SALVATION HAS BEEN BOUGHT AND PAID FOR.
JESUS DID EVERYTHING, BUT IF YOU WANT TO HAVE THE PROMISES OF
GOD, THEN THERE'S GONNA BE A FEW THINGS THAT YOU'RE GONNA NEED
TO DO.
YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO STEP OUT IN FAITH.
YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO PUT YOUR FOOT IN THE WATER.
YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAYBE SAY GOODBYE TO SOME STUFF LIKE WE
SAID LAST NIGHT.
IF YOU WEREN'T HERE LAST NIGHT, YOU CAN BUY THE CD.
SOME OF YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT GOD WOULD DO FOR YOU
AND THE ONLY WAY YOU'RE EVER GONNA KNOW IS
TO STEP OUT AND FIND OUT.
YOU SAY, "WELL, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" WELL, I MEAN THERE'S A GAZILLION
DIFFERENT EXAMPLES.
I DON'T KNOW, LET'S JUST SAY THAT YOU HATE YOUR JOB.
I MEAN, ALL YOUR DO IS COMPLAIN ABOUT IT.
YOU DON'T LIKE IT. YOU DON'T LIKE THE PEOPLE.
YOU DON'T LIKE THE WORK, AND YOU'VE REALLY GOT SOMETHING ELSE
IN YOUR HEART THAT YOU'D LOVE TO DO BUT YOU LIVE IN FEAR THAT IF
YOU GIVE THAT UP, YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE ANYTHING.
"WELL, GOD, IF YOU GIVE ME ANOTHER JOB--"
WELL, ARE YOU EVEN LOOKING?
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
JOYCE: ARE YOU EVEN TRYING?
I MEAN, THE STORY OF MY LIFE IS SO MUCH LIKE SO MANY OTHER
STORIES, MANY OF YOU HAVE THE SAME KINDS OF STORIES, BUT WHEN
I FELT LIKE GOD TOLD ME THAT HE WANTED ME TO TEACH
A BIBLE STUDY, I DIDN'T HAVE ANY IDEA HOW TO DO THAT.
I DIDN'T KNOW THE BIBLE.
I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT, BUT I HAD A DEEP DESIRE TO HELP
PEOPLE.
I WANT YOU TO TEACH THEM, TEACH A BIBLE STUDY.
"WELL, WHO'S GONNA COME, YOU KNOW?
NOBODY KNOWS ME, NOBODY CARES."
AND I REMEMBER SAYING, "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO TEACH."
HE SAID, "I DO, I DO."
AND YOU KNOW WHAT I HAD TO DO?
MY FIRST STEP WAS TO SAY, OKAY.
MY SECOND STEP WAS TO INVITE SOME PEOPLE AND ODDLY ENOUGH,
THEY ALL SAID YES.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
JOYCE: SEE, I COULD HAVE BEEN SO AFRAID OF REJECTION THAT I
WOULDN'T HAVE EVEN TRIED.
I COULD HAVE BEEN SO AFRAID OF FAILURE, THAT I WOULDN'T HAVE
EVEN TRIED, BUT I HAD TO STEP INTO THE WATER BEFORE THE WATER
WOULD PART.
NOW, I GUESS WORST CASE SCENARIO, IF YOU STEP IN,
IT DOESN'T PART, YOU CAN STILL STEP BACK.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
JOYCE: BUT SOME OF YOU ARE JUST SITTING AROUND PASSIVELY
WAITING FOR ALL THESE THINGS TO FALL ON YOU AND I CAN TELL YOU
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO.
GOD TOLD ABRAHAM, "YOU LEAVE EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE FAMILIAR
WITH AND YOU GO TO A PLACE THAT I WILL SHOW YOU."
HE HAD TO STEP OUT.
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
JOYCE: I WONDER HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE WITH DREAMS,
AND VISIONS, AND AMAZINGLY GREAT THINGS IN THEIR HEART, BUT
THEY'RE AFRAID TO EVER EVEN TAKE ONE STEP IN THAT DIRECTION
TO SEE WHAT GOD MIGHT DO.
SO, I STARTED THE BIBLE STUDY, 5 YEARS I TAUGHT THAT BIBLE
STUDY, 20, 25 PEOPLE CAME.
AT FIRST, I STARTED IT WITH A DOZEN PEOPLE AND I WASN'T
TOO BRILLIANT BACK THEN TO UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING, BUT I WAS
THE OFFICE MANAGER WHERE I WORKED AND SO I INVITED ALL THE
GIRLS THAT WORKED FOR ME, NOT BEING SMART ENOUGH TO REALIZE
THAT SINCE I WAS THE BOSS, THEY PROBABLY FELT COMPELLED TO COME.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
JOYCE: BUT IT GAVE ME ENOUGH FAITH.
MY GOSH, PEOPLE ARE COMING AND THEY'RE COME BACK.
WELL, THEN EVENTUALLY THE COMPANY, SOMEBODY COMPLAINED TO
THE UNION AND THE UNION SAID, "YOU CAN'T DO THIS HERE."
AND SO, I HAD TO, WELL NOW WHAT?
WELL, SHOULD I QUIT?
SHOULD I GIVE UP?
SO, WE DECIDED TO MOVE IT TO OUR HOUSE, WHICH WAS LIKE AN HOUR
AWAY OR 30 MINUTES AWAY FROM WHERE ANYBODY LIVED THAT
WAS COMING.
WELL, I DON'T KNOW THAT ANYBODY WILL COME BUT I DECIDED TO TAKE
ANOTHER STEP OF FAITH.
WELL GUESS WHAT, 12 PEOPLE DIDN'T COME, 25 STARTED COMING.
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
JOYCE: AND THEY CAME WEEK AFTER WEEK AFTER WEEK.
I'M NOT GONNA STAND HERE AND TELL YOU MY WHOLE TESTIMONY BUT
SEE, WALKING BY FAITH, LIVING BY FAITH, THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY
FAITH, THAT'S WHAT GOD WANTS US TO DO.
THAT MEANS EVERYTHING IS A STEP OF FAITH AND SOMETIMES IT'S
COMFORTABLE, AND YOU'VE GOT ALL THE DETAILS IN PLACE,
BUT VERY RARELY.
MOST OF THE TIME IF YOU'RE GONNA LIVE BY FAITH, IF YOU WANT TO
REALLY FIND OUT WHAT GOD CAN DO FOR YOU, YOU ARE GONNA HAVE TO,
SO TO SPEAK, TAKE A CHANCE.
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
JOYCE: COME ON.
ANYBODY WHO'S DOING ANYTHING FOR GOD, I MEAN EVEN LIKE GIVING,
I MEAN, THE BIBLE SAYS YOU GIVE FIRST AND YOU'LL RECEIVE LATER.
BUT YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE DON'T DO THAT?
BUT I CAN TELL YOU SOMETHING, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY,
KEEPING EVERYTHING YOU GOT IS NEVER GONNA GET YOU MORE.
AND I KNOW IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE BECAUSE YOU THINK, "WELL,
YOU KNOW, IF I ALREADY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH, THEN HOW CAN I GIVE
PART OF IT AWAY?
THEN I'M JUST GONNA HAVE LESS."
BUT NOT ACCORDING TO GOD'S ARITHMETIC.
WELL, IT'S A HUGE STEP OF FAITH TO START TITHING, TO START
GIVING, OR MAYBE IF YOU ARE TITHING, TO START GIVING
BEYOND THAT.
AND REALLY ALL WE DO WHEN WE DON'T OBEY GOD IS WE'RE PUTTING
LIMITS ON OURSELF.
IF YOU READ THE SCRIPTURES ABOUT TITHING AND GIVING, GOD ACTUALLY
SAYS, "TRY IT" IN MALACHI.
"TRY IT.
COME ON, I DARE YOU TO TRY IT AND PROVE ME NOW BY IT SO SEE IF
I WILL NOT OPEN THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN AND POUR OUT A BLESSING
SO GREAT THAT YOU CANNOT CONTAIN IT."
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
JOYCE: YOU GOTTA TAKE THAT STEP OF FAITH.