Raising the Bar on Your Calling

James Greer: 00:01 Kim and Kathy, what they’re doing, they started not only coming to church, but they’re leaving, trying to be the church. What do we want to Journey Church? We want you to come to church, but we want you to leave, and try to be the church. If you need any help on how to have a small study or a Bible study, whether it’s on your job, or your school or your sports, we will provide the books, the helps and whatever we can do to do that.

James Greer: 00:23 Well, I’m excited today because what we’re going to do, we’re going to raise the bar on how you find your calling in life, but I can tell you something. You can never conquer anything if you refuse to confront it. In other words, you can’t conquer what you refuse to confront. So today there’s some things I want us all to confront.

James Greer: 00:40 I mean, I’ve put that on my desk. I need sometimes to confront my personal life. Sometimes I need to confront relationships. Sometimes it’s at home, sometimes it’s church, sometimes it’s personal.

James Greer: 00:50 Romans 8:37 says that we are more than conquerors through Christ. He wants us to be conquered. Today though, I want you to do something. I want you to confront yourself, whether you’re following God’s calling or are you following your personal craving? And it’s so important because we’re going to be learning about Eli who was a priest and Samuel who his mother brought to the temple. And Eli in the same environment that Samuel and his sons were. Eli’s sons started following their craving, and it brought destruction. Samuel was in the same environment serving the priest known as Eli, and he had unbelievable deliverance and he was used in a great and mighty way.

James Greer: 01:33 But what I want you to know is most people say, well, how do I know if I’m following my craving? How do I know if I’m following God’s calling? There’s some byproducts, physical and spiritual byproduct that you’ll know where you are.

James Greer: 01:46 In Galatians 5:19-21, it says, it tells you your craving, and then 22-23 tells you your calling. So let me give you an idea what Eli’s sons did. Eli’s sons, they had the great opportunity to be used by God. They were right in the temple and their dad was the priest. But, they followed their cravings and the Bible says, the works of the flesh are your cravings. You understand everything in the world is trying to pull you away from God. It says things like this and things like adultery, fornication, you know, sexual immorality, and you’re following you’re craving. Amen? See, I mean sex is great if you’re married, but if you’re having sex outside your marriage with outside your partner, that’s a craving that’ll bring destruction. It says uncleanliness, lawlessness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentious. Some people are just hard to get along with. I mean you just hate to go see them because you know they’re just hard to get along. Jealousy, outbursts of anger, just unbelievable rage and anger. You’re following your craving. Your selfishness, troublemakers, liars, murderers, drunkards, rivalries, and wild parties. It’s those things. If you practice those, you will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Now you say, well, I know Christians that are doing those things. Yea, but they’re not happy doing those things.

James Greer: 03:10 I mean, the Bible says in Romans 14:17, it says the Kingdom of God is not eating or drinking, but it’s the righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. So God says, when you’re doing the right thing, when you’re following the calling, you have joy and peace. If you’re doing those other things and it’s not convicting you, you’re either not saved or you’re not right with God.

James Greer: 03:29 But today you’re going to get the opportunity to follow your calling and your calling results in the fruit of the spirit. The Bible says, the fruit of the spirit which calls you which God wants you to have, His love, His joy, His peace, His long sufferings, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control against [unintelligible]. See, you can read those and you’ll know where you’re at. So do you have this unbelievable peace and joy in your life? Because see, that’s a byproduct of answering God’s calling in your life, and let’s look at raising the bar.

James Greer: 04:01 Even back in John 15 it says (Jesus speaking, he’s speaking to his disciples. He’s speaking to those of you that accepted Christ.) He said, I will no longer have to call you servants (because a servant they don’t know what their master is doing for them). I call you friends. ( Isn’t it great if you know Jesus Christ, you’re a friend of God?) And all the things that you’ve heard from my Father, I’m going to make known to you. Then it goes, you did not choose me. I chose you. You didn’t choose God. God chose you, He wooed you. He loves you. He comforts you.

James Greer: 04:36 I’ve heard people come to the service and they said man, I just don’t know what it was. I started crying. I just felt like something was calling me and pulling me. That is the pulling and calling of God. God shows you, but He not only chose you, He appointed you. And look what He appointed you to do. He appointed you and He anointed you that you could bear fruit. So if you’re saved, if you’re right for God, if you’re doing your calling, you’re going to bear fruit, and that fruit is going to remain. And whatever you ask of God, He’s going to give it to you. In other words, see when you’re right with God, when you’re answering His calling, you’re going to be bearing fruit. You’re going to have joy. You’re going to have happiness, and you’re going to be praying. You’re gonna have answers to your prayers. See, because I’m telling you, you’re saved, you’re called, you’re anointed and you’re appointed,

James Greer: 05:12 But if you’re not saved, if you’re not answering your calling, you feel like you’re lost. You’re lost at home, at your job, wherever you go. You’re always looking for something else. See the cravings won’t fulfill you. You might be around a lot of people, but you’re still lonely. See a Christian might be alone, but you never had to be lonely. You’re longing for something that you’re missing.

James Greer: 05:39 Now I want you to know that Samuel did that. Samuel was in the midst of a corrupt generation and yet he answered the calling and was used greatly by God. So who is Samuel? Who is he? Well, 1 Samuel 1:26 says, she said to Eli…who is she? Hannah, who is Samuel’s wife. I mean, his mother said, “As surely as you live sir, I am the same woman who stood near you, praying to the Lord. And I prayed for this child and the Lord answered me and gave him to me.”

James Greer: 06:11 And so you’re starting to see what He did. He gave him to me. Now I give him back. You understand as parents one of our jobs is to raise our kids, raise our kids, raise our kids. But, they come to a point that we raise them, but we want to give them back to God, to the Lord. And, he belonged to Him all the days of his life and they worshiped the Lord [unintelligible]. So see, I want you to know Samuel. We’re going to study about Samuel’s calling. But Samuel’s mother, who was Hannah, couldn’t have kids, So she went to the temple and she was praying and wailing and just man men what I want most of my life is a child. And she said, God if you’d give me a child, I’ll give him back to you. And God answered her prayer and that’s where Samuel was birthed.

James Greer: 06:54 We’ve had it in our church. I can remember when Josh and Heather couldn’t have children, and man they wanted children bad. And me and the staff and everybody just start praying. In fact, that was one of the prayers that I prayed was about Hannah. They prayed and the staff prayed and God gave them a child. That child’s name is Hannah Grace. Hannah Grace gets her name from Hannah in the Bible, the mother of Samuel, that she gave back to God.

James Greer: 07:25 But he was in the temple and he served. The main way we serve God today is the same way – by serving people. So how did Samuel minister to God? Well, Samuel didn’t come to the temple and say, oh here I am. I’m Samuel. I’m going to be the new preacher. I’m going to be the new teacher. I’m going to be the new singer. I’m going to be the one out front. You know, I am Samuel. And my mother brought me to the temple. No, no. Samuel started out serving Eli doing anything and everything he said, and doing it quickly and quietly. That’s how the real servants of God that are used greatly do. And so that’s what he asked anything to do.

James Greer: 07:59 In 1 Samuel 3:1, look at what he said. Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. How does he minister to the Lord? Before Eli. Most people minister to the Lord through somebody else. Now they’re not serving Eli. I mean, they’re not worshiping him. Eli is not their God, but what he said is my way of serving God is to serve Eli. And until you learn that you’ll never be used greatly by God. The word of the Lord though, at that time, it was rare in those days. And there was no widespread revelation so important. One of the things I never want to happen at Journey Church is God’s word to be rare.

James Greer: 08:37 Anytime I preach, and anytime that I allow anybody else to preach – they will preach God’s word. Because (listen), when God’s word is rare in your life, you don’t have any revelation from God. Now you might have an emotional high. You might be excited, but when God’s word is rare in your life, you don’t have any revelation from God. And when you don’t have any revelation from God, you will rebel from God. In other words, the greatest [unintelligible] my greatest revelation is not always when I’m up here preaching although God does speak to me. My greatest revelation that I get from God is in my quiet time. When I go in every morning, when I spend time in God’s word, and then God gives me a revelation and a site and a word. And he says hey here’s a word for Journey Church. But before there’s a word for Journey Church, God always has a word for James. I want you to know if God’s word is rare in your life, and the only time you hear God’s Word is when you come, I still want you to come. But you’ll be more likely to be drawn to your craving and rebel.

James Greer: 09:28 Proverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision, the people perish. But also another translation says, where there is no revelation, when you don’t have a revelation, when you personally (young people), when you don’t have a word from God, it says you will cast off restraint. You’ll be doing things and going places that you normally wouldn’t do, And it doesn’t matter if you’re a young person or a parent, [unintelligible] that you’re out there doing that and you’ve cast off restraint, you don’t have any control, is because you don’t have a godly vision that includes God. You might have a vision, but it may not include God. See, when people don’t have a vision that includes God, they go after their craving and they miss God’s calling. So without a revelation from God, you will rebel against God. See, another thing that Eli did, man, he served God as he served Eli.

James Greer: 10:17 Until you ever live, learn to live under your godly authority, you’ll never be given very much godly authority. See David, even David served Saul before he became the king, so he was a servant. So the way that most people minister to God is through other people. See some people God called to be out front, but most of the people God’s called to help those that are out front to be successful.

James Greer: 10:44 You know many times those behind the scene calls those that you do see to be used greatly by God. The only reason Journey Church runs smooth every Sunday is not because of brother James, but because of what’s going on behind the scene that y’all don’t know. There’s people that are serving and working, and then when I get here, it’s all done.

James Greer: 11:00 We had the best VBS we ever had. Amen? I mean almost 300 people and 13 saved. Fifty or sixty adults were saved. And you know what? I came down this morning, I had this great revelation from God. I called Kayla and I had Josh in and I said, man it was fantastic. Y’all kicked it. Y’all did good. But I said, you know what? Not only was this the most successful and the most fruitful, but it’s the least I’ve ever done.

James Greer: 11:22 God said, I that ought to teach you something. Maybe I need to get out of the way when God’s called other people. So they did a great job, but it was what was going on behind the scene. Until you really are used behind the scene, you should never really be seen. See, most of what goes on at Journey Church [unintelligible] goes on behind the scene. Never forget, you need to serve way more than God needs you to serve. We have one of our core values is to save people. But, let me tell you, not only to save people, but to serve people. Serving people are the most satisfied people in the world. After 35 plus maybe 40 years in the ministry, the happiest people I have known in all the years are those people that give and serve over and over again.

James Greer: 12:09 One more thing. If you’re serving behind the scene and you never get recognized, I’m sorry. That does happen, but what really matters is you are recognize. God sees you and God knows the way you serve God is the way you’re serving that person.

James Greer: 12:25 Third, how did he find his calling? How did he do it? Well, in 1 Samuel 3:2 it does it this way: And it came to pass at that time while Eli was lying in the bed with his son, in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow dim and he could not see. Eli was getting older, he couldn’t see. Physically, he couldn’t see. But let me tell you what Eli could not see well, but he could perceive well. I can show you. See, when you’re young, you can see physically well, but if you’re not careful, you can’t perceive God’s word very well. You think you can, but most people will miss God’s calling right here.

James Greer: 13:01 Because see, in verse 8 (we’ll skip down and we’ll come back to it) and the Lord said unto Samuel again a third time and he arose and he went to Eli and he said here I am for you did call me. And Eli did what? Perceived. What did Eli do? He perceived. What did he perceive? He perceived that God was calling the boy. The boy missed the calling. And what you’re doing if you’re not careful so many young people miss a calling because they see, but they don’t perceive. They don’t go to somebody more mature today. They don’t go to somebody in their spiritual authority. They don’t go to somebody that knows them best. See he had already been serving Eli, and Eli said hey it’s God that’s calling you this time, not me. Samuel was young. He was strong. He served well, he could see, but he didn’t perceive. See most of the time most of the time young people and other people miss God’s calling because they can see physically very well, but they can’t perceive what God’s called them to do.

James Greer: 13:09 See, Eli could hear, but Samuel couldn’t. Eli could hear from God and he listened. Eli perceived what God had for Samuel, and Samuel didn’t know it. It was because he went to the right person at the right time. He went to a more mature person. He went to a mentor. He went to a spiritual father, mother, whatever it is.

James Greer: 14:18 I just want to ask you, who do you go to? It doesn’t matter your age. It doesn’t matter. I’m not talking to teenagers and kids. Who do you go to and who do you listen to? Who is your spiritual father? Who is it that when you’re wanting to say is this a craving or is this a God calling? Who Do you listen to? See if you have no body, just like so many young people don’t have anybody, they go after the craving and they miss the calling. See, Samuel was trying to hear from the right person the right time, but he didn’t perceive what God wanted for him. Young people you better, you better. See when you come up here or you serve or you’re in class and we wing, we praise God. Amen. But when you think God’s calling you what you do? Who do you go to?

James Greer: 15:14 Let me give you what Sam, go back to Samuel. In 1 Samuel 3:3, let’s see how it came about. Behold the lamb of God went out in the Tabernacle of the Lord where the Ark of God was, and while Samuel was laying down, the Lord called Samuel. Did the Lord called Samuel before he knew it? Yes. And he answered, here I am. Was he answering God? No. He was answering Eli. So he ran to Eli. Stop. How did he get to Eli? How? Okay y’all ready? When you’re serving somebody and you’re wanting to be used by God. when your authority calls you, you need to run. He didn’t walk. He served him great. And when he ran, are y’all ready? When he ran to Eli, he didn’t run to Eli and say hey man God is calling me and this is what I’ll do and this is how I’ll do it and this is when I’ll do it. No, no, he just ran to Eli and he said, here I am Lord. And this is what you got to learn. If you really want God to use you and you really want to answer, if you humble yourself, you run to your authorities, you run to God and you say, here I am. And quit trying to tell God what you think He said and ask Him what He’d have you to do.

James Greer: 16:26 For he called me, and he said I didn’t call you. Lay down. And he went and he laid down. See what he did was what he knew to do at that time, and when you don’t know what to do, you go and continue to do what you think God has you to do. Samuel not only served Eli, he served him well. Here’s the question. How do you respond when those over you call you?

James Greer: 16:53 I’ll start with adults. How do you respond when you’re at work and you hear your boss calling you? You say, oh man here it goes again. I wonder what he wants. I hate to get there, but I’ll get around to it. Or do you say man, praise God he has called me? I’m serving him as unto the Lord and I run and I’m there and say, what can I do? How do you respond? Young people, how do you respond in your home? How do you respond when your parents call? How do you respond to them? Hey man, here I am, what would you have me to do? Or do you say, hey I want to do this, I’m going there, and right off the bat you start telling them what to do? Listen, if you can’t respond correctly to your parents, you can’t respond correctly to God.

James Greer: 17:31 That doesn’t go together. That’s a lie right out of hell. The devil will say, hey yeah, yeah, I responded to God. I don’t have listened to my parents. Let me tell you something that Eli learned. He served in a corrupt generation. Eli served, I mean Samuel served with Eli’s sons. Eli’s sons were committing all kinds of sin. They were treating people terrible. They were sleeping with women in the sanctuary and Samuel was right in the midst of it. And Samuel knew something that you need to learn. When you work for somebody or you have an authority, whether it’s your parents, your boss, your pastor, whatever it is – when you, when they ask you to do something, you just do it and leave it up to God to take care of them.

James Greer: 18:05 Because listen, unless they ask you to sin, you don’t even have to worry about it. Samuel didn’t have to go, well Eli I know your sons have been sleeping with the women. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That they’ve been sleeping with them. They even slept with him in the temple. And Eli, if he allowed them to do that, why should I obey you? Some of y’all think that about your parents. Somebody will say man, my parents do this. My parents do that, so why should I listen to them? Because God put you there, that’s why. And you want to see your real calling and not your emotion, you go to the people that love you the most, that know you the most. They’ll tell you the truth the most. Amen, brother James. Still true.

James Greer: 18:43 Verse six, when the Lord called yet again, Samuel. So Samuel answered yet to Eli and he said, here I am for you, for you called me. And he answered, I didn’t call you my son, lay down again. And not only lay down again, but this time when you hear God answer him.

James Greer: 19:10 Let me give you some important insights. You Ready? This is where many, many, many people miss their calling. You Ready? Eli was the priest, but he was still a person. Eli is the priest, but he was a person. When Samuel was young, he heard God through Eli. There came a point in time that he matured. He honored those over him, that God wants to speak to him, and so Samuel kept running to a person at this time trying to find answers for what only he could get from God. If Eli was a priest but yet he’s still a person, every person here still has flesh. The flesh always wants us to pull away from God. The flesh, cannot bring you to the next level. The flesh will not say, hey, get an authority. Get a spiritual mentor. Get somebody, a spiritual dad or a spiritual mom. They’ll tell you the truth. Somebody that knows you. The flesh won’t call you and say hey join the church and follow through with baptism. Get into God’s word. That doesn’t come from flesh. That comes from the calling of God. The flesh can’t set you free. No, no. Only Jesus can set you free. He said, I’ll set you free and you’ll be free indeed. The flesh cannot satisfy you. Jesus can. He said, I came that you can have an abundant life. The flesh won’t get you to Heaven. Jesus Christ died on the cross, and you answer his calling. That’s how you get to Heaven. The flesh cannot allow you to understand God’s will, God’s calling and God’s way. That all comes from the calling of God,

James Greer: 20:35 So you’ve got to be careful who you run into. So many people are running all over. The reason we have the problems in the world today is there’s so many mixed up people that are running after their craving, but yet it doesn’t fill them, instead of running to God for their calling. Verse seven, now look and Samuel did not know the Lord. He didn’t know the Lord personally, intimately, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him. See, Samuel kept running to the flesh trying to get a revelation from God. Without a revelation from God (listen), there will come a time you will rebel against God. People can only bring you so far.

James Greer: 21:19 I want you to come to church. I promise you, I love to preach to people better than pews. So I want you to be here, but you can only go so far by coming here on Sunday morning. You need to be in a small group. You need to be in the word during the week. You need to be accountable to somebody. See the flesh and the church can only bring you so far, and then you have say, God, here I am. Speak to me. See, every person wants to be used by God. Even if you’re here today and you say, you know, I think God gives everybody a craving inside. Sometimes they follow the wrong craving. Sometimes they follow the calling, but they want to be used for God.

James Greer: 21:55 They just gotta know where to go and how to get it and who to go to. Most people go to the wrong people. A youth having a problem will go to somebody else having the same problem. A married couple having a problem, they go to someone else having the same marriage problem. Or, you file bankruptcy and you go to somebody else who had a bankruptcy. No, no, no, no, you, you, you need a mentor or spiritual father and mother that’s going to tell you truth and you got to be openhearted enough that you’re willing to hear it.

James Greer: 22:22 This is what happened. It was only because Samuel (ya’ll ready?) humbled himself before Eli, that he could hear from God. If Samuel wouldn’t have humbled himself before Eli, he may have missed his calling. I wonder how many of y’all, whatever age you are, have missed your calling because you never humbled yourself before the person God had you to do. It is the humble people that hear God. If you’re not willing to humble yourself where God has you, you really won’t humble yourself when God calls you. So therefore you don’t hear God. The humbled hear God.

James Greer: 22:56 Verse Eight, and the Lord said to Samuel again the third time, so he arose and he went to Eli. Most of y’all would have given up the second time. And he said, here I am. Where did you call me? And Eli said what? What did Eli do? He perceived. He couldn’t see, but he could perceive. See that’s what happens. So many younger people think, hey these people are older. I know more than they are, I’m smarter and wiser. No, you’re not.

James Greer: 23:22 You are in the flesh. You can see, but you need somebody over you to help you perceive that the Lord has really called this boy. And then he went on to tell him what to do. He said, therefore Eli. He said to Samuel, you go, you lay down, and when [unintelligible] he and he calls you that you may say, speak Lord for I am your servant here. And Samuel went and he laid just like he told him. You know what? Even at the end (listen to it), the most mature person in his life was Eli, and Eli had grown him to the point where he said, okay, now you go back and you got to hear from God. But the problem is y’all want to hear from God and not go through the process. You want to hear from God but not go through the Eli. You don’t want people older than you trying to guide you and direct you. You want to go with other people and think you’re right, when you’re really wrong. You’ll never be used greatly by God like that you miss your calling because you’re drawn to your craving. One of the greatest cravings of young people is rebellion to do what you want to do in spite of what your parents told you to do. Amen, brother James. Y’all don’t have to Amen. I can do it.

James Greer: 24:22 How about adults? What’s your craving? Immortality? Sports? Richness over relationships? You know which one you’re calling [unintelligible] by the peace and joy and happiness you have. I’ve never seen the devil [unintelligible] a liar. God offers a great calling to everybody, and the devil substitutes a great craving. And people think the greatest pleasure is the craving and it’s not because you can never get enough. If you see somebody that has a craving, and they get a house, they gotta get two houses. They get two houses and gotta get three houses. Then the problem is there’s nothing wrong with having two, three, four, or five houses, it’s that you’re never happy with what you get. And with God, you can live in a shack and you have this unbelievable joy and happiness.’

James Greer: 25:24 So what are you doing? Is it a worldly craving? Let me tell you what, a worldly craving it will crush you and destroy you. Many times the very reason so many of our young people and even adults seem to be crashing over and over, they have consequences for their action. They’re leaving casualties everywhere they go because they began to follow their craving instead of their calling. Eli’s sons did this. Eli’s sons had this great opportunity to be used greatly by God. Instead they gave in to craving. They did evil things.

James Greer: 25:58 In fact, at 1 Samuel 22, it tells a little bit about what they did. It says, now Eli was old and he heard everything his sons did to Israel. What? How he had laid with the women who assembled at the door of the Tabernacle of the meeting. Can you believe this? He said, my sons, this is what they’re doing. Eli was getting old and he said, I keep getting reports. My son is ripping everybody off. First financially when they come in, and then he’s sleeping with the women in the sanctuary. Same environment, same priest. Samuel went for the calling. The boys went for the craving. The boys kept on and they sinned a sin which was unto death. And Eli and the boys, the boys had to die at a young age because of that. God had warned Eli and told Eli to stop them. Eli had warned the boys and they kept doing it, and God removed them all.

James Greer: 26:57 So how did we get to this point? Way Back to first Samuel chapter three, verse one. When he was just a boy, he ministered before Eli. He served Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days, and there was no revelation. Is the word rare in your life? When is the last time you really heard from God? When did you allow your spiritual authority to confirm that was from God? See, Eli’s boys rebelled from their authority and they missed out when God had them.

James Greer: 27:30 Listen, Journey Church, God has so much more for us as a cooperative church, as individuals. See, God calls every single one of you here. The difference today is you got to start deciding, have I been following my craving? And today I want to start following God’s calling. So how do you know? Well, I just told you. You have the love, joy and peace. Are you living in morality and doing the wrong things? Going the wrong places?

James Greer: 28:00 You can’t have peace that way. You can’t. God called every single person here to be saved. 2 Peter 3:9 says God doesn’t want anybody to perish. He wants everybody to come to know Him. So if you’re here today and you’re not sure, if you say, today is the day, are you willing to humble yourself today, this morning where you can hear from God? How do we do that? Well, first, this altar will be open. We can just humble before God first. But when you humble yourself before God you gotta say, God, here I am. Use me. You don’t come to God to start telling God what you’re gonna do, how you’re going to do it, and when you’re going to do it, you don’t start going to your spiritual authorities. You don’t go to Andrew and tell Andrew what you’re going to do, how you’re going to do it and when you can do it. Andrew doesn’t come to me what he’s gonna do when he’s going to do it and how he’s going to do it. No, no, no. They don’t do that. You come to them and say, I think God’s called me and you watch me serve and you guide me. Otherwise, what you think God’s calling you is really a craving to feel your emotions instead of what God’s called you to do and you will crash.

James Greer: 29:10 How about you as adults? Have you humbled yourself at work? How about in the family? Does everybody jock you in the wind instead of just resolve it? You know what you did last week at work. You know how you answered. Do you know how you talked or how you didn’t talk. You know how you serve and God gave me a peace. Or, you have turmoil. Man what I’d really today is how are you serving right where God has you right now? How are you serving there? Did you see how Samuel served Eli right where he was? I just served. If you’re a church, how are you serving right now? Do you have the right attitude? Are you happy? Are you excited? Are you on fire for God?

James Greer: 30:01 Young people, the real truth is this: You want to know if you’re (y’all listen), y’all know if it’s God’s calling or your craving? How do you respond at home when you get outta here? How do you respond when your mom and dad are saying, hey, hey, come here? How do you respond when your authority (the one’s that over you), says hey I need to talk to you? How do you respond to them? If you’re not, if you’re rebelling against them, you’re rebelling against God. Don’t do self-justification. Don’t do that because that’s pride and as good as you think you might be at church, you’re leading to destruction and you’ll miss the very thing that God has for you. You say, well you don’t understand what my parents or my grandparents or what they’re doing. Hey, it didn’t matter.

James Greer: 30:43 Samuel didn’t say, hey, I’m going to do what God told me even though Eli [inaudible]. He said, no, no, I’m going to do what God called me to do. You serve other people as you’re serving the Lord. When you go to work, you serve as you’re serving God, and the greatest thing you can do today is come and say I’m going to humble myself under the mighty hand of God where in due season, He’ll lift me up, not me. Quit trying to tell God and everybody over you what you’re gonna do.

James Greer: 31:05 Today is the day that you respond to God’s calling on your life, or today is the day if you’re not careful, you’ll start following your craving. Alright, stand and let me pray with you.

James Greer: 31:14 God, I pray today that everybody here, that they have some kind of spiritual father or authority in their life. I pray, God, that we don’t follow our craving. And those that have been following their craving, I pray today that they are going to humble themselves and say God, I want to start following your calling. You know if you’re following the craving or the calling by the way you respond right where you’re at on the job, in the school and the home. Just whatever you’re doing. How do you respond? You know you’re mature by the way you respond when you disagree with what your authority says.

James Greer: 31:52 God, I pray today that you’ll touch hearts, that they’ll understand what your calling is. God it’s just that small still voice that draws us to move. And the craving the flesh, don’t do that. Just stay there. It gives you self-justification. And God, I bind Satan through the power and the blood of Jesus Christ. This morning, I pray that our hearts would be open. I pray that we would surrender our lives. I pray that we would humble ourselves and I pray that as a congregation, as individuals, we can hear from God like never before. It’s in Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.