Joyce Meyer - Overcoming Insecurity (08/18/2019)
This sermon from Hebrews 5:13 and Philippians 2:12-13 challenges believers to move beyond spiritual immaturity. It contrasts the "milk" of comforting, basic teachings with the "meat" of deeper doctrine, emphasizing that spiritual growth requires personal effort and dying to self. The conclusion is that through the "seed" of God's nature planted within us, we are equipped and called to produce godly character, moving from rule-based religion to a intimate, grace-filled relationship with Christ.
The Problem with Spiritual Milk
Hebrews 5:13 states, "For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness." Come on, you see that? For everybody who continues to feed on milk. What's the milk of the Word? "You're wonderful. I love you. God's got a good plan for your life. It's okay. You're the best thing on the planet. Don't worry about anything. I'll take care of everything." That's the milk. Baby bottles. You've got to smash up all that baby food before you give it to them. They can't handle hunks of anything. But as most of you know, I don't do dessert very well. We a long time ago got past the smashed bananas and peaches. We're handing out meat here. Amen? Grow up. Get over yourself. Get with the program.
Know who you are in Christ. Stand up to the devil. Don't let what people think of you rule your life. Don't spend your life bitter and resentful at somebody who's out having a good time and doesn't even care that you're mad. Stop living according to how you feel. Stop living off the top of your brain. Get your mind renewed. Dig down deep and study the Word of God for yourself. Don't be a Christian who just sits in a pew and wants somebody to spoon-feed it to you all the time. I'm going to talk to these people. They're happier about what I'm saying than you are. Isn't it true?
Taking Responsibility for Your Growth
I've had people tell me, "When I first started trying to listen to you, I could only take one side of what..." This was back when we used cassette tapes. You know how you'd get to the end, you'd have to turn it over. I remember a lady telling me, she said when she first started trying to listen, she could only do one side at a time. Because by the time she got to the end of the first side, she was so mad at me, she just wanted to wring my neck. She said she'd wait a few days and come back and listen to side two. But see, we have to have it straight. We can't dance around it all of our lives. Amen? Sooner or later, each one of us has to take responsibility and just get over our darling little selves.
You know, God expects a lot out of us, but the good news is He never expects us to produce something that He doesn't give us first. That's wonderful. He gives me mercy, then He says, "Be merciful." He loves me, then He says, "Love other people." He forgives me, then He says, "Forgive other people." He makes me right with Him, then He says, "Now act right." Isn't that wonderful? God never asks you to do anything that He doesn't equip you to be able to do. So everybody say, "I've got what it takes." And you do. You do.
Working Out What God Works In
The Bible says in Philippians 2:12-13 to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. I'm not going to take the time to turn there because I want to make sure I have time to get into some of these other things that I want to share. But Paul talks about growing and making progress, and he's encouraging the Christians there at Philippi to do what he calls "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Now, if you don't understand many things about the Bible, you could take that wrong. We already know from Ephesians 2:8-9 that we don't work for our salvation.
We are not saved because of any work that we do, but only by the grace and the mercy of God. So how then can we work out our salvation? Well, what he's talking about is that when we're born again, God does something in us, deep down in our spirit man. God plants a seed of everything that He is. And for the rest of our life, until we take our last breath on this earth, our job is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to let this great gift of God grow and produce so much fruit that finally everybody can see it coming through our lives.
The Seed of God Within You
It's no longer just this little secret thing: "I'm saved. I'm going to heaven when I die. But nobody's going to know it while I'm here." First John 3:9. Now, you just may have to run the building after you see this. I just don't know if you can take it or not. Now, here I have some seeds. This is a peach seed. This is an avocado seed. How many of you know that if I plant a peach seed, I'm not going to get an avocado? Aren't we smart? Just look at that, how smart you are. And if I plant an avocado seed, I'm not going to get a peach.
Now, actually, inside this peach seed is a peach tree. The embryo of a peach tree is in this seed. But as long as it's just like this, it will never produce anything. So the Bible says, "Unless the seed dies, it abides alone. But if it dies, it will bear much fruit." Now, the dying happens; this ceases to be a seed after it is buried. It gets buried in the ground, and the heat from the ground, the pressure from the ground, the darkness of the ground, will cause this to break open. The heat, the pressure, the darkness—come on—will cause this to break open. One more time, I'll see if you get it.
The Purpose of Pressure and Darkness
The wilderness, the furnace, the heat, the darkness from being buried. Come on, now. The dirt that gets shoveled on top of us—oh, my goodness—will eventually cause this to break open. And it will cease to be what it is now. Little roots will start to come. And it takes time, time, time, time, time. Roots, roots, roots, roots. Those roots dig into that ground all around. And then all of a sudden, out through the top, you get a sprout! Oh my gosh! All right, are you ready for this? First John 3:9: "No one born of God deliberately, knowingly, and habitually practices sin."
Now, it does not say that we never sin. It says that if you're born of God, if you're born again, then you cannot deliberately, knowingly, and habitually sin. I used to habitually sin, and every once in a while I would slip up and do something right. But now that I've been born again, I habitually do what's right, but sometimes I unknowingly slip up and do what's wrong. And I need forgiveness, and thank God I can always get it. And I believe that this time next year I will be doing less wrong than I do right now. But I'll still be doing enough wrong that I'll still need Jesus. Come on now.
Producing Godly Character from the Inside
Alright, stick with me. "No one born of God can deliberately, knowingly, and habitually sin because God's nature abides in him." Now watch this. "His principle of life, the divine sperm, the seed of God." Jesus is called the Seed. Capital T, capital S, The Seed of God abides in him. And when a seed of God abides in you, sooner or later, you've got to produce God in your life. You've got to produce godly character. But just like this seed has to die, the Bible says that we have to die to self.
We have to get rooted in God's love. We've got to get rooted in faith. We have to get rooted in Christ. We have to get rooted in knowing who we are. We have to get rooted in righteousness. This can't be some little pasty thought: "Oh, Joy said we're right with God through Christ. Praise the Lord. I hope she talks about that again sometime on her TV program. I really like it when she talks about that. It makes me feel good." No, you sweet little thing, let me tell you something. If you're insecure and you don't know who you are and you don't have any confidence, then you need to dig deeper.
Nobody Can Have Your Victory For You
You need to say, "I heard that woman say something, and when she did, something went off on the inside of me. But I've got to study this more. I've got to dig it out and I've got to study it and I've got to read and I've got to pray and I've got to learn how to stand up and be the person God wants me to be." Nobody can have your victory for you. You've got to have it for yourself. But when you have your victory, nobody's going to do your rejoicing either. Oh, I wish that I could get across to you how different I am than when I started.
And how many millions of times I wanted to quit and give up. You don't know what I would have given to have had somebody that could tell me what I'm telling you today. I didn't have anybody to tell me. I finally dug it out through books and the Bible and letting God deal with me and deal with me in a million trips around the mountain and living in the desert. The divine sperm of God. How much plainer can you be? When you're born again, here's what happens. The seed of God is planted in the womb of your spirit. Oh, my gosh. And literally, everybody, man or woman, is pregnant with a seed of everything that God is.
The Labor Before the Delivery
Just like when a husband's seed is planted in the womb of his wife, there's a seed there of what those two parents are. And if that seed is nurtured and taken care of, eventually, she'll give birth. But as we all know, ladies, there's a little pain between the seed and the birth. Amen? There's a little thing called labor before delivery. They call it labor and delivery. Amen? Maybe some of you are in that pushing stage right now. Come on. You know, when you can just barely see the little fuzzy hair at the top of the baby's head and you think, "This is going to kill me."
I can promise you I will not make it through this. God! And then some doctor who's never had a baby in his life says to you, "Push!" Well, you know, really, that's what I'm doing today. I'm saying, "Push! Push!" And let's give birth to some more godly behavior. Let's give birth to some more love, some more righteousness, some more peace, some more joy. Let's show the world what it really means to be a child of God. Not everybody going around saying, "I'm insecure. And I'm just so afraid. And I'm so sick and tired of this. I just don't know how much longer I can hang on. God, if I don't have an answer by tomorrow, I just think it's going to be all over for me."
You Have Everything You Need Inside
Now, push! The seed of God is in you. How can you hang your head down and act like it's the end of the world if you don't get what you want the minute that you want it? The seed of God is in you. You need to know who you are: the righteousness of God in Christ. Everything that you will ever need to be victorious is already in you. Christ in me, the hope of glory! Everybody yell, "He's in me! He's in me!" I love that 1 John 3:9. Oh my goodness. The seed of God. The Bible says that we must be washed in the water of the word.
When a seed is planted in the ground it has to be watered, watered, watered. This is the water of the word according to Paul. Don't you think it's interesting that he calls it the water of the word? Why? Because it's watering the seed of God. You see, if I wanted this to become an avocado I couldn't just stick it in the ground. I'd have to water it, wouldn't I? Well, the seed of God is on the inside of us but we have to water it. We have to water it. You're here today getting watered. Monday morning you turn my program on, you're going to get watered. Sunday when you go to church, you're going to get watered.
Transformed from Glory to Glory
Somebody says, "Where are you going?" "I'm going to get watered. Getting a little dry." Second Corinthians 3:18. Now, where the Spirit of the Lord is, verse 17, "there is liberty." Not legalism. Liberty. And that's not the freedom to sin. It's the freedom not to have to. Whoa, Jesus. Verse 18: "And all of us, as with unveiled face..." Now, have you ever wondered what in the world that means? "And all of us, as with unveiled face, because we continue to behold in the word of God as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into his very own image from one degree of glory to another."
So, here's the bottom line. This shows me Jesus. As long as I'm looking in here, it's like a mirror. And I see Christ. And if I water this seed with this word, then I will be transformed. Not conformed—that's from the outside in. Transformed is from the inside out. I'll be transformed into his image. Into his image. In little tiny degrees of growth and glory. It doesn't happen all at once. And you've got to learn how to enjoy the glory you're in and not worry about getting into somebody else's glory. Amen.
Enjoy Your Current Degree of Glory
If you're doing five minutes of glorious prayer every morning, then don't you let Sister Super Christian condemn you. You say, "This is the glory I'm in right now, and thank you, I'm going to enjoy my glory." Amen. Not where I need to be, thank God. I'm not where I used to be. I'm okay, and I'm on my way. I'm going to enjoy the journey. Amen. Now, what about this unveiled face thing? "And all of us with unveiled face, because we continue to behold in the word of God the glory of God." Okay, so there's a difference between looking at this with a veiled face and an unveiled face. Joyce, what are you talking about?
Lifting the Veil of the Law
Okay. Moses, when he came down from Mount Sinai from getting the law, had so much glory shining on his face that they had to put a veil over his face to even be able to look at him. Now, if the law gives that much glory, how much glory should there be from grace without the law? So here's what he's saying. And, you know, Paul is talking to Corinthians who had lived under the law. They knew all about the veil, and really what that veil means is you're getting a shadow of what God is like, but you're really not seeing God.
You can't really see God through the law. You have to see him through Christ, which is his gift of grace. So he's telling us that we have to die to the law and all of its demands, and we have to come to Christ who tells us, "I will help you be what I want you to be. I don't just demand that you be something as a legalistic thing, but I'll help you by getting in you, by planting a seed of everything I want you to be in you, and then I'll help you grow." But we have to stop looking at everything we see like a new rule and a regulation. We have to come with unveiled face.
Are You Ready to Get Married to Christ?
Let me give you an example. Sometimes I'll have a bride and a groom come out in full uniform: white dress, tuxedo, the whole thing, and the bride's got her veil on. And I do them. "I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride." Well, that represents intimacy with Christ. Kiss the bride. Intimacy with Christ. Well, what if the bride refuses to take her veil off? Yeah, you're not with me, are you? I got a few people like... What if she refuses to take her veil off? No, no, no, no. It's like, if we're refusing to let go of the law, the rules, and the regulations to be led by the Spirit, it's a problem.
If we're refusing to let go of what we think we can do and totally depend on what Christ has done, then it's equivalent to a bride who refuses to take the veil off so they can never have any intimacy. What happens the moment that the preacher says, "I now pronounce you man and wife?" The veil is lifted. Oh, come on. Do you want to just keep dating Jesus all your life? Are you ready to get married? Oh, now, come on. I can go further with this. You can't even, you're not even legally supposed to have babies till you get married.
Living in Grace, Not Under Law
So God can't produce any good fruit through you, His babies, until you're married to Him. Get that veil of the law off. Start learning how to be led by the Holy Spirit. Well, you might as well get up and shout, I'm done. Come on. I think I've gone too far now. How many of you understand what I'm saying here today? It's time to say, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ. He loves me. I don't live under the law, but I live under grace. I get up every day and do the best I can. And even then, I make mistakes. But guess what? God forgives me."
We're married. We're in relationship. Amen? I'm not where I need to be, but thank God, I'm not where I used to be. I'm okay, and I'm on my way. Come on, give God a big praise.