Problems – A Tool to Reveal the Power of Prayer and Prolonged Life

James Greer: 00:01 Morning Journey Church. Hey, let’s welcome the Alexandria campus, Amen. Man. Hey Darrell, it was so great to have both campuses together Wednesday night, and we taught about what the Bible doesn’t say about drinking. Man, if I knew that I could fill the house just talking about drinking, I’d done it earlier. I found that I’m afraid about half our church are wino’s. No, I’m not kidding. But anyway, it was a great time. This Wednesday night, you want to come, we’re going to be preaching about tattoos and body piercing. And you know, I really had to learn what I believed about that recently. My granddaughter, the one that did the announcements a while ago, on her 18th birthday she came in, she said, Papa, l want to talk to you. I said, okay, what you want to talk about? She said, I am 18 now. I thought, well. But anyway, I said, yeah, good, good, good. She said, I’m going to do two things. She said, tonight I’m going to go get a nose pierced earring. I said, oh no. And she said, at 18 I can now say hell. I said, that’s the two things? She said, yes. I said, well hell no. She did it anyway, but you know. And so I said, you know, what do I believe about it? I didn’t really know what I believed. So that come this Wednesday night, and you’ll learn. Amen?

James Greer: 01:14 Jane we’re so glad you’re here today, and we’ll pray for her, she lost her loved one. And do you know what she did? She turned to God, and she came to church. When I lost my granddaughter, I went the other way. I ran from God for three, four, five years, and what I found out at the end of my running, there was no place else to run. So we’re glad you’re here, and we pray God’s comfort on your life.

James Greer: 01:34 You know, this is all, the series is 40 days of prayer. Prayer is all about having a friendship connection with God. Jesus said, I no longer call you servant, I call you friend. So I’m hoping what you’re doing is you’re praying for your friends, at least three friends, it can be more than that. And then we want you to connect with them. I think in January, I think the 27th or whatever it is, that Sunday you invite your friend to come to church. And you know, sometimes we don’t make an intentional effort to do the things that are most important in our lives. See, you’ve got loved ones that are far from God, and you want them to come close to God. Amen. So let’s don’t try, let’s train. And I blew mine up, that’s my prayer card. And we’re teaching you how to pray for them, and how you can pray that their hearts will be soft, that they’d be protected. God would draw them close, would put a hedge of protection around them. So what I want you to do, is be praying for your friends, and then invite them on that particular Sunday. Amen? And how do you do that? You’ve got to be connecting with them in the meantime.

James Greer: 02:39 So also let me tell you what, that’s on the 27th. If you’re deploying in the military, you know we’ve asked that you would tear out the tear out, and write it in there. If you didn’t get a free devotional book, they’re in the back.

James Greer: 02:51 And fourth, I’m telling you, our free online course is rocking. We’ve already had 400 plus people sign up. And man, I’m trying to read as many of them as I can. And that’s what I’m talking about, you’re not just trying, you are training, so I want you to keep doing that as much as possible.

James Greer: 03:17 So anyway, like I said, Wednesday night was exciting. Today, we want to go on a journey to joy. Amen. I want to review five things that prayer will do, and I’m going to give them to you real quick, and then we’ll go over them. Prayer will prolong your physical life, it’ll enhance your spiritual life, and it’ll improve your marriage, it’ll improve your sexual life, and improve your financial life. And then we’re going to look at how, listen, how God can take our problems and through prayer, turn it into an unbelievable power of God. So let’s look at that. Matter of fact, in Ephesians 3:20, which is my favorite verse, I write it on most of my letters, “To Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” That word power there is dynamite. So in the true sense, a Christian, you’re a walking stick of dynamite.

James Greer: 04:06 So let’s look at five things, there’s really more than that, but five things. Number one, I want you to know that prayer can prolong your physical life. In fact, we’re going to find out in a little while in Second Kings chapter twenty, verse six, that Hezekiah prayed to God, and God said, okay, I’m going to add 15 years to your life. If you want to know, if we don’t get to James chapter 5:13-18 tells you the New Testament story of that. Prayer enhances our spiritual life. First Thessalonians tells us to pray without ceasing, to develop a lifestyle of prayer. A prayer improves our marriage life. Did you know if you’re married, your mate was a gift from God. And prayer will improve your sexual life, and that sexual life will improve your marriage life. The Bible says the two become one, and the marriage becomes a physical friendship, sexual relationship, with emotional and spiritual connection. That’s what marriage is. That’s what marriage is. Marriage, we learned in First Corinthians seven that it says, “Husbands and wives that you should be fair with each other about having sex. Don’t refuse sex to each other unless you agree for a time, and that’s prayer and fasting.” And we know that many of you all prayed and fasted last week. We learned that if you’re physically able, not having sex in marriage is sin. So we learned that as physical, emotional, and spiritual. But I want you to know something else, it’s also prayer will help improve your financial state.

James Greer: 05:37 You’ve got to understand what prayer is. Prayer is just getting our agenda lined up with God’s agenda. So if I looked out and I said, okay, Journey Church, if I said what’s prayer? It’s getting my agenda lined up with God’s agenda. Amen. Well we’ve got to know what God’s agenda. If you want to have the very best 2019 that you’ve ever had, do you believe God’s word? Say, Amen. If you want the blessings of God’s word, you obey God’s word.

James Greer: 06:07 And so what I want to do, is I want to take just a few minutes, since it’s the first of the year. And I want to teach you how to be financially blessed, that more than you ever could in 2019. It’s going to come from Malachi chapter three, so if you’ve got your bibles or your phone or whatever, and we’ll try to put it up on the screen. But I want to give you some insights on how to have the best 2019 financial year you ever had.

James Greer: 06:29 Number one, you can’t spend more than you make. If you’re spending more than you make. You either got to reduce your bills, or you got to figure a way to make more money. Now we have financial courses that go for weeks and weeks and weeks, but that’s what they teach you. Amen.

James Greer: 06:51 Number two. Number two, you’ve got to tithe. Not because of what God wants from you, but it’s what God wants for you. See, I don’t know. I can remember where I was, I remember what church I was at, I can remember when God taught me. I was a traveling salesman, I went to church, and that Sunday and the preacher preached on it. And he said test me, test me, try me, and I took the challenge. And then God just had blessed me for more. In fact [inaudible] and it was Dr. Jean Pritchard, and he came there and he preached on that. And I said, man, if God’s word says it, I’m going to test him. In Malachi 3:7, it says, “And yet for the days of your father, you have gone away from my ordinances, and have not kept them.” In other words, prayer is all about a connection with God. If you want an answered prayer, if you want the power of God. You want to have a friend, you want to connect with God. And God said, but you’ve turned away from me, you have broken the connection. He said, but return unto me, I’ll return unto you. He said, I want the connection. Who said it? The Lord of hosts, the one that’s in charge, the one that has authority over all. But then you said, and I said, how do we, how shall we return? God says, you know, you need to be honest. He said, will a man rob God? You’d say, surely if I came in and I said, does anybody in here think they should rob from God? Everybody would say, no, I hope so. Amen? But you say, how did I rob from God? God says, you did it in tithes and offerings. A tithe, by the way, is the first 10 percent of your income, an offering is what you give above. Like the Say Yes. For Say Yes, we’ve already raised $385,000 in Say Yes alone. Amen. Not counting. Yeah, that’s great, that’s a lot of money. We’ve had people give to the Haiti, that’s the offerings. So he says, “In tithes and offerings, and therefore he said, you are cursed with a curse.” Why are you cursed with a curse? Because it said you robbed God. You robbed God. So even the whole nation. See, God does not want to curse you financially, God wants to bless you financially. But let me tell you what the Bible is in essence, the Bible is a lot of promises. This is thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of promises. In God’s Word it said, I promised to bless you if you obey, if you disobey, it’s a law. You have to bring a curse on your life. Then he says, you know, bring all the tithes into the storehouse. Well what is the storehouse? It’s God’s house, it’s the church, that there may be food in my house. I don’t know why God chose to do it this way. He reigned manna out of heaven, but he decided the way the church was to be financed, is for me and you to make sure we’re tithing and giving. But then I love the last part, he says, “And try me now in this.” Try me now in what says the Lord of hosts? Try me in the offering, try me in the tithe.

James Greer: 10:02 That’s why I don’t know if, does everybody have a bulletin? Inside your bulletin, open it up. Is there a 90 day something in there? Take it out. Now what I want to do, whether you tithe or not, I want everybody to take it out and look at it. And really what it says, God says, test me in this. If God can say, test me. Journey Church can say, I believe God’s word. What we want you to do, every single person at Journey Church, if you’re not tithing. I want you to say, hey, I’ll take the 90 day test, I’ll put my name in there and starting next Sunday, you already? I’m going to bring the first 10 percent of what I make, and I’m going to give it to God, in God’s house. Why? Not because brother James wants it, I don’t even take a salary. I do it because I think God called me to do it, but I want the blessings of God upon your life. And if 90 days, listen to me, 90 days if you’re not as well off as you were before. Just sign it, we’re going to give your money back. That’s pretty good. Now, let me ask you this, why would you not do that? Because you don’t trust God. No other reason. You don’t trust God. You trust in
yourself, your own ability, your job, everything else, but there’s a problem with that. God says that you’re inviting a curse upon your life, and most people don’t even realize what that is. The way God usually gets our attention the quickest is through our finances. When you’re under financial pressure, man, your relationships under a lot of pressure. And God says, I want to relieve the pressure. In fact, he said, thus sayeth the Lord of hosts. See what I want to do, I’ll open up the windows of heaven and pour out such a what? Blessing. Pour out such a what? Blessing. That you’re not able to have room to handle it or receive it. God says, I want to bless you so much that you can’t even handle all the blessings I have for you. Then he says, this is how I will do it. You’re not necessarily going to make more money, some of you will, some of you won’t, he doesn’t say that. But he says in verse 11, look what he says. He says, “And I will rebuke the devourer.” This is what brother James pleas, God gets his anyways. You’re not going, you ready? You’re not going to break God, God’s going to break you. So you said, well, I’m not going to tithe. That’s fine. God doesn’t need your money, he wants to bless you. But if you do, he says, I will rebuke the devourer. It’s says, that car won’t break down as much, my appliances will last longer, my money will go further. You know, I will not destroy the fruit of your ground. In other words, what you do have will last longer. Nor shat the vine fail to bear fruit in the field, says the Lord of hosts. In other words, your money will go further.

James Greer: 12:44 I know some people this week, I was talking to them, I know one of them that took the challenge, they are a young couple with two kids. I don’t think she works, I’m not asking you to do this, they gave 30 percent of their income this year, and it wasn’t a whole lot. And they were excited about how God had blessed them. I said, well did you all make a lot more money? Nope. You know what they told me? You couldn’t explain it. I know how this works, I know personally when I first heard it. I know that I was traveling, and I was sitting in the church, and he said, test me and try me. And I said, God, you know what, I’m afraid I really don’t want to do this, but I am going to test you. And I started giving five percent. And I started getting five percent after taxes, then I worked myself up to ten percent. And then God said, well, just test me, and I gave more, gave more, gave more. And what I found out is, as I gave more, God gave me more. He gave me insights, he gave me blessings that were beyond my imagination. Man, I want 2019 to be the very best year, emotionally, spiritually, and financially for Journey Church. See, and you just can’t out give God. Then he goes on, if you read the whole thing, he said, “All the nations, they’re going to call you blessed. And you know for you it will be a delightful land, says the Lord of hosts.”

James Greer: 14:18 Do you understand, I taught you in Psalm 31:19, that the greatest goodness of God, God has all these blessings stored up in heaven for you. You Ready? And he wants to bless you before a watching world, okay? One of the ways God blesses people before the watching world is through their financial, and their relationships. When you know somebody, and man, I’ve seen it over and over and over. I’ve seen nobody’s become a somebody. I’ve seen nobody’s that just obeyed God, and God just blessed them. Our church is a perfect example. God has blessed us, and then some. Amen? And people look at us all time and say, I just don’t know how God blesses that church. That’s because God gets honor and glory. But God wants to do that to you. Proverbs 3:9 says, and we’re going to get to it, this last one. Proverbs 3:9, “Honor the Lord.” How do honor the Lord? “You honor him with your possessions, with the first fruit.” That’s the first 10 percent of your income. Why? Why do you do it? So your barns or your house will be full with plenty, and your vats will overflow with what? With what? Wine. We preached on that Wednesday night. Amen. Anyway, so why not allow God to show up, and show out, in your life and in your family more than any other time in your life. So I want to challenge every single person at Journey Church to at least take the 90 day test. Amen? What do you have to lose? Nothing. What are you doing? You’re trusting God instead of trusting yourself. Amen, brother James. I know y’all didn’t like it, it’s okay.

James Greer: 15:51 Okay, let’s preach on something else. Let’s allow God to take our problems and turn them into the power, through prayer. I have problems, you’ve got problems, but what we got to learn is what to do with our problems. Let me show you the power of prayer.

James Greer: 16:05 Number one. One of the greatest examples of power is when we dropped the atomic bomb on Japan in World
War Two, it killed 92,000 people. But King Hezekiah, which we’re going to learn about today, he was surrounded by the enemy and he thought he was going to be defeated. He cried out to God, and he prayed. Listen, and God sent an angel, and killed in one night, 185,000 Assyrians. That’s power. Amen. So I want you to know, you’ve got the power. Amen? When you get saved, you get the Holy Spirit lives in you and he is working in you, that’s a walking stick of dynamite. Okay? In Second Kings, 19:34, it said, “I’ll defend this city.” Trey said earlier, he didn’t even know it. He said, do you think God will fight your battles? Can I tell you? He will. Not only he will, he wants to. He’ll do it, and he said, “I’ll defend this city, I’ll defend this church, I’ll defend your home to save it for all my own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.” And you know when it came to pass on a certain night, that the angel of the Lord, he went out and he killed in the camp of the Assyrians, 185,000 people. That’s a lot of power. Amen. Now, God wasn’t trying to show off, he could kill 185,000, he could wipe out the whole earth in one thing. What he was trying to do, is show you the power that’s in prayer. And when the people arose the next morning, God had already fought the battle for them, and there was just corpses of people who were dead all over the place. Would you say that’s power? Amen. God wants you to be entrusted in his power, not your own. He’s trying to encourage you. Faith comes by hearing, hearing comes by the word of God. Then you came in with power, and God says, I’m more powerful than any problem your life. Amen, Brother James.

James Greer: 17:52 Anyway, so the problem, that led to power, was through prayer. We don’t have to wait until we have a problem to pray, but I’ve learned most of us when we have a problem, that’s when we really pray. The psalmist said in Psalms 50:14, it says, “Offer to God a thanksgiving. (Listen to this.) Pay the vows to the most high.” In other words, do what God’s called you to do, do what you said you’ll do, and then you call upon the name of the Lord in trouble. And he said, I will deliver you. Deliver you does not mean he’ll always remove the problem. He says, I’ll comfort you, I’ll protect you, or I’ll give you what you need to go through the problem, and God will get the honor and glory for it. You all see the problem King Hezekiah was facing before God sent the angel that killed 185,000. Because let me tell you, no matter how much money you have, I don’t care how much power you have, there’s problems going to come in my life and your life that nobody can solve but God.

James Greer: 18:52 But on the other hand, there’s no problem too big for God to solve. Second Kings 18:28 gives you some example. Then the commander, this was the enemy, he’s coming against him, he’s representing the King of Assyria. They said, and he stood and he shouted loud in the Hebrew language, listen to what the great king, the King of Assyria said. Can I tell you something about that? It seems like the enemy, when he comes after you, it seems like his voice is so loud. You can just hear it, and you’re defeated, and you’re discouraged. You’re not going to win. You’re not going to get any better. Your marriage is going to break up. Your finances…And he just shouts it out loud, and that’s what the was enemy doing. And then he went on, and he said, man, the king says you shouldn’t let Hezekiah fool you. Hezekiah was a representative of God, Hezekiah was the one that was bringing the word of God. Hezekiah was the leader of that time, because he can’t save you from the power. Let me tell you what, Hezekiah, part of that’s true, he cannot save you, but the God he represents can. That’s why I think you should be at church every single Sunday. You ought to hear the word, apply the word, believe the word, trust in the word. But let me tell you, I can promise you brother James cannot save you, but brother James says, the God that he serves can. There’s absolutely nothing too big, and nothing too powerful for him. Amen? He said, don’t let Hezekiah talk you out of trusting the Lord. Man, do you understand what the whole message is? I’m trying to talk you into trusting God, I want you to trust him with your finances, I want you to trust him with your family. I want you to trust God, and the devil’s trying to tell you, don’t trust him.

James Greer: 20:22 One of the reasons I brought up Malachi chapter three, because finances is a hardest place for us to trust God. Trust in the Lord he said. The Lord’s surely not going to save you, see, that’s the devil. That’s what he’s speaking in your thoughts, in your mind. This city, it’s going to be handed over to the King of Assyria. In other words, I’m going to win, I’m going to destroy your family. And he just wants to keep telling you, I want you to trust in God, the devil does not want you to. When the enemy tries to tell you you’re defeated, you began to tell the enemy that he’s defeated. The Bible says, Hey, upon this rock, I’ll build my church, the gates of hell shall not prevail. Amen? The Bible says, in all things that we’re more than conquerors through Christ.

James Greer: 21:11 But this is what I want you to do. I have those thoughts, and you have those thoughts. The devil just shouts them out loud. You’re not going to make it, your lifestyle isn’t going to get any better, you’re your marriage is falling apart, I’m not going to answer it. But God wants us to start reminding the devil where he’s going. I like this part. Just tell the devil, go to hell. But I’ll give you the biblical basis for it, because y’all be thinking I’m cussing, I don’t do that much. Anyway (congregation laughs) much, I said. Revelation 20:10, this is what you tell, “And the devil who deceived them.” See, the devil’s a deceiver, he’s a liar. He’s wanting to discourage you and defeat you. He was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophets are. Listen to this, and they were tormented. What? Day and night forever. Do you understand that Satan is a liar, he’s a deceiver, he doesn’t want you to believe the truth? But he also doesn’t want you to remind him that he is defeated, and he’s going to be tortured in hell day and night. He is the defeated one, he wants you to think you’re the defeated one. Verse thirty one says, ‘Don’t listen to Hezekiah, the enemy said, don’t listen to God, don’t listen to the preaching. Do you ever notice when God’s really want to do a work in your life? When you really have a problem, and I’m preaching, if you’re not careful your mind will start wandering everywhere else. Because Satan doesn’t want you to trust in God, he doesn’t want you to learn this truth, he wants to distract you. And the King of Assyria said, make peace with me. Can you believe that? Here’s the enemy trying to tell God’s people to make peace with him, the very thing you can’t do. Don’t think you can make peace with the enemy, and have peace, because you can’t do it. He said, come out of the city. You know? Then everyone will be free. You’re not free. To eat from his own grape vine, and fig trees. You can only be free through Jesus Christ. He said, I’m the one that sets you free, and you will be free indeed. And he goes on verse 32, “And after that, I’ll come and I’ll take you to a land of milk and honey.” See, God wanted them to be in the land of milk and honey, and the devil’s trying to say, I can bring you to that, but you can’t. That land where you’re going to have some new wines, and breads, and vineyards, and olives, and some honey. See, he’s trying to tell you, listen, the devil’s trying to make the bad look good, and the good look bad. He’s trying to give to you, what only God can. He is a great deceiver, he’s a substitute. Verse 32, “After that, I’m going to come. I’m going to take you to the land of milk and honey. Then he said, don’t listen to Hezekiah.” Why? “He’s fooling you when he says, the Lord will save you.”

James Greer: 23:50 I don’t know what you’re going through right now. I want you to know that God will save you. He’ll save you physically, if you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to take you to Heaven. He will rescue you through the most tragic times of your life, and he will deliver you. It’s so important, so important, that you hear God’s voice louder, than you hear what Satan screaming. That’s why it’s so important to be in the church. Verse 33, I love this. “Has a god of any of the other nations served you?” Can y’all read that on the screen? You’ll see that god, g.o.d.? Let me tell you a little insight, that’s a little g, it’s not the big G. Has a god of any other nation saved his people from the power of the king of Assyria. It doesn’t matter, because I’m not serving the little g, I’m serving what? The big G. You know what? And he goes on in 34, and he tells them, “Listen, where’s your God?” And he goes on to say, they did not save Samaria from all these.

James Greer: 24:57 I see Satan defeating people all the time. He defeats marriages. I’ve seen him defeat cities. I’ve seen him defeating families. I’ve seen him defeating countries. But that doesn’t matter, it’s not what’s happening to them, it’s what God wants to happen through you. He wants to give you the power, in the precious name of Jesus Christ, to defeat the enemy. Where the watching world can say, man, God’s giving them victory. I don’t know how they’re doing it. I don’t have they’re walking through that, but it’s through the power and presence of God. You know it says, and no one of all the gods can defeat him, you know? Neither can the Lord save Jerusalem from my power. Yeah he can.

James Greer: 25:33 Even if you don’t believe in the Bible, when I went to Israel. That’s where he’s going now? You start walking around, God proves that he does save Israel. Even if you didn’t believe the Bible, how could they still be here? They’re surrounded by enemies that want to hate them, that want to annihilate them, that has ten times more power, but God protects them. You know, and the people kept silent, and they didn’t answer anything, because King Hezekiah told them. Man, I would love to be preaching to a congregation when I told you to keep your mouth shut, you kept your mouth shut. Amen? In other words, somebody is gossiping to you, keep your mouth shut, right? And so man, if you’d have learned to keep your mouth shut, we’d be a more blessed family, home and church. Amen? And the best thing to do, when you don’t know what to do, is keep your mouth shut. Because really, you’re ready. The only real power the enemy has over us is to believe his lies.

James Greer: 26:32 Can you imagine? They came against King Hezekiah, the children of Israel. And he kept telling them how he’s going to feed them, why he’s going to feed them. If all they had to do was surrender before the battle, and they’d of been killed. The real truth is Trey, you may not know it, but God really fought the battle for them. They didn’t fight. King Hezekiah cried upon God, and God sent an angel that killed 185,000 people. So God does fight our battles. But God not only fights our battles, not only is there a power in prayer.

James Greer: 27:03 I’ve got a few minutes to tell you that prayer can prolong your physical life. In Second Kings 20:1, it says this, “In those days, Hezekiah, he was sick, he was near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, Sayeth the Lord, set your house in order, for you’re going to die, you’re not going to live. In other words God sent the Prophet to him. He said, King Hezekiah, your time is up, you’re going to die. What did he do? He did the same thing we should do. He turned his face towards the wall, and he prayed to the Lord. And he said this, he said, oh, remember how Lord that I prayed. And how I walked before you, and trusted you, and honored you, and was loyal to your heart, and have done what is good in your sight, and Hezekiah wept bitterly. Can I say something? I wish I had time, but your tears, and your weeping, are never wasted. One of the shortest verses in all the Bible is, Jesus wept. It wasn’t long after that that he comforted the sisters of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, and he raised Lazarus from the dead. So your tears are not wasted. So anyway, he wept. And it happened before Isaiah, before he has gone out into the middle of the court, and the word of the Lord came unto him saying, here it is. You Ready? Return and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, thus sayeth the Lord, the God of David and your father. This is where he says it, I’ve heard your prayer. What did God do? Say he heard his prayer. What does God want to do for you today? Hear your prayer. And I have seen your tears. I believe tears bring the power and presence of God. And surely I will heal you. And on the third day, you shall go out of the house of the Lord. And guess what he does? And I’m going to add onto your days, how many years? Fifteen years, and I’m also going to deliver you from the enemy.

James Greer: 29:10 Do you imagine that’s power in prayer? God said listen, one thing, I’m going to go kill 185,000 of your enemies. Second of all, I’m going to extend your life by 15 years. I want you to understand if you trust in God, if you have a connection with God, if you have a relationship with God. And I want you to see that God can fight your battles, I want to see that God can extend your life. I want to do just what the enemy was telling you not to do. I want you to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, more than anything else in your life. I want you to take your problems to the altar today, and I want God to show forth his power in your life. I want you to trust him in your spiritual life, I want you to trust them in your emotional life, I want you to trust him in your married life, and I want you to trust him in your financial life like never before. I wish I had time, but we don’t. But I’m going to tell you if you would go in James Chapter Five, you would see the power of prayers, that anybody suffering, let him pray. Let us pray over him, that his faith might save the sick. You do understand that there’s some sin that brings sickness. You understand there’s prayers that are more powerful than that sickness. So man, what God wants to do today, I want you to know that he wants to hear your prayer.

James Greer: 30:29 In fact, as we get ready to close, I want to tell you, God does hear your prayer. Sometimes it’s yes, sometimes no, sometimes it’s wait. If you’ll stay with me through the series, you’ll understand sometimes the waiting doesn’t have to be as long. Sometimes it’s our prayer, that will actually change the timing of God. See, I don’t know what you came today, I don’t know what your problem is. I do believe that you can trust in God. I do believe that he’s more powerful than any problem you came in here today. I know what the enemy’s telling you, he’s saying, trusting yourself, don’t believe what he’s preaching. I’m telling you, you bring your problem to the altar. You make sure you got the power living in you, when there’s a time that you said, hey, I know I’m a sinner, I can’t make it. I just, I surrender God. And I want to invite Jesus Christ into my heart as my Lord and Savior, to forgive me all my sins, and then one day I know that he’ll take me to heaven. Then you get the walking stick of dynamite living in you. See, have you been listening to the wrong voices? Have you been listening to the enemy? You’ll know because he’s negative, he’s discouraging, he wants to defeat you. God wants to give you victory, and what if today was the day that God was going to answer your prayer like never before? Awhile go when Trey and them were singing worship, and sometimes I’ll raise my hands, sometimes I don’t. But I thought when I do Trey, from now I’m going to do it like this. And I’m going to say, God, I’m going to receive everything you say. I’m going to receive that you didn’t give me a spirit of fear, but of power love, and a sound mind, I’m going to believe I can trust in you. And then sometimes I’m going to turn it over and say, God, I’m going to dump all my problems, my fears, my discouragement; I’m going to dump them, and give them to you. And then I’m going to go out with more confidence, more trust in God, than I’ve ever had in my life.

James Greer: 32:29 So would you stand, and let me pray with you, and pray for you. God, you’re an awesome God, you’re a powerful God. God would connect with you through prayer, through friendships, the relationships. We see how you protected King Hezekiah and his people, and that’s how you want to protect us. We see that there’s no problem too big. And today God, I’m encouraging our people to bring their problem to you. I’m encouraging every single one of them to trust in the Lord, trust in him with their finance, trust with their marriage. Whatever it is is bothering you the most, I pray today that you would say, that it would be the day that I’m going to trust in God. Some of you may be here just visiting. Today’s the day you said, man, I’m trusting God, this is the church that God wants me to. Some of you have never been biblically, publicly, baptized, and you say, I’m trusting God today it is. But I want to tell you, whatever it is God lays upon your heart, I want to encourage you to come, and trust in him today. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.