Unleashing Hope | How Hopes and Dreams Come True
Do You Struggle To Believe Your Hopes Can Come True?
James Greer
Jan 2, 2022 56m
When you become discouraged, you may struggle to believe that your hopes and dreams could ever come true. But you must remember to believe in the promises of God. God is faithful and will bring you through a terrible situation and turn it into something great. Video recorded at Pineville, Louisiana.
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struggle to believe your hopes struggle hard times difficult times peace joy love jesus faith salvationTranscriptionmessageRegarding 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: [00:33:04] Amen. What a testimony. Amen. What a testimony, isn't it? You know, and I tell you, we're doing our new series called Unleashing Hope. And if there's ever a time that we needed hope unleashed, it's now. You know, she talked about a time that she tried to take her life. And I know there's a lot of people that are thinking that even now, we just had a young man that took his life even this week. And did you know that what happens is when you don't have hope, for a moment, you think there's nothing to live for? And so that's why it's so appropriate during this time that we want you to know, we want you to have hope. And if there's anybody here that's even thinking that, we want you to know that we want you to come at the end of the service, and we have people to talk to and that can help you to have hope. I hope you got the new devotion. Amen? If you didn't, we want you to get one, and there will be a time to use that.
James Greer: [00:34:03] Did you know in Isaiah 66:9, it says, in the same way that I would not cause pain without allowing something new to be born, sayeth the Lord. Now there's a lot of people had pain in 2021. Amen? I had pain, you had pain, we all had pain. But God said, I'm not going to allow pain into your life without allowing something new. So it's a new year. Let's have some new dreams, new starts, new beginnings, new ministries, new hopes, new insights. So I'm excited. There's a lot of new things about to happen. But what happens is this. It's in between the pains, the sorrows, and the hurts and the new things that we need hope. See, hope in action will change your marriage. It’ll change your family. It'll change your finance. It’s hope that brings peace and joy. It's hope that changes sadness and discouragement into peace and joy. But see, it's not this fake hope. It's not I just hope I'm going to make it. I hope I don't get stopped by the police. I hope my dreams come true. See, the hope we're talking about has substance, and the hope that I'm talking about as a biblical hope. See, a biblical hope is this. Life is painful. Amen? And so God has given us a gift of hope. Hope is a confident expectation of a positive future in spite of your present circumstances. In other words, when you have a biblical hope, no matter what you're going through, you can have a positive expectation that God's going to take it and turn it around to something good one day.
James Greer: [00:35:40] Amen? Because see, our confident expectation, our hope in a positive future rests in God's promises and God's resources, not ours. Romans 5:5 says, and this hope, it will not lead to disappointment. A lot of people's hope leads to disappointment because it's in their own hope. But God says, not this hope. This hope will not lead to disappointment for we know how deeply God loves us because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. See, biblical hope is absolute confidence. Something hasn't been seen, hasn’t received yet, but you have absolute confidence God's going to do what He says. See, everybody needs a biblical hope. And this is what's great. Not only does God want you to have a biblical hope, listen, God wants you to have a hope in action. Hope in action in our life. And it tells us in Hebrews 11:1, you ready? And faith is the substance. In other words, the Bible says faith has substance. Faith is the substance of things what? Hoped for. Faith is the substance of things, say hoped for. Hoped for. And evidence of things not seen. So God wants us to put our faith and our hope into action. Let me give you [inaudible]. How are you hoping for a better marriage? Amen? That can happen. Hoping for better finances. That can happen. Hoping to be a better boyfriend or girlfriend.
James Greer: [00:037:14] Maybe you want to get married. But see, a biblical hope is not just a better boyfriend or better girlfriend. It's one that's the right kind of better boyfriend or girlfriend. Amen, newlyweds? Hey, hey. I mean, you know, maybe it's a child turning back to the Lord. Maybe it's working conditions. Maybe it’s health. See, your hope is only limited to your faith in your dreams. Amen? So God wants us to start having hope. In other words, in other words, get your hope up. Amen? What have you been hoping for? Let it be a positive hope. Hope and dreams come true by applying God's Word and God's principles to the area over a consistent period of time. What area do you really need to apply hope to? In other words, I was going to ask you to say, hey, 2021 is gone. Amen? 2022 is going to be the best year ever. It's going to be the best year ever because I'm hoping it's going to be. But my hope has substance. My hope is based on God's Word. So 2022 is going to be my best year ever. 2022, if you'll proclaim it and claim it, it'll be your best year ever. But what area do you need help in? Pick one area that you need hope in and began to apply God's Word and God's promise consistently over a long period of time, and your dreams and hope will start coming true.
James Greer: [00:38:39] Now see, I know that's true because almost every dream, every hope that me and Debbie have had, I've seen it come true in our life. Almost every one of them. Personally, financially, emotionally. Just almost every dream that we have that we've applied God's Word to consistently over a long period of time, they've come true to God be the glory. Almost every one of them. And I'll tell you that because if God did it for me, He'll do it for you. And what I believe is this. If you want to do that, if you would pick the same thing and you to do it over a long period of time, your dreams and hopes will come true too. See, almost every hope and dream has at least two things that have to happen. Number one, if you want it to come true, you have to be teachable. Most people aren't teachable. But you've heard me say your goals are reachable if you're teachable. See, most people aren't teachable. Most people say they want to reach their goals, but they don't want to do what it takes to reach them. Most people say, I'll try, but I won't train. There's a big difference between trying and training. Say, man, if you apply God's Word, it'll change you. Most people say, well, I want to try, but I'm not doing my devotion. Most people say, I'm going to try, but I'm not going to read God's Word.
James Greer: [00:40:05] Most people say, I'm going to try to get in better health, but I'm not going to go to the gym. I'm going to try, but I'm going to keep eating junk food. You see what I'm saying? If you're just trying and not training, you'll never get better. But it's training that brings about changing your life. Proverbs 9:9 says this. Give instruction to a wise man and he'll get wiser. Teach a just man and he'll increase in learning. See, I personally believe, I really do, I personally believe that you can take any group, men, women, and if they wanted to reach their goals and they're willing to do what you ask them to do over a consistent period of time, by the end of the year, they could do it. I believe that. Because faith has substance. That substance is God's Word. And if you continue to apply God's Word to that substance over a long period of time, it has to come about it. Not might. It has to happen. So I believe anybody's life in here, any family's life in here, any finance life in here, any marriage life in here, every one of them can change if you want it to change. Amen? Listen, this is why Isaiah 55:11, so shall my Word be that goes forth out of my mouth. It shall not return void. Amen? But it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the things for which I sent. In other words, what do you want to accomplish? What is it that you want God's Word to accomplish in your life? What area do you want to prosper in? See, it's the same answer.
James Greer: [00:41:42] God's Word. Listen, it can't return void. It has to accomplish its purpose. 1 Samuel said, listen, 1 Samuel 15:29 said, he who is the glory of Israel will not lie. God doesn't lie. He cannot lie. Nor will he change his mind. For he's not human that he should change his mind. God, listen, God cannot lie. You get His Word on the matter and it’s got to happen. It's got to come about. He tells us in Titus 1:2. He says, listen, this truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life. But then when He says this. Which God who does not lie promised them before the world began. God says, I give you promises. My promises are in your word. So number one, number one, if you want your dreams to come true in 2022, you've got to be teachable and your goals are reachable. You want your dreams to come true in 2022, your goals are reachable if you're teachable. Yeah. But you got to train and not simply try. Amen? All right. Number two, number two. Second thing you have to do, I did this for years and years. Way too many people are intimidated, and their intimidation brings limitations. They believe because they're not smart enough, that was my problem, not talented enough, that was another one of my problems, not good enough, that was another one of my problems, they couldn’t be used by God.
James Greer: [00:43:19] I didn't go in the ministry until I was 32 years old. I'm what's known as a late bloomer. A lot of pastors are peaking at 32 years old. I didn't even go in the ministry was 32 years old. Why do you think I didn't go into the ministry until I was 32 years old? Intimidation. I didn't think I was smart enough, good enough, educated enough, talented enough, everything you can think of. I said, man, God, there's no way that God could use me. So by doing that, I limited what God wanted to do in me and through me. I kept looking at me, me, me instead of saying, hey, what can God do through me that would bring honor and glory to God? Did you know that the difference is it's not what you think, it's what God can use you to bring honor and glory through you. God likes to take the weakness in our lives and show strength. That's how He gets the honor and glory. There's not one person here that God cannot use and bring honor and glory. It can be on your job. It can be in your home. It can be anywhere in your life if you’ll allow Him to do it. Okay? First of all, if you want to reach your goals in 2022, you've got to be teachable. Amen?
James Greer: [00:44:34] Second of all, you can't let imitation bring limitation. Okay? Number three, hope not only brings hopes and dreams true, but hope brings joy and peace. I love this. There's ever been a time you need joy and peace, it’s now. Romans 15:13. Now the God of hope. Who's the God of what? He's the God of what? Hope. Fill you with joy and peace in believing that you may abound and hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. God said, listen, I want to fill you with joy, I want to fill you with peace, I want to fill you, and I want it to abound in you. But I want you to know that I am the God of hope and dreams. May this hope fill you with all the peace and all the joy by believing. See, when we start believing in hope in spite of what things look like or could be, hey, changes the outcome. See, it's not what things look like. It's not what you feel. It’s what God's Word says. You say, well, I just don't think I have enough to [inaudible] my needs met. Yeah, but God said, I'm going to supply all your needs, according to his riches. Man, this thing is horrible. God said, I can take all things and turn it around to something good. I don’t think I can have victory. God says you're more than conquerors through Christ. I mean, you see, God can take everything and anything and turn it around for something good in your life. Amen? So you got to, it's not what you think. It's not what you feel. It's what God's Word says that gives you hope. Amen? He has the riches and glory to meet all the needs you'll ever have. See, this is a sad thing. You ready?
James Greer: [00:46:09] Without hope, many people want to give up. They want to quit. Become discourage. Feel defeated. Don't quit. Don't give up on yourself. Don't give up on your life. Don't give on these people, don't give up on that person, don't give up on those things. God wants you to believe that things are going to get better. He gives you a biblical hope, knowing that things will get better. So if there's somebody here that is that discouraged, I want to pray biblical hope for you because God says, hey, I have that hope. I've got a confident expectation that things will get better in your life. So please don't give up. God wants you to know through the power of the Holy Spirit that you can have your new hopes and your dreams can come about.
James Greer: [00:47:03] The same power, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, the same power that brings dead things back to life. We've got a key verse and it's going to be Romans 4:17 and 18. It has to do with hope. As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations. He's talking about Abraham at 100 years old. In the presence of Him who he believed, God who gives life to the dead and he calls those things which did not exist though they did. In other words, I love it, who contrary to hope in hope believing, so that he became the father of many nations according to what he had spoken, so shall your descendants. Do you understand what he's saying? He said He's the God that brings dead things to life. Do you understand He was telling Abraham, hey, Abraham at 100 years old and your wife about 85, her womb is dead and you're dead, but you're going to have a child. Amen? That's being dead things to life. Amen? Jesus Christ died on the cross and they put Him in the grave. But He didn't stay there, did He? Three days later, He arose. Jesus said, listen, through hope, I can bring dead things to life. Amen? And so whatever's dead in your life, Jesus said, I want you to know that same power that brought Jesus Christ to life, that gave Abraham a son can work in your life and bring your dead marriage, your dead finance, whatever’s dead in your life, God said, hey, I'll bring it back to life. Amen? But you know what you got to do? You can't just try. You've got to train. Amen? Hope is the answer to discouragement. I love this verse. David's crying out. He’s saying, why am I so discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? Man, there's so many people today, they're doing this. Why am I'm just so discouraged? I'm so sad.
James Greer: [00:49:00] Then he tells himself, I'm going to put my hope in God. I will praise Him again, my Savior. Sometimes the best talk you need to have is a self-talk. You need to learn to talk to yourself. David knew how to encourage himself in the Lord, and you need to learn to encourage yourself in the Lord. David said, I'm discouraged, I'm sad, but guess what I'm going to do? I'm going to put my hope in the Lord. Matter of fact, I'm going to praise God. Sometimes when you don't want to praise God is when you need to praise God the most. Amen? Let's say, praise God. Amen? And that can change you. See, when you put your faith and hope in anything other than God, listen, when you put your faith and hope in anything other than the God, that often leads to sadness and discouragement. But the same thing, when you change it and you put it back in God, you can begin to have a new joy and hope. See, God created every single one of us. You ready? Where the only thing that can fill that void, the only thing that can bring that joy is Jesus Christ. He told us in Ecclesiastes. First of all, He said He made everything beautiful in its time. See, if everything's not beautiful in your time right now, don't give up. Don't stop. God said, I'll give it to you in the right time at the right place. Amen? But He also said, He has also put eternity in the hearts of every man. Every single man and woman, boy and girl has a longing in their heart to be fulfilled by Him. But you have to choose to be fulfilled by Him. Way too many people are trying to fulfill the longing that they have by other people, places, and things. And therefore, that leads to sadness, that leads to discouragement. But on the other hand, when you start filling it with the right things, I love what He says in verse 12.
James Greer: [00:50:45] So now you start filling it with the right things like He tells us. And He said now, I know that nothing is better for you than to rejoice and to do good in your lives. He said, listen, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy, listen, the goods of your labor. Are you enjoying your work? God said, listen, when you start getting your life right with God, when you start putting God first in your life, when you start getting your joy and you start giving your hope from God, He said, you can start enjoying your job. He said joy and peace, it's a gift from God. I want you to enjoy where you go to work. I want you to enjoy your time. I want you enjoy your pleasure. So God says, listen, I want you to enjoy life, but I want to make sure you've got me first place in your life. Amen? I love that part. It says, hey.
James Greer: [00:51:35] And then God says, listen. And now abide in faith, hope, charity, or love, these three. But the greatest of these is love. I love it because God said, listen, I loved you so much that I gave you hope. This hope is to be abided in, to abound in, something that He wants us to not just have on Sundays. He wants us to live in that on a day-to-day basis where we can have the joy that we need. In closing, God not only wants us to have hope, He wants us to abide, to remain in that hope. Abide means to allow his Word to fill our mind, to direct our lives. In Romans 15:13, it says, now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, believing what? That you might abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Some of you would have to say that you probably lost your joy, you lost your peace. And today you're ready to begin to abound in joy and peace again today. You can't abound in joy and peace till you have Jesus as your Savior. So if you're here today and you're not a hundred percent sure you have Jesus as your Savior, first thing I would do, when we give the invitation, when we have the people up front, I would come down just simply say, hey man, I need Jesus as my Savior. And I would settle that first.
James Greer: [00:53:08] Then you need to say, hey, some of you have Him as your Savior, but there's some reason you’ve gone through time and He's no longer first place in your life and you're feeling discouraged. Maybe you're feeling sad. And you want to say, Hey, I want to put my faith back in Him, my hope backing Him. I want to praise Him. I want my joy. I want my peace back. Then you need to do that and you need to put it into action. Maybe you need to put hope in action. Maybe it's your marriage, maybe it's your finance, maybe it's your job, maybe it’s your health. Start applying your faith and your hope to those areas by finding what God's Word says, His promise and keep applying it till your dreams come true and you have the best 2022 that you've ever had. Would you stand and let me pray for you?
James Greer: [00:54:03] Father, I thank you for your hope. It gives meaning to life. It gives purpose to life. It gives excitement for life. It overcomes discouragement. It defeats sadness. If there's anyone here today that's sad, discouraged, and don't really have a meaning to go on with life, I pray today that you would give them hope. I pray today that they would come to one of these counselors and find hope. God, those that know you as our Savior, I pray that they would be filled with a new joy, a new peace, a new happiness. Maybe somebody needs to join the church today. I pray today would be the day. Wouldn't it be great to start off 2022 as a member of Journey Church? Maybe need to follow through in public baptism. Say, hey, I started out 2022, baptism. That’d be fantastic. Maybe you need somebody to pray with you and to pray for you. That'd be fantastic. But one thing for sure, we're dispensing hope today. What area do you need hope applied? Is it your marriage? Is it your finance? Is it your job? Is it a relationship? Would you come and let somebody help you apply hope to that area? It's in the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Bruce Goulart: [00:55:13] On behalf of Pastor James, I want to say thank you for joining our online experience this morning. Y'all, this was a great first week of Unleashing Hope. And if you want to get a copy of his book, Unleashing Hope, just comment down below and we'll find a way to get it to you right away. Again, I just want to say thank you for joining us this week. But if you need someone to pray with you or you want to take your next step, y’all, all you have to do is text the number (318) 413-6422. And you can text either baptism, salvation, to join the church, or the word move. And if you text those words to that number, a link will come to you right away for you to fill out, and we will be able to get with you and for you to do your next step. Again, I just want to say thank you so much for joining our online experience, and I hope to see you next week.
Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.
James Greer: [00:34:03] Did you know in Isaiah 66:9, it says, in the same way that I would not cause pain without allowing something new to be born, sayeth the Lord. Now there's a lot of people had pain in 2021. Amen? I had pain, you had pain, we all had pain. But God said, I'm not going to allow pain into your life without allowing something new. So it's a new year. Let's have some new dreams, new starts, new beginnings, new ministries, new hopes, new insights. So I'm excited. There's a lot of new things about to happen. But what happens is this. It's in between the pains, the sorrows, and the hurts and the new things that we need hope. See, hope in action will change your marriage. It’ll change your family. It'll change your finance. It’s hope that brings peace and joy. It's hope that changes sadness and discouragement into peace and joy. But see, it's not this fake hope. It's not I just hope I'm going to make it. I hope I don't get stopped by the police. I hope my dreams come true. See, the hope we're talking about has substance, and the hope that I'm talking about as a biblical hope. See, a biblical hope is this. Life is painful. Amen? And so God has given us a gift of hope. Hope is a confident expectation of a positive future in spite of your present circumstances. In other words, when you have a biblical hope, no matter what you're going through, you can have a positive expectation that God's going to take it and turn it around to something good one day.
James Greer: [00:35:40] Amen? Because see, our confident expectation, our hope in a positive future rests in God's promises and God's resources, not ours. Romans 5:5 says, and this hope, it will not lead to disappointment. A lot of people's hope leads to disappointment because it's in their own hope. But God says, not this hope. This hope will not lead to disappointment for we know how deeply God loves us because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. See, biblical hope is absolute confidence. Something hasn't been seen, hasn’t received yet, but you have absolute confidence God's going to do what He says. See, everybody needs a biblical hope. And this is what's great. Not only does God want you to have a biblical hope, listen, God wants you to have a hope in action. Hope in action in our life. And it tells us in Hebrews 11:1, you ready? And faith is the substance. In other words, the Bible says faith has substance. Faith is the substance of things what? Hoped for. Faith is the substance of things, say hoped for. Hoped for. And evidence of things not seen. So God wants us to put our faith and our hope into action. Let me give you [inaudible]. How are you hoping for a better marriage? Amen? That can happen. Hoping for better finances. That can happen. Hoping to be a better boyfriend or girlfriend.
James Greer: [00:037:14] Maybe you want to get married. But see, a biblical hope is not just a better boyfriend or better girlfriend. It's one that's the right kind of better boyfriend or girlfriend. Amen, newlyweds? Hey, hey. I mean, you know, maybe it's a child turning back to the Lord. Maybe it's working conditions. Maybe it’s health. See, your hope is only limited to your faith in your dreams. Amen? So God wants us to start having hope. In other words, in other words, get your hope up. Amen? What have you been hoping for? Let it be a positive hope. Hope and dreams come true by applying God's Word and God's principles to the area over a consistent period of time. What area do you really need to apply hope to? In other words, I was going to ask you to say, hey, 2021 is gone. Amen? 2022 is going to be the best year ever. It's going to be the best year ever because I'm hoping it's going to be. But my hope has substance. My hope is based on God's Word. So 2022 is going to be my best year ever. 2022, if you'll proclaim it and claim it, it'll be your best year ever. But what area do you need help in? Pick one area that you need hope in and began to apply God's Word and God's promise consistently over a long period of time, and your dreams and hope will start coming true.
James Greer: [00:38:39] Now see, I know that's true because almost every dream, every hope that me and Debbie have had, I've seen it come true in our life. Almost every one of them. Personally, financially, emotionally. Just almost every dream that we have that we've applied God's Word to consistently over a long period of time, they've come true to God be the glory. Almost every one of them. And I'll tell you that because if God did it for me, He'll do it for you. And what I believe is this. If you want to do that, if you would pick the same thing and you to do it over a long period of time, your dreams and hopes will come true too. See, almost every hope and dream has at least two things that have to happen. Number one, if you want it to come true, you have to be teachable. Most people aren't teachable. But you've heard me say your goals are reachable if you're teachable. See, most people aren't teachable. Most people say they want to reach their goals, but they don't want to do what it takes to reach them. Most people say, I'll try, but I won't train. There's a big difference between trying and training. Say, man, if you apply God's Word, it'll change you. Most people say, well, I want to try, but I'm not doing my devotion. Most people say, I'm going to try, but I'm not going to read God's Word.
James Greer: [00:40:05] Most people say, I'm going to try to get in better health, but I'm not going to go to the gym. I'm going to try, but I'm going to keep eating junk food. You see what I'm saying? If you're just trying and not training, you'll never get better. But it's training that brings about changing your life. Proverbs 9:9 says this. Give instruction to a wise man and he'll get wiser. Teach a just man and he'll increase in learning. See, I personally believe, I really do, I personally believe that you can take any group, men, women, and if they wanted to reach their goals and they're willing to do what you ask them to do over a consistent period of time, by the end of the year, they could do it. I believe that. Because faith has substance. That substance is God's Word. And if you continue to apply God's Word to that substance over a long period of time, it has to come about it. Not might. It has to happen. So I believe anybody's life in here, any family's life in here, any finance life in here, any marriage life in here, every one of them can change if you want it to change. Amen? Listen, this is why Isaiah 55:11, so shall my Word be that goes forth out of my mouth. It shall not return void. Amen? But it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the things for which I sent. In other words, what do you want to accomplish? What is it that you want God's Word to accomplish in your life? What area do you want to prosper in? See, it's the same answer.
James Greer: [00:41:42] God's Word. Listen, it can't return void. It has to accomplish its purpose. 1 Samuel said, listen, 1 Samuel 15:29 said, he who is the glory of Israel will not lie. God doesn't lie. He cannot lie. Nor will he change his mind. For he's not human that he should change his mind. God, listen, God cannot lie. You get His Word on the matter and it’s got to happen. It's got to come about. He tells us in Titus 1:2. He says, listen, this truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life. But then when He says this. Which God who does not lie promised them before the world began. God says, I give you promises. My promises are in your word. So number one, number one, if you want your dreams to come true in 2022, you've got to be teachable and your goals are reachable. You want your dreams to come true in 2022, your goals are reachable if you're teachable. Yeah. But you got to train and not simply try. Amen? All right. Number two, number two. Second thing you have to do, I did this for years and years. Way too many people are intimidated, and their intimidation brings limitations. They believe because they're not smart enough, that was my problem, not talented enough, that was another one of my problems, not good enough, that was another one of my problems, they couldn’t be used by God.
James Greer: [00:43:19] I didn't go in the ministry until I was 32 years old. I'm what's known as a late bloomer. A lot of pastors are peaking at 32 years old. I didn't even go in the ministry was 32 years old. Why do you think I didn't go into the ministry until I was 32 years old? Intimidation. I didn't think I was smart enough, good enough, educated enough, talented enough, everything you can think of. I said, man, God, there's no way that God could use me. So by doing that, I limited what God wanted to do in me and through me. I kept looking at me, me, me instead of saying, hey, what can God do through me that would bring honor and glory to God? Did you know that the difference is it's not what you think, it's what God can use you to bring honor and glory through you. God likes to take the weakness in our lives and show strength. That's how He gets the honor and glory. There's not one person here that God cannot use and bring honor and glory. It can be on your job. It can be in your home. It can be anywhere in your life if you’ll allow Him to do it. Okay? First of all, if you want to reach your goals in 2022, you've got to be teachable. Amen?
James Greer: [00:44:34] Second of all, you can't let imitation bring limitation. Okay? Number three, hope not only brings hopes and dreams true, but hope brings joy and peace. I love this. There's ever been a time you need joy and peace, it’s now. Romans 15:13. Now the God of hope. Who's the God of what? He's the God of what? Hope. Fill you with joy and peace in believing that you may abound and hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. God said, listen, I want to fill you with joy, I want to fill you with peace, I want to fill you, and I want it to abound in you. But I want you to know that I am the God of hope and dreams. May this hope fill you with all the peace and all the joy by believing. See, when we start believing in hope in spite of what things look like or could be, hey, changes the outcome. See, it's not what things look like. It's not what you feel. It’s what God's Word says. You say, well, I just don't think I have enough to [inaudible] my needs met. Yeah, but God said, I'm going to supply all your needs, according to his riches. Man, this thing is horrible. God said, I can take all things and turn it around to something good. I don’t think I can have victory. God says you're more than conquerors through Christ. I mean, you see, God can take everything and anything and turn it around for something good in your life. Amen? So you got to, it's not what you think. It's not what you feel. It's what God's Word says that gives you hope. Amen? He has the riches and glory to meet all the needs you'll ever have. See, this is a sad thing. You ready?
James Greer: [00:46:09] Without hope, many people want to give up. They want to quit. Become discourage. Feel defeated. Don't quit. Don't give up on yourself. Don't give up on your life. Don't give on these people, don't give up on that person, don't give up on those things. God wants you to believe that things are going to get better. He gives you a biblical hope, knowing that things will get better. So if there's somebody here that is that discouraged, I want to pray biblical hope for you because God says, hey, I have that hope. I've got a confident expectation that things will get better in your life. So please don't give up. God wants you to know through the power of the Holy Spirit that you can have your new hopes and your dreams can come about.
James Greer: [00:47:03] The same power, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, the same power that brings dead things back to life. We've got a key verse and it's going to be Romans 4:17 and 18. It has to do with hope. As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations. He's talking about Abraham at 100 years old. In the presence of Him who he believed, God who gives life to the dead and he calls those things which did not exist though they did. In other words, I love it, who contrary to hope in hope believing, so that he became the father of many nations according to what he had spoken, so shall your descendants. Do you understand what he's saying? He said He's the God that brings dead things to life. Do you understand He was telling Abraham, hey, Abraham at 100 years old and your wife about 85, her womb is dead and you're dead, but you're going to have a child. Amen? That's being dead things to life. Amen? Jesus Christ died on the cross and they put Him in the grave. But He didn't stay there, did He? Three days later, He arose. Jesus said, listen, through hope, I can bring dead things to life. Amen? And so whatever's dead in your life, Jesus said, I want you to know that same power that brought Jesus Christ to life, that gave Abraham a son can work in your life and bring your dead marriage, your dead finance, whatever’s dead in your life, God said, hey, I'll bring it back to life. Amen? But you know what you got to do? You can't just try. You've got to train. Amen? Hope is the answer to discouragement. I love this verse. David's crying out. He’s saying, why am I so discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? Man, there's so many people today, they're doing this. Why am I'm just so discouraged? I'm so sad.
James Greer: [00:49:00] Then he tells himself, I'm going to put my hope in God. I will praise Him again, my Savior. Sometimes the best talk you need to have is a self-talk. You need to learn to talk to yourself. David knew how to encourage himself in the Lord, and you need to learn to encourage yourself in the Lord. David said, I'm discouraged, I'm sad, but guess what I'm going to do? I'm going to put my hope in the Lord. Matter of fact, I'm going to praise God. Sometimes when you don't want to praise God is when you need to praise God the most. Amen? Let's say, praise God. Amen? And that can change you. See, when you put your faith and hope in anything other than God, listen, when you put your faith and hope in anything other than the God, that often leads to sadness and discouragement. But the same thing, when you change it and you put it back in God, you can begin to have a new joy and hope. See, God created every single one of us. You ready? Where the only thing that can fill that void, the only thing that can bring that joy is Jesus Christ. He told us in Ecclesiastes. First of all, He said He made everything beautiful in its time. See, if everything's not beautiful in your time right now, don't give up. Don't stop. God said, I'll give it to you in the right time at the right place. Amen? But He also said, He has also put eternity in the hearts of every man. Every single man and woman, boy and girl has a longing in their heart to be fulfilled by Him. But you have to choose to be fulfilled by Him. Way too many people are trying to fulfill the longing that they have by other people, places, and things. And therefore, that leads to sadness, that leads to discouragement. But on the other hand, when you start filling it with the right things, I love what He says in verse 12.
James Greer: [00:50:45] So now you start filling it with the right things like He tells us. And He said now, I know that nothing is better for you than to rejoice and to do good in your lives. He said, listen, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy, listen, the goods of your labor. Are you enjoying your work? God said, listen, when you start getting your life right with God, when you start putting God first in your life, when you start getting your joy and you start giving your hope from God, He said, you can start enjoying your job. He said joy and peace, it's a gift from God. I want you to enjoy where you go to work. I want you to enjoy your time. I want you enjoy your pleasure. So God says, listen, I want you to enjoy life, but I want to make sure you've got me first place in your life. Amen? I love that part. It says, hey.
James Greer: [00:51:35] And then God says, listen. And now abide in faith, hope, charity, or love, these three. But the greatest of these is love. I love it because God said, listen, I loved you so much that I gave you hope. This hope is to be abided in, to abound in, something that He wants us to not just have on Sundays. He wants us to live in that on a day-to-day basis where we can have the joy that we need. In closing, God not only wants us to have hope, He wants us to abide, to remain in that hope. Abide means to allow his Word to fill our mind, to direct our lives. In Romans 15:13, it says, now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, believing what? That you might abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Some of you would have to say that you probably lost your joy, you lost your peace. And today you're ready to begin to abound in joy and peace again today. You can't abound in joy and peace till you have Jesus as your Savior. So if you're here today and you're not a hundred percent sure you have Jesus as your Savior, first thing I would do, when we give the invitation, when we have the people up front, I would come down just simply say, hey man, I need Jesus as my Savior. And I would settle that first.
James Greer: [00:53:08] Then you need to say, hey, some of you have Him as your Savior, but there's some reason you’ve gone through time and He's no longer first place in your life and you're feeling discouraged. Maybe you're feeling sad. And you want to say, Hey, I want to put my faith back in Him, my hope backing Him. I want to praise Him. I want my joy. I want my peace back. Then you need to do that and you need to put it into action. Maybe you need to put hope in action. Maybe it's your marriage, maybe it's your finance, maybe it's your job, maybe it’s your health. Start applying your faith and your hope to those areas by finding what God's Word says, His promise and keep applying it till your dreams come true and you have the best 2022 that you've ever had. Would you stand and let me pray for you?
James Greer: [00:54:03] Father, I thank you for your hope. It gives meaning to life. It gives purpose to life. It gives excitement for life. It overcomes discouragement. It defeats sadness. If there's anyone here today that's sad, discouraged, and don't really have a meaning to go on with life, I pray today that you would give them hope. I pray today that they would come to one of these counselors and find hope. God, those that know you as our Savior, I pray that they would be filled with a new joy, a new peace, a new happiness. Maybe somebody needs to join the church today. I pray today would be the day. Wouldn't it be great to start off 2022 as a member of Journey Church? Maybe need to follow through in public baptism. Say, hey, I started out 2022, baptism. That’d be fantastic. Maybe you need somebody to pray with you and to pray for you. That'd be fantastic. But one thing for sure, we're dispensing hope today. What area do you need hope applied? Is it your marriage? Is it your finance? Is it your job? Is it a relationship? Would you come and let somebody help you apply hope to that area? It's in the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Bruce Goulart: [00:55:13] On behalf of Pastor James, I want to say thank you for joining our online experience this morning. Y'all, this was a great first week of Unleashing Hope. And if you want to get a copy of his book, Unleashing Hope, just comment down below and we'll find a way to get it to you right away. Again, I just want to say thank you for joining us this week. But if you need someone to pray with you or you want to take your next step, y’all, all you have to do is text the number (318) 413-6422. And you can text either baptism, salvation, to join the church, or the word move. And if you text those words to that number, a link will come to you right away for you to fill out, and we will be able to get with you and for you to do your next step. Again, I just want to say thank you so much for joining our online experience, and I hope to see you next week.
Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.
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