Godly leadership leads us to follow his will. Which can lead us to salvation.

James Greer: 00:12 What the Holy Spirit wants to guide you to is your God given divine destiny. When you predetermine where you want to be, then you make decisions based on your dream. Some people don't have any dreams. They don't have a direction, so you don't know where you're going. Decisions will give you direction, and directions will lead you to your dream or to your divine destiny. The quickest way to get to where you want to go. Go to somebody that's already been there. Too many people said, I'm wanting to go here and they're going to people that are down here. If you want to have a better marriage, go to people that have one. If you want to have better finance, go to people to have one. If you want to grow spiritually, go to people that have one. You've got to predetermine what your core values are. You've got to predetermine where do you want to be one year from now? You've got to predetermined what I want my marriage to be like. You've got to predetermine what with my finances are going to be like. See if you don't stop and predetermine where you want to go, you won't get there.

James Greer: 01:04 Most people allow other people to determine their destiny instead of you and God. God has a great destiny for you. He predetermined it. He's already gone ahead of you, and he's got a plan, but then he gives you free choice. If you don't know, and you don't walk in it, if you don't make time for it, you won't do it. People are guiding you instead of God. Every person gets a position from God, but listen, every position has opposition. Most people say, I want this particular position. I want this marriage, house, job, car. When you see somebody else at a particular position, you don't know what it cost them to get there. There's a hidden cost to finding your divine destiny. The rewards is greater than the pain. When you find your divine destiny and you walk in it, there's nothing they can bring. Happiness and joy like that does.

James Greer: 02:06 Man. I'm so excited about the message this morning. It's how to know God's will in a matter or how to make godly decisions. Can you imagine how much better your life would be if on a day to day basis you learned how to make decisions that lined up with God's will for your life? When you know the will of God, and the way of God, you get to experience the peace of God. So when you make a decision this week, what I want to do is I want to challenge you. Now. I'm not talking about if you got to go to the grocery store and you're going to get ice cream or not. But I'm talking about when you have to make a serious decision this week, whether it's with your family, whether it's on your job, whatever it is. I want you to stop for a minute and think what would God's will be in the matter?

James Greer: 02:52 Because by nature we automatically begin to make decisions based on what we want or how we're going to do it. In fact in the very beginning with Adam and Eve, see, that's what they did. They had a perfect environment, and a relationship with God, but then they quickly made the decision on what they thought was best instead of God's will in the matter. Because see if we can learn this truth, if we can learn to put God first in a matter, he says, I'll absolutely began to take care of everything else in your life. Matthew 6:33 puts it this way, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added." Another one, if you really say, Hey I'm putting God first in my life. I'm making decisions based on God's will for my life. If you'd read the next verse it says, "Then you no longer have to worry about anything else because he'll begin to take care of it."

James Greer: 03:47 Now see, Jesus wants to be the ultimate source of meeting every single need in your life. Now, there can be other conduits, but he has to be the source. So how do we make godly decisions? How do we make decisions that line up with God's word? Number one, God's will is God's word, so the more God's word you know, the more God's will you know. In fact, I can tell you, in Ephesians 5:17, it says, "Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of God is." In other words, God says, I want you to understand what the will of the Lord is in your life. If God says not to be unwise, if he says he wants you to understand it, he said, there must be a way that when you have to make a major decision, you could understand what God's will is in the matter. Because when you know God's word and you know God's will, it begins to help you have the rest of your life be the very best of your life.

James Greer: 04:54 See, Titus 1:2 puts it this way. It says, "This truth", God's word, "This truth gives them confidence." If there's ever a time that we need godly confidence it's today. I mean everything going on in the world. You know, the government may shut down this week or it may not shut down. I mean, you don't know, but there's some things we need to have confidence in. In the Bible when it says this, truth gives me confidence. It means that it gives you a biblical hope. God's word is that I want to give you a hope, and a hope in God's word is a confident expectation of a positive future in spite of any circumstance in your life. So he said this is the truth that gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God, who cannot lie. Now listen, I don't want to lie, but I might lie. I have lied. You've lied. We've (all lied) and everybody didn't say they lied, just lied, but God cannot lie. He said, he promised us before the beginning, so we got to have something to count on. One of the things we want to do is count on God's word.

James Greer: 05:48 Second Peter puts it this way. Second Peter 1:2 says, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." No worries. Everybody want more peace or more grace? It multiplies in your life, the more you know of God's Word. It said it's multiplied to you, and his divine power has given to us, all things pertaining to life and goodness. Listen to what it's saying. Grace and peace can be multiplied by you. God says in God's word, I have everything you need pertaining to life and goodness, to having a good life.

James Greer: 06:30 So I'm going to give you several things that God's word makes it real clear you can know. Number one, is God's word for you to be saved. So if you're here today and you're not sure if you died, did you go to heaven? I can tell you it's absolutely God's Word and God's will that you get saved. In fact, he tells us in Second Peter Chapter three, verse nine, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understand slowness, but he is patient with you not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come into repentance." See, if you don't really understand what that means. When God said, listen, I'm slow and keeping my promises. In other words, what he saying is you want God to be patient with you. God says, every one of us deserves punishment, hail damnation. But God said, listen I don't want to give you what you deserve. God says, I want to be patient with you and give you what you need. He said, listen, I want to give you the help, the peace, the power, the presence of God. I don't want to give you...so therefore he says, what I'm doing, I don't want anyone to perish, I want everybody to come to repentance. I want everybody to find their purpose in life.

James Greer: 07:38 In John 3:17, everybody knows John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, He gave his only begotten Son, those who serve and believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." But I love John 3:17, "For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world." So knowing God's Word is God's will. The more of God's word you know the more of God's will you know, Amen. So number one about salvation, He wants you to be saved.

James Greer: 08:00 Number two. I can tell you God wants you to become more and more like Christ. Now, the word in the Bible's called sanctification. In first Thessalonians 4:3 says, "It is God's will that you be sanctified and that you should avoid sexual immorality." There's two things in that versus you don't have any doubt about it. You can know that it's God's will, it is God's word. He says, first of all, I want you to be sanctified. Which is a fancy word for being set aside, called and equipped, and used for God. See when you get saved God says hey, you came from darkness and light. I've now set you apart. I've got a special purpose, a special calling upon your life, and to be used in a way that you've never been used before. You have to be sanctified to be more and more like Christ. First Peter 2:9, "But you are one of the chosen ones of God, chosen for a high calling, chosen to be a holy priest." What do holy priests do? Holy priests intercede for people that are having problems. It's your calling, you’re chosen, you're special, you're set apart. You've got loved ones that are having problems, you got friends that are going through heartache, and you're a holy priest. Now you're standing in the gap for them. You're God's instrument to do his work, to speak out for him, to tell others of the night and day difference he's made in your life. Oh, I like that because listen, this I'm not where I should be, but I can promise you I'm not where I was.

James Greer: 09:33 And God said, one of the things that sets you apart, one of the reasons you're chosen. Listen, is to tell people where you've come from to where you're at. But listen to the last verse, 10, "That you've come from nothing to something, from rejecting to accepting." Do you understand that first of all, it's God's will for you to be saved. Do you understand that second of all, it's God's will for you to be set apart and to be an instrument used by God. And one of the great instruments from God is for everybody that feels like they're nothing, say no, God says you're something. For everybody that feels like they're rejected, say no, you're accepted. And so God said, that's part of your calling, that's part of your separation to be used by God like you've never been before. Everybody's looking for acceptance and God's word says, I'll accept you. God's Word is God's will. God wants you to know that you can be saved, if you're here today, it's God's will for you to be saved, to accept Christ, to be healed, to be made whole. Number two, God wants you to be set apart, to be used special for him.

James Greer: 10:30 Number three, God wants you to avoid sexual immorality. You don't even have to ask God. I've heard people say before, you know I'm at work now and I'm married, and I've gotten in a relationship with somebody and I've got this emotional and physical attachment, but I'm still married. And I think maybe it's God's will for me to leave my wife, and married them. That's not God's will. That's called lust, but anyway. And so in first Thessalonians 4:2 it says, "It's Gods will for you to be sanctified. And to avoid sexual immorality." Let me explain what sexual immorality is. If you're not married, stop having sex. Ephesians 6 says, "You can put on the whole armor of God." And the whole armor of God means you can resist the devil and he'll flee. I mean, he gives you a sword, a breastplate, a helmet, when you choose salvation. But when you commit sexual immorality, you're inviting the doggone enemy into your own house, so don't do that. So you flee. That's a clear moral will of God.

James Greer: 11:36 Some say well I've already got involved in an emotional feeling with the opposite sex. And God says, flee. It might mean you have change your job, it might mean you have change your location, it might mean you need to move to another street. But whatever it takes, listen, you might not be able to change your feeling and your emotion right then. You can change your action, if you change your action long enough, the right feeling and the right emotions will come back. God's Word is God's will. Amen. It's God's will for you to be saved, to be made whole, to be complete, to be protected. It's God's will for you to be sanctified, to be set apart, and to be used by God.

James Greer: 12:24 Say, do you know what I think much anxiety is in people's lives? I think people get saved, and they don't understand that God then set you apart. He called you and equipped you to use you. And God's inside trying to say, man I want to use you. I want you to speak up. I want you to say you were nothing, now you're somebody. I want you say you were rejected, now you're accepted. But you don't do that, so God's pushing it up, and you're pushing what God says down. And therefore it breeds spiritual anxiety in your life. And really simply, God said, listen, I want to set you apart, that you can be the light of the world. So he doesn't want us to do that. So one of the greatest things you've got to be careful about, is being too busy. Because what Satan will do is this.

James Greer: 13:15 The second way to know God's will is God's principles. Number one is God's word. Number two is God's principles. You say what's God's principles? Hey, you want to go buy a car? What kind it is God doesn't care. I want to buy about red car, blue car. God does not care, go buy, you like red? Go get a red one. But see some people say, well, I'm really worried about God. What God's will is this. He has a principle about the car you going to buy. About how about your going to go buy a house. God don't care which house you buy. He doesn't care what the address is. But what he does care about is this. He has a principle that says, can you afford the house you're buying? Because I don't want you to be a slave to anybody else. I'm a jealous God, I want you to worship me and me alone. And if you say, hey, I want God's will. Your come in the front and say hey man, brother James, pray about me getting this car, pray about me getting this house. No, pray about can you pay for it? Because see, God doesn't want us to be a slave to the borrower.

James Greer: 14:12 But listen to this. Okay, so when you don't have a clear word, Colossians 3:17 says, "And whatsoever you do in word and deed, do it all in the name of Lord Jesus Christ." Whatsoever you do, whether it's work, whether it's home, whether it's the church, whatever you do. Here's is the truth that you have to learn to radically change your life. God's more concerned about who you're becoming, than what you're doing. Now look, God's way more concerned about who you're becoming, than what you're doing. Where you go to school, where you work, where you live, what you drive. We often miss this truth because we get so busy doing, we miss being. And one of Satan's greatest tools is to do that. See you get busy, so busy doing, you're not being. And Satan brings destruction and defeat upon your life, even a Christian. See so you don't take time to spend time in God's word, you don't take time to put on the whole armor of God. So what I want you to do, if you don't do anything else today, decide when you make a decision is it more about doing or is it more about being? It will radically change your life.

James Greer: 15:25 See the lies Satan tells is to get you to focus on your doing. If you're not careful, you spend most of your time focused on what am I doing at work, what am I doing at home, what am I doing at school, what am I doing it? Sometimes you all do it at church. I come running in with you. I say, look, I got to do to do this, do that, do that, and get with that person. Even at church and I hadn't even stopped saying who's God want me to be instead of what I'm doing and therefore I bring undue stress and pressure on my life. You go to a marriage and say man, I'm so worried about what I've got to do, I got to clean the house. I got do the dishes, I got to go to work, I got go and make a living. And you've never stopped to say, who does God want me to be? And the wife says, listen, now I'm going to work, I'm trying to take care of kids, and I'm doing, doing, doing, and you're missing what God wants you to be. And Satan said, if I can keep you doing, you'll miss being, and you miss out on the power and presence of God in your life.

James Greer: 16:14 God's way more concerned about your character, than your comfort. Many times God has to make us uncomfortable to build our character. Listen, God gives us great freedom within these principles. I mean, he really does, more freedom than you think. I think way too many people spend more time trying to make a decision where God gives you this unbelievable freedom to make. It's even like on your job. It's more about who you're becoming on your job and how you're doing it. Then where you work. It's more about where you live. It's more about can you afford to live there? Listen, proverbs 22:7 puts it this way. The rich rule over the poor, but the borrower is servant to the lender. He only wants you to be a servant to him.

James Greer: 17:11 If you're not married, God says, don't be unevenly yoked. So you don't even start dating someone that's not a Christian. So he adds principles that apply to that. And if you're going to get married, listen, Ephesians 5:33 says, "Nevertheless, let each one of you particular love his own wife." Hey guys, free insight, you're supposed to love your own wife. That's a start. Amen. And each wife respect her own husband. So one of the greatest secrets to having a happy marriage is men love your wives and wives respect your husbands. See let me tell you why he says, love your wife intentionally, and he commands the lady to respect them. Because last area we fight. See, we want you to respect us and you don't do it. You want us to love you and we don't love you. So we don't love you like we should so you don't respect us. So we'll get in this vicious circle and somebody needs to stop the circle and say, what does it mean to love your wife? Guys, that doesn't mean just to lust your wife, it means to love your wife. If you can't respect him, don't date him. If you can't love and not see besides lust. In other words if she can't be your best friend, and my wife's, my very best friend, I'd rather go to with her than anybody else. I had rather be by myself with her, than anybody else. See that's love. Love is, you know, kind, respect, you want to be with each other.

James Greer: 18:40 So God has a principle behind all these things. Your decisions aren't as hard as you think they are. So number one, God's word is what, God's will. God's Word, is God's will. It's God's will for you to be saved. So if you're here today and you're not sure that you're saved. we will give an invitation. An invitation, it's God's will for you to come down and say, hey, I want to know Jesus Christ. Amen. God didn't send his son to condemn the world, but to save the world. If you're here and you feel empty and you need to be made whole, you need protecting, it is God's will for you to come in a minute. It's God's will for you to be sanctified. So that's God's will for you to be set apart, and be used by God. When you get saved, you are set apart. You might not be enjoying your calling, but you are set apart to be used by God. You're the one who tells somebody that you can go from nothing, to something. You can go tell somebody you've gone from rejected, to accepted. It's God's will for you not to be involved in immorality, and everybody said Amen. Okay, so God's will is God's word. Number two, principles.

James Greer: 19:30 Number three, God's authorities. Wow. God actually puts authorities in our life for our protection. It is for our good. Man I had a struggle with that most of my life, I still struggle with it. Because really this is what's happening. If you're a young person and you're in school, and your teacher is your authority by the way. And your teacher asks you to do something, maybe in an ugly way. And you don't like it but all you have to do is, they're your authority, is you go do it anyway. Because they're the authority that God placed over you to protect you. You go to your job and your boss says, Hey James, take out the trash, and do it quick and shut your mouth. I probably wouldn't do it that way, But if I did, and I should, I could go do it because I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore because that authority is placed there by God. Listen, the Bible says, you ready? Vengeance is mine, said the Lord, I will repay. When you understand that every authority is in place because of God, and then you simply submit to that authority. And if that authority is wrong, then God takes care of it, not you. But every authority in your life, is under God's authority. If you're a young person, even Jesus Christ is a great example. When Jesus went to bed about 12, he separated himself from his parents, and he was in the temple with the priest and the scribes and he was asking questions back and forth. His mother finally found him after two or three days and she said, man me and your dad, we were so upset about you, we had anxiety, and we couldn't find you. And Jesus simply said, hey, didn't you know I had to be about my father's business? But that wasn't it, he got down from there and followed them back. The very next verse, if you read it, it says, "At that point, Jesus began to grow in wisdom, stature, and knowledge." Because he even submitted to his earthly parents. There is a biblical principle about the authorities in your life. When you get stopped for speeding, they're doing it for your good. Even though I don't like it, you don't like it, we don't like it, Amen.

James Greer: 21:29 One of the greatest examples of submitting to your authorities is David. Saul had been trying to kill him. David had been anointed and appointed to King. Saul became crazy, and him and his army were out trying to kill him. And in First Samuel he talks about it chapter 24, "Then the men of David said to him, this is day which the Lord said, behold, I delivered your enemy into your hand." the enemy being Saul the king, "That you might do to him as it seems good to you. And David arose secretly and cut off part of his rope." Really what happened was this, Saul was out chasing David and his men to kill him. David hid in a cave, Saul had to go the bathroom. They didn't have outhouses. No restrooms. So Saul, the king, he steps out, he goes into a cave. David's already there. David's men said, there he is by his self, you can kill him now. You should be the king, take his life, David goes up and just cuts off his rope. And the Lord convicts him. He says, don’t do that, that’s my anointed person. And David says, Oh, I'm not going to do it. And it goes back and tells the people, I can't stretch out my hand against God's anointed. God's anointed was trying to kill him. Listen to this. Because David submitted a godly authorities. That was the beginning of the changing from David running, to David stepping into his kingdom.

James Greer: 22:59 Some of you are never stepping into your kingdom and the Kingdom of God, listen to me, is peace, love and joy. Some of you are not stepping into your kingdom because either you're disobeying God's word, you're not saved, you haven't been set apart, you're in immorality, you're disobeying the principals, or listen, you continually rebel against your God given authorities. I pray for people. I just knew it was God's will for them to get saved. And I knew it was God's will for them to be delivered, and sometimes that does happen, sometimes it didn't. And when it didn't happen, I was getting discouraged. You Ready? God's sovereignty decided to give everybody a free will too. I've prayed for people that I thought that we're going to live, and then they died. Not understanding God's sovereignty, if you're not careful, I began to blame myself, I began to blame God. And all that I could do is say, why, why, why? Until I had to learn to say, God, what do you want me to learn, who you want me to be, and what do I got to stop doing? I want you to know that God's sovereignty is going to come about no matter what.

James Greer: 24:21 There was a queen in the Bible, her name was Esther, and the king was fixing to annihilate the Jews. And her uncle named Mordecai said, listen Esther, you need to go talk to the king. In those days if you just went and talked to him, he could kill you. And in Ester 4:14 it says, this is Mordecai talking to her, "If you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise to the Jews, from another place. But you and your house will parish." In other words, God says, listen, what's going to happen is going to happen. But you might miss out on being used by God. God has a sovereignty of God, and God wants to use you in many ways. If you don't do it, you're going to miss out. He's going to step up and use somebody else.

James Greer: 25:08 You're not here by accident, I believe you're here by the sovereignty, the direction of God. I believe God's called somebody here to surrender your life to Jesus Christ. I believe he's calling some of you to say don't go home the same way you came. I believe he's called somebody saying, I want to follow through with biblical public baptism. Whatever God's calling you to do, I can tell you the best plan to do today is to surrendered to him.

James Greer: 25:32 Would you stand and let me pray with you, pray for you. God, I thank you for your word because man, your word makes it clear. Your word is your will. God if there's anybody here, God that are not sure that they're saved. I'm sure I'm talking about going to heaven. God, I'm sure I'm talking about they came here and they're just not complete, they're not whole. They just needed to recover and they need healing in their life physically and emotionally. In just a minute, when we give an invitation, they say, hey man, I do realize it's God's will. Many of the reasons I'm in the situation that I'm in right now is not God's fault, it's my fault. I've actually gone exactly against God's will. God's grace and God's mercy has me here today. He didn't have me here to condemn me, He's got me here to save me.

James Greer: 26:25 Some of you never followed through with a public baptism. Some of you came with unbelievable worry and stress. And
listen, the main reason you're so stressed out is because all you've been trying to do. You're doing, doing, doing, and today in just a moment, you know the answer today through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Say, God I need to start being who you call me to be. And as I start being who you've called me to be, you'll then start taking care of all the doing. You said anybody that's labor and heavy laden, you can come to me, and you can find rest. Not one person has to go home today God, the same way they came. It's in your name I pray, Amen.



Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.