Season Premiere: A Brand New Year | From Tragedy to Triumph
Are You Struggling To Overcome The Grief Of A Tragedy?
James Greer
Jan 17, 2021 35m
We all struggle to overcome the grief of a tragedy when it happens in our lives, but the Book of Job guides us through the mourning process. God doesn't want you to become stuck in the tragedy. He wants to bless you when you come through to the end of the tragedy. Video recorded at Pineville, Louisiana.
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overcome the grief of a tragedy grief mourning bereavement struggle hard times difficult times faithTranscriptionmessageRegarding Grammar:
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
James Greer (00:01):
Well, morning, Journey Church. Man, it's been a long time since we've come in the first service in the downstairs and we have people upstairs. Amen. I'm so excited about the new book. Amen? What I'm really excited about is we can stay connected and sometimes, and we don't even have to have contact. Listen, if you didn't get a book, I want to really encourage you today to get a book. And if we ran out of books, we'll have a book for you next week. Now I want you to get into the WhatsApp. Now see, man, it's always something new for me. I mean I have to learn, relearn, unlearn, and then learn again. And what's exciting, I'm in every app. I'm in everybody's WhatsApp. Now because I'm in everybody's WhatsApp, I had to get Josh to show me how to silence those apps. At first, they weren't. Can you imagine trying to go to bed and going ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding?
James Greer (00:59):
I'm glad y'all are interacting. I don't want to talk to you that bad. But do you understand that it's just one page a week? Do you understand if you're in the WhatsApp on Mondays, it's automatically going to upload the first devotion every week? If you don't know how to do it, I'll be glad to get Josh to help you. I was so excited. I've been learning how to do it, learning how to do it, learning how to do it. And I had this friend down the street from work and I ran in there and I said, man, I got to. He was so excited. I gave him the book. I said, man, I'm going to get you in the app. And I've whipped out the code. And I said, look, let me see your phone. And I said, look, let me take a picture. He had one of them old phones. It didn't work.
James Greer (01:47):
I said, guess what? He said, what? I said, I'll have the Mexican come by and see you Monday. He said, oh yeah. He said, I know the Mexican. He said, you mean Darrell? I said, yeah. He knew you by name. I saw him this week. I walked in. He said, you couldn't do it. But he could. I said, well, big deal. I said, are you in the app? He said, yeah. I said, that's all that matters. He was excited, wasn't he? Huh? So if you're not, if you didn't get a book, please get in the app. It's is going to be so much fun. Amen? And if you haven't got one yet, after service, there'll be in the back and they'll help you get in there. So please do that. I'm going to tell you, you do understand spiritual growth on a regular basis is the only guarantee that your life will get better. Nothing else you can do.
James Greer (02:36):
We have enough isolation already, don't we? Continued isolation definitely brings some type of desolation. And so this is another way we can stay connected. I'm as excited about being in the app and connecting with people. Every week you can just share your thought or your insight. It doesn't have to be something long. It can be one short sentence or one short thought. But let's be a part of it. We're going to continue Job part 2. And the title is Go From Tragedy to Triumph. But I'll tell you, it's been a sad week for me. I was so excited to see so many people, man. I just want to say, man, I'm going to preach my heart out and I'm going to do my best. But it's been sad. There's been a lot of tragedies this week.
James Greer (03:23):
Everybody, you're going to need this message. I hope you don't need it right now, but you're going to need it. You're going to face tragedies. This week alone, I went to three funerals and preached two of them. Ms. Shirley Jordan that usually sits right over there and she amens. Don't y'all love it? Amen. Love her. Her younger brother passed away. Had his funeral this week. It was very devastating for her. Y'all that know her be praying for her and send her a note and let her know that you're praying for her. Right after that, Rex Deville, that's Joyce Toups' younger brother, early 60s, he passed away. I had his funeral Friday. Had the privilege to be there and to be part of that. And pray for her. Very active member of our church. And did y'all know that he watched us online every single Sunday?
James Greer (04:24):
I got the see him the night before he passed away. And he said, you'll never know how much it means to me to be able to watch every Sunday online. Isn't that something? We never know how many people are out there. For you people that are online, you need to be in the WhatsApp. You need to be part of it. For those of you like Mrs. Pat that are in Gonzales or wherever, they watch us every Sunday. You can download the WhatsApp and they'll show you how to be a part of that. And you can stay connected with. And then the real tragedy, Bobby, you remember that we had Brian Mayeux, 45 years old, went in with a blood clot and some tragedy things happened while he was there. And he coded and became brain dead and they had to unplug him. It was real, real, real tragic. Wife of 21 years. He had one daughter. His mom, he was the only son and she had lost her husband probably 10, maybe 15 years ago. And they had lived next to each other all their life. It's a real tragedy.
James Greer (05:31):
The good news is in May of 2013, he was at our church and his daughter, Ashley was first and she led the rest of the family and she got saved. And he came to church on May the 15th or 19th of 2013, Brian accepted the Lord. And he was baptized right here. And that gave them some relief, but it's just a lot of tragedy. And they all had the same question, had the same need. The same question is why. The same need is hope. When you go through a tragedy, you're going to have the same need. I don't care how spiritual you are. I don't care how long you've been in church. I don't care if you're the pastor. You're going to, when it's a real tragedy, the first thing to go through your mind is why. The second thing you need is hope. And hope is a confident expectation of a positive outcome in spite of the present circumstances.
James Greer (06:31):
Nobody ever suffered like Job. We're going to try to walk through some of the steps that Job went through. It's very important that you don't stop at any of the steps. We don't want you to get stuck in your tragedy. We want you to be able to move from your tragedy to know that there's some hope at the other end, that you can have some type of triumph, that you can come out the other end, that your life can get better. Because see, sometimes when you're in a tragedy, you don't think it's going to get any better. I don't care what you're going through. Life can get better. I often quote the Psalmist 27:13 says, I'd have lost heart, unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. While you're still alive. And I honestly believe that. I don't think you have to live where you're at. I think life is going to get better. Just wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. He shall strengthen our hearts. Wait, I say, upon the Lord.
James Greer (07:35):
If you'll just wait and you'll just trust and don't give up. I fear every single Sunday between the people that are online and there's people at church, they're almost on the edge of giving up. I want to tell you, don't give up. You know that Job at the end of the story, it says in Job 42:12, it said the Lord, the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than the beginning. The older I get, the more important that verse really is. But as important as it is as I get older, it's more important to me now than ever that the people that are going through tragedy. Sometimes there's nothing you can say and there's nothing you can do. The Book of Job tells us a couple of real important things. He doesn't really explain why like you want to, but he tells us one of the purposes is that life can get better.
James Greer (08:31):
In fact, no matter what you're going through, the latter days can be better than what you're going through right now. The other is that we recognize who God is and that God is in control. Even when we feel like He's out of control, He is in control. You can't have great, great triumph without going through unbelievable tragedy and trials and tests. You got to go through those or you'll never have the triumph. You got to pass the test. Many times we fail the test so we just live in the tragedy. We all know people that went through tragedy years and years ago, and they're still living there. They're living in the bitterness and the hurt. That was never God's intent and still is not.
James Greer (09:21):
I'm going to upfront give you four of the stages, and then I'm going to try to preach them. And the reason I'm going to give them upfront because it takes the whole rest of the time to try to go through Job to show you in the Scripture what I'm going to tell you upfront. There's always a mourning stage and there needs to be. Job mourned. And when you go through a tragedy, you should mourn. I have known people that went through tragedy and didn't mourn then but they mourned later. It's okay to mourn. In fact, it's natural to mourn. I've gone through so many tragedies in my life, myself or with other people, and sometimes I've gone through there and they just say, well, it's God's will. And it's okay. And God get the glory. And amen. But years later they, they can't function. When you're going through a tragedy, it's okay to mourn then. Job did. You can. There's nothing wrong with that.
James Greer (10:22):
I don't care how spiritual you are. Some people I think because they're spiritual, that they shouldn't mourn. That's not right. That would be unnatural. Jesus wept at the side of a loved one. So it's okay. Amen? They questioned God. I questioned God. Job questioned God. And some of the real spiritual people said, I just can't believe you questioned. I did. And if you hurt bad enough and you have a loved one that hurts bad enough, you will too. Sometimes it's just venting. You have to vent. I think if you don't get rid of some of your emotions, you'll crack. I cracked. I vent. Job even did that. But don't live there. Don't stop there. Too many people stop where it's the questioning God, and they don't go forward from there. And they just live in that state. You got to come to the third step and you began to heal and you recognize who God is and that you're no longer God. God is the one that created everything. He's the creator. We are the created.
James Greer (11:47):
And until you really begin to recognize who God is and agree with who God is, you'll move past. The beginning of healing is recognizing who God is and who you are. You're not God. You're never going to understand everything. You never will till you get to Heaven. I mean people plead. I understand. They're crying, they're broken, and they're wailing. And they're saying, why God? Why God? And you have to let them do that. But many of them, they're never going to know why. And you're not either. But there has to come a point in time that you go through that and you come to the point and you recognize who God is. God is the creator of the world. He's in control. Even when it seems like everything's out of control, even today in the world to me, it seems like in a worldly view that the world is getting out of control. Does it not? God's in control.
James Greer (12:49):
Job had to go after that. There were some people that he had to forgive and to receive forgiveness. You'll get hurt during a tragedy. A lot of times people don't mean to. They'll say things and do things. And you're so sensitive, you'll get hurt. To this day, I can still remember some of the worst hurts and tragedies of my entire life. They weren't physical hurts, but they were hurts. Hurts from people turning their back, hurts from people that you've loved for years and they couldn't talk to you or wouldn't see you. You're going to get hurt. Job was hurt. His friends really turned on him. But God straightened it out. God's done that in my life. I actually got to see this. I've saw, I got to see what God did in Job's life. He did it in my life. God is the great equalizer. You're not. God will straighten things out if you'll give Him time, if you'll just stay out of the way. And Job forgave them, and they got right with Job.
James Greer (14:15):
The last part was Job began to pray for the very people that hurt him. At that point during the prayer, heavens opened up, and God said, I'm going to bless you with twice of everything you lost. Those were the steps. You're going to go through them. Don't get stuck in them. Go to the end. If you're here or you're online and you're at the beginning stage, you can't jump to the end. I wish you could. I wish there was a shortcut, but there's not. I wish there was a timetable. I called some people last week and said, can you help me find a timetable? You can't find it in Job. Some people thought it was months and some people thought it was a year. It doesn't matter. I think people mourn and hurt at different stages. But it's clear that Job, it was not years. So there has to come a point in time that you let God begin to heal you. I didn't say that you ever get over it. I said, you get through it.
James Greer (15:34):
I believe that was one of the main purposes of the Book of Job. I've wondered for years what it was. I'll give you a quick review of last week. And we just simply talked about number one, what Job lost. He lost his family, his kids. He lost his wealth and he lost his health. I can't imagine losing all that at one time. I've lost much of that. Job was a man of integrity. Job wouldn't give up. The longer I'm in the ministry, integrity is so important to me is that you don't quit. Things are going to be tough. Things are going to get hard. You're going to get hurt. Don't give up. Don't quit. Don't bail out. Even Job's wife said cuss God and die. And he said, I'm not going to do it. God was good to me. And now things are happening rough, I'm not going to cuss God. I'm going to hang in there.
James Greer (16:47):
We have people in our church, they're going through it right now. They're trying to hang in there. We got multitudes that are hurting. They've got cancer. They have loved ones that are going through great things. And they're just trying to hang in there. That's integrity. That's real integrity. It's easy to quit. It's easy to give up. And Job had great integrity. I think it's integrity that's what you get to see the blessings when you don't quit. Job had an unbelievable heavenly perspective though he questioned God. He knew, he knew that this was not going to be his home. He knew there was something after that. He knew that bad things happen to good people. And we have to understand and we have to believe that.
James Greer (17:39):
And then Job started the process. It's unbelievable. Number one, he hurt and he mourned. And you have to do that. You can see a little bit of it in Job 2: 1 through 13. When Job and his three friends, they heard of the adversities. Some adversity. Had come upon him, each one from his own place. Eliphaz of Temanite, Bildad of Shuhite and Zophar. That's pretty good. Everybody want to say amen? Y'all know I usually skip those. Yeah. You can clap, Tim. That's real good. Y'all didn't know I usually skip those words. And Naamathite. If y'all only knew how Darrell knows something that y'all don't know. Don't you, Darrell? Thank you, brother. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him and comfort him. The next verse is unbelievable.
James Greer (18:58):
When they raised their eyes from afar, they didn't recognize him. Do you think he mourned or what? Do you understand when it said they didn't recognize him, do y'all understand that it meant he was disfigured? That he was disfigured beyond recognition? Do you understand that he had mourned and grieved and he had sores. And when you looked up and you said, hey, where's Job? This person that I'm looking for, he is so disfigured. I can't even recognize him as a person. This sickness had taken its toll on him. They lifted up their voice and they wept, each one of them tore his clothes and they sprinkled dust on their head towards Heaven. Did you know that way back in Isaiah, they prophesied that's what would happened to Jesus? He would be appalled at his appearance. They said, he'd be so disfigured that he wouldn't be recognized as a man. Job was so grieved, he was so grief stricken, they wanted to come and sit with him and they couldn't even recognize who he was.
James Greer (20:11):
Suffering and grief can take an unbelievable toll on your life. Haven't you seen people that have gone through grief and you see them and you said, man, I almost didn't even recognize them? I was at the funeral home yesterday and me and my son were talking about a particular guy. And I said, Jimmy, he just walked by and you didn't recognize him. He'd gone through some great suffering and sickness and heartache. And he didn't even recognize who he was. It had taken a toll on his life. Job was mourning, he was grieving. They didn't know what to do. So they just sat with him there, sat on the ground for seven days and seven nights. And nobody even spoke a word because they saw his grief was so great. Can I tell you, sometimes the best thing you can do is say nothing. Sometimes if you could just be there, that's the best thing you can be. Sometimes there's no words that you can speak when somebody is going through such great heartaches and great sorrow. Just be there.
James Greer (21:22):
In chapter 3, it continues. After Job opened his mouth, he cursed the very day he was born. I'm not the only one that cusses. And every said...? Y'all can bleep that out when you do it live. Just saying. He cussed the day he was born. Right? And Job spoke and he said, may the day perish on which I was born and the night in which it was said a male child was conceived. Many times our first response to tragedy and pain and suffering is nothing more than crying and hurting and crying out. We wish we'd never born. I hope you've never gone through that tragedy. I have and you might. And the reason that we say things like that, because we cannot describe the pain. We can't describe the hurt. We can't describe the sorrow. You really wish you were dead. Don't take your life because I deal with the people that are left behind and it's tragic. It can pass. The Book of Job wants to tell you to hang on. There's something better in store for you.
James Greer (23:07):
Many times, number two, your friends are questioning you and they'll turn on you during the greatest tragedy of your life. It happened to Job. It happened to Jesus, didn't it? Me and my wife had it to happen to us. One of the greatest tragedies in our life, when we lost our granddaughter, I'll never forget that some of her closest friends for 20 and 30 years, same thing happened. And in middle of a tragedy, you can't believe it's happening. You almost believe am I dreaming or is this really happening? Job's friends began to question Job. They said, really, probably Job, it's really something you probably did. They started out not that way. They started out talking about how great Job was and how he ministered to people. And now you get down to Job 4:8. And then they start telling him, you know, even as it's seen, those who plow iniquity now, sow trouble, they reap the same. You know what they're saying? Job, aren't you really suffering? Isn't there something you really did? Job, are you really trying to hide sin? Now you're reaping what you sowed.
James Greer (24:28):
That's some friend. Amen? You're sitting there and you can't even recognize him. He's in such grief and sorrow that he's beyond recognition. You sit there for seven days. You're with him. And now you're telling him, you probably really had this coming, didn't you? Some friend. Go from friend to foe. And you don't need those kinds of friends around you when that's happening . That's why you need 1 Corinthians 2:5. Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man but the power of God. Everybody needs that verse. You need it for this and you need it for times when you're disappointed in people. I heard some young people right now, they're really disappointed in a spiritual leader that they have. And they don't know what to do. Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man but the power of God. Everybody's going to have somebody that they look up to that's going to disappoint them.
James Greer (25:22):
I can remember when my mentor of many years that was in another town and he mentored me for years and years and years and he was a great hero. And he committed a immorality and he lost his position. And everybody said, now, what are you going to do? I said, my faith was never in him. I'm going to take what was good and I'm going to throw out the bad and my faith is not going to be crushed because of him because my faith was in God. Don't put your faith in any person. Third, he began to question God. He began to vent. It's okay. Job 13 picks up. This is Job. He's talking to God. He said, tell me, what have I done wrong? And when you're going through that, why do I deserve this? Show me my rebellion. Show me my sin. You see that? He's talking to God. He's telling Him, tell me why. Then he goes on in verse 24. And he starts saying why. Why did you do turn away from me? Why do you treat me as an enemy?
James Greer (26:33):
You see what he's saying? He's asking the same question that everybody else asks. He said, why, why, why, why? Then he goes to 23:2. My complaint. He says, today is still bitter. It's a bitter one. He said, in other words, I'm becoming bitter against you and my punishment's far more than I deserve. It's not my fault. I don't really, I don't deserve it. Oh, that if I knew God, I would find God. If I could find God, I'd go to the very throne. I'd go talk to God. I'd walk into His presence. See, he's so upset, he says, if I could find God, I'd walk to Him. I'd tell God my side of the argument and I'd reply. I'd want him to understand what I'm saying. See, he's thinking that he's going to go tell God. God's allowing him to vent. Matter of fact, about three-fourths of Job is written to let him vent.
James Greer (27:26):
So he's venting and venting and venting, and God understands. But let me tell you, then there comes a point in time that you got to understand who God is. God finally says, I'm the creator and you're the created. I created Heaven, I created earth, I created the seas. What did you do? God turns it around. Number four, and He starts asking Job. In 38:1, He says, and the Lord, now He answered Job. He said why do you talk without knowing what you're talking about? Why don't you understand the purpose of things? He said, look, get prepared. Prepare yourself as a man. Be strong. Brace yourself. You answer some questions. Where were you in the foundation on earth? Where were you when I determined the size? Where were you when, who supports the earth? Where were you when I put the boundaries of the sea? Where were you when I made it rain? Where were you when I do the thunder? Where were you when I make the lightening hit? Where were you when I tell the eagles to fly? Where were you, Job? Where were you? Job, do you understand I am the creator and you are the created? Job, tell me, how does the earth maintain? How does it go on its own? How are the stars created? Do you know all this, Job?
James Greer (28:36):
Job finally comes and he agrees with God. The beginning of healing is recognizing who God is. He finally says in Job 42:1, and Job answers the Lord. He said, I know that you can do anything and that your purpose of yours can be withheld from you. The purpose of plans, it can't be ruined. It can't be stopped. It's unstoppable. Your plans can't be . In other words, he said, your purpose is higher than mine. Your ways are higher than mine. I can't understand it. What happened was no accident, God. Job was being healed. He's acknowledging who God is and God's ways are higher than his. And there's no way that he can understand it. He finally goes on to say, God, your ways are too wonderful for me to understand. He said, I'm ashamed that I even said it. And he goes on after that. And he goes on and starts praying. In Job 42:7, it says, and after the Lord, He spoke to his friends. God steps in. He says, my wrath is against your friends. In fact, he tells him to take seven bulls. He says, listen, your servant, y'all spoke against my servant, my servant Job. And you pray for them. And He made his friends go offer bull sacrifice to Job.
James Greer (29:54):
He's protecting Job. He said, y'all have been talking. Y'all wrong what you said about Job. My servant Job would done right. He hadn't done wrong. And you go and you sacrifice it. And you make things right with Job. And Job, you pray for your friends. And as they made a sacrifice to Job, when they got right with Job and when Job started praying for his friends, guess what happened? And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. It was a process. Your tragedy will be a process as well. Don't miss the end. Don't get stuck in the middle. The Lord wants to bless the latter half. In closing, I don't know where you're at. You could be in the mourning stage. It's okay. It'll pass. You might need to vent. That's okay. Don't stay there. Remember there's people that'll hurt you whether you're going through tragedy or just living life. Don't put your faith in people.
James Greer (31:13):
You better recognize who God is. He's the creator, not you. You were created. His ways are higher than yours. There's many things you're not going to understand till you get to Heaven. Those people that have hurt you bad, let God take care of them. Forgive them. Pray for them. Allow God to restore you. I don't know where you're at. But first of all, if you don't know Jesus Christ as your savior, I don't know how you can go through a tragedy. Don't leave here today without Him as your personal savior. If you went through a real tragedy in the past, don't stay stuck in that tragedy. Let today be the day that you recognize who God is and ask God to help you move past. Sometimes we don't want to move past because we're afraid we're letting go. You're not letting go of them. You're not letting go of your loved one.
James Greer (32:16):
You're just letting go of some of the hurt. Can I tell you there's not a loved one anywhere that would want you to continue to live in your tragedy. They don't want that. They want you to take the next step. They would want you to realize that you were created by the creator. They would want you to recognize that God's ways are higher than your ways. They'd want you to know that this world is not going to last. You ready? And they'd want you to prepare for the next world. So would you stand and let me pray for you? Father, you're such an awesome God. I thank you for the insights, the understanding, the Book of Job. Because God, every one of us has gone through tragedies. God, I pray for those right now, God, that could be hurting, give them hope. There is hope. This is not the end. You have something better for them. I pray God for those that are here today that may not be that particular tragedy. They might be going through divorce. They might be going through bankruptcy. They might go through separation, God, but it's still a tragedy to them.
James Greer (33:33):
That's not the end for them. You comfort them. You give them hope. Help them to know they'll see it in the land of the living. Give them a strange comfort right now, God. You are the God of all comfort. God, let everybody hear they have a next step. I pray today that everybody would take a next step. That they'd take their next step card whether they have a prayer request. Maybe today's the day you want to join the church. Why don't you do that? What's keeping you back? Everybody needs a family. Everybody needs a home. Maybe you need to be publicly baptized since you were saved. We're going to do that the third service. You can join us today or you can do it next Sunday.
James Greer (34:19):
Maybe there's somebody that really hurt you. Today's the day you need to forgive them. Doesn't matter if they forgive you or not. Today's the day that you forgive them. You might need to just write their name down and just say, I forgive blank as a way of being obedient. And just turn it in. You don't even have to put your name on it. You're just trying to be obedient. Maybe today's today you want to accept Jesus Christ and you maybe can come to the front or maybe you want to mark it on the card. We're going to have an open invitation. They're going to be in the front. But you can do it either way. God can speak to your heart about something that maybe I didn't even say. You let the Holy Spirit have His will and His way in your life. It's in the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Darrell Ingram (35:11):
On behalf of Pastor James, we're so glad you joined us this morning. If you still want someone to pray with you and for you, we have people on standby right now. We're excited right now that Pastor James is coming out with his new devotion and it is Transformation. If you want a copy of this devotion that Pastor James is putting out this Sunday, all you have to do is click the link below, fill out the paperwork, and we will get it to you. Hey, God bless. See you next Sunday.
Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.
Well, morning, Journey Church. Man, it's been a long time since we've come in the first service in the downstairs and we have people upstairs. Amen. I'm so excited about the new book. Amen? What I'm really excited about is we can stay connected and sometimes, and we don't even have to have contact. Listen, if you didn't get a book, I want to really encourage you today to get a book. And if we ran out of books, we'll have a book for you next week. Now I want you to get into the WhatsApp. Now see, man, it's always something new for me. I mean I have to learn, relearn, unlearn, and then learn again. And what's exciting, I'm in every app. I'm in everybody's WhatsApp. Now because I'm in everybody's WhatsApp, I had to get Josh to show me how to silence those apps. At first, they weren't. Can you imagine trying to go to bed and going ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding?
James Greer (00:59):
I'm glad y'all are interacting. I don't want to talk to you that bad. But do you understand that it's just one page a week? Do you understand if you're in the WhatsApp on Mondays, it's automatically going to upload the first devotion every week? If you don't know how to do it, I'll be glad to get Josh to help you. I was so excited. I've been learning how to do it, learning how to do it, learning how to do it. And I had this friend down the street from work and I ran in there and I said, man, I got to. He was so excited. I gave him the book. I said, man, I'm going to get you in the app. And I've whipped out the code. And I said, look, let me see your phone. And I said, look, let me take a picture. He had one of them old phones. It didn't work.
James Greer (01:47):
I said, guess what? He said, what? I said, I'll have the Mexican come by and see you Monday. He said, oh yeah. He said, I know the Mexican. He said, you mean Darrell? I said, yeah. He knew you by name. I saw him this week. I walked in. He said, you couldn't do it. But he could. I said, well, big deal. I said, are you in the app? He said, yeah. I said, that's all that matters. He was excited, wasn't he? Huh? So if you're not, if you didn't get a book, please get in the app. It's is going to be so much fun. Amen? And if you haven't got one yet, after service, there'll be in the back and they'll help you get in there. So please do that. I'm going to tell you, you do understand spiritual growth on a regular basis is the only guarantee that your life will get better. Nothing else you can do.
James Greer (02:36):
We have enough isolation already, don't we? Continued isolation definitely brings some type of desolation. And so this is another way we can stay connected. I'm as excited about being in the app and connecting with people. Every week you can just share your thought or your insight. It doesn't have to be something long. It can be one short sentence or one short thought. But let's be a part of it. We're going to continue Job part 2. And the title is Go From Tragedy to Triumph. But I'll tell you, it's been a sad week for me. I was so excited to see so many people, man. I just want to say, man, I'm going to preach my heart out and I'm going to do my best. But it's been sad. There's been a lot of tragedies this week.
James Greer (03:23):
Everybody, you're going to need this message. I hope you don't need it right now, but you're going to need it. You're going to face tragedies. This week alone, I went to three funerals and preached two of them. Ms. Shirley Jordan that usually sits right over there and she amens. Don't y'all love it? Amen. Love her. Her younger brother passed away. Had his funeral this week. It was very devastating for her. Y'all that know her be praying for her and send her a note and let her know that you're praying for her. Right after that, Rex Deville, that's Joyce Toups' younger brother, early 60s, he passed away. I had his funeral Friday. Had the privilege to be there and to be part of that. And pray for her. Very active member of our church. And did y'all know that he watched us online every single Sunday?
James Greer (04:24):
I got the see him the night before he passed away. And he said, you'll never know how much it means to me to be able to watch every Sunday online. Isn't that something? We never know how many people are out there. For you people that are online, you need to be in the WhatsApp. You need to be part of it. For those of you like Mrs. Pat that are in Gonzales or wherever, they watch us every Sunday. You can download the WhatsApp and they'll show you how to be a part of that. And you can stay connected with. And then the real tragedy, Bobby, you remember that we had Brian Mayeux, 45 years old, went in with a blood clot and some tragedy things happened while he was there. And he coded and became brain dead and they had to unplug him. It was real, real, real tragic. Wife of 21 years. He had one daughter. His mom, he was the only son and she had lost her husband probably 10, maybe 15 years ago. And they had lived next to each other all their life. It's a real tragedy.
James Greer (05:31):
The good news is in May of 2013, he was at our church and his daughter, Ashley was first and she led the rest of the family and she got saved. And he came to church on May the 15th or 19th of 2013, Brian accepted the Lord. And he was baptized right here. And that gave them some relief, but it's just a lot of tragedy. And they all had the same question, had the same need. The same question is why. The same need is hope. When you go through a tragedy, you're going to have the same need. I don't care how spiritual you are. I don't care how long you've been in church. I don't care if you're the pastor. You're going to, when it's a real tragedy, the first thing to go through your mind is why. The second thing you need is hope. And hope is a confident expectation of a positive outcome in spite of the present circumstances.
James Greer (06:31):
Nobody ever suffered like Job. We're going to try to walk through some of the steps that Job went through. It's very important that you don't stop at any of the steps. We don't want you to get stuck in your tragedy. We want you to be able to move from your tragedy to know that there's some hope at the other end, that you can have some type of triumph, that you can come out the other end, that your life can get better. Because see, sometimes when you're in a tragedy, you don't think it's going to get any better. I don't care what you're going through. Life can get better. I often quote the Psalmist 27:13 says, I'd have lost heart, unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. While you're still alive. And I honestly believe that. I don't think you have to live where you're at. I think life is going to get better. Just wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. He shall strengthen our hearts. Wait, I say, upon the Lord.
James Greer (07:35):
If you'll just wait and you'll just trust and don't give up. I fear every single Sunday between the people that are online and there's people at church, they're almost on the edge of giving up. I want to tell you, don't give up. You know that Job at the end of the story, it says in Job 42:12, it said the Lord, the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than the beginning. The older I get, the more important that verse really is. But as important as it is as I get older, it's more important to me now than ever that the people that are going through tragedy. Sometimes there's nothing you can say and there's nothing you can do. The Book of Job tells us a couple of real important things. He doesn't really explain why like you want to, but he tells us one of the purposes is that life can get better.
James Greer (08:31):
In fact, no matter what you're going through, the latter days can be better than what you're going through right now. The other is that we recognize who God is and that God is in control. Even when we feel like He's out of control, He is in control. You can't have great, great triumph without going through unbelievable tragedy and trials and tests. You got to go through those or you'll never have the triumph. You got to pass the test. Many times we fail the test so we just live in the tragedy. We all know people that went through tragedy years and years ago, and they're still living there. They're living in the bitterness and the hurt. That was never God's intent and still is not.
James Greer (09:21):
I'm going to upfront give you four of the stages, and then I'm going to try to preach them. And the reason I'm going to give them upfront because it takes the whole rest of the time to try to go through Job to show you in the Scripture what I'm going to tell you upfront. There's always a mourning stage and there needs to be. Job mourned. And when you go through a tragedy, you should mourn. I have known people that went through tragedy and didn't mourn then but they mourned later. It's okay to mourn. In fact, it's natural to mourn. I've gone through so many tragedies in my life, myself or with other people, and sometimes I've gone through there and they just say, well, it's God's will. And it's okay. And God get the glory. And amen. But years later they, they can't function. When you're going through a tragedy, it's okay to mourn then. Job did. You can. There's nothing wrong with that.
James Greer (10:22):
I don't care how spiritual you are. Some people I think because they're spiritual, that they shouldn't mourn. That's not right. That would be unnatural. Jesus wept at the side of a loved one. So it's okay. Amen? They questioned God. I questioned God. Job questioned God. And some of the real spiritual people said, I just can't believe you questioned. I did. And if you hurt bad enough and you have a loved one that hurts bad enough, you will too. Sometimes it's just venting. You have to vent. I think if you don't get rid of some of your emotions, you'll crack. I cracked. I vent. Job even did that. But don't live there. Don't stop there. Too many people stop where it's the questioning God, and they don't go forward from there. And they just live in that state. You got to come to the third step and you began to heal and you recognize who God is and that you're no longer God. God is the one that created everything. He's the creator. We are the created.
James Greer (11:47):
And until you really begin to recognize who God is and agree with who God is, you'll move past. The beginning of healing is recognizing who God is and who you are. You're not God. You're never going to understand everything. You never will till you get to Heaven. I mean people plead. I understand. They're crying, they're broken, and they're wailing. And they're saying, why God? Why God? And you have to let them do that. But many of them, they're never going to know why. And you're not either. But there has to come a point in time that you go through that and you come to the point and you recognize who God is. God is the creator of the world. He's in control. Even when it seems like everything's out of control, even today in the world to me, it seems like in a worldly view that the world is getting out of control. Does it not? God's in control.
James Greer (12:49):
Job had to go after that. There were some people that he had to forgive and to receive forgiveness. You'll get hurt during a tragedy. A lot of times people don't mean to. They'll say things and do things. And you're so sensitive, you'll get hurt. To this day, I can still remember some of the worst hurts and tragedies of my entire life. They weren't physical hurts, but they were hurts. Hurts from people turning their back, hurts from people that you've loved for years and they couldn't talk to you or wouldn't see you. You're going to get hurt. Job was hurt. His friends really turned on him. But God straightened it out. God's done that in my life. I actually got to see this. I've saw, I got to see what God did in Job's life. He did it in my life. God is the great equalizer. You're not. God will straighten things out if you'll give Him time, if you'll just stay out of the way. And Job forgave them, and they got right with Job.
James Greer (14:15):
The last part was Job began to pray for the very people that hurt him. At that point during the prayer, heavens opened up, and God said, I'm going to bless you with twice of everything you lost. Those were the steps. You're going to go through them. Don't get stuck in them. Go to the end. If you're here or you're online and you're at the beginning stage, you can't jump to the end. I wish you could. I wish there was a shortcut, but there's not. I wish there was a timetable. I called some people last week and said, can you help me find a timetable? You can't find it in Job. Some people thought it was months and some people thought it was a year. It doesn't matter. I think people mourn and hurt at different stages. But it's clear that Job, it was not years. So there has to come a point in time that you let God begin to heal you. I didn't say that you ever get over it. I said, you get through it.
James Greer (15:34):
I believe that was one of the main purposes of the Book of Job. I've wondered for years what it was. I'll give you a quick review of last week. And we just simply talked about number one, what Job lost. He lost his family, his kids. He lost his wealth and he lost his health. I can't imagine losing all that at one time. I've lost much of that. Job was a man of integrity. Job wouldn't give up. The longer I'm in the ministry, integrity is so important to me is that you don't quit. Things are going to be tough. Things are going to get hard. You're going to get hurt. Don't give up. Don't quit. Don't bail out. Even Job's wife said cuss God and die. And he said, I'm not going to do it. God was good to me. And now things are happening rough, I'm not going to cuss God. I'm going to hang in there.
James Greer (16:47):
We have people in our church, they're going through it right now. They're trying to hang in there. We got multitudes that are hurting. They've got cancer. They have loved ones that are going through great things. And they're just trying to hang in there. That's integrity. That's real integrity. It's easy to quit. It's easy to give up. And Job had great integrity. I think it's integrity that's what you get to see the blessings when you don't quit. Job had an unbelievable heavenly perspective though he questioned God. He knew, he knew that this was not going to be his home. He knew there was something after that. He knew that bad things happen to good people. And we have to understand and we have to believe that.
James Greer (17:39):
And then Job started the process. It's unbelievable. Number one, he hurt and he mourned. And you have to do that. You can see a little bit of it in Job 2: 1 through 13. When Job and his three friends, they heard of the adversities. Some adversity. Had come upon him, each one from his own place. Eliphaz of Temanite, Bildad of Shuhite and Zophar. That's pretty good. Everybody want to say amen? Y'all know I usually skip those. Yeah. You can clap, Tim. That's real good. Y'all didn't know I usually skip those words. And Naamathite. If y'all only knew how Darrell knows something that y'all don't know. Don't you, Darrell? Thank you, brother. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him and comfort him. The next verse is unbelievable.
James Greer (18:58):
When they raised their eyes from afar, they didn't recognize him. Do you think he mourned or what? Do you understand when it said they didn't recognize him, do y'all understand that it meant he was disfigured? That he was disfigured beyond recognition? Do you understand that he had mourned and grieved and he had sores. And when you looked up and you said, hey, where's Job? This person that I'm looking for, he is so disfigured. I can't even recognize him as a person. This sickness had taken its toll on him. They lifted up their voice and they wept, each one of them tore his clothes and they sprinkled dust on their head towards Heaven. Did you know that way back in Isaiah, they prophesied that's what would happened to Jesus? He would be appalled at his appearance. They said, he'd be so disfigured that he wouldn't be recognized as a man. Job was so grieved, he was so grief stricken, they wanted to come and sit with him and they couldn't even recognize who he was.
James Greer (20:11):
Suffering and grief can take an unbelievable toll on your life. Haven't you seen people that have gone through grief and you see them and you said, man, I almost didn't even recognize them? I was at the funeral home yesterday and me and my son were talking about a particular guy. And I said, Jimmy, he just walked by and you didn't recognize him. He'd gone through some great suffering and sickness and heartache. And he didn't even recognize who he was. It had taken a toll on his life. Job was mourning, he was grieving. They didn't know what to do. So they just sat with him there, sat on the ground for seven days and seven nights. And nobody even spoke a word because they saw his grief was so great. Can I tell you, sometimes the best thing you can do is say nothing. Sometimes if you could just be there, that's the best thing you can be. Sometimes there's no words that you can speak when somebody is going through such great heartaches and great sorrow. Just be there.
James Greer (21:22):
In chapter 3, it continues. After Job opened his mouth, he cursed the very day he was born. I'm not the only one that cusses. And every said...? Y'all can bleep that out when you do it live. Just saying. He cussed the day he was born. Right? And Job spoke and he said, may the day perish on which I was born and the night in which it was said a male child was conceived. Many times our first response to tragedy and pain and suffering is nothing more than crying and hurting and crying out. We wish we'd never born. I hope you've never gone through that tragedy. I have and you might. And the reason that we say things like that, because we cannot describe the pain. We can't describe the hurt. We can't describe the sorrow. You really wish you were dead. Don't take your life because I deal with the people that are left behind and it's tragic. It can pass. The Book of Job wants to tell you to hang on. There's something better in store for you.
James Greer (23:07):
Many times, number two, your friends are questioning you and they'll turn on you during the greatest tragedy of your life. It happened to Job. It happened to Jesus, didn't it? Me and my wife had it to happen to us. One of the greatest tragedies in our life, when we lost our granddaughter, I'll never forget that some of her closest friends for 20 and 30 years, same thing happened. And in middle of a tragedy, you can't believe it's happening. You almost believe am I dreaming or is this really happening? Job's friends began to question Job. They said, really, probably Job, it's really something you probably did. They started out not that way. They started out talking about how great Job was and how he ministered to people. And now you get down to Job 4:8. And then they start telling him, you know, even as it's seen, those who plow iniquity now, sow trouble, they reap the same. You know what they're saying? Job, aren't you really suffering? Isn't there something you really did? Job, are you really trying to hide sin? Now you're reaping what you sowed.
James Greer (24:28):
That's some friend. Amen? You're sitting there and you can't even recognize him. He's in such grief and sorrow that he's beyond recognition. You sit there for seven days. You're with him. And now you're telling him, you probably really had this coming, didn't you? Some friend. Go from friend to foe. And you don't need those kinds of friends around you when that's happening . That's why you need 1 Corinthians 2:5. Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man but the power of God. Everybody needs that verse. You need it for this and you need it for times when you're disappointed in people. I heard some young people right now, they're really disappointed in a spiritual leader that they have. And they don't know what to do. Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man but the power of God. Everybody's going to have somebody that they look up to that's going to disappoint them.
James Greer (25:22):
I can remember when my mentor of many years that was in another town and he mentored me for years and years and years and he was a great hero. And he committed a immorality and he lost his position. And everybody said, now, what are you going to do? I said, my faith was never in him. I'm going to take what was good and I'm going to throw out the bad and my faith is not going to be crushed because of him because my faith was in God. Don't put your faith in any person. Third, he began to question God. He began to vent. It's okay. Job 13 picks up. This is Job. He's talking to God. He said, tell me, what have I done wrong? And when you're going through that, why do I deserve this? Show me my rebellion. Show me my sin. You see that? He's talking to God. He's telling Him, tell me why. Then he goes on in verse 24. And he starts saying why. Why did you do turn away from me? Why do you treat me as an enemy?
James Greer (26:33):
You see what he's saying? He's asking the same question that everybody else asks. He said, why, why, why, why? Then he goes to 23:2. My complaint. He says, today is still bitter. It's a bitter one. He said, in other words, I'm becoming bitter against you and my punishment's far more than I deserve. It's not my fault. I don't really, I don't deserve it. Oh, that if I knew God, I would find God. If I could find God, I'd go to the very throne. I'd go talk to God. I'd walk into His presence. See, he's so upset, he says, if I could find God, I'd walk to Him. I'd tell God my side of the argument and I'd reply. I'd want him to understand what I'm saying. See, he's thinking that he's going to go tell God. God's allowing him to vent. Matter of fact, about three-fourths of Job is written to let him vent.
James Greer (27:26):
So he's venting and venting and venting, and God understands. But let me tell you, then there comes a point in time that you got to understand who God is. God finally says, I'm the creator and you're the created. I created Heaven, I created earth, I created the seas. What did you do? God turns it around. Number four, and He starts asking Job. In 38:1, He says, and the Lord, now He answered Job. He said why do you talk without knowing what you're talking about? Why don't you understand the purpose of things? He said, look, get prepared. Prepare yourself as a man. Be strong. Brace yourself. You answer some questions. Where were you in the foundation on earth? Where were you when I determined the size? Where were you when, who supports the earth? Where were you when I put the boundaries of the sea? Where were you when I made it rain? Where were you when I do the thunder? Where were you when I make the lightening hit? Where were you when I tell the eagles to fly? Where were you, Job? Where were you? Job, do you understand I am the creator and you are the created? Job, tell me, how does the earth maintain? How does it go on its own? How are the stars created? Do you know all this, Job?
James Greer (28:36):
Job finally comes and he agrees with God. The beginning of healing is recognizing who God is. He finally says in Job 42:1, and Job answers the Lord. He said, I know that you can do anything and that your purpose of yours can be withheld from you. The purpose of plans, it can't be ruined. It can't be stopped. It's unstoppable. Your plans can't be . In other words, he said, your purpose is higher than mine. Your ways are higher than mine. I can't understand it. What happened was no accident, God. Job was being healed. He's acknowledging who God is and God's ways are higher than his. And there's no way that he can understand it. He finally goes on to say, God, your ways are too wonderful for me to understand. He said, I'm ashamed that I even said it. And he goes on after that. And he goes on and starts praying. In Job 42:7, it says, and after the Lord, He spoke to his friends. God steps in. He says, my wrath is against your friends. In fact, he tells him to take seven bulls. He says, listen, your servant, y'all spoke against my servant, my servant Job. And you pray for them. And He made his friends go offer bull sacrifice to Job.
James Greer (29:54):
He's protecting Job. He said, y'all have been talking. Y'all wrong what you said about Job. My servant Job would done right. He hadn't done wrong. And you go and you sacrifice it. And you make things right with Job. And Job, you pray for your friends. And as they made a sacrifice to Job, when they got right with Job and when Job started praying for his friends, guess what happened? And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. It was a process. Your tragedy will be a process as well. Don't miss the end. Don't get stuck in the middle. The Lord wants to bless the latter half. In closing, I don't know where you're at. You could be in the mourning stage. It's okay. It'll pass. You might need to vent. That's okay. Don't stay there. Remember there's people that'll hurt you whether you're going through tragedy or just living life. Don't put your faith in people.
James Greer (31:13):
You better recognize who God is. He's the creator, not you. You were created. His ways are higher than yours. There's many things you're not going to understand till you get to Heaven. Those people that have hurt you bad, let God take care of them. Forgive them. Pray for them. Allow God to restore you. I don't know where you're at. But first of all, if you don't know Jesus Christ as your savior, I don't know how you can go through a tragedy. Don't leave here today without Him as your personal savior. If you went through a real tragedy in the past, don't stay stuck in that tragedy. Let today be the day that you recognize who God is and ask God to help you move past. Sometimes we don't want to move past because we're afraid we're letting go. You're not letting go of them. You're not letting go of your loved one.
James Greer (32:16):
You're just letting go of some of the hurt. Can I tell you there's not a loved one anywhere that would want you to continue to live in your tragedy. They don't want that. They want you to take the next step. They would want you to realize that you were created by the creator. They would want you to recognize that God's ways are higher than your ways. They'd want you to know that this world is not going to last. You ready? And they'd want you to prepare for the next world. So would you stand and let me pray for you? Father, you're such an awesome God. I thank you for the insights, the understanding, the Book of Job. Because God, every one of us has gone through tragedies. God, I pray for those right now, God, that could be hurting, give them hope. There is hope. This is not the end. You have something better for them. I pray God for those that are here today that may not be that particular tragedy. They might be going through divorce. They might be going through bankruptcy. They might go through separation, God, but it's still a tragedy to them.
James Greer (33:33):
That's not the end for them. You comfort them. You give them hope. Help them to know they'll see it in the land of the living. Give them a strange comfort right now, God. You are the God of all comfort. God, let everybody hear they have a next step. I pray today that everybody would take a next step. That they'd take their next step card whether they have a prayer request. Maybe today's the day you want to join the church. Why don't you do that? What's keeping you back? Everybody needs a family. Everybody needs a home. Maybe you need to be publicly baptized since you were saved. We're going to do that the third service. You can join us today or you can do it next Sunday.
James Greer (34:19):
Maybe there's somebody that really hurt you. Today's the day you need to forgive them. Doesn't matter if they forgive you or not. Today's the day that you forgive them. You might need to just write their name down and just say, I forgive blank as a way of being obedient. And just turn it in. You don't even have to put your name on it. You're just trying to be obedient. Maybe today's today you want to accept Jesus Christ and you maybe can come to the front or maybe you want to mark it on the card. We're going to have an open invitation. They're going to be in the front. But you can do it either way. God can speak to your heart about something that maybe I didn't even say. You let the Holy Spirit have His will and His way in your life. It's in the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Darrell Ingram (35:11):
On behalf of Pastor James, we're so glad you joined us this morning. If you still want someone to pray with you and for you, we have people on standby right now. We're excited right now that Pastor James is coming out with his new devotion and it is Transformation. If you want a copy of this devotion that Pastor James is putting out this Sunday, all you have to do is click the link below, fill out the paperwork, and we will get it to you. Hey, God bless. See you next Sunday.
Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.
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