going to find out is to step out and find out.
From Small to Sudden
See, I started my little meetings, one in North St. Louis, East St. Louis, South St. Louis, West St. Louis, and I had a few people come. And God started supporting us. And then we went on, we were on one radio station, and we went on a package of eight radio stations. I think probably four of them weren't any good, but some of them were pretty good.
And then gradually, we started going to places that we could drive to and having little meetings. Little, little. Everything stayed little. I hate the word little. And it was little for so long. But then suddenly, when God's time came, come on, if you're faithful over the little things, and you're faithful for a long, long, long, long, long, long time, suddenly.
Living with Expectation
And you never know, it could be today. I don't know, some of you ladies that have been wanting to get married so bad. I mean, your future could be sitting in the aisle with you today. You never know, you better look down the row and see what's going on down there.
Come on, what a great place to meet somebody. We're going to believe that everybody in here is good. Born again, spirit-filled, God-fearing people. I'm just saying that we need to live with enthusiasm and excitement, expecting something good to happen all the time. Because suddenly...
Fear Not—Keep Moving
And you've got stories of your own. These are my stories. But I want you to know that the word of God works. And when you're in trouble, it will encourage you. When you don't have direction, it will give you direction. And I encourage you to take steps of faith that God leads you to take.
And don't be afraid to let go of something and be in a position for a while where you really don't understand what's going on. Just keep trusting God. And one step at a time. One step at a time. One step at a time. Oop, that didn't work. You step back. Right? Step again.
Overcoming Fear
Well, I just don't know what God wants me to do. You know what? Some of you will never, ever, ever find out if you don't start stepping into a few things and seeing what God anoints and what fits in your life. Amen?
All right, now. Then we have this fear thing to deal with. And boy, that's something that we all got to settle somewhere along the line or we're going to always be in trouble.
Do It Afraid
So, God told Joshua, every place on which the sole of your foot shall tread that have already given unto you. And then in the same chapter, He tells him about three different times, fear not, fear not, fear not. Joshua 1:9, have not I commanded you, be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Now, let's talk about fear for a minute. See, I kept waiting to not feel fear. Well, if I just wasn't afraid, I could do that. If I just didn't feel this fear, I could do that. And boy, did God ever give me a revelation out of that verse. Man, I love that verse.
Courage in Fear's Presence
Because actually, when God said to him, fear not, He was actually telling him, fear is going to present itself to you and try to stop you. It's going to come. I've heard, I don't know for sure if it's accurate, I haven't taken the time to count, but that there are 365 fear nots in the Bible. One for every day of the year.
Fear is a thief. And its whole goal is to keep you from moving forward. Did you hear me? Fear wants to freeze you in place and make you afraid to step out into anything, always make you afraid that you're wrong, always make you feel like that you can't even make a decision because now you're afraid that you might be wrong.
Forward Motion Despite Fear
And so, I heard a story about a woman. And because God was trying to teach me this, this is the way God works in our life. He gave me different revelation on this scripture at the same time. And the story that I heard about the woman was this. There was a woman who had lived all of her life in fear. She wouldn't drive because of fear. She wouldn't go out at night because of fear. Just fear just controlled her life.
And so, she was a believer. She was talking to a friend who was a believer. And she said, oh, I just don't know what to do. I'm so afraid. Fear is stealing my life. I don't do this because of fear. I don't do that because of fear. And her friend just looked at her and just said, well, why don't you just do it afraid?
Well, when I saw that, it was like this revelation just washed over me that fear is a feeling that the enemy brings to us. It's an evil spirit. God did not give us a spirit of fear. But He gave us power, love, and a calm and a sound mind.
So, the devil brings fear for the sole purpose of trying to stop us from going forward. So, you can do it afraid. The Bible doesn't say that you can't shake, that you can't sweat, that you can't tremble. It just says fear not. And fear not means to keep moving when you feel fear. Courage is forward motion in the presence of fear.