Joyce Meyer - Blessed, Broken and Given
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I'm gonna start by reading you a story. The title of the message today might sound a little odd to you. It's called: Blessed, broken and given. I'm gonna explain that in just a minute, but let me start with this story. It's one of my favorite stories about walking in love.
"A little boy about 10 years old was standing in front of a shoe store and he was barefoot. He was peering through the window and shivering with cold. A lady approached the boy and said, 'little fella, why are you looking so earnestly in the window?' and he said, 'well, ma'am, I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes.' the lady took the little boy by the hand, went into the store, asked the clerk to get her a half a dozen pair of socks for the boy. She then asked for a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
She took the little fella to the back part of the store, removed her gloves, knelt down and washed his feet and dried them with a towel. By the time the clerk had returned with the socks, she placed a pair on his feet and then brought him also a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and as she turned to go she said, 'no doubt, my little fella, you feel more comfortable now.' The astonished lad caught the lady by the hand and looking up in her face with tears in his eyes he asked her this question, 'ma'am, are you God's wife?'"
She took the little fella to the back part of the store, removed her gloves, knelt down and washed his feet and dried them with a towel. By the time the clerk had returned with the socks, she placed a pair on his feet and then brought him also a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and as she turned to go she said, 'no doubt, my little fella, you feel more comfortable now.' The astonished lad caught the lady by the hand and looking up in her face with tears in his eyes he asked her this question, 'ma'am, are you God's wife?'"
He assumed if she was showing him that kind of love that she must at least be related to God. And so I think we get the point. Now, Matthew 26:26 is a scripture that we're familiar with because of its teaching on communion, and it simply says that "Jesus took the bread, he blessed it, he broke it and he gave it to them. He blessed it, he broke it, and he gave it to them".
And from this, God has put a teaching in my heart that he wants to bless us, we know that. The Bible tells us over and over that God wants to bless us. I know that he wants to give us as a blessing to the world because he told Abraham, "I will bless you and I will make you a blessing". But that can't happen without the brokennesses that the Bible teaches us about. Now this is a word that can be frightening to people because we don't want to think about any breaking in our life or even the thought that God would work in our lives to bring brokennesses to us.
So let me explain to you what I mean. It's not a bad thing at all. We all have good things in us if we're born again. I've been saying that all weekend because I want you to know that you have what it takes to walk in love. You don't even really have to pray for love. If you have Christ, you have love living on the inside of you. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
You don't have to pray for love. We need to pray to walk in love, and we need to pray, if you're bold enough, for God to do whatever he needs to do in our lives, whatever is in my flesh that's standing in his way, any disobedience, any stubbornness, any pride. Anything that's standing in my way that God will deal with that in such a way that it no longer hinders me or him, and he can do what he wants to in my life.
Don't just pray for God to bless you. Pray for God to use you. I'm gonna go talk to these people over here. You're not very excited. Maybe I'll just talk to the people up in the balcony so they don't feel ignored. Amen. Don't just pray for God to bless you and fix all your problems. Pray for God to use you.
I even pray this sometimes, "God, I don't care if you have to tie me to the altar, do not let me get away until you accomplish in me what you want to accomplish". Amen? Being used by God sounds like a lot of fun, but there is a work that has to take place in us in order for that to happen.
Let me explain. You are a spirit, you have a soul, you live in a body. We're a tri-part being. When we're born again, the Holy Spirit comes and lives in our spirit, brings the Fruit of the Spirit, the love of God is in there. You're gonna see in a little bit that the whole nature of God comes to live in us in seed form when we're born again.
Well, God wants what's in us to mature and grow up and work through us so other people can see Christ through us. That's our goal, for people to see Jesus through us, okay? But we have something that the Bible calls the flesh which is our soul and our body. It's a combination of your soul and your body. Your soul is your mind, your will and your emotions.
So just to keep this as simple as I can, in order for the good stuff in me to get out here where people can enjoy it and use it and I can be a witness to other people, there has to come a crucifixion of the flesh or a brokennesses in my life where my life is no longer all about me, but I have become pliable and moldable in the hands of God that no matter what direction I'm going in, if God touches me to do something else, I'm willing to lay aside my plan and do what he wants.
Where I know that everything I have has been given to me by God and I don't cling to my possessions, but if there's something that I have that somebody else needs, then I'm willing to let go of that and use it in God's service. We're not owners, we're stewards. Did you hear me? We are not owners. The Bible never tells us we're owners. We are stewards of God. He's trusting us with his possessions, with his power, with his name.
We're his witnesses, and we have to get it through our heads that although God wants us to enjoy our life and he arranges for that, we are not here on this planet just for us. Amen?
And especially in the times that we're living in now. My goodness, the world needs help. And it's fine for us to pray for God to do something and for a revival to come, but we all have to do our part. God works in partnership with his people and more than ever, we need to let the light shine. And the only way that I know how to do that is to put on the armor of light which is love.
That's what the Bible calls love, the armor of light. We need to be a light in dark places. In Romans chapter 8, verse 29, the Bible talks about this being molded into the image of Jesus Christ. "For those whom he foreknew of whom he was aware and loved beforehand, he also destined from the beginning foreordaining them to be molded into the image of his son [and to share inwardly his likeness]".
Now you know people have all kinds of ideas and thoughts about predestination and, you know, pre-ordination and things like that. And I'll just tell you what I feel like it means. When you see a scripture that says we are preordained or God is predestined, I think that what that means is that's what God's decided. He's made arrangements for that for anybody who will walk in it.
But when we have a promise from God, it's never something that is a for certain going to happen without somebody on the other end doing their part. You know, God has promised us many wonderful things, but I do have to believe them. I have to put my faith in him and until I put my faith in him, then those things are not released in my life.