Understanding Why God Needs To Be Your Number 1 Relationship

James Greer: [00:00:00] You know, we're going to start our new series, our new relationship series this morning. But I couldn't help but I'm going to throw in a little bit of favor of God also just after Sunday. Now, look, there's a couple of things I want you to know on the back. If you start in a small group today, you'll get one of the free books, the devotional books. And so I'm excited about that. But either way, you can scan that right there and get the favor of God book that you can read it online and you can get that phone number and text it. It'll text you a devotion every morning. Also, you can scan your next step. In other words, if you want to join, you want to accept Christ as your savior, you can scan it. But better than that, better than that, at the end of the service, we always give everybody the opportunity to join or accept Christ. Amen. And you'll get that same opportunity today. So don't miss out on that. Of course, I'm going to say a few things about, you know, the title of the message is The Number One Relationship. Listen, God's always got to be number one. And anybody and everybody else has got to be number two. We're going to talk about the relationship series for a little bit, but then I've got to go back and talk about the favor of God. Because last Sunday, the favor of God, I mean, January the 29th was a historical event for Journey Church. Amen.

James Greer: [00:01:26] I mean, I've never seen anything like it and may not see anything like it ever again for the rest of my life until Easter. In fact, y'all start praying right now about the five people you're going to invite for Easter. I'm going to give you a few insights about relationships, and then I want to celebrate a little bit about the favor of God. Number one, I want you to know that every relationship in your life depends upon your relationship and fellowship with God. Every relationship. I mean, your friendships, your marriage, your kids, your boyfriend, girlfriend. Every relationship in your life depends on your relationship with God. In fact, that's what the Psalmist says in Psalms 127:1. Unless the Lord build a house your labor in vain. Who builds it? Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. Now I like the way the new contemporary version puts it too. So let me read that to you. Without the help of the Lord. Without what of the Lord? It is useless to build a home or try to build a relationship or guard the city. Now, I've read this and I preached on this because it says it's useless to get up early and stay up late in order to earn a living and take care of his own.

James Greer: [00:02:59] Even while it's useless to get up early and stay up late in order to earn a living and take care of his own. Even while they sleep, you know? Because what it's saying is this. Our relationships. Are you ready? Affect us with God. Affect us physically. But it also affects us financially. It says not only does it affect our physical relationships, it affects our financial life. Because it says you can't watch what you make. Only God does that. See, without the help of God, we'll end up being frustrated, and every area and every activity will be rendered useless eventually. I heard somebody say, I've tried everything. I've tried everything I know in this relationship. It just doesn't seem to work. I've heard people say it a lot of times, Well, yeah, you have. The Bible says unless the Lord built the house, you labor in vain. So I've heard people all many, many years, they said, I've tried everything I know. Well, how about trying it God's way. Amen. Because the Bible says, unless the Lord built a house, your labor in vain. And that means eventually it'll be useless apart from God. And so number one, number one, what I want to tell you, I'm going to give you.

James Greer: [00:04:35] And it says, Unless the Lord guards it. You can build it, but you can't guard it. God guards what you allow into that relationship. What you allow in the relationship will either build it or destroy it. Who you allow in that relationship will build it or destroy it. So you've got to guard that relationship. Let me give you the four quick insights to a successful relationship. Number one. Any and every successful relationship that lasts. People can have a successful relationship for a short time. Most of the time that's called infatuation. I'll be preaching on that next week. Difference between infatuation, lust, and love. You want to be here for that? Because there is a big difference. I mean, you know, when they first start dating, that's infatuation. They're just tingling and, ooh, I love you, you love me. They're just perfect. But it doesn't last. But you want to be that. And so we'll be preaching on that next week. So any and every relationship that lasts, that relationship is built upon Jesus Christ, number one. Second, any relationship that lasts has to have a continued relationship with Jesus Christ. So you'll see relationships, they start coming to church, they get saved, and they start doing good, and they're building up the Lord.

James Greer: [00:06:03] And then they stop building upon the Lord. And I see it crash. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people when they're building a relationship on the Lord, it's going good. And they didn't continue to build it upon the Lord, and the relationship crashed and was destroyed. So, number one, it's got to be built on the Lord. Number two, it has got to continue to be built on the Lord. Number three, every relationship that lasts focuses on being the right person instead of trying to change the other person. Man, I wish I'd learned that early on. When I first got married, I thought it was my goal to change my wife. I mean, I thought, who said that? Raise your hand. Put your hand down. I'm preaching. For you young people, that does not work out too well. For you that have been married a long time that keep trying to do it, stop. In other words, if you want to have a relationship that lasts, focus on being the right person, not focus on trying to change the other person because they're wishing you'd change. Third and fourth, and I'll be preaching on this pretty soon. And this is so, so important. Every successful relationship that lasts gets their security and love and acceptance from God before they try to get it from somebody else.

James Greer: [00:07:34] This is a big problem. Like I said, about two or three weeks, I'll be teaching on that because so many people have daddy issues. You'll see guys, they'll say, What's wrong with her? Oh, she's got daddy issues. Well, she got daddy isues, the daddy had issues. So that means men have issues, too. Men have daddy issues. Women have daddy issues. Just all have daddy issues. Amen. So we're going to be talking in about three weeks about daddy issues. And when you have daddy issues, if you're not careful, you have a hard time getting your security and love and acceptance from the right person. But if you want to have a successful relationship, you got to learn to get your security, love and acceptance from God before you try to get it from somebody else. Amen. Because the Bible says in 1 John 4:7, it said, My dear friends, Huh? We must love each other. Love comes from... Love comes from... Love comes from... So if you continually try to get your love from the other person instead of God, you will burn that person out. And when we love each other, it shows we have been given a new life.

James Greer: [00:08:56] In other words, the reason you love each other is because you've given a new life. In other words. Are you ready? Every single Sunday, it's the same answer. It does not change. Are you ready? All right. When it says you've been given a new life when you love each other, what? Thank you. The reason you've been given a new life, the reason that you can love each other is because first, God came down and loved you. And because he loved you and forgave you, now you can love the other person. So now you're loving the other person because God loves you first and you're loving them through Christ. But if you try to love them without loving Christ, you drain them and they drain you. We are now God's children, and we know him because God is love. So that's where you got to get your love and your acceptance. All right? Now I want to celebrate just a few minutes. Last Sunday, it was Hoodie Sunday. I want to call it Hallelujah Sunday. Amen. It was the greatest spiritual experience that I've ever had in my entire life. I mean, there are recorded at least 79 people accepted Jesus Christ, 1,670 some people came to worship. I want to thank the people that came. Amen. The volunteers. Amen. The staff. Amen. And most of all, Jesus Christ. Amen.

James Greer: [00:10:33] You can go a whole lifetime and never experience anything like that. Now, me, I hope to do it again. Amen. But at least I got to experience at one time in my life. And so, like I said, I want to experience it again. I hope at least to get to do it again by Easter. I want you to be praying about inviting five people for Easter. Amen, Brother James. And then I have a life verse. This is my life verse. And I got to experience It January 29th. Ephesians 3:20. Now unto him, Jesus Christ, who is able to exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think, he did it according to the power that works in us. Wouldn't it be great if, Journey Church, if you just started living that verse? Wouldn't it be great if you could start enjoying that verse? I mean, when I write a note or write a letter and I used to put Ephesians 3:20, that's it. I'm getting to live it out. I mean, my last quarter is my very best quarter in my life. I'm getting to see God doing exeedingly abundantly above all that you can ask, more than you could dream, according to the power that works within us. And I'm telling you, if you're coming to Journey Church and you're part of a church, you're getting to see it, too. Amen. And then it says this. It says to him, God, be the glory in the church by Jesus Christ to all generations, forever and ever. And he's just getting to do it. I mean, he's doing it.

James Greer: [00:12:02] Then the next part of the verse that we read every Sunday says, Let your work be manifested to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. I thank God that his work is being manifested. His great power is not only being manifested, it's being manifested in Journey Church. We've gotten to experience it. I think it was Mike Floyd I talked to this week and he said, how could we tell the people that most people never experience that in a lifetime? And we got to do it and never take it for granted. And never take it for granted that God is here. And if you're here today, you still have the opportunity to get saved, to get baptized, and experience the favor of God. And that we don't take it for granted what God's doing. There's a verse that says, the Psalmist said in 34:8, Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trust in Lord. We got to taste and see how good he is. Revelation puts it this way. It says, Hey, you're worthy, O Lord, to receive the glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will, they exist and they were created.

James Greer: [00:13:28] In other words, God's saying, Listen, he's worthy of our praise. He's worthy of our glory. And you know what we should do? Is just give him some praise. Amen. Let's hear it. It went on and said, and let the favor of the Lord, our God be upon us. We still want it upon us. Amen. And prosper us the work of our hands. O prosper the work of our hands. And we got to see God. And He is doing it. But, you know, if you're not careful, you can work and work and work and work and work, but without the favor of God, it's just work. So it made a difference to us. But it's a picture of all the people working is service and satisfaction at the same time. It was so hilarous. So many I could see the faces of people glowing like I never had before. They were just smiling and glowing. And it said back in Exodus that Moses did that one time. It said now was so with Moses, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he had been with God. He got the tablets of the testimonies there in Moses. And what he had done, he had gone up and talked to God and he came down from the mountain, that Moses did not even know that his skin of his face shone while he talked to them. Now, see, what had happened is Moses went up and talked to God and he came down to talk to the people and they said his face was different. Can I tell you I understand that that's the coolest verse I've ever seen? Because for the first time, I was going around and I could see people. It was like they were just glowing. It was unbelievable. I saw Wade. Wade don't show too much emotion.

James Greer: [00:15:06] I said, how you doing? He said, I am so excited. This is before it even started. People were so excited. For the first time, I could understand that verse. It was fantastic. But there's something I want you to know about works. Works can also be wasted. Works can be worthless. Wouldn't it be a shame to be on earth, come to church, and work and work and work and your works be worthless? So I want to talk about that now. 1 Corinthians 3:11. For there's no other foundation that anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. There's no other foundation other than Jesus. Now, if anyone builds on this foundation with gold and silver and precious stone and wood and hay and straw, each one's works will become clear, for the day will declare it because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one's works of what sort it is. In other words, God is saying, listen, I want you to know that your works are going to be tested. Now, see, because worthless. Are you ready?

James Greer: [00:16:29] Worthless work is stressful work. Worthless works is not only stressful, it's unsuccessful or unfulfilling. And while you work for God, it's satisfying and fulfilling. How do you know if you're doing God's work? It's a lifestyle. It's not a once in a lifetime. See, you can be doing God's work, and every now and then, you're still stressful. Everybody is going to be stressful at some time, but it's the lifestyle. Are you living a lifestyle of stressful and unsuccessful and unfulfilled life? If you are, you're probably not doing it for God. You can be achieving and still not fulfilled. See, if you're living a lifestyle that stressful, unsuccessful, and unfulfilled, it's probably one of three reasons. Either you're doing the wrong thing, you're doing it the wrong way. or you're doing it for the wrong person. Because if your lifestyle is stressful and unfulfilled, you're doing a lot of work, but it's probably worthless. You live in a lifestyle of satisfaction, fulfillment, it's probably profitable. Or the Bible calls it rewards here in Heaven. That's what it's trying to say. If anyone's works which have been built on it endures, he will receive a reward.

James Greer: [00:18:14] It's talking about your earthly works. What we do here in our volunteers and when we go to work, when we get to Heaven, it's going to be tested. If it's the right foundation on Jesus Christ, we'll be rewarded. There's a purpose for it. God's warning us, though, not to spend all our time and energy and volunteering for the wrong things that don't matter in Heaven. But this is so important because you talk to so many people today and they said, how are you doing? I'm just so stressed out. How come? Because between volunteering and going here and all the work, I'm just so stressed out. You're telling me if you're stressed out and you're unfulfilled, you're probably doing things that are going to be worthless here. I mean, worthless in Heaven. Because if anybody who builds his house and the foundation endures, he's going to receive a reward. So if you're doing the right works here and you're doing it with the right attitude, it's okay. But if anyone's work is burned, uh-oh, he will suffer loss.

James Greer: [00:19:29] But he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. In other words, the wrong works will burn up and not be rewarded in Heaven. Now, this is what's really important. I'm going to give you a heads up. I'm going to ask the same question. Are y'all ready? Okay. Don't burn out here on earth working and volunteering for things that are going to burn up in Heaven. That's good. Don't burn out on volunteering and works that are going to burn up in Heaven. Boy, are you talking about reevaluating your life? And how can you know? Because you're living a lifestyle of stressful and unsuccessful and no fulfillment. And if I get to it in a minute, I can tell you how to change it. Wouldn't that be cool? Huh? Okay, so now I'm going to go fast till I get to the end. You ready? Okay. All right. The greatest success of all, basically, you could find when we said this. And the Lord God, may we be blessed and have your favor be with us, give us success in all we do. Now, I always said that I want to be successful at home, our family, our finance, every single area. But I want you to know some of the greatest success, the greatest fulfillment in the world, is when we start furthering God's kingdom. There's no greater success. There's no greater fulfillment than when we do that.

James Greer: [00:21:13] Matthew 6:33 says, seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, everything else to be added to you. Everything, every need that you have. Therefore, then you don't have to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own self. It's sufficient for itself. God says, if you understand this, it'll take care of itself. Now this is what you can do. You can change your purpose. You might not have to change the place you work. Say I'm stressful, I don't feel fulfilled, I don't feel successful. But you might not have to change of place. You might have to change the purpose. You might need to go to work and say, My purpose at work is to further God's kingdom. See, you've been going to work with the wrong purpose, so work has become stressful and unsuccessful. That's good, Brother James. Okay. All right. If you change your priorities, you'll change your peace. You change your purpose and change your priorities, and you'll have peace. Purpose plus priorities will equal peace. So, see, when I first started doing this message, when I started saying it, when I said, man, a lot of times I'm stressful and I feel unfulfilled and unsuccessful, I thought, well, everything I'm stressful and unsuccessful, maybe I need to change. And I found out, listen, it's not the place, it's not the problem. It's the person. So now what we can do, it doesn't matter where we're working. It matters who we're working for. So you can have peace and power and purpose no matter what you're doing, no matter where you're at. And that's the purpose.

James Greer: [00:23:04] Of course, there is no greater joy than to know your children walk in light wherever you're at. When lives start getting changed, you'll be happier than you've ever been in your entire life. We found out what the favor of God was. When God takes the natural and does the supernatural or takes the ordinary does extraordinary, when he takes an ordinary church and does the extraordinary. We found out that we can have the favor of God faster when we simply choose to obey and do the right things. And the faster we obey, the greater we have in the favor. We know that we're maturing in God when we obey instead of delay. We know that when we have the favor of God, we've got a fantastic future. Because we found out in Genesis 50 verses 19 and 20, when we talked about Joseph, we said Joseph, when it came to his brothers, he told them, Don't be afraid. You know why? I can only do what God called me. He said, Listen to this. He says, You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good to save many lives. See, when you have God's favor, God takes everything somebody tries to hurt and turns it into something good. Man, don't we need God's favor? But let me tell you what, I have just seen it happen again. God does it over and over and over and over. I just saw that somebody had tried to hurt me in the past, hoping it passed, and I saw God just turn it around again. Just turn it around again. I mean, man, it's just unbelievable. And God means it for our good. And you know what Philippians 1:6 says? It says this. Love it. Because he says, be confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in Journey Church, he'll complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

James Greer: [00:24:52] The good works that God started, if we'll stay humble and happy and give God the credit, it'll keep going. It's not the end. But before I give you a review, I could not not go over Ephesians again. Our Ephesians verse was the changing point because it's so important. And if you're here today, I want you to focus on what I'm going to say. Because it's Ephesians, it's where you find the favor of God. It says, For it is by free grace, God's unmerited favor that you are saved, you're delivered from judgment, and you're made partakers of salvation through your faith. In other words, God's saying, Listen, I want to give you the free gift of salvation. I want to make sure that you're going to Heaven. For this salvation is not of yourselves, of your own doing. It came not through your own striving, but it was a gift of God. You know what I loved about last Sunday? We were able to give out free hoodies. It was a gift. Nothing you could buy. All you had to do is be here and you gave them. If you're here today, you don't get a free hoodie. But you get the greatest gift of all. You get the gift of Jesus Christ. And just when I talk about gifts, guess what? You can give God all your sins, all your shortcomings, and you get the free gift of going to Heaven. You get the free gift of grace. You get the free gift of God.

James Greer: [00:26:35] Not because of your works. None of us can work. None of us are good enough. Not the fulfillment of the laws to man, lest any man should boast. Nobody's good enough to go to Heaven. It is not a result of what any man can possibly do. So no one can pride himself in it or take the glory of God for himself. God gets all the honor. God gets all the glory. For we are God's own workmanship. His workmanship, handiwork. Everybody. God created you. You're special. No matter how you look, no matter what you race, no matter what your color, no matter what your height. Recreated in Christ Jesus. Once you get to know Jesus Christ, you're born anew. You're a new person. All your old is passed away. You're sure to go to Heaven that we may do the good works which God predestined for you. He planned ahead of time for us, taking the path which he prepared ahead of time, that you should walk in it, living the good life which he prearranged and made ready for you to live. Isn't that something that God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, that you could accept him and he prearranged a good life that you could walk in it?

James Greer: [00:27:59] I often say anybody that really understood that would never leave here today without accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior. So what I want to do right now before I go on any further, I want to make sure that everybody gets that opportunity. So if you'd stand up for just a moment and bow your head. When God said He's gone ahead of you, he prearranged a good life for you. If you'd just bow your heads and close your eyes. You might be here today, and you're not sure that you have that prearranged life. You're not sure if you died that you'd go to Heaven. We're going to make it as simple as possible for you. Matter of fact, with heads bowed and eyes shut. And today's the day that you want to make sure that you go to Heaven. The same today, if you want to make sure, when I count to three, all you have to do is raise your hand. This is if you want to make sure that you're going to Heaven. One, two, three. There you go. Raise your hand. Amen. Raise your hand. Amen. Raise your hand. Amen. Keep your hand up. Keep your hand up. Amen. Amen. Keep your hands up. I mean, just make sure you're going to Heaven. Amen. Raise your hand. There in the back. Amen. Amen. Raise your hands. They're going to give you a packet. Did you give them a packet upstairs? And in that package, you got a - got them on the front row here?

James Greer: [00:30:10] Everybody that's received a packet, there should be a card, right? With the packet. Cathy, in there? Make sure they get a pen and they can all fill them out and that y'all get them back. If you would take your time and just take time, make sure they fill it out. As they get it filled out in a minute, we're going to all pray together. And if you wanted to make that decision and you hadn't received that yet, if nobody - God's calling somebody. I know I shouldn't have done that. As serious as it is, I couldn't help it. I'm sorry. Okay. Bow your heads again. I'm serious now. If you didn't receive a packet, raise your hands. If you didn't receive the packet and you wanted to make sure. If you receive the package, please fill out the card, and y'all pick the cards up. Let's pray together and then I'm going to close. I'm not really not going to close. I'm getting close to closing. Does anybody else need a packet or a card? Hey, let's pray together, y'all. You ready? Father, I know I've sinned. Y'all are going to repeat after me. Father, I know I've sinned. I want you to forgive me of my sin. Come into my heart. Be the Lord of my life. I believe Jesus died on the cross, rose on the third day for my sins. In Jesus' name. Amen. Look up here just a second.

James Greer: [00:32:22] The Bible says that whosoever calls upon the Lord shall be saved. And when it says calls, it means simply just to pray. And that's what you did. As you're standing and looking, I want to say a few things as we get ready to close. One, that's the most important decision you ever make in your entire life. Second, there are some people here today that said I came and I'm one of those people. I'm all stressed out. I feel unfulfilled, unsuccessful. I don't feel satisfied. I don't feel fulfilled. And I'd like to make a commitment to change that today. You can change that by changing your purpose and changing your priorities. It does not happen. You have to make it intentional. There's something about making an intentional stand, making an intentional statement, and you want to say today, I'm tired of living a stressed out, unfulfilled life. And today I'm going to step out and say, Hey, I'm going to change my priorities, and I'm going to change my purpose. And I want somebody to be with me and I want them to pray for me. And so if you want to do that, just a minute, just a minute, we're going to have a prayer. Some of you, it's been a relationship problem. And you want to say, I want to start building my relationship on the Lord. I want to continue to build it. I'm going to try to be the right person instead of change the right person. I'm going to get my security and love and acceptance from God and not from the other person. So now you bow your heads.

James Greer: [00:33:49] Father, I just thank you for this wonderful day. I thank you for what you're doing in our lives and in our churches, God. For those, God, that feel stressed out and unfulfilled and unsuccessful, God, I pray that they could feel your power and feel your presence. I pray they could change their priority and change their purpose, God. I pray it could start today. Father, I pray, God, that everybody here could go with a satisfied, fulfilling life. And it would start right now. They would come and have somebody to pray with them, pray for them. Maybe they need to join the church. Maybe they want to follow through in baptism. There's a QR code on the page. If they don't want to do it public, they can just take their phone and scan it. Whatever decision they want to make, I pray they'd make it now. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.


Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.