Joyce Meyer - Don't Disturb Me - Part 1

I wanna share with you, a message tonight that is... It's been one that's been very important to me and something that has really helped me in my life. And I hope that it will help you. It has a funny, little title. It's called, "Don't disturb me". You might be thinking, "Well, what in the world is that about"? Well, you know, I think a large majority of the people in the world today, that's just their attitude. "I'm busy. I'm going somewhere. I've got my plan. I've got my thing. I've got my day figured out. And so, if you've got a problem, don't bother me with it". Well, you know, Jesus wasn't like that. Now, we stay in a lot of hotels. And in hotels, they always leave us one of these to put on our door. But today people are wearing 'em on their bodies.

Now, I'll just wear this around for a little bit, just so you get the picture. We have such a huge opportunity in front of us today. But we're gonna have to get more like Jesus. And a lot less like a carnal, selfish, self-centered Christian, who just goes to church, and thinks that's all there is to it. Do you know, just because you go to church, that doesn't make you a Christian. I could go home and sit in my garage all night and it wouldn't make me a car. Jesus said, "I want you to go and bear fruit". So, maybe, I'd just like to ask you, tonight, to think a little bit this next week about what kind of fruit are you bearing in your life? Are you coming here and just being fed? And you love that. You love for somebody else to do all the work. And dig out all the messages. And just feed you all the good stuff. But what are you doin' with it? I hope a lot. I'm not accusing anybody. I hope that every message you hear, you hear it with the intent that you're going to do something with it.

Now, we're gonna use the parable of the good Samaritan, tonight. And I want you to listen to it, like, maybe, you've never heard it before. There was a pharisee, and he said to Jesus, "'what must I do to inherit eternal life?' and he said, 'you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and all your strength: and you shall love your neighbor even as you love yourself'". I say those two scriptures, out loud every morning. Because that's what God has called us to do, is to love him and to love people. Amen? And we throw that word around so much. We love ice cream, we love God, and sometimes we don't know what the difference is. But we have to learn how to love the way God wants us to love. And I'll just throw this out, 'cuz I like to say this, at some point, in every message, I preach. If you're gonna love people, you have to be ready to be very generous with forgiveness. And I just wonder how many people are here, tonight, that are mad at somebody. Nobody? Okay, that's good. Or offended? Hmm...

Christians give the devil more ground in their life through unforgiveness than through any other thing. I'm gonna say that again. Christians give the devil more ground in their lives through unforgiveness than through any other thing. Let's remember the Lord's prayer, "Father forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those, who trespass against us". Well, do we really want him to forgive us the way we forgive other people? We gotta be quick to forgive. Hard to offend. Not touchy. So, he said, "Well Lord, I've been doing that since my youth". But in order to justify himself, he said, "So, who is my neighbor"? Well, that's a good question to ask. "Who is my neighbor anyway"? Is it the person that lives next door? "In reply Jesus said: 'a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers'".

Now, I want you to use your imagination, and I want you to kinda see this story and not just listen to it. This man's walkin' down the street. All of a sudden, he gets attacked by robbers. "They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and left, leaving him half dead". So, they took his clothes. They beat him up. He was bloody. He must've taking a very hard, beating because they said, "He was half dead". "A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side". Uh-oh, have you ever been going down an aisle in church, and you saw somebody that you knew if they stopped you, you were gonna be in for a long story that you didn't wanna hear, and so, you passed by on the other side? Come on, now. Sometimes, we avoid those people that are needy because we don't want 'em pullin' on us. "We don't wanna be disturbed. We're here to go to church. We're here to be spiritual". You'll get this, or, we'll be here all night.

A priest... You know, I think he might've been on his way to church, and that's why he was in such a hurry. And so, he didn't have time to mess with this guy, who was bloody, and beaten up, and half dead. So, he just, "Somebody else can do that". And he crossed the street, and passed by him. "And then a Levite, came by and when he saw the man, he also passed by on the other side, of the street". And Levites were part of the Jewish priesthood. They did all different kinds of jobs. And so, this also, was a religious man. I'm sure he went to synagogue, and he followed all the rules, and regulations. But you know, Jesus really got on to the pharises, because he said, "You follow all the rules and regulations, but you won't lift a finger to help anybody". I'm gonna give you some homework, when we leave, tonight. And then, there was a Samaritan. Now, you know, the Jews hated the Samaritans. You know, it's kinda interesting to me, because a lot of times real religious people actually hate the people that are out doing something to make a difference in the world. I've had more judgment and critizism from people that are doing nothing. Right? Religious people are not always very nice.

Now, we're supposed to be nice. Matter of fact, they hated the Samaritans so bad, that they wouldn't even go through Samaria. They didn't want anything to do with it. Well, the Samaritans believed that Judaism, and the Jewish torah, had been corrupted over time. And they no longer followed the Ten Commandments, or all the rules and regulations. But I just wonder, if we only had two choices? If God had two choices. Take somebody that follows all the rules and regulations, but never lifts a finger to help anybody. Or, somebody, who maybe, doesn't follow all the rules and regulations but they really help a lot of people. I just wonder which one he'd pick? I'm not saying he'd take an unbeliever over a believer. But Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey me". How many of you would say, "Jesus is your Lord"? Okay, well then, let me tell you two words, that you can never say, because they never, they do not go together, and that's, "No, Lord". You can say, "Yes, Lord". But you can't say, "No, Lord". Because if you say, "No," then he's not your Lord. Because if he's our Lord, then the only thing, we can say is, "Yes, Lord".

Let's practice, say, yes, Lord. You know, all the miracles that Jesus did, he was interrupted to do them. He was on his way somewhere. He was doin' something. He was busy. And I've got all the references here. I don't have time to read 'em all. But I am gonna just go back here, and give you just a few of the little scenarios of what was going on. And you can just think about 'em real quick. "Jesus came down from the mountainside and large crowds followed him". "A man with leprosy came, and knelt down before him, 'Lord, if you're willing, you can make me clean'". So, he stopped what he was doing, and cleansed the leper. Then, when he entered Capernaum, a centurion came up to him, asking for help. And so, he stopped, and helped him. When Jesus came to Peter's house, Peter's mother-in-law was sick with a fever.

So, he stopped and healed her. When evening came, there were many who were demon possessed, and he stopped, and cast the devils out. There was a storm that came up, when he was in the boat, with the disciples. And he got up, from his nap, and stop the storm. He healed crippled people, paralyzed people, demon possessed people. Raised a man's daughter, who had just died. And every one of these... You can't find one that says, Jesus was sittin' around, looking for something to do. He was goin' somewhere. He was doing something. But he didn't pass by on the other side of the road. He stopped. Everybody say, he stopped. Say it again, he stopped. And he helped them, and then, he went back to what he was doing. You know, we talk about the steps of Jesus. There was a big movement, for a long time, like, following the steps of Jesus. But maybe, we should study the stops of Jesus? Maybe, we should look more at the things that he stopped to do. Because they're the kind of things that he wants us to do. Jesus was interruptible. And we need to be that way, too.

So, I remember going to a doctor's office, with my son who'd broken his arm. And he was going to get the cast off. And I was waiting in the outer room, and there was an elderly man there, who had fallen on the ice, and had broken his leg. And he wanted to tell me all about it. I mean, like, aaalll about. Matter of fact, he was willing to tell me two, or three, or four times aaalll about it. Well, I had my Bible. And I actually, prayed that God would make the man shut up... So, I could read my Bible. Come on. Because I just didn't wanna mess with him. I had a plan. I had my "Do not disturb" sign on. And all of a sudden, the Lord spoke to my heart, and he said, "If that was Billy Graham, would you listen to him"? And I thought, "Yeah". And then, he said, "Why"? Well, because I would probably, think maybe, he could do something for me, or at least I'd have a good story to tell. "Ooh, I went to the doctor's office today, and Billy Graham was there, and we talked for 15 minutes".

See, we have to get beyond doing things for people only if it's gonna get us something. Do you have any idea, I mean, I try to imagine this, but I can't. Do you have any idea, what would happen, if every person on the planet, who calls themselves a Christian, would go out into the world, and help just one person, we'll just say, even, one a week? Well, what would happen? It would be phenomenal. We are ambassadors for Christ. And the Amplified Bible says, "His personal representatives". And now, listen to this. And that, "He is making his appeal to the world through you". Boy, that's amazing. But I've come a little ways in 45 years. That's a good thing. Got a long way to go, but I've come a ways in 45 years. And so, this might have been four, or five years ago. I was in Utah, and I stopped at a Starbucks. And I asked if the girl could, make me a pour-over. I'm like a coffee snob. It's gotta be a certain way, or I don't want it. And I don't like it too strong. Don't like it too weak, you know. She says, "Oh we've got this new coffee press. Let me make you a cup of coffee with that". And, I thought, "Nope, coffee presses are always too strong for me, I just want a pour-over".

Well, just to tell you, this girl was, I mean, everywhere where you could have a tattoo, or some kind of metal hangin' on you, she had it. And her hair was about four different colors. So, she just wouldn't have been, her and I wouldn't have, you know, just... Well, you know. Trying not to say anything bad about her, but she just, it wouldn't have been my person to hang out with. You know, she might have been, one of the ones that I would have crossed over, on the other side, of the street. You know, we're not to good at Messin' with people that aren't like us. Boy, they pumped that clock up. I can see that dude, now. I've got old eyes. My husband and i, are so funny at home. Everything that he says to me, I say, "Huh"? And everything he says to me, or everything I say to him, he says, "Huh"? And then he says, "Huh" twice. And so, it's really, like, gettin' to be a comedy.

So, the girl says to me, "If you don't like this, I will make you anything else, in the store, that you want". And then, she's just talkin'. And she said, "I love this thing". She said, "I'm trying to save enough money that I can buy myself one". Well, this coffee press was $150. And I got my coffee. And sure enough, it was really good. And so, I decided to buy one of the presses. And I walked out of the store, and just took a few steps, and then, I heard the Lord speak in my heart, "Buy her one of those". Well, you know, in today's world, sometimes, you just wanna be a little careful about just walking up to somebody and sayin', "I'd like to buy you a gift". I don't know this lady. Who wants to feel like a fool? And so, but you can't say, "No, Lord". 'cause that don't go together. Amen? That doesn't work. I kinda feel for you guys, because after you leave here, tonight, you're gonna have to live a different way.

So, you know, we always say, "We're willing to be a fool for Christ". But are we really? You can't care what people think. Especially, not if you're gonna love strangers. And I don't know if you know it, or not, but there's some really, strong stuff in the Bible about how to treat strangers. And so, I went back, and she was waitin' on somebody. So, I waited for her, and I said, "Can I talk to you a minute"? So, she came over, and I said, "I wanna buy you one of those presses". "Oh, no, no, no"! You know, that's always what you get first. "No, no, no"! I said, "Yeah, I really feel like God put it on my heart to buy you one of those presses". Well, she started to cry. And she's makin' a scene. And you know, everybody always makes a scene. And I don't want anybody to make a scene. I just want to buy the coffee press and get back to my shoppin'.

So, God is so amazing. I bought her the coffee press. And then, maybe, an hour later, I was on a different floor, in a different store, in the bathroom. I'm going out of the bathroom, and she's coming in. And she looked at me, and she said, "Can you tell me, why are you the kindest person in the world"? Now, obviously, I'm not the kindest person in the world. But apparently, I was the one who showed her kindness. And I don't think we realize how hungry people in the world are, for just a little bit of kindness. Just a little bit. And it doesn't cost you that much. You just gotta be like the Samaritan. You gotta be willing to stop. And I said, "Well, I'm a Christian, and God's blessed my life so much, and I just wanted to bless you". And she said, "Well, that really says a lot to me, 'cuz", she said, "I've been kinda mad at the man upstairs". I said, "Why"? And she said, "Well, my mother died with cancer, several years ago. And I just have not been in a good place with God since then".

Now, you know, I don't know what went on with her life after that but maybe I'll see her in heaven. And it might not be because of the coffee press. I might've just been one little piece of what God was trying to do in her life. But the Bible tells us to do things for people who can't do anything back for us. We gotta be so careful about our motives, and make sure that we're not just doing things for people with an expectation of them doing something back for us. That's why the word says, "To do what you do, in secret". Now, that doesn't mean that you can always do that. But we do have to examine our hearts and make sure that when we do things for people, we're not just trying to kinda covertly buy something. I'm gonna challenge you, to pray every morning, "God, would you put somebody, in my path today, that I can help"? How many of you would be willing to do that? Okay. Now, you stuck your hand up there, and God saw it. Amen? And you can't be picky and choosy. And remember there's none of this, "No, Lord," that doesn't work. You can't be selective about what God asks you to do. Alright, I'm gonna pray for you, if you meant what you said earlier. Now, remember, you stuck your hand up... And you said, "I will ask God, every morning, to put somebody in my path, that I can help".

Father, I pray for everybody here, tonight, that there was a change of heart. That some eyes were opened. And I think, maybe, a lack of people doing this, is even what's opening the door for some of the problems they have. Help us, Lord, to realize that we can no longer just walk away from hurting people, and do nothing. We can pray. We can help. We can hug. We can smile. We can encourage. Maybe, we pay a bill. Maybe, we buy them something that they want, and could never afford. It's just an avenue to introduce people to you. And I pray, Lord, that you'll show them, what you want them to do, and they'll have fun doing it. That they will enjoy it, and it will bring such breakthrough, in their lives, that they just won't, hardly, be able to believe it. I ask you this in Jesus' name, amen.