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You think, I’ve lost my joy, I don’t know why I’ve lost my joy. Well, one of the things you could do is ask yourself, what have I been doing for somebody else? You might connect the dots really fast.
I’m Joyce Meyer and I believe that God can heal you everywhere you hurt.
Father, thank you for the word today. We know that selfishness is just ingrained in all of us and we really need to hear the word in this area over and over and over to ever hope to keep it out. So help us today, keep our ears open and hear everything that you have to say.
In Jesus’ name, amen. Well, it’s not good to start your day with your mind set on you. Colossians 3.2 says, set your mind and keep it set on things that are above.
Now, that doesn’t mean to just sit around somewhere and think about the stars and the clouds and the angels and, you know, I mean, that may all have its place and it’s good. But I believe when he says, set your mind on things above, that he’s talking about setting your mind on the will of God. Set your mind.
You have to make your mind up. And the earlier you do it in the day, the better off you’re going to be. Sometimes if you get a wrong start, a whole day can go bad.
So I just want to urge you, from the time you open your little peepers in the morning, or before they’re even open, but you’re awake inside not wanting to open them, don’t let yourself get into that what about me mentality. It’s very easy to lay there and think about everything that could make you happy that day, and how mad you are at all the people that aren’t giving you what you need. And you can just work yourself up into a real fit before you ever put your feet on the floor just with your thoughts.
And I used to be that way, spend a lot of years like that, but I also spent a lot of years miserable. And I’ve learned on purpose, and I want to teach you on purpose, to start thinking about how you can be a blessing to somebody else, and start early in the day. Don’t start the day with your mind on you.
Start your day with your mind on how you can be a blessing to someone else for God’s glory. Jesus said, One new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples.
How is the world going to know Jesus? If they see us, number one, getting along and loving each other, we’ve got to stop all the fighting in the church, and all the fighting between denominations. Who has the 100% perfect doctrine?
None of us. We’re all going to find out some things when we get to heaven about who was right, and who was wrong. And God wants us to exercise ourselves, to get along and stay in unity.
And then we need to reach out to other people. Yes, to believers, but also to unbelievers. It’s really hard to argue with somebody who just keeps being kind to you over and over and over.
You can preach to somebody to your blue in the face, but if you put no works with it, what you say is not going to mean very much to people. On the other hand, I think we can all preach a loud message and never open our mouth. I said, I think we can all preach a very loud message and never open our mouth.
Not that there’s anything wrong with opening our mouth, but many times people are not at a point where they will let you preach to them. We all like to preach that God would prefer that we live the life that He’s calling us to live in front of them consistently, silently, day after day after day. Doesn’t take long and people can’t argue with that.
Jesus, the Bible says in Acts 1038, I love this, says, See how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost in power, who went about doing good. It just seems so simple. Our wonderful, powerful, amazing Jesus got up every day and just went about doing good.
Well, you know what? I don’t think that he laid on his mat or wherever it was he was sleeping. And when he woke up in the morning, I doubt that he laid there and thought about himself.
I doubt that he laid there and thought about how mad he was at the disciples because they didn’t listen to him and didn’t get it the first time he told them. I doubt that he was thinking now, what about me, how can I get what I want today? No, I’m sure that he had to think about being a blessing to everybody in order to do good.
If you think bad, you won’t do good. On the other hand, if you think good, you won’t do bad. Where the mind goes, the man follows.
Let me say that again. If you think bad, you won’t do good. But if you think good, you won’t do bad.
Because your mind prepares you for action. Now, just to be practical, give you some examples. Most every day, I say, God, I want to be a blessing to everybody that I’m around today.
Let me add value to them. I spent enough time in my life taking something from everybody that I got around. I want to add value to people.
So what you should do early in the morning is kind of go through who you think you’re going to be around that day. And then just set yourself to bless them in some way, whether it’s to just give a compliment, to tell them they look nice. You appreciate them, to help them with a need, to pray for them if you see something taking place in their life that you feel like needs prayer.
The more, now listen to me, the more you keep your mind off of yourself, the happier you will be.
Some of you, you think I’ve lost my joy, I don’t know why I’ve lost my joy. Well, one of the things you could do is ask yourself, what have I been doing for somebody else? You might connect the dots really fast.
It’s impossible to really walk in love and stay very miserable. John 13 verse 17. In chapter 13 of John, we see that Jesus was doing an amazing thing.
He was washing the disciples’ feet. And he goes on all the way through and tells them that he’s done this, as an example of them, that they might do in their turn exactly as he had done. And you know, the whole story there, the whole recording of that event was not about the feet.
It was about doing things for other people. Literally, washing feet means that you’re going to be willing to do even little insignificant things for people, no matter what your station in life might be. Nobody was higher than Jesus.
Nobody had more authority than Jesus. Nobody had more power or preeminence or dignity than Jesus. And yet, he put on a servant’s towel.
And he washed their stinky, dirty feet. The Bible says he took off his garment and put on a towel. When he was done, I’m sure that he took off the towel and put back on his garment.
You know, if you really know who you are in Christ, and if I really know who I am in Christ, then we know we have nothing to prove and we’re not belittled by doing little menial tasks for other people.
It’s actually one of the things that puts a smile on God’s face. And if God does happen to be using you in a great way, or you are the boss where you work, or you do have some authority somewhere, one of the ways that we can keep ourselves in check and make sure that we don’t get the big head, is by doing little things for other people. John 13, 17, the culmination of this whole example of washing feet.
And if you know these things, blessed and happy and to be envied are you if you practice them. If you act accordingly and really do them. So, we can connect the dots there.
If you are willing to add value to everybody’s life that you come across, it is going to increase your joy. Can anybody say amen? How many of you think that you need a good reminder to be a blessing to more people?
You know why? Because it’s really easy to just get ourselves on our mind. I mean, this is a message, honestly, that we could hear every single solitary day and it wouldn’t hurt us.
We’re born selfish. You don’t have to try to get selfish. If you don’t think that you’re born selfish, just watch a little kid.
If we don’t keep ourselves in check, we become the exact same way. How easy is it to think only about what people don’t do for us and forget what they do?
How easy is it to start thinking about what we don’t have that we want, instead of thinking about what God has already given us that we wanted at some other time in life. And now he wants us to continue to remember those things and keep being thankful for those things while we’re waiting on the other things. The answer is for nothing, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God and the peace that passes understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Let your request be made known unto God with thanksgiving. That means that we need to pray from an already thankful heart for what God’s doing. If we’re already complaining about everything in our life, God spoke to me one time when I was asking him for something, he said, why should I give you something else?
All you do is complain about what you’ve got. It’ll just be another thing to complain about.
Oh, I think we’re going to have fun today. I was always on my mind. Second Corinthians 515, I love this scripture.
Do you know that Jesus died mainly to set you free from yourself? And until you get thoroughly fed up with yourself, you probably will never do anything about yourself.
All selfish people have in their life is themselves. They’re very lonely, because there’s nobody in there but you. When I was like that, there was nobody inside of me but me.
Everything was, what about me? How can I get what I want? And getting upset when everybody didn’t give it to me.
Now, I think part of that in my life was caused by not being taken care of properly as a child. My father never did anything for me but hurt me. And so you begin to make vows to yourself, well, when I get away from this, nobody’s ever going to hurt me again.
I’m going to make sure I get taken care of in life. And it’s very easy to take what would be a naturally selfish nature and ramp it up to a whole new level. And so it took a while for God to break this nonsense out of me.
And it took a long time for me to realize that was my problem. It’s amazing what we think our problem is, when really we are the biggest problem we have.
I mean, it’s really true. Don’t give somebody else the responsibility for your joy. Just decide you’re going to be happy.
Serve the Lord with gladness. We don’t have to have our way all the time to be happy. You know, we should pray on a regular basis.
God, I’m so blessed, and I thank you for my blessings. But if the day comes when I don’t have any of this, I want to be just as happy as I am right now. Get a mindset that you’re not happy in God just because of what he does for you, but you’re happy in God just because he loves you, he sent his son to die for you, and you’re a person that’s going to live forever.
I wonder how many people there are watching the program today, where this conference will ultimately be on TV. And let’s just say that you are a Christian, you go to church, but you are just not happy. I mean, not happy.
Like, really not happy. No peace, no joy. Nothing’s ever right.
Nobody suits you. You don’t even like the church you’re going to. You leave there on Sunday and complain about everything you can possibly complain about.
Well, you know what? You don’t have to live like that. I lived like that for a long time, and I was a Christian.
I thought I loved God. And I did to a certain degree, but myself was so much in the way of my relationship with God that I couldn’t break through to anything. And my walk with God has been a long, long journey.
But I want to recommend to you today, if you’re watching me by TV, and you’re the very person that I’m talking to, take a step of faith and just make a decision to get yourself off your mind and start being a blessing to somebody else. Do it on purpose. And I can guarantee you that your joy will increase.
What would happen in the world, what would happen in the world if every Christian actually acted like one?
It wouldn’t be very long, and the world would be very convinced that there’s something that God has done in us that is very abnormal. It’s very natural to live for yourself. It’s not very natural to live for other people, but that is exactly what God is calling us to do.
No less than that. He’s not calling us to do anything less than to lay our life down in a similar way that he did, only we don’t have to die physically. But the apostle Paul said, I died daily.
You know what he meant? Every day I have to say no to myself in order to say yes to God. It’s not always comfortable, but it’s always the best thing to do in the long run.
Let me tell you something, getting our own way may be a thrill for a moment, but we pay a high price for a cheap thrill. You can have momentary, what you think. Well, okay, momentary happiness.
But then you lay down at night, and that same old misery is still inside you, and you don’t understand why you’re so miserable.
We have to learn how to obey God. I remember a time when Dave and I were out chopping for something. It was a picture for our house.
And I found something I liked, and he didn’t care for it, which is not uncommon, you know, when people are married, you have different tastes. The thing that’s not so important is that we agree about everything, but that we learn how to disagree agreeably and respectfully. And so Dave didn’t like this picture, and he wanted to keep looking for something that we could both like.
Well, I didn’t care if we both liked it or not, I liked it. Come on now. Yeah, I mean, you can laugh at me all you want to today, but I mean, that’s just the truth.
I mean, we really don’t care if other people are happy most of the time. As long as we’re happy, that’s all that matters. I warned you that I was going to preach good today.
So, you know, Dave is a real man of peace. And so, after I had a couple of little temper tantrums there, you know, like, you don’t like anything I like. Finally, he just kind of said, just do what you want.
Well, you know, that’s really not like, yes, honey, do what you want. I mean, you got to watch body language and voice tone. The words can be the same, but the meaning can be totally different.
Amen. And so, I thought, I just felt so smug for a minute. Ha, got what I wanted.
And you know what the Holy Spirit spoke in my heart? You think you won, but you totally lost. You know why?
I might have won to get what I wanted in the flesh, but I totally lost out spiritually. Because I did not behave the way God wanted me to behave, and I wasn’t even loving enough to be willing to search a little while longer to get something we both liked. I didn’t care as long as I liked it.
Now, thank God I’ve come a long way. How many of you are glad that I’ve grown some over the years? And I believe that God gives me the grace to tell you all this stuff, which it doesn’t bother me at all if it helps you, because I think really we’re all pretty much alike.
It’s just that most people aren’t going to tell you about it. We like to give our testimony, but we don’t like to talk about the test. And sadly, many people, after they have the test, only have the monies.
They never get the testimony.
I tell you what, I would not, there would not be enough of anything to buy and take away from me my experience with God over these last 35 years. Oh my God. Un, unbelievable how God can change a person.
Coming up, we have a story you don’t want to miss.
So sometimes what we think will bring us happiness still doesn’t do it for us. We try everything. Look out for number one.
But life still feels empty.
Well, you know, we typically look at our circumstances and try to change them in order for me to be happy. I know this because I thought this way for years. I was always on my mind.
I would constantly think what about me, what about me? I had no idea that the root of my unhappiness was something I could actually change. I was getting in my own way and missing the blessings that God has for me.
You see, selfishness steals our joy. But God has such a better way for us to live. I firmly believe that people need to realize that there is great power in an unselfish life.
That’s why I’ve written What About Me? Inside, I share why it’s important to get out of that me mindset and how to change your perspective in a way that will benefit you and others.
Request What About Me today and take important steps to living an unselfish life. It is available to you right now for your gift of any amount. Call us today at 1-800-727-9673 or visit us online at joycemeyer.org.
I have absolutely no doubt that what I share in this book will change your life. Just like it completely changed mine. You can get out of your own way, walk in love and live unselfishly.
Request your copy of What About Me Today. And if you would like to go even deeper with Joyce by declaring war on selfishness, consider giving a gift of $45 or more. And you’ll receive Joyce’s What About Me Study Guide in addition to the book.
This in-depth study is a great addition alongside the book to ensure you master contents with confidence. And remember, you’ll not only receive Joyce’s book What About Me, but your gift today allows us to share the love of Christ around the world through our hand of hope outreaches. What About Me is available to you now for your gift of any amount.
Or go the extra step to receive the What About Me Study Guide too for $45 or more. It is a great opportunity for a book study with family or friends. And it’s yours today.
So give us a call at 1-800-727-9673 or visit us online at joycemeyer.org.
If enough of us become unselfish followers of Jesus, we can change the world.
We all have times in our life where the needs of others are not at the forefront of her thoughts. I want to introduce you to a man who says himself that there was a time where he was the only person on his mind. But God took Pat Bradley from a miserable selfish lifestyle to something very different and wonderful, and almost overnight.
And this man says he will never go back.
My life was about me. Ever since I was a little kid growing up, everything was about me. What could I get?
What could I do? Who could I become? And it just centered around myself.
But at some point, I began drinking. I was like 12 years old. As I graduated college, I was an alcoholic.
I was married at the time. I had two children. I had a decent job.
But everything was about me and everything was about my next drink. My wife got tired of it and she divorced me. I went home and there she was in our living room with two plastic trash bags.
Basically, all my worldly belongings were in those bags. The day I got kicked out, that was the last night I ever drank. After the divorce went through, I took a new job.
We became wildly successful in that business. At this point in my life, I’m single. I’m making more money than I ever thought I would ever make in my life, and everything was going well.
But at night, when you’re by yourself, as much as I thought I hated my wife, I knew inside I loved her. But it just never went away. But I would deny it.
But late at night, laying in bed, it would just haunt you.
Pat’s visitation arrangement only allowed him to see his kids for six hours on Saturday. So he devised a plan to get them back.
One day, I decided to go see where my kids were going to church. And I thought it was going to be a cult.
He thought if he could prove to the judge that his ex-wife had his kids in a cult, that he’d get full custody.
Again, the thought was, I am getting my kids for me. It wasn’t about what’s best for them. It’s about what I want.
But something else happened instead.
That morning, I had an encounter with God. I heard the gospel like I never heard it before. I ended up giving my life to Jesus.
And when I did that, it was like, my whole life, my view was just like, just central, like this. Like, that’s my worldview. And everything I see is that.
And it’s all about me. But when I gave my life to Christ, that lens, I pulled away and all of a sudden there’s a range of gorgeous, beautiful mountains which represented the best of my life and the rest of my life. And everything changed immediately for me then.
And I started thinking about my children and my ex-wife. Like, what would be good for my ex-wife? Isn’t that strange?
So, kind of a long story short, we ended up getting remarried six months later, and we haven’t looked back since. Now, our hearts are, it’s about serving other people. It’s about serving God.
It’s about serving Jesus, helping other people.
And that’s what Pat’s been doing ever since, bringing hope and help to people around the world. It’s no longer just himself on his mind, but he continually puts himself in other people’s shoes. Whether it’s feeding malnourished children, bringing medical care to communities, being first on the ground after disaster, or helping girls escape sex trafficking.
The first girl that we rescued out of that red light district, she’s 16 and she’s been there five years. She went back, got all her stuff, and came back about five, ten minutes later with a shopping bag. And all her earthly possessions were in this bag.
Because of his own experience, Pat knew what it was like having all earthly possessions fit into a plastic bag. At that time, he had no idea how God was about to transform his life or the adventure on which he was about to take him. His own escape from selfishness.
And now God was using Pat to rescue this girl out of a dark place into a whole new life.
And I believe with all my heart that the Christian life should be the greatest adventure on the planet. And if we are Christians don’t live it that way and don’t experience that, I’m going to challenge you and say, who’s your mind on? You or God?
As believers, we can get confused, even frustrated trying to discover what God wants us to do with our lives. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Joyce Meyer wants to help walk you through the process of finding God’s will for your life.
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