Joyce Meyer - Soul Control

How many of you know what your soul is? Eh, not everyone raised their hand, well, you know, I was probably in my 40s before I realized what mine was. You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body. A tri-part being. And when we're born again God comes to live and dwell in our spirit man. And God can't live anywhere that's not clean and holy, so he makes everything in our spirit right. That's why the Bible calls us saints and holy and says we've made the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. It's everything that he's put in our spirit. We have the Fruit of the Spirit in there. Do you know that deep in your spirit if you are born again you have love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, meekness, gentleness, humility, and self-control.

And so, when we say, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ," we're talking about that, that God has given us as a gift and put in our spirit. And you can even say, "I'm patient, I have self-control," because you do have it you may not be using it yet. And I'm kind of like the coach that helps you learn how to use it. And so God wants everybody in the world and everybody that we deal with to see coming through our lives the good things that he's done in us and the good things they can have through a relationship with him. But if our soul, which is kind of the part between our spirit and our body, if the soul is all clogged up with junk and the soul is not brought under the control of the spirit...

See, you can be a Christian and still have your soul be controlled by the flesh. But we can learn and that's what our journey's all about, to be honest. We're all on a journey of learning and becoming and changing and growing and maturing. So, we're learning how to let the soul be controlled by the spirit man and when we take in the word and it's not just about reading a chapter a day or whether you need to or not, really you can sit in every meeting that I do for the rest of your life but if you don't really lock in and pay attention and kind of, like, eat that word and take it into you, even that won't do you a whole lot of good. Because we've got information, information, information and we don't need more information, we need revelation. Things need to become real to us, amen? But when you really take the word in and I love how the Amplified Bible puts it in Psalms, and in some places and Proverbs, he says that we are to, "Hear the word, love the word, receive the word, and do the word".

So, when we do the full package and we take that in our spirit man, now stick with me, gets stronger and stronger and stronger and stronger and when we stop feeding our flesh, which means letting it have it's way all the time... Hello? When we stop feeding our flesh, giving into it all the time then it gets weaker and weaker and weaker and before long, our soul, which is our mind, our will, and our emotions, are being controlled by the spirit and we learn how to think right. We learn that even though we feel something, we don't have to always do what we feel because we have become something and our will, our will, we can use our free will to do the will of God and that's what he wants us to do. Come on, give God a praise.

So, tonight, we're going to talk about soul control. Learning to control your soul. Father, I thank you for the word tonight please help me. I always want to do a good job for you and I want people to receive this and I want it to be life changing in Jesus' name. Luke 21:19, "By your steadfastness and patient endurance you shall win the true life of your souls". You know, there's so many scriptures we just read for years and don't get them at all. So, let's slow down and think about that. "By your steadfastness and your patient endurance," that means to patiently go through things. I always say there's a beginning of everything, there's a middle, and there's an end. And, you know, we don't mind the beginning, it's kind of exciting, there's emotions to go along with it. "Woo-hoo! I'm going to be a Christian"! Woo-hoo! "Yes, Lord, give me patience". You pray that till you learn better.

Then when you've been walking with the Lord about 30 years you think it over before you pray for patience because you know that you need to pray for patience because you need God to help you but you know what you're going to get when you do it. It's like saying, "Teach me humility". So, only the really brave believers pray for stuff like that and mean it. So, it's easy to pray for something like that and boy, it's sweet when you get over here to the point over here where you are patient, or you are humble or you are kind but, you see, the sad thing is a lot of people never make it through the middle. So, it's patient endurance. Now, if you hang on long enough, I'm going to tell you that there's a reward for the patient. There's a payback, so to speak and I don't mean that to sound weird but I believe that we need to know that there's going to be a reward.

It's difficult to do difficult things if you don't know that there's going to be some kind of reward at the end of it. Who would even want to go to work everyday if you didn't know you were going to get a paycheck? And so, God really does give out paychecks. It may not be in dollars, but he gives us joy, he gives us peace, he gives us righteousness, he takes care of us, we bear good fruit. There's all kinds of great payoffs for obeying God. And there's a really cool one that the Bible talks about regarding patience. But I'm not going to give it to you yet. I just want you to know though if you put up with what I'm going to say tonight, and you go home and you start to say, "Okay, God, I want that," there's going to be a good payoff at the end. "In patience possess ye your souls," is what one translation says.

Well, let me just say, we will either learn to possess our souls or our souls will possess us. Now, you see, I lived a lot of years as a Christian, never hearing teaching like this. All I ever heard was doctrinal things and we all need good, sound, solid doctrine, but we need to know about the soul stuff. We need to understand some of our emotions. I'm going to teach on that tomorrow night, understanding your emotions. Won't that be fun? Because we've all got them. So, and you know, we're all like, "I don't understand why I feel like this". You tell, you know, if you're a woman and you tell a man how you feel, he's like, "Why would you feel like that"? Thank, God, he understands, amen? So, either, we're going to learn to possess our soul, which means to manage it according to the spirit or it's going to possess us. Which means my mind, my un-renewed mind is going to run my life. My emotions are going to run my life and I will not be able to be happy if I don't get every single thing that I want. It's my mind, my will, and my emotions that are ruling me instead of me ruling them.

And I'm quite sure that some of you are still in that condition and I can tell you, you're not very happy. Well, you're not. Impatience is in our flesh, but patience is in our spirit. Luke 8:15, I actually want to read you five scriptures. I want you to look at them about patience. Luke 8:15, "But as for that [seed] in the good soil, these are [the people] who, hear the word, hold it fast in a just (noble, virtuous) worthy heart, and steadily bring forth fruit with patience". So, what is steadily bring forward? It means, keep it up, keep it up, keep it up, keep it up, keep it up, keep it up, keep it up, keep it up, little by little, little by little, day after day, keep it up, keep it up, keep it up, keep it up, never give up, keep it up, keep it up. When you laugh, I'll shut up, okay?

Now, let's look at Hebrews chapter 11. Well, we're not going to look at all of it. They don't have to put it all up, but I'm going to read to you. This is what we call the faith hall of fame. You ever heard that terminology, the faith hall of fame? Well, chapter 11 in Hebrews is about the great things that people have done by faith. And faith is the leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in his power, wisdom, and goodness. And faith is also "The assurance, (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of the things [we] do not see and the conviction that they are real". So, I have faith until I have a manifestation. In other words, I can have it in my heart so strongly that nobody can take it away from me, long time before I ever see it with my natural eyes. I feel that way about spending eternity with God. Haven't been there yet. But God "Plants eternity in our hearts," the Bible says. And so, we have this sensing in us that there's more than this life and we are living our life for this thing that we've never seen but we believe it so strongly that we will give our life for it and many people will die for it.

Now, that's what faith in God is, or faith in Jesus is, but he wants us to live by faith. He wants us to have that kind of faith in every single area of our lives. See, I didn't know that for a lot of years. I mean, I had faith, I believed in Jesus. But the rest of what I believed was mostly just stupid. I didn't believe things could ever change in my life, I didn't trust. You know, how many people know what I'm talking about? How many people do you think March off to church every week and they believe in Jesus but if you start checking their believing, all of their believing is wrong in every other area of their life. So, even if you're believing something wrong it's still your reality. See, I believe because I've been abused in my childhood, sexually, that I would always have a second class, second rate life. That I would always be kind of messed up. Well, that was just a lie that Satan had told me. But nobody ever told me different so I believed the lie when I could have had the truth.

So that's faith. By faith you can do unbelievable things. When I look back at my life I do not know how I got from where I started to where I'm standing tonight. I mean, you know, I could look back and say I remember the things I did and this and that and something else. But, this is strictly a by faith thing. It's just by faith. By faith and I wish people today knew more about faith. It seems like today everybody wants assurances. You know, we, sometimes we're hiring new people, one of the things they'll ask is, "Well, you know now, Joyce is getting kinda old so what kind of job security am I going to have"? I mean really, if you get right down to it, who has any job security any day of your life? You know? Our security has got to be in God. When we look to somebody else to give us assurances so you gotta be led by the spirit. Are you supposed to be here or are you not supposed to be here?

But see, people sometimes look at you like you're crazy if you say that you want to live like that. And I want to tell you, you can live by the natural and you will do pitifully very little in your life but you can live by faith and you can do impossible things and God will prove himself strong in your life. And so, just, you know, just a quick run through. Man, when you get down, read Hebrews 11. I mean, "Prompted by faith, Abel gave a better sacrifice. Enoch was translated into heaven by faith". Just, poof, he's gone. "It's impossible to please God without faith. Noah built an ark by faith. Abraham left the place that was his home and went to a place that God would show him by faith". Who does that? Leave your home. God says, " okay, leave and go to the place that I will show you". And I'm like, "Well, you show me and I'll go".

Sarah had a child when she was almost 100 years old. Do you understand ladies? She had, had the change of life and probably was not having hot flashes anymore. She was done. The whole deal was done and she had a child. Well, let's just put it the way it is. "Abraham offered his son by faith as a sacrifice believing that God would provide. Isaac looked into the future and blessed Jacob. Joseph did great things by faith. Moses did great things by faith". On and on and on. They said there's so many that the book wouldn't be big enough to write it down. Then, in chapter 12, verse 1, I kind of said all that to say this. It says, "Therefore then". Because of chapter 11 because we're encouraged by their testimonies, "Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance, (every unnecessary weight) and that sin that so readily, (deftly, and cleverly) clings to and entangles us".

Okay, you can all quit watching the chair and watch me now. We're going to bring it over, you're not going to miss it. Chapter 12, verse 1, "Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us", you know, there's a little bit of violent language in the Bible, "Let us strip off and throw aside everything that holds us back from this life of faith that God wants us to have and let us get rid of the sin that's holding us back". I mean, you know, that's just not "Well, Lord I wish you'd make this go away. And let us run", let us run, not park somewhere, let us run! "Let us run with patient, endurance," there's my word, "And steady active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us". I love what Paul said when it was near the end of his life. He said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished my race".

Boy, do I want that. Man, I mean more than anything in my life I've got this thing in me. I'm going to finish what God has given me to do. Amen? Who in the world wants to retire? I sure don't. Hebrews 10:36, "For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God," and here come the payoff, "And thus receive and carry away [and enjoy to the full] what is promised". See, but that's not really the one I want to tell you about. The one I really want to tell you about is really good. In Psalm 37 verse 7, "Be still and rest in the Lord, wait for him and patiently lean yourself on him: fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass". Okay, what is patience? We cringe at the word, do we even know what it is? Well, it means to wait but it means so much more than to wait.

Let me tell you something, you will wait. We spend more time in our life waiting on something than we do those moments when we receive and get all excited because that gets over pretty quick and then you start waiting on something else again. Took me about 40 years to figure that out. And I finally thought I better improve my waiting game. Because I did not wait well. So, if you don't wait well you're going to have a pretty miserable life. How many of you agree? You're always waiting on something. I mean, that's just part of life. And so, he says, "Wait patiently". So, patience, it's more than waiting, it's the attitude that we wait with. Now, get this, it's waiting with expectancy. Waiting with, "Wow! Something good is going to happen. Maybe today my breakthrough's gonna come. Today, my son may make a decision to get off of drugs".

Today. You know, I learned something recently. I read this and, man, it just blew up in me. And this is so cool. It said when we pray for people, what God does, God is so smart! What God does is he puts a thought in their head. So, I can say, "I pray for so-and-so to study the word". Well, then they may have this thought, "You know, I probably should start studying the word". Now, they still get a choice. You know, your prayers don't make somebody do something. But God puts thoughts in their mind of what you've prayed for. Then if they do it, they're silly enough to think it was their idea. Isn't that cool? And so, we just need to leave it alone and let it be between them and God and then, you know, when they come and tell you about their breakthrough you don't even need to bother to say, "I prayed for that! Me! I prayed for that"! Just let them think it was them if you need to. But isn't that great?

We pray for things and God puts ideas, and a lot of times when we pray for something about ourself or for God to speak to us, he puts thoughts in our head. The Bible says that he will "Cause our thoughts to become agreeable to his will". Wow. So, we need to expect something good to happen. Expect something good is going to happen. Things can change at any minute. I'm waiting patiently. To wait on the Lord means to look and long for him to show up at any minute. So, waiting on God is not just, like... There's an inner expectancy. Alright, James 5:7, "So, be patient, brethren, [as you wait]", please notice it doesn't say, "If you wait". How many of you see that? "Be patient, [as you wait] till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits," how? "Expectantly for the precious harvest from the land". Now, this is important too, "[see how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and the late rain".

So, we all have a vigil that we need to keep up. "I'm going to keep praying. I'm going to keep confessing the word. I'm going to keep studying the word. I'm going to keep getting with other good people that can keep me encouraged. I'm going to keep giving into kingdom work. I'm going to keep being a blessing everywhere that I go. I'm going to keep trusting God. I'm going to keep rebuking the devil". You say, "Well, I've been doing that, and I'm so tired of doing that". Well, can I ask you a question? Do you really have anything better to do? I mean, have you got even one small bright idea that would be any better than just continuing on with God? Your only other choice is going back where you came from. Who in the world wants to do that? If you made it this far don't go back where you started. Come on, God is good. Amen? Everybody say, "I'm going through"! Keep up your patient vigil. I love that.

You see, a farmer plants seed, and he waters it, and he waters it, and he goes out every day and he pulls the weeds. Then he waters it, he pulls the weeds. And he waters it, and he pulls the weeds, and he keeps believing and every day he goes out to see if anything's coming out of the ground yet. He waters it and he pulls the weeds. And you know what? He is going to keep it up until he sees some fruit, until he sees harvest. And I'll tell ya what, until you make your mind up that you are going to be a Christian who enjoys life, who has what Jesus died to give you, the devil will always find a new way to take it away from you. No matter how much God wants us to have, it's not gonna fall on us if we don't take the grace of God, let it empower us, know that everything comes from God. It's not by my determination, but we partner with God so I have to have some determination.