Unleashing Hope | How Do We Go Where We Have Not Been?
Understanding How To Unleash Hope In Your Life Through Faith
James Greer
Jan 16, 2022 29m
Join us in this message as we explore Joshua and Caleb's story and what it can teach you about how to unleash hope in your life through faith. We limit God when we have little faith. Proclaim greatness for your life based on His promises and He will lead you into the promised life. Video recorded at Pineville, Louisiana.
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unleash hope in your life through faith faith hope joy peace jesus jesus christ salvation christianTranscriptionmessageRegarding 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] I'm excited this morning, Journey Church. Good morning. I'm going to tell you, we're going to be preaching on how Joshua got to bring the people into the Promised Land. But there were three things that Joshua had. He had God's presence. And man, if you can't feel God's presence after that praise team. Amen? Then he obeyed God's promise. Then he had God's people. That's one reason it's so important whether you're online, God bless you, I think you are. Man, we got members of our church in Arizona, we got them in California, we got them in Baton Rouge. And I thank God for you. But if you can come into the assembly, there's nothing like having God's presence right here. Amen? And then I'm going to preach about God's promise. And then we got God's people and we got all three. You got God's power and He'll do almost anything any time right here. So we're going to talk about unleashing hope. We're going to be even talking about going where nobody's ever been before and how to allow Jesus to lead us into a promised life. See, Joshua was leading the people into the Promised Land. Are you ready? Jesus wants to lead us into the promised life. See, if there was anybody that needed unleashed hope, it was Joshua and Caleb. See, they had got to see the Promised Land, but they didn't get to go in. See, God had the Promised Land because there were 10 spies that rebelled and were fearful, all except Joshua and Caleb.
James Greer: [00:01:33] But Joshua and Caleb also had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Not only are they wandering the wilderness for 40 years, you know about 600,000 people died out while they were wondering? But, you know, even though they rebelled, even though they were fearful, you know God still took care of them, God still clothed them, God still fed them? But they didn't get to go on to Promised Land. That is so important because, see, there's a lot of Christians that are saved, God's taking care of it, man, you're missing out on the blessings. See, rebellion and fear against God and God's promises brings the opposite of the abundant life. Instead, you have so many difficulties and emptiness and stress, and your life is just hard. But if anyone needed hope unleashed after 40 years, it was Joshua and Caleb. See, they knew that life could be better. And some of y'all know that your life could be better, and you want that better life. Amen? And some of you have tasted what abundant life is and now it seems like you've lost it. But even after 40 years of wilderness, God's going to unleash hope for them. That's why, you know, some people feel that way in their marriage and their finance and their health. But the good news, even after 40 years, 600,000 plus people dying off, and wandering in the wilderness, Joshua and Caleb, they not only got to go in the Promised Land, guess what? They got to lead the children of Israel in there.
James Greer: [00:03:06] Well, I can't lead the children of Israel to the Promised Land. Amen? But I can tell you, I want God to use me to help lead our people into the promised life. The promised life. John 10:10 said, I've come that you could have life and that your life be more abundant. Let me ask you something. What part of that promise do you not believe? I mean, God said, Jesus said, I came that you could have life and that you may have it more abundantly. You're going to find out that God gave Joshua all kinds of promises, but he had to obey the promise and act on the promise and believe the promise. But see, if you don't believe the promise, how could you get to enjoy the promise? See, that doesn't sound like Jesus said, okay, I want you to get saved and then I want you to wonder around in the wilderness for 40 years. No, we can go somewhere quicker, better, and faster if someone else has already been there, right? But we're at a stage in life as a church and everybody else, we're somewhere we've never been. Leaders are somewhere they've never been. Church is somewhere they've never been. You're somewhere you've never been. But with the virus, it's like, hey, nobody's ever been like we are. We've never had to live in a state that we have right now. There's churches that are quitting. They're regrouping. They're starting like there's a new plan. But Journey Church, you know what? I'm excited. I'm excited because I think God can do just as great or greater things even what's going on in the world than any other time. It just proves what God said. He says, look, there's going to be times like this, but when there's times like this, there's also going to be a great outpouring of the spirit. I want to be part of that. Amen? So let's look at an example. Let's look at Joshua, what happened to him.
James Greer: [00:04:53] After the death of Moses, some people have some things that need to die out in their life. After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua. See, the Lord is the presence of the God. He spoke to Joshua, the son of none, Moses’ assistant. He said something. He's going to give him a message. He said, Moses, your servant is dead. Now therefore arise and go over the Jordan. You and all this people, to the land which what? I'm giving them, the children of Israel. So now he's already promising that he's going to give it to him, right? Now, see, that's one of God's promises. God promised you the abundant life. He's promised them the Promised Land. And this is the second time for them. He'd already been in it, but this time Josh was in charge. The insight for me is what promises is God giving you that you're not enjoying? See, under the leadership of Moses and Joshua, two of the spies rebelled. I mean two of the spies obeyed. 12 of them rebelled and didn't believe the promise of God. In fact, it says in Numbers 14:6, it says, but Joshua, the son of none, and Caleb, the son of whoever, who were, [inaudible].
James Greer: [00:06:20] Anyway. Among those who. Y'all are paying attention for a change. Y’all usually don't catch that. Okay. Who was among those who had spied out the land. They tore their clothes. All right? Joshua did. And they spoke to the congregation, the children of Israel, saying, The land we pass through and spied out is exceedingly good land. The life that you have and that God has for you is an exceedingly abundant life. God's telling y’all that. Amen? Okay. So claim that and believe that. Okay? And they spoke to all the congregation, and the Lord delights in us. Did you know, let me tell you something right there. Stop. Did you know that God likes you? Did you know God loves you? Did you know God is for you? Did you know God is with you? Did you know now God is your Father? So act like it. And the Lord delights in us, and He will bring us unto the land. He'll give it to us. He'll give us a land flowing with milk and honey. He's saying, man, I believe He'll do it. You know, he's claiming it for us. Let me tell you something about Joshua. Are you ready? Joshua made a proclamation because of God's promise even before they went in the Promised Land.
James Greer: [00:07:39] He said, for if the Lord delights in us, then He's going to bring us into the land. He's going to give it to us, the land of milk and honey. Be very careful. I believe the promise and the proclamation of God are very connected to our destiny. This is very important. None of the rest of the children of Israel got to go in the Promised Land. Joshua is proclaiming the promise of God. He said, I’m speaking it out loud, I'm proclaiming it, I believe it, and I'm telling you what I'm learning is what you proclaim, the promise of God is closely connected to your future. Verse 9 says, Only do not rebel against the Lord. I can't wait to talk about rebellion. Or fear. I may not be able to wait. The people of the land, for they are our bread. That just strengthens us. Their protection has departed from them. Why? The Lord is with us. Do not fear. Amen? Can I tell you something? The Lord is with us. Do not fear. Do not rebel. Listen, fear and rebellion might be two of Satan's greatest tools today. With everything that's going on, people are fearful and they’re rebelling. And you got to, it goes through your mind and Satan's using that to discourage you and to defeat you instead of doing what God has called you to do.
James Greer: [00:09:09] So you've got to be aware of that. You've got to attack back. You've got to use God's Word. You've got to come into God's presence and you've got to be around God's people. Amen? To defeat that. Okay. Fear of something or someone is saying something or someone as greater than God. Rebellion is not obeying or believing in God's promise. You want me to break it down really easier to you? Fear and rebellion are situational atheism. Fear and rebellion are situational atheism. All of a sudden, they believed that the people that were in the Promised Land were bigger than God. So when you're fearful and when you're rebelling against God's promise, it’s temporary or situational atheism. You're saying whatever that problem is, whoever that person is, whoever that, whatever it is you're fearing, you're saying it's bigger than God. Now is anything that you know of bigger than God? Then don't be having situational atheism. Amen? And also, many times the majority of the people are the wrong. The 12 that went to spies, they were wrong. But if you have God on your side, you really got the majority. Remember, there's a strong, strong connection between God's promises and your proclamation. Joshua and Caleb, they went into the Promised Land. Yet the rest of the thousands of children of Israel wandered in the wilderness and died.
James Greer: [00:10:52] Now, my question to you is, what are you proclaiming this year? For me and my house, I'm claiming this is going to be the best year ever. And you said, well, how you doing that? I'm telling you how I'm doing that in a minute. I want to go to see places I've never seen before. I want to grow in the Lord like I never have. I want to see us conquer this virus and the fears. And I want the church to grow. And by the end of the year, y'all ready? I want to see a thousand people in here. I want to see us baptize 150 people this year. I mean, I think God is going, so I'm going to proclaim this is going to be my best year personally, financial, physical, and spiritual and emotional. But you know how I can do that? You can do it, too. I'm going to give you some of the reasons I can proclaim it, and you can, too. Amen? I'm going to, mine is going to be based, you ready? On God's promises, not my problem. God's promises, not my what? Problem. Act 17:25, it says this.
James Greer: [00:11:53] He also gave His life and breath. He also gives life and breath into everything, and He satisfies every need. God says, hey, I'm going to give you not only life and breath, I'm going to satisfy every need you have. In Numbers, look at Numbers 6. I have this written down. Sometimes I pray this for my family. And may the Lord bless you and keep you. Yes. May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. I mean, God said, hey, and may the Lord lift up His countenance into you and may He give you peace. I mean, man, I just, see, my promises are going to be based on God's Word, not on how I feel, not on my problems. Listen to this. 2 Corinthians 9:7. It says, God is able to bless you abundantly. How's God able to bless you? Why did Jesus come? That you could have what kind of life? Abundant life. So then all things at all times, having all your needs, you may abandon every good work. So how come I'm going to have the best year ever? Not because of how I feel, not because of my problems, but because of His promises. Listen to this. I love Ecclesiastes, when it says that.
James Greer: [00:13:05] Nothing is better for a man or woman, that you should eat, drink, and that your soul might enjoy the goods of His labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of the Lord. In other words, from the hand of God, in other words, I'm going to give God the credit. I'm going to tithe. I'm going to keep. I'm going to be in God's presence. I'm going to come to God's house. But guess what? I'm going to enjoy the fruit of my labor because it came from God. Let me tell you, if you're working and you're working hard, God says, listen, I want you to tithe, but I want you to enjoy some of it too. Huh, Greg? He likes to enjoy. Amen? Listen to this next one. Suppose you're very rich and compared to the rest of the world, I know y'all don't believe this, everybody in this room is rich. The rest of the world, it is an average, our poverty level makes them rich. But listen, suppose you're very rich and you're able to enjoy everything you own, huh? Then go ahead and enjoy working hard. This is a what? A gift from God. Do you understand every good thing in your life came down from God? Amen? Everything. Good. Listen. Y'all ready? Let God keep you so happy that you don't even have time to worry about it. Man, what a way to live the next year. Let God keep you so happy, so happy I don't even have time to worry. That's what I want. I'm claiming the best year ever, not because of my problems, but because of God's promise. And I'm telling you, I'm giving y’all some promises that you can claim despite of your problems and say, hey, I can have a great year. God, keep me so happy that I can't even worry. That is good.
James Greer: [00:14:44] And of course, you know, Matthew 6:33. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and He'll add all these things to you. What? All this abundant life. And you know what else He said? Because you're doing that, because you [inaudible]. Therefore, do not what? Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about its own thing. It's sufficient for itself. So God said, listen, you're going to be seeking God, you're going to be claiming His promises, you're going to have an abundant life that you can't even worry about tomorrow. Amen? Y’all, this stuff is good. Y’all ought to be excited. You're in the presence of God. You got His promises. Joshua’s not leading me and my family into the Promised Land. But I'll tell you what. I want God to lead us into the promised life that He did. John 10:10 said, I have come that you might have life and that you might have it what? Abundantly. Claim that promise. Amen? Your proclamation, negative or positive, will greatly determine your outcome. Your proclamation, negative or positive, will greatly determine your destiny. That's why it's so important that your predictions for the future are based on God's promise, not the problem you might be facing. This can change your life. If you predict about your future made on God's promises, not what you see or not what you feel.
James Greer: [00:16:13] That's what Joshua’s was teaching us. He's teaching us how to live life. He's teaching us how to have a victorious life. Joshua's facing the same people, the same problem, same situation. You know? But he's making his decisions, his predictions, his proclamation, his victory based on God's promise, not what he feels and not what he saw and not what he feared. Joshua 1, what did he say? Now, therefore, arise. Let's go over to the Jordan, you and all the people. Why? To the land which I am giving them and to the children of Israel. See, Joshua had been a faithful servant of Moses up to this time. In fact, Joshua serving Moses was the way Joshua served the Lord. Now it's a new time. Did y’all know it's a new time in history? None of us has faced the things that we've been facing, but we got to move forward, not backwards. Amen? The devil wants to separate us and get us in isolation where he can bring desolation. Jesus wants to bring us together where we can have an abundant life. The Lord said, I'm going to give it to you. And you ready? But they're still going to have to fight.
James Greer: [00:17:21] You've got to believe the promises, but you've got to act on them. This is where the problem comes in. Listen. God gives us all these promises, but we still have to act on the promise. Let me give you an example. God tells us to tithe. Amen? But a lot of people don't act on it. And He says, listen, I'll take care of you if you do. God tells us, Don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together. Some of you during times like this, we have to push through and come to church. God said to be kind to people. Sometimes we're just ugly. But [inaudible]. He says, to be good to those that are ugly to us. He said, to forgive those that have hurt us. So you see, God gives us a lot of promises, but we got to act on them too if we want to enjoy the abundant life. This is the biggest difference why some Christians are having victorious and some don't. See, they got the promises of God. They're facing the same thing, the same problems. But yet some are having this victorious life and some are not. Today, it's not so much the Promised Land. You ready? It's helping get people saved. Part of that is how we behave around the unsaved.
James Greer: [00:18:44] Seeing lives changed and enjoying the abundant life. There are three things that are always connected to this. It's God's presence. That's why it's so important that you come to church. It's so important that you assemble yourselves together. It's so important that you have the presence of God. You can have the presence of God on your own. When I study, I have the presence of God. But there's nothing like the assembling of people together. Where two are more gathered, there is God. And so you get the presence of God. That's what Joshua had. He had the presence of God guiding him and directing him. And then you have the promises of God and you're preaching the Word and I'm giving you the promise. Then you have the people of God. And what all that does, you ready? That's like fertilizer to your soul or to a vine. When you fertilize the soil, the vine grows and it produces fruit. And if you keep doing these three things, you start having fruit. So that's why you need to do them over and over again. God wants you to have fruit. He wants you to have that type of thing. He wants you to. But the devil says, the devil came except for steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to destroy us and have situational atheism. But God came that we could have life and have it more abundantly. See, Joshua leading them to the Promised Land and Jesus leading to the promised life. It’s an important insight. You ready? Jesus didn't come and say, how y'all feel?
James Greer: [00:20:17] Y’all feel okay today? Huh? Poor, poor babies. I'm so sorry. I don't see where He ever said that. Yet 80% of people are making decisions on how they feel. He don't operate on how you feel. The Christian life can be very painful. But if you go push through, it's very fruitful. See, it's a battle for your soul and the souls of those people that are lost. That's why you have God's Word, but God's Word will help you get through the painful till you get to the fruitfulness. Most people today don't want any pain. And if you don't endure the pain, you don't get the fruit. That was the difference between Joshua going into the Promised Land and the other ones wandered in the wilderness. They were afraid they might have some pain. We might have to fight. We might have to go forward. And they did have to fight, but they enjoyed the fruit. Second, we limit what God's doing in our lives by our efforts and the faith we have in God's promises. Did you know what he said in verse three? Listen to this. He said, every place, every place that your sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you, as I said to Moses.
James Greer: [00:21:50] Every place I go, I can claim all the land I want. I can go and God's going to give it to me. It doesn’t matter if do you want two blocks? You want a mile? You want a little bit of abundant life? Do you want a full abundant life? You want a little joy? You want a lot of joy? You want a little peace? You want a lot of peace? You want a little love? You want a lot of love? You want a little fruit or do you want a lot of fruit? Do you just want fruit at your job or do you want fruit at your home and your family and your marriage and every area of your life? So he said, what do you want? You can have a little or you can have a lot. It's up to you. Do you claim the promises? Do you believe them? Do you act on them? Do you come to God's presence? Do you believe in God's promises? And are you with God's people? Amen? They all made the same with the same people. One had the abundant life and one didn’t. Much of what we normally do, I'm starting to close. I’m not closing. Starting. Okay? Most of what we normally do is just the result of almost unconscious choices that we make in a daily routine of habit. We just go through the go through the habit, go through the habit. I'd go to Sonic. I was going to Sonic and eating hamburgers and sometimes a corn dog almost every day. Then I said, I can't lose weight like that. I could tell y’all I lost 15 pounds.
James Greer: [00:23:15] That wasn't, it’s because I couldn't swallow. But anyway. But anyway. Now I said, now I can't keep going through Sonic. But I drove by Sonic in my car. I actually automatically just drove in Sonic on its own. So I went through, and I just got the iced tea. But I sure wanted that hamburger, but I didn't order it. I made a conscious decision not to order it this time. Amen? But most of what we do is conscious choice that develops a habit that we're not even conscious of. What habits have you developed that are keeping you from the abundant life? Are you reading God's Word and claiming His promise and acting upon those promises? Remember, there's a strong connection between God's promises, our proclamation, what we proclaim, and what we speak out loud. What decisions based on God's promises, not your problems do you need to make? I bet everybody in here has some problems. Some of them are like me. I got more than one. I got several problems. But I can't make my decision based on all my problems. I got to make them based on God's promise. God is speaking to you today if you'll allow Him because everybody has different problems they're facing. But God's saying it’s the same answer. Amen? Make your decision based on God's promise, not what you see, not what you feel. Allow God to release hope in your life based on His Word and based on His promises.
James Greer: [00:25:04] Listen, if you don't have promises, I just gave you five or six a while ago that you can claim. I read them to you. I know I can have the best year ever based on those promises, not what I see, not what I feel, not because my problems. Believe this is the year God's going to release hope in your life just like He did Joshua after 40 years. Joshua and Caleb knew what it was like and wanted to possess the land. They knew what they wanted. They said, man, I want to go possess the land. I want to ask you a serious question. Do you even know what you want? Do you know what you want this year? Do you know what you want God to help you with this year? Can you find a promise and proclaim it? Because I can tell you, if you don't know what you want and you don't have a promise, you're probably not going to get there. So you might just need to pray. Say God, listen, I need a purpose. I need a plan. What is it that you want me to do this year? And then you maybe need to find a promise and claim it. And then after you do that, you just need to believe God's promises. Did you know Hebrews 11:6 says, it says, without faith, it is impossible to please God for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is what? A rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Not only find Him, but believe what God says. Believe. See, he had told Joshua and Caleb and all the 600,000 children in Israel the first time, He said, y'all can go in. No, they didn't believe Him. Second time, Joshua was in charge, he didn't ask. You know what Joshua said? I've heard from the Lord.
James Greer: [00:26:52] I can give you a plan if you really listen. Joshua, who was the leader, said I heard from the Lord. Joshua then told the other leaders. The other leaders told all the people. And they all said amen. I can tell you something. I've heard from God. I shared it with you today. All you have to do is say amen, and you can be the beginning of abundant life that you've ever had. I want you to believe it. I want you to claim it. I want you to act on it. Now I'm going to give you something else. I'm going to give you an opportunity in a minute. I'm going to have prayer. And while I'm having that prayer, you're going to have the opportunity to bring your problems. You ready? Leave your problems at the altar. Do not bring them home with you. You claim God's promise. Say God, I believe that you said that you came to give me an abundant life and I want to claim that today. Would you stand on me and let me pray with you and pray for you? God, your Word is so good. I just love it today. I'm just almost bathing in it. I think that your presence is here. Boy, when your presence is here, your power’s here. I thank I was able to preach your promises and your people are here. And God, we saw with Joshua and your presence and your promise and your people, they went into the Promised Land, and they had victory. Joshua had to make decisions based on your promises, not his problems. All those that have problems here today, God, I want them to come to the altar and ask God for a promise. Ask Him for that abundant life. And go out of here with a peace that surpasses all understanding because that's another one of God's promises is that’s what we can have. Maybe today's the day you want to join the church, rededicate your life. Maybe you want to follow through in baptism. Maybe you want somebody to pray with you. Maybe you just want to come to the altar and pray by yourself. Whatever God’s called you to do, hey, act on it. Don't just sit there. Let God have His will and His way in your life. I ask it in a precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Bruce Goulart: [00:29:07] On behalf of Pastor James, I just want to say thank you for joining our online experience this morning. Y’all, what an amazing week three it was of our series Unleashing Hope. Y’all, if you need someone to pray with you or you're ready to take your next step, y’all, I want y’all to pull out your phone right now and text the keyword of your next step to (318) 413-6422. The number is (318) 413-6422. So that could be baptism or if you need someone to pray with you right now, y’all, just text that keyword and we'll get with you right away. But I want to say again, thank y’all for joining us this morning, and I hope to see y’all next week.
Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.
James Greer: [00:01:33] But Joshua and Caleb also had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Not only are they wandering the wilderness for 40 years, you know about 600,000 people died out while they were wondering? But, you know, even though they rebelled, even though they were fearful, you know God still took care of them, God still clothed them, God still fed them? But they didn't get to go on to Promised Land. That is so important because, see, there's a lot of Christians that are saved, God's taking care of it, man, you're missing out on the blessings. See, rebellion and fear against God and God's promises brings the opposite of the abundant life. Instead, you have so many difficulties and emptiness and stress, and your life is just hard. But if anyone needed hope unleashed after 40 years, it was Joshua and Caleb. See, they knew that life could be better. And some of y'all know that your life could be better, and you want that better life. Amen? And some of you have tasted what abundant life is and now it seems like you've lost it. But even after 40 years of wilderness, God's going to unleash hope for them. That's why, you know, some people feel that way in their marriage and their finance and their health. But the good news, even after 40 years, 600,000 plus people dying off, and wandering in the wilderness, Joshua and Caleb, they not only got to go in the Promised Land, guess what? They got to lead the children of Israel in there.
James Greer: [00:03:06] Well, I can't lead the children of Israel to the Promised Land. Amen? But I can tell you, I want God to use me to help lead our people into the promised life. The promised life. John 10:10 said, I've come that you could have life and that your life be more abundant. Let me ask you something. What part of that promise do you not believe? I mean, God said, Jesus said, I came that you could have life and that you may have it more abundantly. You're going to find out that God gave Joshua all kinds of promises, but he had to obey the promise and act on the promise and believe the promise. But see, if you don't believe the promise, how could you get to enjoy the promise? See, that doesn't sound like Jesus said, okay, I want you to get saved and then I want you to wonder around in the wilderness for 40 years. No, we can go somewhere quicker, better, and faster if someone else has already been there, right? But we're at a stage in life as a church and everybody else, we're somewhere we've never been. Leaders are somewhere they've never been. Church is somewhere they've never been. You're somewhere you've never been. But with the virus, it's like, hey, nobody's ever been like we are. We've never had to live in a state that we have right now. There's churches that are quitting. They're regrouping. They're starting like there's a new plan. But Journey Church, you know what? I'm excited. I'm excited because I think God can do just as great or greater things even what's going on in the world than any other time. It just proves what God said. He says, look, there's going to be times like this, but when there's times like this, there's also going to be a great outpouring of the spirit. I want to be part of that. Amen? So let's look at an example. Let's look at Joshua, what happened to him.
James Greer: [00:04:53] After the death of Moses, some people have some things that need to die out in their life. After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua. See, the Lord is the presence of the God. He spoke to Joshua, the son of none, Moses’ assistant. He said something. He's going to give him a message. He said, Moses, your servant is dead. Now therefore arise and go over the Jordan. You and all this people, to the land which what? I'm giving them, the children of Israel. So now he's already promising that he's going to give it to him, right? Now, see, that's one of God's promises. God promised you the abundant life. He's promised them the Promised Land. And this is the second time for them. He'd already been in it, but this time Josh was in charge. The insight for me is what promises is God giving you that you're not enjoying? See, under the leadership of Moses and Joshua, two of the spies rebelled. I mean two of the spies obeyed. 12 of them rebelled and didn't believe the promise of God. In fact, it says in Numbers 14:6, it says, but Joshua, the son of none, and Caleb, the son of whoever, who were, [inaudible].
James Greer: [00:06:20] Anyway. Among those who. Y'all are paying attention for a change. Y’all usually don't catch that. Okay. Who was among those who had spied out the land. They tore their clothes. All right? Joshua did. And they spoke to the congregation, the children of Israel, saying, The land we pass through and spied out is exceedingly good land. The life that you have and that God has for you is an exceedingly abundant life. God's telling y’all that. Amen? Okay. So claim that and believe that. Okay? And they spoke to all the congregation, and the Lord delights in us. Did you know, let me tell you something right there. Stop. Did you know that God likes you? Did you know God loves you? Did you know God is for you? Did you know God is with you? Did you know now God is your Father? So act like it. And the Lord delights in us, and He will bring us unto the land. He'll give it to us. He'll give us a land flowing with milk and honey. He's saying, man, I believe He'll do it. You know, he's claiming it for us. Let me tell you something about Joshua. Are you ready? Joshua made a proclamation because of God's promise even before they went in the Promised Land.
James Greer: [00:07:39] He said, for if the Lord delights in us, then He's going to bring us into the land. He's going to give it to us, the land of milk and honey. Be very careful. I believe the promise and the proclamation of God are very connected to our destiny. This is very important. None of the rest of the children of Israel got to go in the Promised Land. Joshua is proclaiming the promise of God. He said, I’m speaking it out loud, I'm proclaiming it, I believe it, and I'm telling you what I'm learning is what you proclaim, the promise of God is closely connected to your future. Verse 9 says, Only do not rebel against the Lord. I can't wait to talk about rebellion. Or fear. I may not be able to wait. The people of the land, for they are our bread. That just strengthens us. Their protection has departed from them. Why? The Lord is with us. Do not fear. Amen? Can I tell you something? The Lord is with us. Do not fear. Do not rebel. Listen, fear and rebellion might be two of Satan's greatest tools today. With everything that's going on, people are fearful and they’re rebelling. And you got to, it goes through your mind and Satan's using that to discourage you and to defeat you instead of doing what God has called you to do.
James Greer: [00:09:09] So you've got to be aware of that. You've got to attack back. You've got to use God's Word. You've got to come into God's presence and you've got to be around God's people. Amen? To defeat that. Okay. Fear of something or someone is saying something or someone as greater than God. Rebellion is not obeying or believing in God's promise. You want me to break it down really easier to you? Fear and rebellion are situational atheism. Fear and rebellion are situational atheism. All of a sudden, they believed that the people that were in the Promised Land were bigger than God. So when you're fearful and when you're rebelling against God's promise, it’s temporary or situational atheism. You're saying whatever that problem is, whoever that person is, whoever that, whatever it is you're fearing, you're saying it's bigger than God. Now is anything that you know of bigger than God? Then don't be having situational atheism. Amen? And also, many times the majority of the people are the wrong. The 12 that went to spies, they were wrong. But if you have God on your side, you really got the majority. Remember, there's a strong, strong connection between God's promises and your proclamation. Joshua and Caleb, they went into the Promised Land. Yet the rest of the thousands of children of Israel wandered in the wilderness and died.
James Greer: [00:10:52] Now, my question to you is, what are you proclaiming this year? For me and my house, I'm claiming this is going to be the best year ever. And you said, well, how you doing that? I'm telling you how I'm doing that in a minute. I want to go to see places I've never seen before. I want to grow in the Lord like I never have. I want to see us conquer this virus and the fears. And I want the church to grow. And by the end of the year, y'all ready? I want to see a thousand people in here. I want to see us baptize 150 people this year. I mean, I think God is going, so I'm going to proclaim this is going to be my best year personally, financial, physical, and spiritual and emotional. But you know how I can do that? You can do it, too. I'm going to give you some of the reasons I can proclaim it, and you can, too. Amen? I'm going to, mine is going to be based, you ready? On God's promises, not my problem. God's promises, not my what? Problem. Act 17:25, it says this.
James Greer: [00:11:53] He also gave His life and breath. He also gives life and breath into everything, and He satisfies every need. God says, hey, I'm going to give you not only life and breath, I'm going to satisfy every need you have. In Numbers, look at Numbers 6. I have this written down. Sometimes I pray this for my family. And may the Lord bless you and keep you. Yes. May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. I mean, God said, hey, and may the Lord lift up His countenance into you and may He give you peace. I mean, man, I just, see, my promises are going to be based on God's Word, not on how I feel, not on my problems. Listen to this. 2 Corinthians 9:7. It says, God is able to bless you abundantly. How's God able to bless you? Why did Jesus come? That you could have what kind of life? Abundant life. So then all things at all times, having all your needs, you may abandon every good work. So how come I'm going to have the best year ever? Not because of how I feel, not because of my problems, but because of His promises. Listen to this. I love Ecclesiastes, when it says that.
James Greer: [00:13:05] Nothing is better for a man or woman, that you should eat, drink, and that your soul might enjoy the goods of His labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of the Lord. In other words, from the hand of God, in other words, I'm going to give God the credit. I'm going to tithe. I'm going to keep. I'm going to be in God's presence. I'm going to come to God's house. But guess what? I'm going to enjoy the fruit of my labor because it came from God. Let me tell you, if you're working and you're working hard, God says, listen, I want you to tithe, but I want you to enjoy some of it too. Huh, Greg? He likes to enjoy. Amen? Listen to this next one. Suppose you're very rich and compared to the rest of the world, I know y'all don't believe this, everybody in this room is rich. The rest of the world, it is an average, our poverty level makes them rich. But listen, suppose you're very rich and you're able to enjoy everything you own, huh? Then go ahead and enjoy working hard. This is a what? A gift from God. Do you understand every good thing in your life came down from God? Amen? Everything. Good. Listen. Y'all ready? Let God keep you so happy that you don't even have time to worry about it. Man, what a way to live the next year. Let God keep you so happy, so happy I don't even have time to worry. That's what I want. I'm claiming the best year ever, not because of my problems, but because of God's promise. And I'm telling you, I'm giving y’all some promises that you can claim despite of your problems and say, hey, I can have a great year. God, keep me so happy that I can't even worry. That is good.
James Greer: [00:14:44] And of course, you know, Matthew 6:33. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and He'll add all these things to you. What? All this abundant life. And you know what else He said? Because you're doing that, because you [inaudible]. Therefore, do not what? Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about its own thing. It's sufficient for itself. So God said, listen, you're going to be seeking God, you're going to be claiming His promises, you're going to have an abundant life that you can't even worry about tomorrow. Amen? Y’all, this stuff is good. Y’all ought to be excited. You're in the presence of God. You got His promises. Joshua’s not leading me and my family into the Promised Land. But I'll tell you what. I want God to lead us into the promised life that He did. John 10:10 said, I have come that you might have life and that you might have it what? Abundantly. Claim that promise. Amen? Your proclamation, negative or positive, will greatly determine your outcome. Your proclamation, negative or positive, will greatly determine your destiny. That's why it's so important that your predictions for the future are based on God's promise, not the problem you might be facing. This can change your life. If you predict about your future made on God's promises, not what you see or not what you feel.
James Greer: [00:16:13] That's what Joshua’s was teaching us. He's teaching us how to live life. He's teaching us how to have a victorious life. Joshua's facing the same people, the same problem, same situation. You know? But he's making his decisions, his predictions, his proclamation, his victory based on God's promise, not what he feels and not what he saw and not what he feared. Joshua 1, what did he say? Now, therefore, arise. Let's go over to the Jordan, you and all the people. Why? To the land which I am giving them and to the children of Israel. See, Joshua had been a faithful servant of Moses up to this time. In fact, Joshua serving Moses was the way Joshua served the Lord. Now it's a new time. Did y’all know it's a new time in history? None of us has faced the things that we've been facing, but we got to move forward, not backwards. Amen? The devil wants to separate us and get us in isolation where he can bring desolation. Jesus wants to bring us together where we can have an abundant life. The Lord said, I'm going to give it to you. And you ready? But they're still going to have to fight.
James Greer: [00:17:21] You've got to believe the promises, but you've got to act on them. This is where the problem comes in. Listen. God gives us all these promises, but we still have to act on the promise. Let me give you an example. God tells us to tithe. Amen? But a lot of people don't act on it. And He says, listen, I'll take care of you if you do. God tells us, Don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together. Some of you during times like this, we have to push through and come to church. God said to be kind to people. Sometimes we're just ugly. But [inaudible]. He says, to be good to those that are ugly to us. He said, to forgive those that have hurt us. So you see, God gives us a lot of promises, but we got to act on them too if we want to enjoy the abundant life. This is the biggest difference why some Christians are having victorious and some don't. See, they got the promises of God. They're facing the same thing, the same problems. But yet some are having this victorious life and some are not. Today, it's not so much the Promised Land. You ready? It's helping get people saved. Part of that is how we behave around the unsaved.
James Greer: [00:18:44] Seeing lives changed and enjoying the abundant life. There are three things that are always connected to this. It's God's presence. That's why it's so important that you come to church. It's so important that you assemble yourselves together. It's so important that you have the presence of God. You can have the presence of God on your own. When I study, I have the presence of God. But there's nothing like the assembling of people together. Where two are more gathered, there is God. And so you get the presence of God. That's what Joshua had. He had the presence of God guiding him and directing him. And then you have the promises of God and you're preaching the Word and I'm giving you the promise. Then you have the people of God. And what all that does, you ready? That's like fertilizer to your soul or to a vine. When you fertilize the soil, the vine grows and it produces fruit. And if you keep doing these three things, you start having fruit. So that's why you need to do them over and over again. God wants you to have fruit. He wants you to have that type of thing. He wants you to. But the devil says, the devil came except for steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to destroy us and have situational atheism. But God came that we could have life and have it more abundantly. See, Joshua leading them to the Promised Land and Jesus leading to the promised life. It’s an important insight. You ready? Jesus didn't come and say, how y'all feel?
James Greer: [00:20:17] Y’all feel okay today? Huh? Poor, poor babies. I'm so sorry. I don't see where He ever said that. Yet 80% of people are making decisions on how they feel. He don't operate on how you feel. The Christian life can be very painful. But if you go push through, it's very fruitful. See, it's a battle for your soul and the souls of those people that are lost. That's why you have God's Word, but God's Word will help you get through the painful till you get to the fruitfulness. Most people today don't want any pain. And if you don't endure the pain, you don't get the fruit. That was the difference between Joshua going into the Promised Land and the other ones wandered in the wilderness. They were afraid they might have some pain. We might have to fight. We might have to go forward. And they did have to fight, but they enjoyed the fruit. Second, we limit what God's doing in our lives by our efforts and the faith we have in God's promises. Did you know what he said in verse three? Listen to this. He said, every place, every place that your sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you, as I said to Moses.
James Greer: [00:21:50] Every place I go, I can claim all the land I want. I can go and God's going to give it to me. It doesn’t matter if do you want two blocks? You want a mile? You want a little bit of abundant life? Do you want a full abundant life? You want a little joy? You want a lot of joy? You want a little peace? You want a lot of peace? You want a little love? You want a lot of love? You want a little fruit or do you want a lot of fruit? Do you just want fruit at your job or do you want fruit at your home and your family and your marriage and every area of your life? So he said, what do you want? You can have a little or you can have a lot. It's up to you. Do you claim the promises? Do you believe them? Do you act on them? Do you come to God's presence? Do you believe in God's promises? And are you with God's people? Amen? They all made the same with the same people. One had the abundant life and one didn’t. Much of what we normally do, I'm starting to close. I’m not closing. Starting. Okay? Most of what we normally do is just the result of almost unconscious choices that we make in a daily routine of habit. We just go through the go through the habit, go through the habit. I'd go to Sonic. I was going to Sonic and eating hamburgers and sometimes a corn dog almost every day. Then I said, I can't lose weight like that. I could tell y’all I lost 15 pounds.
James Greer: [00:23:15] That wasn't, it’s because I couldn't swallow. But anyway. But anyway. Now I said, now I can't keep going through Sonic. But I drove by Sonic in my car. I actually automatically just drove in Sonic on its own. So I went through, and I just got the iced tea. But I sure wanted that hamburger, but I didn't order it. I made a conscious decision not to order it this time. Amen? But most of what we do is conscious choice that develops a habit that we're not even conscious of. What habits have you developed that are keeping you from the abundant life? Are you reading God's Word and claiming His promise and acting upon those promises? Remember, there's a strong connection between God's promises, our proclamation, what we proclaim, and what we speak out loud. What decisions based on God's promises, not your problems do you need to make? I bet everybody in here has some problems. Some of them are like me. I got more than one. I got several problems. But I can't make my decision based on all my problems. I got to make them based on God's promise. God is speaking to you today if you'll allow Him because everybody has different problems they're facing. But God's saying it’s the same answer. Amen? Make your decision based on God's promise, not what you see, not what you feel. Allow God to release hope in your life based on His Word and based on His promises.
James Greer: [00:25:04] Listen, if you don't have promises, I just gave you five or six a while ago that you can claim. I read them to you. I know I can have the best year ever based on those promises, not what I see, not what I feel, not because my problems. Believe this is the year God's going to release hope in your life just like He did Joshua after 40 years. Joshua and Caleb knew what it was like and wanted to possess the land. They knew what they wanted. They said, man, I want to go possess the land. I want to ask you a serious question. Do you even know what you want? Do you know what you want this year? Do you know what you want God to help you with this year? Can you find a promise and proclaim it? Because I can tell you, if you don't know what you want and you don't have a promise, you're probably not going to get there. So you might just need to pray. Say God, listen, I need a purpose. I need a plan. What is it that you want me to do this year? And then you maybe need to find a promise and claim it. And then after you do that, you just need to believe God's promises. Did you know Hebrews 11:6 says, it says, without faith, it is impossible to please God for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is what? A rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Not only find Him, but believe what God says. Believe. See, he had told Joshua and Caleb and all the 600,000 children in Israel the first time, He said, y'all can go in. No, they didn't believe Him. Second time, Joshua was in charge, he didn't ask. You know what Joshua said? I've heard from the Lord.
James Greer: [00:26:52] I can give you a plan if you really listen. Joshua, who was the leader, said I heard from the Lord. Joshua then told the other leaders. The other leaders told all the people. And they all said amen. I can tell you something. I've heard from God. I shared it with you today. All you have to do is say amen, and you can be the beginning of abundant life that you've ever had. I want you to believe it. I want you to claim it. I want you to act on it. Now I'm going to give you something else. I'm going to give you an opportunity in a minute. I'm going to have prayer. And while I'm having that prayer, you're going to have the opportunity to bring your problems. You ready? Leave your problems at the altar. Do not bring them home with you. You claim God's promise. Say God, I believe that you said that you came to give me an abundant life and I want to claim that today. Would you stand on me and let me pray with you and pray for you? God, your Word is so good. I just love it today. I'm just almost bathing in it. I think that your presence is here. Boy, when your presence is here, your power’s here. I thank I was able to preach your promises and your people are here. And God, we saw with Joshua and your presence and your promise and your people, they went into the Promised Land, and they had victory. Joshua had to make decisions based on your promises, not his problems. All those that have problems here today, God, I want them to come to the altar and ask God for a promise. Ask Him for that abundant life. And go out of here with a peace that surpasses all understanding because that's another one of God's promises is that’s what we can have. Maybe today's the day you want to join the church, rededicate your life. Maybe you want to follow through in baptism. Maybe you want somebody to pray with you. Maybe you just want to come to the altar and pray by yourself. Whatever God’s called you to do, hey, act on it. Don't just sit there. Let God have His will and His way in your life. I ask it in a precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Bruce Goulart: [00:29:07] On behalf of Pastor James, I just want to say thank you for joining our online experience this morning. Y’all, what an amazing week three it was of our series Unleashing Hope. Y’all, if you need someone to pray with you or you're ready to take your next step, y’all, I want y’all to pull out your phone right now and text the keyword of your next step to (318) 413-6422. The number is (318) 413-6422. So that could be baptism or if you need someone to pray with you right now, y’all, just text that keyword and we'll get with you right away. But I want to say again, thank y’all for joining us this morning, and I hope to see y’all next week.
Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.
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