Joyce Meyer - How Faith Works? (08/22/2019)
Joyce Meyer dives into how everything from God arrives by grace through faith, not our own merits, and reminds us that we've all got a measure of faith ready to use in every part of life. Drawing from Philemon, she breaks down faith's "laws" like bold expectation, pleasing God only through faith, and anchoring it all in His Word and promises. She urges ditching victim mindsets, praying with real belief, and making choices in faith to avoid sin and live amazingly.
Salvation and Blessings: By Grace Through Faith
"By grace are you saved through faith. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast". By grace, through faith. Everything that we receive from God comes to us the same way. By grace, through faith. Our faith in God or our faith in his promises is not what buys the blessing of God. It's only the hand that receives it. It's God's grace and his grace alone that provides his goodness in our life. None of us could ever be good enough to deserve anything that God does for us. And that doesn't need to make us feel down about ourselves. It needs to make us amazed at God's goodness. So, by grace, through faith.
Everyone Has Faith – It's a Gift
Well, you say, I wish I had some faith. Well, the truth is, unto every man is given the measure of faith. Romans chapter 12. Every man, every woman, every boy and girl has faith. You have faith. You have enough faith to do whatever it is you're supposed to be doing in life at any given time. Say, I have faith. I have faith. Now, your faith may seem weak because perhaps you haven't used it much. Or maybe you're only using your faith in certain areas. For a long time, the faith that I had in God, I only exercised it in the area of having my sins forgiven and hoping to go to heaven someday. I didn't know that I could use my faith in other areas of my life.
Ask God Boldly for Anything
You have not because you ask not. If you ask in faith, you will receive. And let me just say right now that you can ask God for anything and everything. You cannot ask God for too much. You say, well, what if I ask for the wrong thing? Well, you won't get it. So, you know, we don't need to be concerned. Oh, well, what if I'm... What if I'm... What if I shouldn't be asking God for that? Well, then He just won't give it to you. You know, there are certain things that the Bible tells us that we can ask for, but there's a whole lot of areas in life that are just unique and specific and particular to our own life. The Bible doesn't tell you who to marry. It doesn't tell you when you can buy a new car. But it does give us wisdom. And so if we follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we follow wisdom, and we always lean on God and ask Him to help us, we can begin to have absolutely amazing lives.
Using Faith to Overcome Your Past
You see, I didn't know that I could use my faith to overcome my past. I just thought I was stuck with that. Well, I was an abuse victim. Well, I would never call myself an abuse victim now. Never. You could never get me to say that I am an abuse victim because I am not an abuse victim. I am a new creature in Christ, and I'm walking in victory. And no matter what's happened to you, I want to encourage you, get rid of any kind of victim mentality that you might have. We can't still be a victim and be new creatures in Christ. So you have faith. What we've done in this ministry has all been done by faith. You really don't have any idea in the natural how unqualified I am to do this. It's really just almost hysterically, ridiculously funny. And so therefore, I know that I know that I know that I know that it's God.
God Chooses the Weak to Confound the Wise
That's why in 1 Corinthians 1 it says that God purposely chooses the weak and the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. He wants the world to look and say, there is no way. No way. There is no way you could do that. And then he wants the world to watch it happen through you. Amen? So then only God can get the credit. Wonder how many people have ever looked at you and thought, there is no way you could ever change. There is no way that you could ever do that. But through putting your faith in God, you're doing it. Well, I really didn't have any plans to preach a message on faith this weekend. Actually, I just put this together one day a couple weeks ago sitting in my chair because I was reading the one chapter which is the whole book of Philemon. And I came to verse 22 and something just kind of went off in me and then I just thought, I'm just going to do a little message on just how faith works.
Understanding the Laws of Faith
Because there are what we might rightfully call some laws of faith. And a law is something that works that way every time. Like gravity is called a law, the law of gravity. Which means that every time, not sometimes, but every time I throw something up in the air, it's going to come down. And so there are certain laws to faith. And what I mean by that is there are certain ways that faith will work and certain ways that faith won't work. And so, since you have faith... Say, I have faith. And since you're not going to get anything from God unless you use your faith, I think it would be very good to take a little time this morning just to see if we're doing what we should be doing with our faith and if we're using that faith in a way that's actually making it productive and workable. Does that sound good to anybody? Okay.
Paul's Letter to Philemon: Faith in Action
Now, let's just read Philemon 1 verse 22. Paul is writing to Philemon about a slave that he had had named Onesimus and he had actually run away from Philemon and Paul got hold of him and he became a spiritual son of Paul's and now Paul was going to send him back to Philemon and he wanted to make sure that Philemon would receive him graciously and not punish him because he had run away. So, that's what most of the rest of it is about. But then Paul says, and by the way, and this is very important, Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter. In prison and had no idea when he was going to get out. But he writes to Philemon and verse 22, he says, At the same time, prepare a guest room in expectation of extending your hospitality to me. For I am hoping through your prayers to be granted the gracious privilege of coming to you.
Faith in the Power of Prayer
So, boy, we see something really important here. First of all, he says, now, I have my faith out that if you'll pray for me, that I'm going to get out of here and be able to come and visit you. So, he had faith in the power of prayer. And he believed that when he prayed or if others would pray for him, that that would open the door for his release from prison. Don't pray if you're not going to pray in faith. When you pray, have simple childlike faith. Number one, that God hears you. And number two, that God will either give you what you ask for, or if you're asking for the wrong thing, he will give you something better. Amen? Then he says, prepare a guest room in expectation of my visit. Now, I want to talk to you about the power of expectation. Because faith should have an active, aggressive expectation with it.
Prepare for What You're Believing For
Paul said, you pray for me. I believe I'm going to get out of here and I'm going to come visit you. So, you might as well go ahead and prepare a room for me. Come on, is anybody seeing this? You might as well just go ahead and prepare a room for me. Because he was that sure that he was going to get to come. We call women that are pregnant expectant mothers. Because you know how you are when you're pregnant. Well, when you're pregnant with a desire, when you're pregnant with a goal for your life, when you're pregnant with a dream to be free from bondages, or you're pregnant with a dream to do something great for God, or to whatever, get your house in order, or see your marriage healed, or whatever it might be. It needs to be something that you're full of, but you need to be expecting. Amen? Expecting.
The Danger of No Expectation
A lot of people don't expect anything, so they get nothing. A lot of people kind of have, well, we'll wait and see what happens attitude. I would never live like that. Don't ever live with the attitude, I'm just going to wait and see what happens. You never know what God's going to do. You cannot expect too much. In Isaiah chapter 30, verse 18, there's a great scripture that I grabbed hold of many years ago. And in essence, the Bible is saying, in Isaiah 30, 18, that the Lord earnestly waits, expecting, looking, and longing to be gracious to you. So that means God is expecting an opportunity to be good to you. Do you see that? The Lord earnestly waits, and that word waits means expecting, looking, and longing to be gracious to you.
God Is Waiting to Bless You
And therefore, He lifts Himself up that He might have mercy on you and show loving kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice, blessed, happy, fortunate, and to be envied are all those who earnestly wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him, for His victory, on and on and on. So the simplicity of this is, in case you missed it, that God is sitting on His throne in heaven, and He is looking, waiting, expecting, searching for somebody that He can be good to, but He can only be good to somebody who is waiting on Him, looking, longing, and expecting Him to be good to them. Now, if you can grab hold of that one thing, it's enough to make a huge life change for you. Because let me say to you, what are you expecting? More of what you've had in the past? More trouble? More disappointment? Expecting to get laid off at work because you heard there's going to be layoff? Well, so what? Even if you get laid off, expect God to give you a better job than the one you lose.
Voice Your Expectations Daily
And don't wait till you're waist deep in the problem. Start expecting now. And furthermore, let me say you need to voice your expectation. When you're full of expectation, you talk about what you're expecting. You don't talk about what you got. Somebody please grab a hold of that and get it. Psalm 27, 14. Psalm 27, 14. Wait and hope for and expect the Lord. Be brave and of a good courage. And let your hearts be stout and enduring. Yes, wait and hope for and expect the Lord. Everybody say, I'm expecting. Expecting. Now, we talk a lot about Isaiah 40, 31. And the moment that I start to quote it, all of you are going to recognize it. People even clap every time you quote this scripture. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and they shall not faint. We must think it's like...
Waiting on God with Active Faith
But if you actually read it, and you study that word wait in the original language, or you look at it in an amplified Bible, which amplifies some of the original language, it says that they that wait, who look, long for, and expect the Lord. So, while you're waiting on God, you may be not doing anything physically, because you may have a situation in your life that, frankly, you can't do anything about. And so, sometimes we say, you just need to wait on God. But that waiting, although you're not active in doing something to solve your problem, you're very active spiritually. Never be passive spiritually. Stay very active spiritually in expecting, God, I'm expecting a breakthrough. Maybe today is the day. You can even use your imagination, and I'm not trying to get kooky and get weird here and get into some kind of mind control. But we have an imagination. What do you think you're supposed to use it for?
Using Imagination in Faith
Are we supposed to just use it to remember all the dumb stuff that's happened to us in our life, and all the bad stuff? Why can't I just sit and close my eyes for a minute and say, God, I'm just going to dream big here for a minute, and I'm going to imagine what life's going to be like when my breakthrough comes, because I know it's on its way. Amen. So, faith is full of expectation. Number two, we have to understand that faith is the only thing that pleases God. Hebrews 11, 6. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. And those that come to Him must believe that He is, and I actually really like the second part of this, and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Now, God doesn't want you just to believe that He exists, but He wants you to believe aggressively that if you study the Word, and you seek God, and you're praying on a regular basis, and you're abiding in God, that you are expecting a reward.
Expecting Rewards from God
Because if you serve God, payday is always coming. Amen? Just like you look for a payday on Friday, or twice a week, or once a month, or however you get paid. We expect that payday. Well, we should expect a reward from God. Because if you study that word reward, God promises over and over and over in the Bible that if we do the right thing and make right choices, that we are going to have a reward in our life. Right now, maybe some of you are in a sowing time in your life. Well, sowing times and plowing times are not all that exciting. But a farmer never sows without having a harvest in mind. He sows because he is expecting a harvest. He doesn't go out and plow, and dig the rocks up, and plant the seed, and water that garden, thinking, well, we'll... No, he is expecting a harvest. And we need to sow in expectation.
Sowing with Expectancy
That's why, even though we don't give, we should never give financially into the kingdom of God, just to get something. I don't think that's a good motive for giving. I think we should give that someone might be blessed and to honor God, but we should still sow with expectancy, releasing our faith, that because I'm being obedient to do what God has asked me to do, therefore, I can trust him to meet all of my needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Giving is just plain smart because you're sowing for your future. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Our works done without faith don't please God. It's only what we do in faith, and that means because we really believe with all of our heart that God has asked us to do it. It's what we do in faith and to glorify him that he's pleased with.
Whatever Is Not of Faith Is Sin
Romans 14.23 says, Whatever is not of faith is sin. Now, boy, if you sit and ponder that for a while, whew, that can get all over you. Whatever, anything I do that I'm not doing in faith is sin. Worry is sin. Fear is sin. How many of you complain by faith? So that means complaining is not just a... It's sin. And that's why on a regular basis we need to say, Thank you, Jesus, that you have forgiven all my sins, and that I can be continually cleansed in the blood of Jesus Christ. Amen? Hallelujah. Don't marry somebody if you're not really in faith about it. You know, I got married the first time when I was 18 because... And I knew way down deep inside that it was a mistake. But because I'd been sexually abused by my dad, I thought nobody would ever want me, so I just grabbed at the first opportunity that came along.
Making Life Decisions in Faith
And I think a lot of people do that. They're so desperate, afraid they won't ever have anybody, or they're trying to get rid of the lonely feelings that they have that they do something they don't have peace about, and then they suffer for it for many, many years. Don't do something if you don't have peace about it. If you can't do what you're doing in faith, then don't do it. Don't get pushed into doing things by your friends that you know you shouldn't be doing. If you don't feel right about going to see a certain movie, I don't care if everybody you know is going, you shouldn't do it. Because if you can't go in faith... Come on. Yeah, well, you're a little quiet on this one.
Embracing God's Correction
Now, I don't know about you, but I like this kind of stuff. I love to be challenged by the Word. I actually love it when God corrects me or chastises me. I don't like the fact that I did something wrong, but I'm so glad that I can receive the correction of God. I'm never condemned by it. I'm just excited. I mean, I thank God every time He convicts me. Sometimes I got to thank Him more than I'd like to, but you know. Last week, one day, I was thanking Him all day long. I was like, well, thank you, God, for showing me that. Oh, well, thank you, God, for showing me that. And I was like, by the end of the day, I'm glad it's time to go to bed, lest you show me anything else. Thank God every day is not like that.
God's Love in Chastisement
But learn how to be glad that you've got that kind of fellowship with the King of kings and the Lord of lords, that He loves you enough that He's not going to leave you in the mess you're in. I love it. I love it, love it, love it. So if I'm kind of getting in your business saying whatever you do that's not faith is sin, then be glad for it. Anything that makes you kind of squirm in your seat must be something you need. Point three. Faith has to be based on God's Word. More than anything, first of all, we have faith in God. The Bible says, have faith in God. Now, I told you earlier that we all have faith. Unto every man is given the measure of faith.
Where to Place Your Faith
Now, let me say this. What you do with that faith is entirely up to you. You can put your faith in yourself. That won't work, but if you want to try it for a few years and just be miserable, go ahead. You can put all your faith in people. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't trust people, but I can tell you that people will disappoint you and let you down. We don't have any ability not to disappoint one another because we're not perfect. So, don't give the trust to people that belongs only to God. You can trust people, but don't go too far, because the minute you start looking at anybody and thinking, you'll never hurt me, now you're in trouble. Don't put your faith in the world system. Make sure that you depend on God. Depend on God.
Depending on God in All Things
Our country was made great because the men and women who came here depended on God. And in our nation, we have to get back to depending on God. Politics without God is a dangerous thing. Faith has to be based... First of all, you put your faith in God. You may have a great job, and they may give you a paycheck every week. Well, if I were you, I wouldn't just depend on that job to take care of you the rest of my life. Depend on God. And, maybe if you need more money, but you're not getting the raise that you'd like to have at work, don't get mad at them, put your dependence in God. A lot of times, we look to the wrong source to take care of us, and we need to always be looking to God.
Looking to God as Your Source
And if you go to God, and God wants the company to give you a raise to meet your need, He'll do it that way. But if He wants to provide some other way, now, because you put your faith in Him, you've opened up this wide door of many opportunities of ways for God to bless you. Are you hearing me? And some of you are only looking at one source. You're looking at your job. You need to not look at your job. You need to look at God. God, I don't care what anybody else won't give me. If you decide to give me something, then I will have it. Do you hear me? I'm going to say that again. You need to say to God, I don't care what anybody else won't give me. If you want me to have something, no devil in hell and no person on earth is going to keep me from getting it. Amen?
Faith in God and His Promises
So, faith must be based, first of all, on God. Faith in God. Have faith in God. And then know the Word of God well enough to know the promises of God. To put your faith in the promises of God. Now, I don't think that every time you pray that you can't ever pray for anything if you can't find Scripture in verse. But I do think it's wise, as much as possible, to fill your prayers full of God's Word. Pray the Word. Pray the Word. Pray the Word back to God. Remind God. Other prophets did it. They reminded God all the time of what He'd said. And you need to say, God, you promised that you would meet all of my needs, and I'm expecting you to do that. Thank you for it. You promised, God, if I would train my children up in the way they should go, that when they were old, they wouldn't depart from it. So, wherever they're at right now, God, I believe they're coming back.