Multiply | Multiply Your Peace
Do Struggle To Find Peace And Contentment In Your Life?
James Greer
Aug 21, 2022 26m
For every one of us, there are times and situations in our lives where we struggle to find peace. The only way to truly find peace is by focusing on God and His Word rather than our circumstances. We only have to meet the conditions of His promise and trust Him. Video recorded at Pineville, Louisiana.
TranscriptionmessageRegarding 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: [00:00:01] Good morning, Journey Church. Man. Hey, after service, you ought to go back and visit the only trampoline park in the church in America. Amen. Ooh. I'm telling you, I'm excited. Also, we continue our series on Multiply. If you don't have a multiply devotion, I think they just got some more in and you can go back in the kiosk and get you one after church today. And man, who doesn't need to multiply their peace? Amen? I think we all need more peace. And when I say multiply your peace, I'm talking about if you listen and apply God's Word today, I honestly believe you can have more peace and it can last longer than you've ever had it before. And you can learn to share it with other people. The key is this. This isn't written down, so you really need to listen. When we're saved and going to Heaven, we do that by believing. In other words, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. That gives you godly peace. So we believe. But we maintain peace by the way we behave. And see, we're not taught that. So we believe and we behave. Acts 16:33 says, Believe believable, Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be safe. But Matthew 22:38, it's the second and greatest commandment that says, You should love your neighbor as yourself. That's behave. And so when you behave, it's how you treat, how you talk about people or talk to people.
James Greer: [00:01:44] It's how you respond, how you forgive, and how you care for others. That shows that we're Christian and that helps maintain our peace. The Bible said in John 13:35, it says, By this. Listen. By this, all will know that you're my disciples, if you love one another. Not about what you believe. You could go to work every day, and nobody knows what you believe. That isn't how they know you're a Christian by what you believe. It's how you behave. The Bible always says, Be the light of the world. I always say, How am I going to be the light of the world? How you behave. See, it's not what you believe that people know. It's how you behave is how they care. And now there's four Types of peace. This is so good. I studied all week and this is new. This came Saturday morning. I'm as excited about Saturday morning than I was off studying all week because I never really understood the difference between belief and behave. I come to church every single Sunday. I'm telling you, put your faith, put your faith, put your faith. You can have all the faith in the world, and people don't know you're a Christian. But they do by the way you behave. Let me tell you four types of peace. This is not in your notes either. And I got brand new notes today. I'm so excited. The first time ever when I have notes, I got to fill in the blanks.
James Greer: [00:03:15] But this I don't even have the blanks. Four types. There's spiritual peace. There's emotional peace. There's situational peace. And there's physical peace. And you got to really understand these four types of peace. Because if you don't understand it, when you lose it, you don't know how to get it back. Spiritual, emotional, situational, which is circumstantial, and physical. And when you don't know which peace, you've got to know which one that you've lost. When you know which peace that you've lost, you can ask God to help you get it back. And God will help you restore that peace. And if you'll obey, you can have it back. Did you know today if everybody would really listen at the last part of the message, I could tell every single person here today how to have God's peace and leave with peace. It's that good. Amen, brother. You get it at the end. Multiply your peace. First of all, you have to know that you have peace. You have to know that you have peace. In John 14:27, it says this. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. By the way, that's Jesus speaking. Not as the world gives do I give you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither be afraid. Jesus was making it really clear right here that He's the only one that can give His peace to you.
James Greer: [00:04:55] Not the world's peace. The world's peace is situational and circumstantial. The world's peace depends what's going on. We can watch the news and lose our peace. We can come home and go to work and lose our peace. That's circumstantial peace. Jesus’ peace is relational peace, and you can't have that apart from Christ. So when I'm talking about that, that's why I tell you every single Sunday, everything rises and falls on your fellowship with Christ. Everything. And if you don't know how to have fellowship with Christ, go back and get last week's message. Amen? We did that. Since Jesus's peace is relational peace and it is, you got to have Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:18 says, God's done it all. Isn't that cool? We have a staff meeting and sometimes our executive pastor, Josh and I always say, What's the answer? Josh always says, Jesus. Well, of course, that is. That's not always the answer I'm looking for, but in essence, when you get down deep, Jesus is the answer. But really, in 2 Corinthians 5:18, God's done it all. Basically, God's saying, I've given you everything you need now. God's done everything I'll need in the future and everything you'll need in Heaven. But what He's saying, when God's done it all, He's saying Christ to make peace. He saying, Christ will make peace between Himself and us, and He has given us the work of making peace between Himself and others.
James Greer: [00:06:30] He said, in other words, you've got to have Christ to have peace with God the Father. He's saying, you get God the Father when you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. He said, I've done it all. I sent my son to die on the cross. He rose on the third day and shed His blood. When you have Jesus, you got peace with God. He said. I've done it all. He said, Everything rises and falls on your relationship with God the Father. He said, I did it all. Romans 15:13 said, Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing that you abound in all hope. He says, not only that, He says, I want you to know that you're full of joy and peace. Go hand in hand. And then He tells us this cool verse. Every couple that's about to get married or they're dating, I use this verse and it's in Ephesians 2:14. It says For He himself, Jesus, is our peace. Who is our peace? That's the right answer. Josh would make an A. He himself is our peace. Who is? Not only that, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation. Now, see, this is something. There's a wall between you and God. There's a wall, and the only way you can break the wall down is Christ. But I can tell you, there's a wall between every relationship, and the wall is here.
James Greer: [00:08:01] You're here and your mate or your relationship's here. And you can get closer to your mate the closer you get to God. You can overcome the wall. So that's how you get closer to each other. You want to get closer to each other? The closer you climb spiritually, the closer you get to God, the closer you overcome the wall, the closer you get to each other. But every time you lose your peace, it's in a relationship. Have you ever said, Honey, there just seems like there's a wall between us? No, that's not. That's when you know there is. Is there something wrong? Nope. Do you want to talk about it? Nope. There is a wall that needs to be broken down. Amen. Now it can be a spiritual wall. It can be some kind of wall. It can be a financial wall. It could be something I said. It could be something I didn't say. I can tell you there is a wall. Break it down. Come in the house and say, Break it down, baby. Help me break it down. I said, I'm the man of the house. She said, Yeah, only when I let you. But anyway, break it down, baby. God wanted to have fellowship with us so bad. I don't think you really realize. With Jesus on the cross and He said, it was just finished. In Luke 23:44, Now it's about the sixth hour and there was darkness all over the earth until the ninth hour.
James Greer: [00:09:22] And the sun was darkened and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus had cried out with a loud voice that said, Father, unto your hands, I commit my spirit. Having said this, He breathed His last. Do you understand for thousands and thousands and thousands of years, God was saying, man, I got a plan coming. I'm going to send my son, the Lamb of God. And He's going to say it is finished into thy hands. Boy. The veil is ripped and now you can go straight to God. Do you know one of the first things God did the minute that Jesus Christ gave up the ghost? He split the veil. You know why? He said, now, all the people, you don't have to go through man, you don't have to go through priests, you don't have to go through ghost, you don't have to go through the Lamb. The Lamb of God is sacrificed and I can finally have a direct relationship with them. And that's what I've been wanting for millions of years. And finally, there for the first time. Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. But after that, you could go to Him and you can go to Him immediately. So the first thing you got to know is you got to know that you can have peace.
James Greer: [00:10:32] Second of all, you got to know how to keep your peace. Keep that peace. I don't always keep my peace. But when I lose it, it's not God's fault. I give it away. I used to blame losing my peace on my kids or my family. Man, when we had five kids in the house, I used to drive up to church. I'd be screaming and hollering. Finally, Debbie said, Just take your own car. I think because she could have more peace. I think she hated it for me. Shut up from a beat the daylights out of you. And then get up, Say, praise God, I love you. You love me. Only if you have a bunch of kids can you understand that. You know? And then one time when Jimmy was about five or six and I'd sit back there, I'd sit in the very back there because I was hoping, you know, he's going to be quiet. And I'd say, be quiet, son. Be quiet, son. Son, be quiet. I'll take you out and be real quiet. You know, I picked him up. I get almost to the door. He said, Please don't beat me. I said, God. I would lose my peace. I do not have empty nest syndrome. I'm just saying. I'm almost 70. I've only been without kids for about a year.
James Greer: [00:12:02] But anyway. And I locked the doors. These things I have spoken to you, that in me you might have peace in the world. You're going to have what? Tribulation. As long as I'm in the world, you're in the world, we're going to have tribulation. Amen? But God said, be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. He said, I'm going to give you peace, but you're going to have tribulation in the world. But what He's saying is, I have a plan on how to give you peace even during the tribulation in the world. That is what's good. And He says, I want you to know it. He said, you know, you've got to know the Word. You got to be in the Word. You've got to apply the Word. And 2 Thessalonians 3:16 says, Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always everywhere. The Lord be with you all. He's trying to say, You got to believe the Word, know the Word, but you got to apply the Word. That's kind of like saying, I believe, but I don't want to behave. Did you know it's easier for me to be a believing Christian than it is to be a behaving Christian? Did you know it's much easier for me to leave and behave on Sunday? But that's why he said the Lord be with you all. He said, I'll be with you all the time, but I want you to behave all the time too. I want you to apply it. See, if you know the Word, and you begin to lose your peace, instead of focusing on the situation and the circumstances, listen. You learn to supernaturally begin to focus on the solution.
James Greer: [00:13:45] You stopped focusing on the problem or the situation, and you start focusing on the solution. You ask God, God, would you show me if I'm losing my peace because it's a personal relationship problem or am I losing my peace because it's a circumstantial problem? And then God through the power of the Holy Spirit, would you help me start focusing on the solution instead of the situation? See, by nature, we focus on the problem. When you have a problem, your brain goes round and round and round the problem. You focus on the problem. The problem gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and it's hard to stop focusing on the problem. But you have something called the power of the Holy Spirit that's bigger. Part of the Holy Spirit is to comfort you and to lead you and to guide you and to direct you. And now we need to say, Stop, God, which is this? I'm losing my peace. Now there is a physical peace you lose. Sometimes ain't nothing to do about that. There's three. If I have to take an MRI.
James Greer: [00:14:54] True story. I pray God doesn't give me a spirit of fear, but a power and love and of a sound mind. God, my wife has to get a wet rag, and they let her hold my hand. And then I go to what they call open air. It's not open air. That's still a tunnel. And then I have to wait till this certain guy's there because he lets me go in and out. He doesn't keep me in there the whole time. And I can't have peace. Just talking about it, I almost start sweating. So there's a physical peace that depends on who you are, whether you have peace or not. You stub your toe, you're going to hurt. Amen? But most of the time, the peace that I'm talking about is relational or circumstantial. And if you're not careful, we continue to focus on the problem instead of the solution. And so what I'm going to teach you the rest of the time today is God through the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit wants you to have peace. He tells you, May the Lord of peace Himself give you His peace, no matter what happens. May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace. No matter what happens, the Lord be with you all. The Lord says it. You got to believe it. Amen? He said, I want to give you peace no matter what happens. So peace, in essence, is a byproduct of trusting God's promised purpose and plans for your life.
James Greer: [00:16:24] Peace, in essence, is a byproduct of trusting God's promised purpose and plans for your life. When we meet the conditions of the promise and we trust God, He'll give us the provisions. So you have to know that you can have peace. You have to know how to keep your peace. It's by applying God's Word, finding out if it's personal or circumstantial. You've got to know how to share or multiply your peace. Okay. To share or multiply your peace, of course, you share or multiply by telling other people they can have peace through Jesus Christ because they can't have peace till they know Jesus as their Savior. That's one way. Amen. So if you're here today and you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal savior, we give the invitation and you come to know the Jesus a peace. Amen? The second way you can, you say, hey, you can believe, know the Word, hear the Word, and apply the Word, you can have peace. The third way you could share verses about peace. That helps. The one that I just told you about, 2 Thessalonians 3:16. May the Lord of Peace Himself give you peace. You know? You can do Psalms 29:11, which I love it too. It's a great peace. It said The Lord will give strength to His people. The Lord will bless His people with peace. One of God's blessings is what? Peace.
James Greer: [00:17:36] Isaiah 26:3 and 4, it tells us this. You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind stays on me because you trust me. So in other words, there are several ways you can tell people about Jesus. You can tell them to get in the Word. You can tell them to read the Word. Okay. Now let's talk about situational. How you can have peace in any situation? Here's the key today. You can go home with peace. Every single person here can. Is it spiritual peace that I've lost? Is it emotional peace? Is it physical peace? Is it situational peace? Spiritual peace begins when you accept Jesus Christ as your savior. There's no other way that you can have that type of peace because that's the only way you have access to God the Father. So if you're here today and you're not sure that you're going to Heaven, you don't have peace. Because God's put in every one of us a longing to know God. You can say whatever you are, but God has put inside every single person to want to know God. So if you're here today and you're not sure that you'd go to Heaven, you can have that peace today. It's very simple. You come to the front and somebody will show you how. Just like this sweet little girl got to get baptized today. She got to know that she's going to Heaven.
James Greer: [00:19:02] Amen? And you come to know Jesus Christ just the same way she does. It doesn't matter if you're her age or if you're 90. So you can do that. Second, you have to ask God, is this emotional peace that I've lost? Emotional peace is one of the hardest things there is in life and you'll struggle with the rest of your life. I struggle with it all the time. And that's when you've had a problem with somebody. It can be with your mate, it could be with your kids, or it can be with a friend. And you ask God, God, have I lost my peace because this is an emotional peace problem? That I have a conflict with somebody, and I want to settle it. To me, it gets heavier and heavier and heavier and heavier. I just got to get rid of it. And sometimes I don't get rid of it because I try to justify it. Adam and Eve, when they first sinned, man blamed the woman and the woman blamed the serpent. So that was not dealing with the emotional problem. And so by nature, when I have emotional problems, this is really important. The first thing I try to do is blame the other person for my emotional problem. That's the first thing. And I do that and I try to justify it, but that doesn't relieve my emotional problem. I still don't have the peace of God that I want.
James Greer: [00:20:25] So then I have to admit my part of the problem. Say, I'm sorry I did that. I shouldn't have done that. Would you forgive me? You say, well, they don't always forgive you. No, they do not. They do not. I'm sorry. I wish they did. But they show they're Christian by how they behave too, not but what they believe. And if somebody asked you that same thing, you show that you're a Christian by how you behave. If somebody wronged you and hurt you and they ask you to forgive, forgive them. Because it's the way you talk, it's the way you're restored, the way you care, and the way you forgive. So once you get that, you can feel, to me, it's like a ton of weight lifted off of me. I can feel it immediately. And so then that's that emotional relief. And the way I do that is I ask God. God, I've lost my peace and I'm in turmoil. Is this because it's an emotional peace or is this situational or is it both? And He tells me and then I say, God, would you start supernaturally help me focus on the solution instead of keep focusing on the person or the problem? And God says, Yeah, I'm the God of all comfort, the Holy Spirit is. And I am also one that leads you. So I will begin to lead you into the solution. Second of all, I say, God, now it's circumstantial or situational.
James Greer: [00:22:04] I have these big, big, big, big, big, big problems. Maybe it's at work. Maybe it's financial. Maybe it's circumstantial. Maybe it's beyond your control. And so it's beyond my control, but it's not beyond God's control. And I have these things that look impossible. And so the problem gets bigger and bigger and bigger. So my mind focuses on the problem and the situation. So then I have to stop and say, God, is the reason I'm lost my peace is because the situation or circumstances? Yes, it is. Sometimes that's my problem. Sometimes it's not my problem. And I say, God, through the power and the presence of the supernatural, The Holy Spirit, would you please help me to stop focusing on the problem? Would you start helping me have some solutions? That doesn't mean I'm going to wake up tomorrow and all my problems are going to be over. But He means okay, now I can get up and start working on solutions. I've had the same problem and done it over, gone through the same routine every single day, every single day, every single day. Same circumstance. Every day, every day, every day, every day. And then say, Hey, God, I can't keep doing this. Would you help me with the solution to help me stop focusing and get up the very next morning and start saying, Hey, I got to start making changes, I got to start doing this, I got to start doing that.
James Greer: [00:23:24] And even though the situation hasn't changed yet, my emotions have. And God will start giving me peace. There is a physical peace that sometimes you can't help. Sometimes it's sickness. Sometimes it's physical hurts. But God is still there with you. But I want you to know that you can leave here today, no matter what's going on in your life, and you can be on your way to peace. You say, Well, the person's not here. God's here. You just tell your brain to stop focusing on the problem. Start focusing on the solution that you want to change today. God knows our hearts so much. God wants your heart. He doesn't want anything else you have. He's got everything He needs. If you just say, God, I want to give you my heart today. I want to leave here in peace. And I want peace with you. I want peace with people. I want peace with my problems. And God said, it doesn't matter what happens. I can give you peace. Why would you not leave with the peace that God Himself promises for me and for you? Would you stand? God, I thank you that you're the God of peace, that God, that you said we could have peace no matter what happens. What a wonderful God that you are. And in fact, your Word said, May the Lord of Peace Himself give you peace no matter what happens. And God, I don't know what's happened in everybody's lives.
James Greer: [00:25:08] It's different things to different people. And some of it's physical. And God, I pray that you would comfort them as only you can. Some of it's emotional. God, I pray today that we could find emotional peace like we've never done before. God, you're here and your Holy Spirit is so powerful. I pray that we get our emotions right. We get that powerful weight lifted off every single person here today. Just tell God in your heart that I'm going to make things right no matter what. God, I can't control what somebody else does, but I can control what I do. And I'm going to get that weight off of me today. For those that are facing what looks like impossible situations and you don't know what to do, it's okay. You don't have to. God does. Just say, God, I'm going to give it to you. God, I'm not going to give it to you blindly. I'm just going to say, Hey, I can't do it. I'm giving it to you. And God as you start giving me the solutions, I'll start doing what you say. But I'm going to quit focusing on the problem and will focus on you, God, because you are the solution. So whether you want to join today, follow through in baptism, just come and have somebody pray with you, pray for you, I really pray you'd let God have His will and His way in your life. I ask it in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.
James Greer: [00:01:44] It's how you respond, how you forgive, and how you care for others. That shows that we're Christian and that helps maintain our peace. The Bible said in John 13:35, it says, By this. Listen. By this, all will know that you're my disciples, if you love one another. Not about what you believe. You could go to work every day, and nobody knows what you believe. That isn't how they know you're a Christian by what you believe. It's how you behave. The Bible always says, Be the light of the world. I always say, How am I going to be the light of the world? How you behave. See, it's not what you believe that people know. It's how you behave is how they care. And now there's four Types of peace. This is so good. I studied all week and this is new. This came Saturday morning. I'm as excited about Saturday morning than I was off studying all week because I never really understood the difference between belief and behave. I come to church every single Sunday. I'm telling you, put your faith, put your faith, put your faith. You can have all the faith in the world, and people don't know you're a Christian. But they do by the way you behave. Let me tell you four types of peace. This is not in your notes either. And I got brand new notes today. I'm so excited. The first time ever when I have notes, I got to fill in the blanks.
James Greer: [00:03:15] But this I don't even have the blanks. Four types. There's spiritual peace. There's emotional peace. There's situational peace. And there's physical peace. And you got to really understand these four types of peace. Because if you don't understand it, when you lose it, you don't know how to get it back. Spiritual, emotional, situational, which is circumstantial, and physical. And when you don't know which peace, you've got to know which one that you've lost. When you know which peace that you've lost, you can ask God to help you get it back. And God will help you restore that peace. And if you'll obey, you can have it back. Did you know today if everybody would really listen at the last part of the message, I could tell every single person here today how to have God's peace and leave with peace. It's that good. Amen, brother. You get it at the end. Multiply your peace. First of all, you have to know that you have peace. You have to know that you have peace. In John 14:27, it says this. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. By the way, that's Jesus speaking. Not as the world gives do I give you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither be afraid. Jesus was making it really clear right here that He's the only one that can give His peace to you.
James Greer: [00:04:55] Not the world's peace. The world's peace is situational and circumstantial. The world's peace depends what's going on. We can watch the news and lose our peace. We can come home and go to work and lose our peace. That's circumstantial peace. Jesus’ peace is relational peace, and you can't have that apart from Christ. So when I'm talking about that, that's why I tell you every single Sunday, everything rises and falls on your fellowship with Christ. Everything. And if you don't know how to have fellowship with Christ, go back and get last week's message. Amen? We did that. Since Jesus's peace is relational peace and it is, you got to have Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:18 says, God's done it all. Isn't that cool? We have a staff meeting and sometimes our executive pastor, Josh and I always say, What's the answer? Josh always says, Jesus. Well, of course, that is. That's not always the answer I'm looking for, but in essence, when you get down deep, Jesus is the answer. But really, in 2 Corinthians 5:18, God's done it all. Basically, God's saying, I've given you everything you need now. God's done everything I'll need in the future and everything you'll need in Heaven. But what He's saying, when God's done it all, He's saying Christ to make peace. He saying, Christ will make peace between Himself and us, and He has given us the work of making peace between Himself and others.
James Greer: [00:06:30] He said, in other words, you've got to have Christ to have peace with God the Father. He's saying, you get God the Father when you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. He said, I've done it all. I sent my son to die on the cross. He rose on the third day and shed His blood. When you have Jesus, you got peace with God. He said. I've done it all. He said, Everything rises and falls on your relationship with God the Father. He said, I did it all. Romans 15:13 said, Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing that you abound in all hope. He says, not only that, He says, I want you to know that you're full of joy and peace. Go hand in hand. And then He tells us this cool verse. Every couple that's about to get married or they're dating, I use this verse and it's in Ephesians 2:14. It says For He himself, Jesus, is our peace. Who is our peace? That's the right answer. Josh would make an A. He himself is our peace. Who is? Not only that, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation. Now, see, this is something. There's a wall between you and God. There's a wall, and the only way you can break the wall down is Christ. But I can tell you, there's a wall between every relationship, and the wall is here.
James Greer: [00:08:01] You're here and your mate or your relationship's here. And you can get closer to your mate the closer you get to God. You can overcome the wall. So that's how you get closer to each other. You want to get closer to each other? The closer you climb spiritually, the closer you get to God, the closer you overcome the wall, the closer you get to each other. But every time you lose your peace, it's in a relationship. Have you ever said, Honey, there just seems like there's a wall between us? No, that's not. That's when you know there is. Is there something wrong? Nope. Do you want to talk about it? Nope. There is a wall that needs to be broken down. Amen. Now it can be a spiritual wall. It can be some kind of wall. It can be a financial wall. It could be something I said. It could be something I didn't say. I can tell you there is a wall. Break it down. Come in the house and say, Break it down, baby. Help me break it down. I said, I'm the man of the house. She said, Yeah, only when I let you. But anyway, break it down, baby. God wanted to have fellowship with us so bad. I don't think you really realize. With Jesus on the cross and He said, it was just finished. In Luke 23:44, Now it's about the sixth hour and there was darkness all over the earth until the ninth hour.
James Greer: [00:09:22] And the sun was darkened and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus had cried out with a loud voice that said, Father, unto your hands, I commit my spirit. Having said this, He breathed His last. Do you understand for thousands and thousands and thousands of years, God was saying, man, I got a plan coming. I'm going to send my son, the Lamb of God. And He's going to say it is finished into thy hands. Boy. The veil is ripped and now you can go straight to God. Do you know one of the first things God did the minute that Jesus Christ gave up the ghost? He split the veil. You know why? He said, now, all the people, you don't have to go through man, you don't have to go through priests, you don't have to go through ghost, you don't have to go through the Lamb. The Lamb of God is sacrificed and I can finally have a direct relationship with them. And that's what I've been wanting for millions of years. And finally, there for the first time. Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. But after that, you could go to Him and you can go to Him immediately. So the first thing you got to know is you got to know that you can have peace.
James Greer: [00:10:32] Second of all, you got to know how to keep your peace. Keep that peace. I don't always keep my peace. But when I lose it, it's not God's fault. I give it away. I used to blame losing my peace on my kids or my family. Man, when we had five kids in the house, I used to drive up to church. I'd be screaming and hollering. Finally, Debbie said, Just take your own car. I think because she could have more peace. I think she hated it for me. Shut up from a beat the daylights out of you. And then get up, Say, praise God, I love you. You love me. Only if you have a bunch of kids can you understand that. You know? And then one time when Jimmy was about five or six and I'd sit back there, I'd sit in the very back there because I was hoping, you know, he's going to be quiet. And I'd say, be quiet, son. Be quiet, son. Son, be quiet. I'll take you out and be real quiet. You know, I picked him up. I get almost to the door. He said, Please don't beat me. I said, God. I would lose my peace. I do not have empty nest syndrome. I'm just saying. I'm almost 70. I've only been without kids for about a year.
James Greer: [00:12:02] But anyway. And I locked the doors. These things I have spoken to you, that in me you might have peace in the world. You're going to have what? Tribulation. As long as I'm in the world, you're in the world, we're going to have tribulation. Amen? But God said, be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. He said, I'm going to give you peace, but you're going to have tribulation in the world. But what He's saying is, I have a plan on how to give you peace even during the tribulation in the world. That is what's good. And He says, I want you to know it. He said, you know, you've got to know the Word. You got to be in the Word. You've got to apply the Word. And 2 Thessalonians 3:16 says, Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always everywhere. The Lord be with you all. He's trying to say, You got to believe the Word, know the Word, but you got to apply the Word. That's kind of like saying, I believe, but I don't want to behave. Did you know it's easier for me to be a believing Christian than it is to be a behaving Christian? Did you know it's much easier for me to leave and behave on Sunday? But that's why he said the Lord be with you all. He said, I'll be with you all the time, but I want you to behave all the time too. I want you to apply it. See, if you know the Word, and you begin to lose your peace, instead of focusing on the situation and the circumstances, listen. You learn to supernaturally begin to focus on the solution.
James Greer: [00:13:45] You stopped focusing on the problem or the situation, and you start focusing on the solution. You ask God, God, would you show me if I'm losing my peace because it's a personal relationship problem or am I losing my peace because it's a circumstantial problem? And then God through the power of the Holy Spirit, would you help me start focusing on the solution instead of the situation? See, by nature, we focus on the problem. When you have a problem, your brain goes round and round and round the problem. You focus on the problem. The problem gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and it's hard to stop focusing on the problem. But you have something called the power of the Holy Spirit that's bigger. Part of the Holy Spirit is to comfort you and to lead you and to guide you and to direct you. And now we need to say, Stop, God, which is this? I'm losing my peace. Now there is a physical peace you lose. Sometimes ain't nothing to do about that. There's three. If I have to take an MRI.
James Greer: [00:14:54] True story. I pray God doesn't give me a spirit of fear, but a power and love and of a sound mind. God, my wife has to get a wet rag, and they let her hold my hand. And then I go to what they call open air. It's not open air. That's still a tunnel. And then I have to wait till this certain guy's there because he lets me go in and out. He doesn't keep me in there the whole time. And I can't have peace. Just talking about it, I almost start sweating. So there's a physical peace that depends on who you are, whether you have peace or not. You stub your toe, you're going to hurt. Amen? But most of the time, the peace that I'm talking about is relational or circumstantial. And if you're not careful, we continue to focus on the problem instead of the solution. And so what I'm going to teach you the rest of the time today is God through the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit wants you to have peace. He tells you, May the Lord of peace Himself give you His peace, no matter what happens. May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace. No matter what happens, the Lord be with you all. The Lord says it. You got to believe it. Amen? He said, I want to give you peace no matter what happens. So peace, in essence, is a byproduct of trusting God's promised purpose and plans for your life.
James Greer: [00:16:24] Peace, in essence, is a byproduct of trusting God's promised purpose and plans for your life. When we meet the conditions of the promise and we trust God, He'll give us the provisions. So you have to know that you can have peace. You have to know how to keep your peace. It's by applying God's Word, finding out if it's personal or circumstantial. You've got to know how to share or multiply your peace. Okay. To share or multiply your peace, of course, you share or multiply by telling other people they can have peace through Jesus Christ because they can't have peace till they know Jesus as their Savior. That's one way. Amen. So if you're here today and you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal savior, we give the invitation and you come to know the Jesus a peace. Amen? The second way you can, you say, hey, you can believe, know the Word, hear the Word, and apply the Word, you can have peace. The third way you could share verses about peace. That helps. The one that I just told you about, 2 Thessalonians 3:16. May the Lord of Peace Himself give you peace. You know? You can do Psalms 29:11, which I love it too. It's a great peace. It said The Lord will give strength to His people. The Lord will bless His people with peace. One of God's blessings is what? Peace.
James Greer: [00:17:36] Isaiah 26:3 and 4, it tells us this. You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind stays on me because you trust me. So in other words, there are several ways you can tell people about Jesus. You can tell them to get in the Word. You can tell them to read the Word. Okay. Now let's talk about situational. How you can have peace in any situation? Here's the key today. You can go home with peace. Every single person here can. Is it spiritual peace that I've lost? Is it emotional peace? Is it physical peace? Is it situational peace? Spiritual peace begins when you accept Jesus Christ as your savior. There's no other way that you can have that type of peace because that's the only way you have access to God the Father. So if you're here today and you're not sure that you're going to Heaven, you don't have peace. Because God's put in every one of us a longing to know God. You can say whatever you are, but God has put inside every single person to want to know God. So if you're here today and you're not sure that you'd go to Heaven, you can have that peace today. It's very simple. You come to the front and somebody will show you how. Just like this sweet little girl got to get baptized today. She got to know that she's going to Heaven.
James Greer: [00:19:02] Amen? And you come to know Jesus Christ just the same way she does. It doesn't matter if you're her age or if you're 90. So you can do that. Second, you have to ask God, is this emotional peace that I've lost? Emotional peace is one of the hardest things there is in life and you'll struggle with the rest of your life. I struggle with it all the time. And that's when you've had a problem with somebody. It can be with your mate, it could be with your kids, or it can be with a friend. And you ask God, God, have I lost my peace because this is an emotional peace problem? That I have a conflict with somebody, and I want to settle it. To me, it gets heavier and heavier and heavier and heavier. I just got to get rid of it. And sometimes I don't get rid of it because I try to justify it. Adam and Eve, when they first sinned, man blamed the woman and the woman blamed the serpent. So that was not dealing with the emotional problem. And so by nature, when I have emotional problems, this is really important. The first thing I try to do is blame the other person for my emotional problem. That's the first thing. And I do that and I try to justify it, but that doesn't relieve my emotional problem. I still don't have the peace of God that I want.
James Greer: [00:20:25] So then I have to admit my part of the problem. Say, I'm sorry I did that. I shouldn't have done that. Would you forgive me? You say, well, they don't always forgive you. No, they do not. They do not. I'm sorry. I wish they did. But they show they're Christian by how they behave too, not but what they believe. And if somebody asked you that same thing, you show that you're a Christian by how you behave. If somebody wronged you and hurt you and they ask you to forgive, forgive them. Because it's the way you talk, it's the way you're restored, the way you care, and the way you forgive. So once you get that, you can feel, to me, it's like a ton of weight lifted off of me. I can feel it immediately. And so then that's that emotional relief. And the way I do that is I ask God. God, I've lost my peace and I'm in turmoil. Is this because it's an emotional peace or is this situational or is it both? And He tells me and then I say, God, would you start supernaturally help me focus on the solution instead of keep focusing on the person or the problem? And God says, Yeah, I'm the God of all comfort, the Holy Spirit is. And I am also one that leads you. So I will begin to lead you into the solution. Second of all, I say, God, now it's circumstantial or situational.
James Greer: [00:22:04] I have these big, big, big, big, big, big problems. Maybe it's at work. Maybe it's financial. Maybe it's circumstantial. Maybe it's beyond your control. And so it's beyond my control, but it's not beyond God's control. And I have these things that look impossible. And so the problem gets bigger and bigger and bigger. So my mind focuses on the problem and the situation. So then I have to stop and say, God, is the reason I'm lost my peace is because the situation or circumstances? Yes, it is. Sometimes that's my problem. Sometimes it's not my problem. And I say, God, through the power and the presence of the supernatural, The Holy Spirit, would you please help me to stop focusing on the problem? Would you start helping me have some solutions? That doesn't mean I'm going to wake up tomorrow and all my problems are going to be over. But He means okay, now I can get up and start working on solutions. I've had the same problem and done it over, gone through the same routine every single day, every single day, every single day. Same circumstance. Every day, every day, every day, every day. And then say, Hey, God, I can't keep doing this. Would you help me with the solution to help me stop focusing and get up the very next morning and start saying, Hey, I got to start making changes, I got to start doing this, I got to start doing that.
James Greer: [00:23:24] And even though the situation hasn't changed yet, my emotions have. And God will start giving me peace. There is a physical peace that sometimes you can't help. Sometimes it's sickness. Sometimes it's physical hurts. But God is still there with you. But I want you to know that you can leave here today, no matter what's going on in your life, and you can be on your way to peace. You say, Well, the person's not here. God's here. You just tell your brain to stop focusing on the problem. Start focusing on the solution that you want to change today. God knows our hearts so much. God wants your heart. He doesn't want anything else you have. He's got everything He needs. If you just say, God, I want to give you my heart today. I want to leave here in peace. And I want peace with you. I want peace with people. I want peace with my problems. And God said, it doesn't matter what happens. I can give you peace. Why would you not leave with the peace that God Himself promises for me and for you? Would you stand? God, I thank you that you're the God of peace, that God, that you said we could have peace no matter what happens. What a wonderful God that you are. And in fact, your Word said, May the Lord of Peace Himself give you peace no matter what happens. And God, I don't know what's happened in everybody's lives.
James Greer: [00:25:08] It's different things to different people. And some of it's physical. And God, I pray that you would comfort them as only you can. Some of it's emotional. God, I pray today that we could find emotional peace like we've never done before. God, you're here and your Holy Spirit is so powerful. I pray that we get our emotions right. We get that powerful weight lifted off every single person here today. Just tell God in your heart that I'm going to make things right no matter what. God, I can't control what somebody else does, but I can control what I do. And I'm going to get that weight off of me today. For those that are facing what looks like impossible situations and you don't know what to do, it's okay. You don't have to. God does. Just say, God, I'm going to give it to you. God, I'm not going to give it to you blindly. I'm just going to say, Hey, I can't do it. I'm giving it to you. And God as you start giving me the solutions, I'll start doing what you say. But I'm going to quit focusing on the problem and will focus on you, God, because you are the solution. So whether you want to join today, follow through in baptism, just come and have somebody pray with you, pray for you, I really pray you'd let God have His will and His way in your life. I ask it in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.
Read More
