Joyce Meyer - God, What Do You Want Me To Do?

Father, we thank you for the word today, your word is so amazing. And Psalm 107:20 says that, "You send your word and you heal them and deliver them from destruction". And so, while the word is being preached today, I pray that people feel hungry to want to make you their Lord. And I pray that people that are depressed, that that depression would lift off of them. And if there's any here that are addicted to some kind of substance abuse, your power is in your word to break bondages off of people. And I pray that anybody who's sick today or has pain in their body, that while the word goes forth, they will experience your healing power. We ask it in Jesus' name, amen, amen.

I continue to be amazed at how much is in just one chapter of the Bible. But if we just read through it, many times we miss a lot of what's there. And so, today, I want to share with you this morning out of John chapter 21. Actually, the title of this message today is "God, what do you want me to do"? Now, sometimes we say that in frustration, like, "Well, I've done everything I know to do and nothing's working. God, what do you want me to do"? But I'm looking at a more sincere question, like, "God, what do you want me to do"? I can say it again if you don't all like it. God, what do you want me to do? You know, sometimes when I'm in the middle of something, if I just stop and say, "Okay, God, I'm feeling really frustrated, I've lost my peace here. What do you want me to do"? So often I'll just hear him say, "Just leave it alone. This is not something you can do anything about. Just let me take care of this".

You know, there's so many things in our lives that God wants to take care of. But he won't unless we let them go. Cast your care on the Lord and he will care for you. First, we have to stop trying to do everything, showing that we trust God to do it. Verse 15, "When they had eaten," now you don't want to miss this next part, "Jesus said to Peter, 'Peter, do you love me'"? There's a whole bunch of stuff here in the Amplified translation that I won't read 'cause he says the exact same thing three times. "Peter, do you love me"? "Yes Lord, you know that I love you". "Well, feed my sheep. Peter, do you love me"? "Yes Lord, you know that I love you". "Feed my lambs. Peter, do you love me"?

Now, it's beginning to grieve Peter a little bit that the Lord keeps asking him the same thing, same thing, the same thing. But I just think that maybe since this is the message that God gave me for today, I think just maybe he wants to ask us that today. So, just give me a little bit of liberty here and let me just say, church, do you love Jesus? Okay. Now, you know what I believe the translation of that would be? Instead of, "Feed my lambs," I'd say it a little bit different: "Well, if you love me, help somebody". "Church, do you love me? Well, then help somebody. Come on, church, do you love me? Then help somebody".

Let me just put a question out this morning to myself as well as you. What are you doing to make anybody else's life better? A little quiet in here. I mean, we need to ask ourselves that. What are we doing? Are we just sitting in church week after week, and we think because we get a little checkMark on our God calendar because we've got good church attendance? No, what are you doing? What are you doing to help somebody? And you know what? Don't spend your life sitting out there wishing you were up here. "Well, I just want to be in ministry". You are in ministry. Every single one of you, there is not one left out, every single one of you is in ministry. And most of the ministry that's needed in the world will never take place from a platform. Our whole job is to train you up that you might go out and do the work of the ministry.

God showed me this one time a long time ago, he said, "I have my people positioned everywhere". I mean, we're everywhere. You're in schools, every company. The only problem is we're too quiet. We're too mousy. We're too afraid of what everybody's going to think. And I'm not suggesting you get out in the world and be obnoxious. But I'll tell you the truth, if we would just get out in the world that is full of darkness and turn the lights on. And I'll tell you what, you don't need to quote scriptures to your co-workers, you need to help them. And the one that you dislike the most that has been the absolute meanest to you: when you hear that their car is broken down and they're going to have trouble getting to work, you're the one that needs to go offer to go out of your way to go pick them up and bring them because they're going to wonder how in the world that you can do that after the way they've treated you.

"Church, do you love me"? Then it's got to be more than talk. How about this? I'll give you a goal. Every day, I mean, this is simple, anybody can do 'cause you don't need any money to do this, anybody can do this. Every day, have a goal to at least make three people smile. Go ahead, I just dare you, just say something nice to somebody today and make them smile. If you hear somebody has a need, don't pray for God to meet it. Hey listen, God doesn't cut me any slack. And I remember when he said to me, "Will you stop asking me to do things for people that you could easily do and just don't want to"? We don't want to give them our $100, we'd rather God do something for them. Are you with me today? Hey, love cost Jesus his life.

The reason why we don't see more love is, I'll be honest with you, it's expensive. Not just in money, but in time and effort and sacrifice. Every, you know, we just, I mean, flesh is innately selfish. It's inbred into us, and if you don't believe that, you just watch a baby, it does not take very long at all and they know how to have a big fit every time they don't get everything just the way they want it. Amen? Okay, verse 18. Now, here comes the kinda not so good news. "Yes Lord, I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you". Okay, well then I got something I need to tell you. "When you were young," boys, children, "You girded yourself and you put on your own belt or girdle and you walked about wherever you pleased to go".

You know, in the baby stage of Christianity, you just pretty much do whatever you want to, and God just helps you, and you're just blessed, and everything's good. But it'll change. The time's going to come when God's going to say to you, "It's time for a transition". And maybe some of you are at that point now in your life where you're fighting that transition, and that's why you're not happy. He said, "But when you grow old," and that's not talking about numbers of years you've been alive, it's talking about spiritual maturity. "When you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will put a girdle around you and carry you where you do not wish to go".

These people back here in the choir, they get this. I guess the more spiritual people are back here in the choir, I don't know. Is this half of the choir as good as this half? It's not God's number one goal in life to keep us comfortable all the time. We're supposed to be obedient whether it's convenient or inconvenient, in season or out. God, what do you want me to do today? What do you need? What can I do for you today? Who can I bless today? Let's change the way we pray just a little bit. When you were young, you did whatever you wanted to.

I was just spent a week with my grandkids, the three smallest ones. And one of them is 3 years old and one's 7 and one's 9. And they all play a lot, but you can kind of see the progression. I mean, the 3-year-old, that's all he wants to do, play. "What are you going to do today, parker"? "Play. Play". But you know, that has to change as you grow up. Then we have to be responsible. And there needs to come a transition where it's not just every day God hears my prayer list of things you have to do for me today to just keep a smile on my face. "Oh God, if you don't do this, I don't think I can take it anymore. You don't do this God, I just don't think I can hang on". Come on, we're going to do a transition and we're going to say, "God, what can I do for you today? How can I bless you today"? Verse 19, "And he said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God. And after this, he just simply said to him, 'follow me'".

Now, this next part just is so ridiculously funny. After this conversation that Jesus has had with Peter, "Do you love me"? "Yes, I love you". "Feed my sheep. Do you love me? Do you love me? Okay, you've been used to doing what you want to do, now there's going to be a change. You're not going to like everything that goes on in your life". And look at what he says. "But Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved," remember him? John who wrote the book, "Following the one who had leaned back on his breast at supper and had said, 'Lord, who is it that's going to betray you'? And when Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, 'Lord, what's going to happen to this man'"? I mean, the humor in that is just... Don't you love this chapter in the Bible? How many of you are surprised there's that many lessons in this one chapter, John 21? It's just amazing.

You know, we just need to mind our own business. How hard is it when you're suffering and somebody else you know, maybe somebody you're not even really that fond of, is just being blessed, blessed, blessed? Whoo, that's hard. Man, that is hard. So, Peter hears everything he's going to go through, and he says, "Well, what's going to happen to him"? Somehow, if we're suffering, it seems to make us feel better if everybody else is suffering too. But I'm just going to throw something out to you that Dave and I have learned over the years, and this is probably one of the hardest things in the world to do.

I don't think that any of us can be truly blessed in our lives until we can be happy for other people who are being blessed... Wait a minute, I'm not done, don't clap yet. Until we can be truly happy for other people that are being blessed while we're not yet. And you know the only way that happens is if we really believe that God knows what he's doing, and that he has a purpose for everything that he does. And if you're getting something and I'm not getting it, it's not because God is holding out on me. It's because he knows something about me and about my life that I don't know, and he wants us to trust him that his timing is perfect in our lives. Don't you love that?

"What about this man? What's going to happen to him"? We're always so concerned about what's going to happen to somebody else. Jesus said to him, "If I want him to stay and (survive and live) until I come back, what is that to you? What concern is that of yours? You follow me". Do you know what the message is today? You don't need to be concerned about anybody else and neither do i. We're only going to have to answer for one person when this is all over, and it's us.

And Jesus is just saying, "Get your eyes off everybody else and you follow me. That's all you need to be concerned about is you follow me". "So word went out among the brethren that this disciple was not going to die". Here you go, they didn't get it, so they started a rumor. How many times do we not understand what's going on? So we start a rumor, so now this rumor's going all over the place. "Well, John's never gonna die, what's that"? Verse 25 is beautiful, "And there were also many other things which Jesus did. If they should be all recorded one by one in detail, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain and (have room for) all the books that would have to be written". Come on, give God a praise this morning. Wow.

Now, just a moment here. You know, if you've not received Christ as your Savior, I really don't know what you're waiting for. Maybe you have the mistaken idea that if you become a real seriously committed Christian, that means you're never going to get to do the things you want to do and you won't get to have any fun anymore. Well, hello, are you having fun? I mean, is a hangover fun? Is hating people fun? No. I'm not going to tell you that if you receive Christ that everything in your life's going to be easy. I'm not going to tell you that you'll never have to go through anything. But I will tell you this, you'll never have to go through it alone.

You know, maybe you came in here one and you'd like to go out two. You'd like to be able to say, "There's two of us. Christ is in me and I'm in him". Becoming a Christian is not about joining a church and doing a few good works. It's about inviting Jesus to come in and live inside of you. I've been reading scriptures about the Holy Spirit. I love to read those scriptures about how Jesus said, "When I go away, I'm going to send you another comforter". A helper, a strengthener, an intercessor, an advocate, a teacher. What a wonderful gift we have in the Holy Spirit. He lives in us. You know, you never even have to make a decision by yourself 'cause you've always got the peace of God to guide you to say yes or no.

So, maybe you're here today and you've never asked Jesus to come into your heart. Maybe you're backslidden, you've tried to serve God and you've fallen back into sin, and how'd you get here today? I don't know, a friend brought you. You came in desperation, you thought you're going to see Joel and you got stuck with me, I don't know. Or maybe you even heard I was gonna be here and you came for that. But the whole point is, is whatever you think you came for, God had another reason. Or maybe you're here today and you say, "I just don't know. I don't know about this born again thing. I mean, I go to church". No, you need to know. So, if you're here today and you say, "I want you to pray with me. I want to know that I'm born again. I want to surrender". This is not about you just getting Jesus, it's about you giving yourself to him.

See, there's surrender here. You have to be repentant. You need to be willing to turn away from sin and turn toward God. If that's you today and you want us to pray with you, would you just slip your hand up nice and high and let me see where you're at? Oh, I love that, amen. Come on now, anybody else? Awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Okay, now look, I'm going to ask you to do something, and you know, sometimes people don't like it 'cause they think they're going to be embarrassed, but in a minute, I'm going to ask you to stand up if you really mean business. And it's not to embarrass you, but here's the thing. If you won't take a stand in here in this building today, you will not go out in the world and take a stand for Christ. You will not. So, if you meant it and you're really ready to surrender your life to Christ, I want you to stand up right by your seat right now. We're not going to ask you to come down, just stand up right where you're at. Come on, all over the place just stand up. Amen.

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Okay, now listen to me just real quickly. Remain standing, the ushers are going to be giving you a book, something to help you in your new life with Christ. But if you're sitting there thinking, "I wish I would've gotten up," you know what? We're going to give you just another opportunity. If you wish you would've and you didn't, how about right now? Right now. All right, let's all pray with them. And you know what? If you see somebody standing around you, why don't you be a sweet Christian and just reach out and hold their hand, or touch their shoulder, or just let them know that you love them. Let's all pray this together nice and loud.

Father God, I love you. Jesus, I believe that you died for me. You paid for my sin. You took my place, you took my punishment. I'm sorry for the way I've lived. I repent. I turn away from sin and I turn toward you. I receive you into my life today to be my Savior, to be my Lord. And I give myself to you. Take me just the way I am. Now, make me what you want me to be. I believe I'm saved, I'm on my way to heaven, and I want to enjoy the journey. Thank you for loving me. Amen.