Now look at Romans 5:1: Therefore, since we are justified acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God: Through faith, — now watch this — let us grasp the fact that we also now have peace. First we get the righteousness settled, then through that comes peace because we begin to have peace with ourselves. When you have peace with yourself, then things around you start to get peaceful. The things people do don’t bother you as much and when things don’t happen the way you want them to happen, it doesn’t bother you so much because you’re not looking to your circumstances for your peace and joy, you’ve already got it.

If you want to have a miserable relationship, you assign somebody else the job of making you happy. Most people come into a marriage relationship that way. It may not be something said out loud but people think, “I’m expecting you to make me happy.” Yes, I think that in a marriage relationship we should do our best to try to give joy to our partner, but I can’t depend on Dave to make me happy every day because some days he doesn’t make me happy. I’m not depending on him to dictate whether or not I’m going to be happy today.

I think a lot of people get up and they wait to see what somebody else is going to do before they decide if they can have a decent day. Since we’re justified declared right, given a right standing with God:, now we can [get hold of the fact that we have the peace of reconciliation to hold and enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah, the anointed one:. One more verse and one sentence: vs. 2: Through him also we have our access entrance, introduction: By faith into this grace state of God’s favor: In which we firmly and safely stand.

So let us — do what? — Rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God. vs. 3: Moreover [let us also be full of joy — when? now!: When? Now!: When? Now!: Not when everybody does what I want them to, not when I get everything my way, but when I know that I’ve been made right with God and justified through the blood of Christ, and now I have this peace that the devil cannot take away from me because it’s not based on my circumstances and he can’t get to my heart. Now I can have joy now.

How do we get righteousness? Not through our works. Our self-righteousness is like filthy rags. It’s not our self-righteousness but the righteousness that we need is the righteousness that can only come to us by faith in Jesus Christ. No amount of our works, no amount of our struggling to behave perfectly will ever make us right with God. “Joyce, aren’t we supposed to try?” Yes, but we’re supposed to do what we do for God and live in this world and try to do the best we can because we love him, not to get him to love us; because he has accepted us, not to get him to accept us. You can like yourself. You can have a good relationship with yourself.

You can know your weaknesses and your faults. When you make mistakes, you can be sorry, you can receive the forgiveness of God, receive his mercy and go right on, and you don’t have to waste ten minutes of your day feeling guilty and condemned. But the devil will come around and try to accuse you: “You this and you that, and who do you think you are to pray? Surely you don’t expect God to do that for you after what you’ve done.” And on and on and on. Then you start having a little trouble in your life and the devil says, “see, I told you.” “It’s this and that and something else.”

I want to see people enjoy their life because I’m concerned if the world doesn’t start seeing happy Christians, we’re going to lose a whole bunch of people. If some sourpuss Christian is preaching to a bunch of lost people, no matter what you say, they’re going to take a look at you and not want what you have. I have not done you one bit of good if you read this and nothing changes in your house. And it’s not what we do in church that concerns me at all, it’s what goes on behind closed doors.

If you really want to enjoy freedom, you need to learn that apart from him, you can do nothing. When it gets right down to it, God wants to be involved in everything. We should invite him into everything and everything should be done through him and for him. Freedom is such a wonderful thing to have! Freedom to be yourself. Freedom to enjoy your life. Freedom to be able to forgive. Freedom operates in every area of our life, at least it should.

True freedom does not mean that we’re free to do anything no matter which it hurts or how out of balance it is. True freedom is being free to live within the boundaries set by god’s word. Now, here’s an example, and I hope you’ll get it this way. Dave talks about boundaries a lot of times. He has a real revelation on boundaries and even like in finances. He said the amount of money that you have available, that’s your boundary and as long as you live within your boundary, you’re going to be safe and not have trouble. If you give, save, and spend within your boundary, then your boundary will grow because you’re honoring the boundary that you have.  But if you live beyond those boundaries, that’s when you get in trouble. Imagine I’m standing on a platform.

The platform up here represents the boundaries that god has set in his word for my life and he has said to me: Joyce, if you live within these boundaries, which is basically obeying what the word says, then you’ll be safe, you’ll be blessed, you’ll be happy, you’ll have joy, you’ll have peace, but the minute you get outside of those boundaries… It wouldn’t be a very good idea if all of a sudden I jump over the side, would it? But that’s exactly what a lot of people are doing: they’re going outside their boundaries and they’re living in a pit somewhere, they’re living outside their boundaries and they’re getting hurt all the time, their lives are messed up and they’re blaming the devil. What they need to do to start with is read what this says and do what it says.

I can promise you, as long as we live inside the boundary that god has set for us in his word, we will be safe and happy and blessed. You’re free. Within these boundaries, you’re free. It’s only when we get outside of these boundaries.

You know what I said right there? I will not start putting chocolate syrup on this fudge bar every night. I will not! I may do it once every two weeks but I will not do it every night! That’s doing all things in moderation. It’s not that I can’t do it. I’m free to do it, but it would be dumb if I started doing it all the time. No matter what you give your flesh, it’s never going to be enough. The flesh has one word: more! More! More! More! More! You can be in debt. You can have so much debt that you are miserable and that won’t keep you from going to heaven but it will steal your freedom. You’re free to go shopping here today but you should be smart enough not to go buy things you can’t pay for. You think we shouldn’t talk about this stuff in church? Yeah, we should.

If we read 1 Corinthians 6:13, Paul said in verse 12, “I’m free to do anything but i won’t do anything because I’m only going to do what’s good for me,” and then in verse 13, the two things he talks about are food and sex. He talks about food and sex: I will control myself in both of those areas and you should control yourself in those areas. Self-control.

I have to tell you the truth: freedom is available but freedom is not free. It’s worth any price that you pay because nothing is worse than staying in bondage. Whatever price you pay to break out of the bondages you’re in, it only lasts for a period of time and then you’re free in that area. People never want to suffer. You know what I tell people? You’re suffering anyway, so you might as well suffer toward something that’s going to make some sense, not just suffer by staying in bondage. In first peter 2, Paul warned the people and said: (v. 16) live as free people but yet don’t employ your freedom as an excuse to sin. You’re free to enjoy food but yet not overeat and become a glutton. You’re free to speak boldly and plainly yet you’re free from being ill-mannered and rude. You’re free to be quiet when that would be the best. You’re free to spend money yet you should be wise enough not to be wasteful or foolish.

John: I think it will.

Joyce: Okay. Stay with us and when we come back we’re going to talk more about this book and john’s book, how today matters, and what you decide today, how you handle today is going to make a difference in your tomorrow. So the good news is if you don’t like what’s going on in your life, you can do something about it. If you feel stressed and overwhelmed, you can change that by simply changing your approach. So please stay with us because I think that there’s a lot of great things yet that we’re going to get to share with you

Joyce: Right now I’m sitting in the doorway of one of the brothel houses. Right on the other side of this curtain are commercial sex workers that feel that the only way they can survive is to sell their bodies. That’s really a terrible lifestyle but the good news is through bringing people hope in Jesus Christ and another option, that can change. Your gift to missions will help us make a difference not only in these lives but in more lives here in India and all over the world. I just want to encourage you to take action right away.

Joyce Meyer Online: If you feel that God is putting it in your heart to be part of this, don’t put it off. So many times when we procrastinate, the enemy actually talks us out of doing what God put in our heart to do. You can go to your phone now or you can get on the web site and you can be part of amazing outreach worldwide that’s changing lives.

And the eaglet never made it. So often we need to take the harder route for our own preservation. So sometimes when you wonder why God could make it easier for you and he’s not, trust him that he’s building the faith in you that you’re going to need for later on. Those years that we first began our ministry and the six years that we had to believe God for literally everything — I mean, socks, underwear, skillets, shoes — I’m talking everything. And I had quit a full-time job, expecting God to really bless us. Little did I know that he was blessing us in a deeper way.

He was teaching us to trust him; I mean, to really trust him because prior to that I was very accustomed to taking care of myself. But I had my limit and there was only so much I could do, and God knew that the place that he was taking me to, I was going to need a whole lot more than what I could ever provide for myself. So he had to remove what I did have and make me totally trust him, and I didn’t understand. We never understand on this side of things; it’s only when we get on the other side of things that we really understand what God’s doing.

Now with the amount of finances that this ministry needs, it’s a good thing that I learned how to believe God for my socks and underwear. A lot of people want God to do something big for them but they’re not willing to be faithful to the little things that God gives them to do. If you’re wondering why you haven’t been promoted in your church, and you already are very sure that you can preach better than the preacher and sing better than the worship leader, can I tell you something?

Joyce: Seeing and being with all these wonderful children is much more meaningful if we know some of their stories and I have on my lap a little handsome guy named Raj. This is his sister right behind me in the pretty pink dress, named Anita. I really believe that we’re living in times where people are in desperate need and we really need to get busy not just talking about what somebody else should do, but we need to make sure that we’re taking action to relieve suffering all around the globe.

Narrator: Besides providing a loving home for these children, hand of hope also provides antiretroviral medication, a proven treatment that increases the lifespan and the quality of life for people living with hiv.

Doctor: This costs around $43.

Joyce: Right here in this little bottle, I hold the medicine that will help them with the hiv virus. This actually costs about $27 a month — a month’s supply of this to keep these children alive. I like to look at these children as if it was one of my children and what I would want somebody to do for me if my child was in this situation and I could not help them. Most of their parents are deceased; they’ve already died with aids. Many of them just would have been totally abandoned, their villages would have had nothing to do with them but once again the good news of Jesus Christ is that we can bring help and healing to people.

Narrator: Dave and Joyce spend the entire day with the children before traveling back to Bangalore for the conference and clearly, the children touch their hearts in a very special way.

Joyce: The one little boy in particular, first of all, was just so cute, it was unbelievable and he had such a big smile and then when you hear his story about how his mother’s husband was a leper.

So now we had an eyewitness. I want you to hear this because you really have to learn to discern the voice of God. So then I knew I had her so I began to preach a sermon about lying and hung her over hell and told her how awful it was that she was lying to her parents, and she’s just sitting there crying: I didn’t do it, daddy! Finally I said: listen, you can’t lie to the Holy Spirit. I just feel in my spirit that you’re lying. You’re lying! I spanked her and sent her to her room. About thirty minutes later, Caroline, my other daughter comes in, crying and she says: daddy, I did it. I lied. So my whole family then: daddy, I thought you said God told you! Of course I gave her that spanking on credit and told her the next time she did something she’d get off. The bottom line is this: just because you get stirred up doesn’t mean that’s God. But I found that if he’s speaking to you, number one, he will stir you and then he will confirm it — he will confirm it through several witnesses, through the word, and it’s not a coincidence; it’s God speaking to you and he confirms every word with two or three witnesses.

Joyce Meyer Ministries: I think we need to talk about this just a little bit more as soon as we come back. Stay tuned and we’ll be back after a short break.

Ginger: At the tender ages of five and three, Kajol and Kavita have already experienced pain and rejection beyond most of our imaginations. This is a savage part of Mumbai, India — a red-light district where prostitution is rampant and poverty is fierce. We found little Kajol and Kavita alone on the street, fending completely for themselves.

And if you’ll work with god, study the word, learn to live within those borders, and let the holy spirit show you the weeds and you stay busy pulling weeds out of your life and you let him work on your attitude and renew your mind, pretty soon all this stuff that is in you grows into this giant tree with all kinds of fruit. Being a Christian is not boring. It is the most exciting thing if you look at it properly. (applause)

I may get bored with life once in a while but I never get bored with god because you never know what he’s gonna come up with from one day to the next, amen? (laughing) it’s just exciting to serve god and to have hope and to know that no matter how difficult things get here, when you die, you’re gonna go to heaven, live forever in his presence, no tears, no sorrow, no sighing, no moaning.  We have a lot to look forward to. I’m not gonna promise you a perfect life with no problems because I’d be lying if I said that, but I will tell you this: your worst day with Jesus will be better than your best day ever was without him. (applause) so I’m not even asking you if you go to church; I’m saying: are you born again? Have you really received?

Joyce Meyer Online – There’s a difference in just mental assent: “yeah, I believe god is out there somewhere.” no, I don’t want you just to have heard about god. I want you to know god. That means you throw open your whole life and you say: i am a wretched sinner, I cannot help myself, I have made a mess out of my life, I do not want to live one more day without you. I’m not just inviting you to join a church or prescribe to some certain religion or to sign on the dotted line.

Joyce Meyer said the bible says love is not touchy.  So many people get their feelings hurt so easily, but it’s really kind of a selfish thing because it’s still all about me and how I feel and what you said to me and what you didn’t do for me and what you did do to me. It’s just not really the life that we’re called to. So many people are insecure. I’ve battled with insecurities in my life and I’ve gotten over a lot of them, but Joyce Meyer Ministries states  see so many insecurities in people and it’s such a torment to have to live like that. So I think it’s just something you have to keep praying about and studying. Many times, actually, if somebody really hurts me and I’m having a hard time getting over it, I will get the bible out and look up scriptures on forgiveness.  It’s amazing the power that’s in the word of god that actually… It’s like medicine for your soul. Joyce Meyer Online states that it’s really no different than having a headache and going and taking an aspirin.  If you’re angry or you have unforgiven, one of the best ways to help yourself is to get your bible out and it really will help calm your soul down.

Ginger: it does. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at the different things that Jesus experienced; how he was hurt by people, how he responded, how he reacted to things too, and it helps me to know that I’m not alone in what I’m feeling. He faced all of it and he did it without sin. So he did it much better, and he’s a great example for me to learn how. When we really get that perspective that we’re walking in love, that my entire life is about god and his needs and how I can show him to others; it’s not about me. That has helped me a lot to be able to deal with things that hurt me.  When I can remember it’s not about me — it’s about something entirely different — that helps a lot. This is another one kind of along those same lines because when our children are involved, we see our children getting hurt, sometimes it’s real difficult to know that line. This says, “my son has been struggling with drugs and alcohol for a long time. He says he wants help but he isn’t showing any signs of that being true.

Joyce Meyer – I’ve called around to get him the help, but they say that he needs to be the one to do this. As a mother, I want to give him and help him as much as I can, but how far should I go?” this is what you were talking about — that tough love and walking in love. What’s the line?