TONIGHT, I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY
AND MAN'S RESPONSIBILITY.
YOU SEE, GOD IS SOVEREIGN, AND HE CAN DO ANYTHING
HE WANTS TO, BUT THE THING THAT'S SO AMAZING IS HE HAS
DECIDED IN HIS SOVEREIGNTY THAT HE WANTS TO BE PARTNERS
WITH US.
THAT HE WANTS TO NOT JUST GO DO EVERYTHING HIMSELF BUT HE WANTS
TO DO THINGS THROUGH US.
AND NOT ONLY THAT, HE'S TAKEN A VERY BOLD STEP AND GIVEN MAN
A FREE WILL.
GOD WANTS US TO USE OUR FREE WILL TO CHOOSE HIS WILL.
THAT'S THE HIGH CALLING ON OUR LIFE.
HE DIDN'T WANT ROBOTS, HE DIDN'T WANT PUPPETS.
SO, HE GAVE US FREE WILL.
AND IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO GO TO HELL, GOD WILL PROTECT THEIR
RIGHT TO DO THAT.
I MEAN, IT'S TRUE.
AND I'M SURE SOME OF YOU ARE FINDING OUT IF SOMEBODY JUST
DOES NOT WANT TO LOVE GOD, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE THEM
LOVE GOD.
IT'S A DECISION THAT THEY GET TO MAKE BUT THEY ALSO GET TO BE
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DECISIONS THAT THEY MAKE.
SO, THIS THING ABOUT FREE WILL, IT'S REALLY EXCITING ON ONE END,
BUT BOY, THERE'S SUCH A RESPONSIBILITY TO IT BECAUSE IF
I HAVE FREE WILL AND I CAN MAKE MY OWN CHOICES THEN I REALLY
CAN'T BLAME GOD OR ANYBODY ELSE FOR THE MESSES.
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
JOYCE: AND BOY, DO WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM WITH THAT, BLAME,
BLAME, BLAME, BLAME, BLAME.
AND NOW, THERE IS THIS AREA WHERE WHEN WICKED PEOPLE ARE
MAKING WRONG CHOICES, IF THEY HAPPEN TO BE IN SOME KIND OF
AUTHORITY OVER YOU THEN SOMETIMES YOU GET IN THE
BACKLASH OF THEIR BAD DECISIONS AND YOU GET HURT.
AND WE DON'T ALWAYS UNDERSTAND WHY GOD DOESN'T DO SOMETHING
ABOUT THAT.
BUT WHAT GOD REALLY WANTS US TO DO IS TO TRUST HIM AND THEN AS
SOON AS WE CAN MAKE OUR OWN CHOICES, START MAKING CHOICES
ACCORDING TO HIS WORD AND THEN IT DOESN'T TAKE VERY LONG AT ALL
AND YOU BEGIN TO OVERTURN ALL THE EFFECTS OF ANY OF THE BAD
THINGS THAT HAPPEN.
BUT WHAT SATAN WANTS IS FOR EVIL PEOPLE TO DO EVIL THINGS AND
THEN EVEN GOOD PEOPLE OR WELL MEANING PEOPLE GET HURT BY THAT
AND THEN HE WANTS THEM TO GET BITTER AND SPEND THEIR LIFE
FULL OF HATRED, WANTING TO GET REVENGE.
BUT WE'RE SMARTER THAN THAT, AREN'T WE?
I SAID, WE'RE SMARTER THAN THAT AREN'T WE?
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
JOYCE: THE DUMBEST THING THAT WE CAN DO IS TRY TO DEAL WITH
OUR OWN ENEMIES.
AND I CAN SAY THAT NOW, AFTER 40 YEARS OF TEACHING
THE WORD, BUT I WASTED A LOT OF MY TIME BEING
MAD AT PEOPLE WHO HURT ME AND IT JUST WAS REALLY A TOTAL WASTE
OF TIME.
AND AS LONG AS WE ARE TRYING TO DEFEND OURSELVES OR GET REVENGE
OR GET PEOPLE BACK--NOW, LISTEN TO WHAT I'M GOING TO SAY,
GOD CAN NOT HELP US.
SHOULD I SAY IT AGAIN?
AUDIENCE: YES!
JOYCE: AS LONG AS WE ARE HATING PEOPLE, AGAINST PEOPLE,
MAD AT EVERYBODY, BITTER BECAUSE OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED
TO US, BLAMING LIFE, BLAMING GOD, EVEN BLAMING THE DEVIL
DOESN'T REALLY WORK BECAUSE IF WE JUST SIT AROUND AND BLAME AND
WE DON'T TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY THEN THE PROBLEM NEVER
GETS FIXED.
AND SO, YOU CAN SPEND YOUR LIFE HATING, BEING BITTER, TRYING TO
GET REVENGE, BUT WHILE YOU'RE DOING THAT, GOD CANNOT HELP YOU.
YOU SAY, "WELL, I'M TRUSTING GOD!"
BUT, ARE YOU DOING GOOD?
ARE YOU FORGIVING?
ARE YOU PRAYING FOR YOUR ENEMIES?
IN THE MIDST OF YOUR PAIN ARE YOU BEING A BLESSING TO
SOMEBODY ELSE?
COME ON.
"WELL, I'M TRUSTING GOD!" BUT SEE, THAT'S NOT ENOUGH.
I COULD HAVE WALKED OUT HERE TONIGHT AND SAID, "HOW MANY
OF YOU ARE TRUSTING GOD?" AND THERE WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN
ONE HAND THAT WOULDN'T HAVE GONE UP.
AND THEN IF I WOULD HAVE SAID, "HOW MANY OF YOU ARE DOING WHAT
GOD HAS TOLD YOU TO DO?"
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
JOYCE: "WELL, I GO TO CHURCH."
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
JOYCE: OKAY, I'M JUST GOING TO SAY THIS AND GET
IT OVER WITH.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
JOYCE: LET ME JUST SAY THIS AND GET IT OVER WITH.
GOING TO CHURCH IS WONDERFUL.
BUT IT IS BASEMENT LEVEL, BABY ENTRY CHRISTIANITY.
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
JOYCE: IF THAT'S ALL YOU'VE GOT TO SAY FOR YOURSELF AS
A CHRISTIAN, THAT IS SAD INDEED.
YES, WE NEED TO GO TO CHURCH, BUT WE NEED TO COME OUT OF THE
CHURCH FIRED UP AND FUELED UP AND READY TO GET OUT IN SOCIETY
AND REPRESENT JESUS THE WAY HE TELLS US TO REPRESENT HIM.
[AUDIENCE CHEERING]