Joyce Meyer Sermon Forgive Me God Change Me: I believe that one of the things that is a huge problem for people, is they don’t know how to receive correction without letting it condemn them, because that is the only way that we can grow up.
Joyce Meyer asks this question do you have children? Have you ever had to correct them but you just consider that part of growing up don’t you? Well we’re God’s children and when we come into this walk with God, we’re baby Christians and we have to grow up and part of the way that God helps us grow up is through correction, through chastisement and the Bible says very clearly that God only corrects those whom he loves.
We only correct our children because we love them, many times truth be told we’d rather not mess with it, who wants to punish their kid and keep him in the house all week, when it’s just going to make you miserable? But you do it because you love them.
We don’t love taking things away from our children, that we know is going to really wound them emotionally, but we do it because we love them and God corrects us because He loves us but when God tries to correct us, if our response to that correction is condemnation, then we don’t receive what God is trying to do and we just have to go around that mountain another time.
A spiritually mature person can actually be grateful when God shows them something that’s wrong in their life or in their attitude and they will be very quick to repent and be very grateful that God cared enough about them to open their eyes. There is no need if you know who you are in Christ to feel condemned, if you understand righteousness through the blood of Christ, if you understand that you’re a very loved child of God and that you have been made right in God through the blood of Jesus, he sees you as justified, made just as if you had never sinned.
When God corrects you there is no reason to come under condemnation, you need to be secure and say I know I’m God’s child and I am not going to be condemned, I am none of the devil’s business, if God is correcting me about this, I’m going to receive this correction, I’m going to grow and get beyond them, I am not going to have a bad attitude about it.
If you don’t get over being condemned all the time Philippians 3:12, Paul said that he knew his faults, he knew he had not arrived at the place of perfection but he kept pressing on, I know that Paul was not condemned, you know why because when you’re condemned, you can’t press on, when you’re condemned all you get is pressed down, Paul didn’t say I’m not perfect and so I’m pressed down I’m depressed, I’m in a bad mood about this, he said I let go of what lies behind, I know I’ve not arrived but I’m going to press toward that mark of perfection, he knew who he was in Christ. You don’t have to concentrate on everything that’s wrong with you, when God shows you something that’s wrong with you just agree with him, I agree God.
Say you’re right lord, I can’t change myself but I want to do my part, I want to study the word in that area and trust the Holy Spirit to work that change in you, it may not happen overnight but if you keep agreeing with God little by little from glory to glory you will change.