Welcome to 15 Minutes in the Word with New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer. On today's program, Joyce will be teaching from her series, Enjoying Successful Relationships. God wants to bless us, but we must get along. Because where there is unity, there is blessing and anointing. So it's our job to learn how to set aside our own agenda and serve one another through love. Now, here's Joyce with today's teaching. You know what? I'm very serious about what I'm saying. So many marriages today are falling apart because people get married with this thought. What are you going to do to make me happy? And they don't realize they've got it backwards. Any relationship you get into, any relationship you get into, the first thing you should think is how can I make your life better? How can I help you? How can I edify you? How can I build you up? And there's something in us that screams, what about me? Can't you hear that cry coming out of the depths of your soul sometimes? Who's going to do something for me? You know, the thing is, is if we serve other people in whatever way we can, little ways, big ways, but lots of little ways. I mean, a lot of this really that I'm talking about tonight is little stuff that most people would never notice, but you know when God whispers in your heart and asks you to do it, you know that. You know, one of the things that I've not had a lot of in the last 35 years is time. Because I work so hard. Now, I've got my life much better arranged now and I've cut some things out and I'm really just giving myself to the center core of what I believe my call is. So I do have more time now than I did. But I've also discovered that I'm a bit selfish with it because I didn't have much of it for a while now. I'm like, don't mess with my time. I've waited 35 years to have some time and I'm going to do what I want to do with my time. Well, of course, you know, God's not going to put up with that. So now he's got his finger on my time every time I turn around. And one day last week, I was having my prayer time, oh God, please use me today, Lord. God put somebody in my path today that I can help. God, I want you to use me. I just can't be happy if you don't use me. Thank you, Lord. Had my plan. Was going shopping. Got my Starbucks. Going shopping. Got in the first store. Dingalingaling. Oh. Oh. You're at the hospital. Oh, and your husband can't come and get you because he's got to be at work because you've been in the hospital so many times he's already used up all of his vacation. Oh. Huh. How are you going to get home? Come on now. And I did not want to stop what I was doing, but I'm committed to washing feet. Come on. I'm committed to washing feet. Now, here's the thing you've got to understand about doing this kind of stuff. There's nothing in your flesh that's going to clap and cheer, but I want you to make a decision on which part of you you want to keep happy. You want to keep your inner man happy. You want to have inner joy and inner peace and a fulfillment. You want to be full in your soul. The Bible called it a fat soul. You want to be full in your soul or just want your flesh to get its way all the time. We can keep our flesh comfortable and our spirits will be miserable and empty or we can keep our spirits comfortable and full knowing that we're in the will of God, even though our flesh maybe is not initially happy right away. And I know that I know that I know that the word of God that I have tonight is for the people that are here and the people that are going to watch this by TV. And whether you have never gotten to this area or you've gotten there and just need a little touch up, I believe that this is for you tonight. And I want you to take an inventory and say, am I really fulfilled? Am I happy? Am I content? Am I satisfied? And if I'm not, then what is really wrong with my life? Is it this person? Is it that person? Is it that I need this or that or something else? Or do I just really need to get busy doing what God has asked me to do? Matter of fact, I'm going to challenge you to go on a holy rampage and keep yourself a little journal and just see how many creative ways you can find to wash feet. You might as well clap louder than that because I ain't going to shut up till you get there. Let me show you how this works in a marriage. One day last week, I'd been working all day and Dave had been out playing golf. It just happens. So I got home and I had my dinner and he hadn't had his dinner yet. And so I was wanting him to come and watch a movie with me and he was going to take a shower and he said, well, you know, I'll have to fix my dinner first and eat it. I mean, that's just kind of the way we do it. You know, I eat mine. He fixes his, especially if he were out there at the same time. And so I got this little, guess I should just fix it for him. So I had his dinner already for him. And you know, that might not sound like a big deal to some of you who do that all the time, but it's like a bigger deal for me because cooking I don't do. I tried recently and it was just like, I wrote Proverbs 32 real quick. Proverbs 31, the last proverb is about the perfect later. He did everything right. Well, I was just like, anyway, that's another story for another time. And so I had it already and he came out expecting to have to do it. And he was like, Oh, babe, that is so sweet. I had it all on the table for him. I had him something to drink. All he had to do was go and just sit down. I didn't just wash his feet. I washed his head and his, you know, the whole thing. I mean, it was a full deal meal. And you know, I felt good, you know, not like in a prideful way, but it just feels good, you know, and I wouldn't have felt so good that night if I would have just like, I ain't doing that. He played golf all day. I worked all day. Let him fix his own dinner. Now I know none of you would ever have that kind of attitude. I mean, I'm well aware that that's not an attitude you would have, but sometimes I still have those attitudes. But I know you don't. You guys don't do that. And so in the mornings, I have coffee and I have these two little whole grain graham cracker things about that big. And I put almond butter on them and just a little tiny bit of raw honey. And that's, I do that while I, while I pray. And so I get up and make my coffee in the mornings and Dave came out the next morning. He's out there early. And I said, how'd you like to make my crackers for me? He said, that's why I came. Now you see, truly, truly do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You can turn things around in your home. If you'll take the first few steps, I said, you can turn things around in your home. I said, you can turn things around in your home. And I'm talking to all of you watching my television too. Don't you think that I don't see you there? And don't you turn that television set off because I'm saying something you need, but don't want to hear. Now I can just hear what's coming. Well, if you think I'm going to do that, if I do that, he's going to walk all over me. There is no way that I'm going to do that. Well, then I guess all I can say is go ahead and be miserable. I don't know what else to tell you. I've tried it every way, and I can tell you this is the only way that works. What good does it do us to come and sit in our padded pews every week if we're going to leave church and fight with our family all the way home, then go home, feel sorry for yourself all afternoon because everybody's not doing what you want them to. I know I got it right. I've been there, done that. We can talk about God on Sunday and act like the devil all week. People do it all over the world. Thank you for your tremendous response. All right, let's go back to John 13. I'm going to behave myself. Actually, if you don't mind, I'm going to start this over. I mean, not the whole foot washing, but I got two pages of scriptures, but somehow I don't know that we're going to need them. We may never get out of here. Now, before the Passover feast, Jesus, knowing and being fully aware that the time had come for him to leave the world and return to his father, and as he had loved those who were his own in the world, he now loved them to the last and the highest degree. He's going to teach them how to wash feet. This is the best thing I can do for you guys. So it was during supper, Satan already having put the thought of betraying Jesus in the heart of Judas, that Jesus knowing and fully aware that the father had put everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was now returning to God, got up from supper, took off his garments, put on a servants' towel, shot goes through the room. What is he doing? He poured water into the basin to begin to wash his disciples' feet and to wipe them with the servants' towel. When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, Lord, are my feet to be washed by you? Is it for you to wash my feet? And I can understand why he felt that way. I think that was probably a good response from Peter, and I had an incident. Well, let me finish reading this. He said, you don't understand now what I'm doing, but you will understand later on. And Peter said to him, you are never going to wash my feet. See, not only do you need to learn how to wash feet, you need to learn how to receive when somebody's trying to wash yours. Come on, I see you guys all the way up there. I know you're up there. I'm preaching to you too. Peter said, you're never going to wash my feet. And Jesus said, unless I wash you, you have no part in me. You have no companionship in me. I'll tell you what, I had a lot of one-sided relationships in my life, people who used me. They took and put nothing back. And about five years ago, I got tired of that, and I thought, I'm either going to have real friends or I'm not going to have any. I'm not going to hang out with takers. I'm not going to hang out with users. Now I'll hang out with them long enough to try to help them and be an example to them. But we have no real relationship if there's no doing. That's why love is not theory, and it's not talking, it's not a sermon that everybody can say amen to and go home and do nothing. Church, if we're ever going to get anything, we've got to get this. Do you understand? We've got to get this. And not just to amen, boy, sister, joy, and sure, preach to good, message tonight. No, we've got to get this. You've got to go out of here and you've got to start saying, my God, I need help. Teach me. Read every book you can get your hands on on love. Take every scripture you can find in the Bible about love and helping other people and being a servant and write them out in longhand. Don't use your computer this time. Write it out in longhand. It gets in you better if you sit and do it. It takes more time. People are all different, so we need to learn how to relate to everyone, not just those who are like us. We must learn to avoid strife by trying to keep unity and oneness with the people in our lives. If we truly want to be like Christ, we need to become a servant. We cannot become so busy that we refuse to be interrupted when someone needs help. Most of Jesus' miracles took place when we stopped along the way. A sincere, deep desire to help people is one of the most godly attitudes we can have. Galatians 513 says this, You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Rather, serve one another humbly in love. We all go through hard times and it's so easy in those moments to focus on the problem. But what if you were able to see the trials of your life the way God sees them and respond to them the way He teaches us in His Word? Joyce Meyer wants to show you how in her new book, Blessed in the Mess, even in the middle of life's difficulties, God's kindness shines through. Blessed in the Mess, order your copy today at joysemire.org. Thank you for listening to 15 Minutes in the Word with Joyce.
