The Process to Make the Last Half the Best Half

James Greer: 00:01 Well, sometimes that happens, and sometimes it doesn’t. I think LSU, it didn’t happen yet, but it can happen. I mean the whole message today is going to be about the process of pain, can lead to promotion. But first of all, I want to celebrate everybody that brought shoe boxes, man, we had a goal of 300 and we ended up with 450 shoe boxes, Amen. I mean Alexandria Campus, God bless y’all, y’all had a 116. We welcome you all, and it’s Darrell and Beverly’s anniversary, I hope they’re having a good time. So we thank you, Alexandria campus. Pineville, y’all had 334. They said each box has the potential of reaching nine people, that would be 4,050 people. Amen. With that in mind, the, let’s remember Mary Dean, I mean she kind of headed that up and her mother’s in the hospital right now. So lift her up as you do.

James Greer: 00:54 Well listen, I want to talk about the whole message, the whole series. I’m going to tell you, I can tell you I’m so excited, I could almost stand up and fly. I am. Because we’re going to be learning about a process, and when you learn this process, it applies to every area of your life, your marriage, your finances everything. When you don’t learn this process, so many people live a defeated and discouraged life. But we wan’t the last half of your life, wherever you’re at, to be the best part of your life. Pain is part of the process, before the promotion. I want you to learn two things, that’s one of them. Disappointment is part of the process of developing. If you really learn those two things, the first time when pain comes, you say, hey man, God’s processing in me. And if I process the right way, if I develop the right way, God will promote me, or get to where he wants you to be. And when you get disappointed, if you understand it’s a process of developing, because God’s more concerned about your character than he is your comfort. And sometimes he will make you uncomfortable, to build your character.

James Greer: 02:00 There’s verses like Philippians 2:14. That says God’s working in you, giving you the desire and power to do what pleases him. God said, I’m working in your life. If you’re here today, I’m telling you, God is working in your life. He tells us in Isaiah, that he is the potter, that we’re the clay. In Jeremiah he says, I’m in your hands, and I’m in the potter’s hands. In Romans 9:21, it says, “Does not the potter have the power over the clay, he has the power. But Galatians 6:5 says, “Every man is going to have to bear his own burdens.” Every man, woman and boy, you’re going to have to bear your own burdens. In other words, what I wish is I could let somebody else develop, and go through the process, the hurt and the pain and I could still come out on the other end. But it doesn’t work that way. Parents wish our kids didn’t have to bear their own burdens, to be developed to what God wants them to do. But it doesn’t, it’s an individual thing. Your husband has to develop, your wife has develop, you have to learn to bear your own burdens.

James Greer: 03:05 So with that, let me start us out with prayer. Okay? God, I pray today for our church. I pray for your power, your presence. I pray that you would remove burdens, and destroys yokes. I pray that a satan, you know, he’s defeated, we’re redeemed. Jesus Christ is the Lord. I pray for Mary Dean’s mother, and her. I pray for a Latina that’s in the hospital out of town, that you’d give her strength. It’s in Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

James Greer: 03:29 Alright, let’s go through the process to have the last half, to be your best half. Most of us are never prepared for what we’re going to really go through. I don’t even think you could prepare yourself if you want to, but you have to understand the process, if you ever going to get to the promotion. There Proverbs 21:31. It says, you know, go ahead and be prepared the best you can for the conflict, but victory comes from God. In other words, you’re going to have conflict. Conflict, listen, is part of the process of developing me and you. Conflict handled correctly, can lead to intimacy, So I’m telling you, you’re going to have conflict. You’re going to have it in your marriage. You’re going to have it on your job. You going to have it in your church. You’re going to have conflict, but he said, be prepared for it. How do you prepare for it? You arrange your life in a way that you can learn the most about what you want to do. In other words, if you want to have a great marriage one day, you don’t just talk about it, you learn about it. You try to live it out, and see what God’s word has to say about it. If you want to have a better job, you see what you’ve got to do on the job to be promoted. If you want to have better finance, he says, be prepared. See the key, to have a better life, is to learn the process. But you can be as prepared as you want, but he says, remember victory comes from God. There is an important insight. If you don’t understand the process, you allow disappointments to defeat you, instead of develop you. One of the biggest things you can learn today is that.

James Greer: 05:05 When you don’t understand the process of life, when you don’t understand how you process before you’re promoted, you allow your disappointments defeat you instead of develop you. And that’s why so many people continue to live in a defeated life, instead of a victorious life. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed, for a lack of knowledge.” And it’s the same thing, marriage finance, health, it’s lack of understanding the process, to the promotion. When I say promotion, I’m talking about getting to what God wants you to have. When I’m talking about promotion, to have the marriage that God wants you to have. When I’m talking about promotion, it’s to have the peace and love and joy that God wants you to have. See, earthly preparation, apart from godly preparation, will never give you the promotion that you’re looking for, it takes both. I want your last half to be the best half.

James Greer: 05:55 I’m going to give you four quick keys, but we’re only going to focus on one. Have a prepared heart, arrange your life for the process. In other words, arrange your life, learn all you can. Have a praying heart, which really means let you and God, you line up what God has for you. God’s not Santa Claus. In other words, one of the biggest parts of prayer is we will get God’s will in a matter, not ours. Have a persistent heart. I mean those people that don’t give up, man, I tell you, they end up going across the finish line.

James Greer: 06:25 But we’re going to study today, about our processing heart, which I don’t really think it’s ever been taught. I don’t think people even understand it. The heart that understands the process, you may not enjoy the process, but if you understand the process it helps you get through. See, when you fully understand the process, you ready? You can almost predict your future. You can go to Matthew 7 and read that whole chapter, I’m not going to go through it, but Jesus said, the rain is going to come, the flood is going to come, and wind is going to come. But the person hearing my word, and does my word, he built his house on the rock, and he’s going to stand. The other person that heard the word, but they didn’t do anything, the same wind, the same rain, the flood came, and it fell. So you can predict your life when you understand the process of the rain and the flood and the winds, but understand the greater the dream, the greater the test, the greater the process. In other words you, you say, man, I want God to use me. Well make sure you understand, the greater the process, the greater the dream, the greater the development process. He has to develop you to get there. How we develop will greatly determine our destiny. You Ready? What most of us call disappointment, is most often times of development.

James Greer: 07:49 I don’t know a lot about football, but I know there were some LSU people, they were disappointed. Now, LSU could continue to be disappointed, and live a defeated life, or keep being defeated. Or they’ll say, man, we’re going to develop like crazy, and they’ll come back as winners. The same thing as life. See, when you don’t understand disappointment leads to development. You will continue to go through the same disappointments and live a defeated life. See, when you don’t understand that God doesn’t necessarily bring the disappointments and the failures in life. But because they’re in your life, he wants to develop them. And when you don’t develop, you’ll keep going through the same thing, same thing, over and over again, and you’ll just live a discouraged, defeated life. I want you to understand the process, that leads to promotion.

James Greer: 08:36 I’m going to give you an example today. I’m going to give you one. The example we’re going to look at is Joseph. And I’m not going to talk about Joseph’s childhood, because Joseph had one of the most dysfunctional families you’ll ever find in the Bible. Can I tell you my family’s dysfunctional, my name is James, I live in a dysfunctional family. Did you know our new series is how to live in a dysfunctional family? Do you know that next Sunday we start preaching about dysfunctional families. What I came to find out though, everybody in the whole Bible is dysfunctional. I’m going to preach on how to lessen the dysfunction in your life, because you got it. Everybody, you got it in your marriage, you got it in the kids, and we’re just dysfunctional people. Next Sunday we’re going to be talking about dysfunctional families. But Joseph’s was so dysfunctional, in Genesis 37:18. It starts saying, Now, when they saw him a far off, who’d they see? His brother saw Joseph even before he came near them, he said, man, let’s conspire to kill him. Well, that’s a great brotherly love. Amen? And they said one to another, look man, it’s the dreamer, he’s coming again. What did they call him? A dreamer. What upset them? Him Dreaming. See, Joseph was a big dreamer. Even at a young age he was saying, man, I think God’s going to use me. I’m going to be a great leader one day. The problem is he would go back and tell his brothers, and in the dream I’ll read it to you, but in the dream his brothers were bowing down and they were serving him. And he’d say, man, I want to tell you dream again, I want to tell you dream again. By now, his brother’s are ticked off at him. See, not everybody in your family is excited about you being successful. So what you’ve got to be careful of, if you’ve got big dreams, you better be careful on who you share them with, and when. The greater the dream, the greater the development process. See, I want you know, that when Joseph was finally promoted, he was probably in his early thirties. That means he was processed for at least 15 years before he was ready to get the promotion God had for him.

James Greer: 10:39 The longer it takes to develop, the longer you’ll have to go through the process. See, I believe God gives everybody a great dreams. I really do. Many times you don’t know why God gave them to you, you don’t realize that God gave them to you to be used for God’s purposes, not just your personal purpose. See, God was a very creative God. I mean, God was so creative. I mean he created the heavens, the earth, the stars. He was creative, we were created in God’s image. You have a creative side for you, your creativity gives you dreams, especially when you’re young. You start dreaming what you’re going to do, what God might use you. Now what can happen over time, the pressures can squeeze the dream out of you. See, but if we learn the process, and we live out the process, and we don’t give up on the process, we will be promoted and used by God.

James Greer: 11:28 What I want to do today, is try to get through the process. I’m going to use Joseph as an example of the process, and the stages that he went through, and that you’re going to go through in life. And if you can learn the stages, maybe when you’re disappointed, you’ll say, maybe let God develop me. When pain comes, just say it’s part of the process. Joseph knew in his life, see at a young age the first thing that Joseph did, he had big dreams. And everybody has big dreams, but many times before the dreams come about, they’re later in life. I mean Jesus at 12, he was at the temple, he was teaching and preaching. His mother said, where have you been, what are you doing? He say, man, I’m about my father’s business. She said, come on, hee had to go home. And it says, later on it says, and he grew in stature and wisdom and knowledge. He began to be developed, so he had dreams.

James Greer: 12:25 In Genesis 37:5, said, Joseph had a dream, and he told his brothers, and they hated him. Wow, can I tell you, sometimes when people hate you, don’t just keep going back and going back and going back and going back and going back. There’s some people you got to learn to love at a distance, amen? But they hated him more because he shared the dream. And he said, please hear our dream, which we have dreamed. In other words he said, man, I got another dream, and he said, listen, this is what it is. They were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, mine stood up and arose, also yours stood up. Indeed yours stood up too, but they’d bow down to me. In other words, he said, I had this dream that we both stood up, but y’all came before me, and y’all bowed down. And Joseph thinks this is a great dream. I don’t think his brothers are so excited. His brother said, shall ye, so you’re going to reign over us? So ye indeed, have dominion over us. They hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. He had big dreams, but they weren’t so excited were they did. They weren’t as excited as they should be. Listen, God gives everybody a dream, and when he talks about they have dominion over them. God said, when you were created, I created you, I blessed you. I blessed you to be fruitful, I blessed you to multiply, and I blessed you to have dominion over whatever comes into your life. God gives you that dream. You may not be living it out, you may not be enjoying it, but God has given you a dream. What is the first process? It God gives you a dream.

James Greer: 14:06 The second process is where we usually lose everybody, it’s total devastation. If you live long enough, your dreams are going to be shattered. If you live long enough, you’re going to be totally devastated. When you don’t understand the devastation, it destroys you. I’ve been so devastated at times. I just felt I couldn’t walk through it, I had to crawl through it. I felt like it was a dream, it was so bad. But you’re going to have it too, and most of you already have had it. See what happened in Genesis 37:18, Now when they saw the brother far off, before he even came near, they conspired to kill him. And then, look, here comes the dreamer. Boy, that’s great. I mean, my brother said, here I come, I want to kill you. Verse 22, it goes on and says, Hey, come therefore, let us kill him. Cast him into some pit, and we shall say the wild beast destroyed him, and what will come of the dreamer then. In other words, he said, we’ve got to plot. Remember though this, it doesn’t matter what you’re going through. If you’re serving God at the end, God will be for you, it doesn’t matter who’s against you, you’ll win. You’re going to come out. But see they were trying to destroy him, in fact it’s all just is so long, I going to get bits and pieces.

James Greer: 15:32 In 37:23 it says, they stripped him of his tourniquet. At 30:24, It says, they cast him in a pit. Listen to this. It was empty, and had no water. Guess what it says in Verse 25, put it up if you can. In Genesis 37:25, they cast him in the pit. They did it, and then they went and sat down and ate. Can you imagine we’re going to kill our brother, we stripped him, basically we beat him, we threw him in there. And now, let’s just sit down and eat. Let me tell you, that’s becoming hard hearted. Amen. But they lifted up their eyes, and they look and they saw company coming. The Israelites, and they were coming, and they said, listen. And their camels, and they were bringing spices, and riches, and they were going to go to Egypt. And do you know what they said? Verse 26, they said, man, what was it that prompted us to kill our brother, and concealed the blood? Let’s do something else with him. And so what did they do? Let’s sell until the Israelites, and our hand be upon him for he is our brother, and he’s our own flesh. No, they said, we’re going to kill him, why shouldn’t we kill him? The only reason I didn’t kill him, because they figured out how to make money. So they sold him into slavery to be going to Egypt.

James Greer: 16:55 Can I say something? That’s pretty devastating, that’s total devastation. Your total devastation, has to lead to total dependence upon God. I was actually at a seminar personally with Charles Stanley one time, and it was a very small group, smaller than this. And he said, you know, I never really knew if I was going to depend on God until I lost everything I had, and I had nobody else to depend on. I’ve been there, I understand what that means now. I didn’t at the time, but I do now. Total devastation, better leads you to total dependence on God. Total dependence on God will lead you to the right process, and begin to develop us, so one day we can be used by God. When we don’t know, or we don’t learn the process, it leads to defeat instead of development.

James Greer: 17:48 When we don’t allow disappointments to develop us, we will continue to go through the same disappointments again, and live a defeated life. I’ve seen it with people with finances, I’ve seen it with marriages, I’ve seen it with church. In marriage, they get married, about 18 months later they say, we just fell out of love. And I tell you, you don’t fall out of love, you fall out of cars. And the only way you fall out of cars is open door when you’re running, and that’s stupid. So they get out of that, and they’re devastated. It wasn’t what I thought it was. So they get into another one, same thing. Financial, I’ve seen people do it over and over again. And I’ve seen people do it in church, I came to church, and I just can’t believe that pastor acted like that, I can’t believe he did. I can’t believe somebody said something like that to me, so they’re devastated, and they don’t learn the process. I don’t want anybody in our church to live a defeated or discouraged life.

James Greer: 18:42 Do you understand when the Bible says in marriage, if you’re married, when the two become one. I mean, you’re growing together, the two become one, that is so great. We become one flesh. I mean, and everybody says that must mean simply when we have sex. Oh, no, no, it means way more than that. It means you have to go through the long, tough, painful, process. Hurts, forgiveness, sorrows, and through the process you began to develop, and God teaches you what love really is. And when you finally get to that point, there’s nothing like it in the world, but you didn’t just wake up…Let me tell you what, the greatest time, when you’re on your honeymoon, you thought, Whoa. That is not going to last, you’re going to be processed. And if you go through the process as a married couple the correct way, it’s the greatest thing in the world, but you’ve got to understand all the hell you go through before the two become one, or you give up.

James Greer: 19:28 Then he was promoted again. He had a great dream, and he was devastated, and he began to prosper, and he began to dream again. In Genesis 39:1. And when Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites, the traders, and he was purchased. Do you know who he was purchased by? Potiphar. Remember Potiphar, he was a high officer, but he wasn’t the king. He was an Egyptian officer. Potiphar, he was the captain of the guards of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Verse two, if you got it, put it there. And the Lord was with Joseph. He had just been thrown into the pit. He had just been purchased by the Egyptians. And in Genesis 39:2, all this going on, and he said, “And the Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did.” How in the world can that be? Because I’m telling you, when Joseph was thrown in the pit, he said, I have my total dependence upon God. And God said, I’m going to be with you, Joseph, I’m going to cause you to succeed. Who causes success in our life? God does. Who was Joseph depending on? God. In verse 3, and Potiphar noticed, he realized that the Lord with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. You Ready? You can work for the most ungodly people in the world, and God can still use you to bring about success. And there’s ungodly companies that don’t even realize, the reason they’re successful is because will people working for them, and that’s what they did there.

James Greer: 21:14 So listen, here’s the process. He had this big dream. He was totally devastated. Now he’s. starting to prosper again, then comes another great disappointment and another devastation. Joseph was allowed to be disappointed, it allows him to devastate him, but it allows God to develop him. Hey, get to genesis 39:6. You Ready? Now Potiphar gave Joseph complete responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing, except for the kind of food to eat. And Joseph was what kind of man? Handsome, well built, good looking dude. Can I tell y’all something? The people, men and women, that are really good looking and really handsome, they go through temptations that I never knew about it. It’s true. So many people want what they have, and they don’t realize, sometimes the looks are a curse instead of a blessing. So if you know somebody, or if you know a young person, and pray for them and encourage them. Don’t depend upon that, but to develop who they are. And Potiphar’s wife, you know, she began to be lustful. Hey, she’d say, yeah, come and sleep with me. She even demanded it. She was in charge, and here’s this good looking guy. He’d been thrown into a pit, now he’s sold into slavery, now he gets promoted. Now he’s in the house, and he’s in Potiphar’s house. And Potiphar said, you can do anything, don’t take my wife, but you can do anything else. And she comes in, and she said, man, why don’t you sleep with me? And Joseph refused. He told her, your master trusted me with everything in your entire household, no one here has more authority than I do. And he held nothing back from me, except you because you’re his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? Listen, it would be a great sin against God. This is so important. The reason that Joseph didn’t sleep with Potiphar’s wife was not necessarily because he didn’t want to, it’s because he didn’t want to sin against God. You Ready? Part of the development process before God will really use you, is knowing that you’ve come to the point that God can trust you when nobody’s looking.

James Greer: 23:54 Ooh, say that is good brother James. Can God trust you on your job when nobody’s looking? Can you mate trust you no matter where you’re at, and what you’re doing, when she’s not there? See, because God’s more concerned about building your character, than he is your comfort. If you can’t be trusted, you haven’t been developed yet to where God wants you. Part of love is trust, and nobody was looking but God, and Joseph said, man, I’m not going to sleep with you. If you can’t be trusted when no one’s looking, you haven’t gone through the development process correctly. Verse 10, She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and kept her out away as much as possible. Kept out of her way. Did y’all hear that? He didn’t keep going where she was, as much as possible, he was trying to avoid her when he could. But one day, however, no one else was around. When he went in to work at the house, guess what happened? She came and grabbed him, and grabbed his cloak, and demanded you better come sleep with me. And Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hands, and ran free. Sometimes dude, you better just run, amen? You know when someone like that is after you, your just run. First
Corinthians 6:18, “Leave for an occasion.” Second Timothy 2:20, “Flee youthful lust.” Hey, give me some ideas guys, sometimes the best thing to do is run, amen. But do you know what, when she saw that she was holding his cloak and he fled, it ticked her off. She called the servants, and she said send all the men, they came rushing in. And she said, my husband has brought this Hebrew slave, brought him into our daggum home, he fooled us. He came into my room, and he tried to rape me, and so I screamed. That isn’t really what happened, but that’s what she said. So what she did then, is she summoned everybody in, and told them what happened.

James Greer: 26:08 Verse 19, her husband finds out. How does he find out? She went and told him, isn’t that something? Potiphar, he was furious when he heard it. I mean, he heard his wife’s story, that Joseph and the way he had treated her. So he took Joseph, and threw him into prison. Isn’t that great? Joseph’s didn’t sleep with his wife, he tried to do what’s right, he ran from her. The wife lied about him. Where does Joseph go? To praise God? No, he gets thrown in prison. Can I tell you, a lot of times you could do what’s right, and still get in pain. A lot of times people lie about you, and you’re doing what you’re supposed to do. Don’t worry, if Joseph did it, and they did it with Jesus, they’re going to do it to you. Verse Twenty One says, “The Lord was with Joseph.” Do you all understand that the Lord was with Joseph. And he was with Joseph when he sold him into slavery, he was with Joseph when he was in the palace, he is with Joseph now that he’s in the prison. I mean God was with Joseph, and God is with you. See, the Lord said, I’m with you when you’re in the prison, I’m with you when you’re in the palace. See even during the disappointment, Joseph knew God was with him. Even when she lied about him, even when he had to go to jail. See, listen this is really important. Joseph learned the difference between being disappointed in a person, and not being disappointed in God. Brother, that’s good too.

James Greer: 27:30 Do you know the difference between being disappointed people, and being disappointed? Have y’all ever known people, I’m not going back to church because of Brother James. No, I’m not going back to church because, such and such happened. I’m not going to church because of all those hypocrites, and you know they’re one too. But you know, I’m not going back to church. So they haven’t learned the difference between disappointed in people, but never be disappointed in God. Part of the develop process and learning, when people disappoint you, God is still with you. First Corinthians 2:5 said, “My faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but the power of God.” People are going to disappoint you, your mate’s going to disappoint you, I’m going to disappoint you. Well, listen, your power is not me, it’s not them, your power needs to be in the power and presence of God. Part of the process is learning, listen, people are going to disappoint me. Many times what we call disappointments is nothing more than God allowing us to be processed, and developed, and depend upon him.

James Greer: 28:32 Right Kevin? Raise your hand, now stand up, now raise your hand, sit down. Kevin learned the process, when Kevin lost his job. He wasn’t do anything, they lost a bunch of them, they brought a new manager, and he got let go. At the time he was processing alcohol. Man I know what it’s like to have a drink, but you drank, dude! I don’t l drink a gallon of whiskey a day, but I mean he was processing, that alcohol was processing him. But instead the disappointment drove him to totally depend upon Jesus Christ, I was there, I saw him invite Jesus Christ into his life. I’ve got to remember what Kevin said. He said, I’ve had it, I’m disappointed, I’m at the end of my life. I want to change my life. He changed his life, and he radically changed, amen. I’m not sure though, if you’d of kept your job, you’d have got to go through the process. Now. I don’t have the faith he did, I can remember he said, I lost my job, but God’s going to provide. I said, Holy Moses dude. I wanted to say yeah I know that person, but he was serious. Do you understand the process? Otherwise you’ll live a defeated, discouraged life. He could of got up and said, man, I can’t believe it. I was working hard, and you know, they just let me go for no reason. I’d been there for 20 years or however long it’s been, you know. And you think I drink one gallon of whiskey, now I’m going to drink two. Uh, uh, he allowed the process to work. You’re going to go through it in marriage, you’re going to be so devastated sometimes, so disappointed. God’s just developing you for something greater.

James Greer: 30:10 So anyway, I got a rock here. I’m, dadgum it, Hmm, let me just tell you the story because we don’t have time, but I want to encourage you to read Genesis 38-41. He got thrown into jail, guess who was with him in jail? And the Lord was with him, and caused everything he did to be successful, God can cause you to succeed wherever you’re at, and whoever you’re working for, he’s in charge. Got thrown in jail. Guess what? He started getting promoted again. Two years later, Pharaoh had a dream, and nobody could interpret his dream. Y’all ready? Stop. What got Joseph in trouble in the first place? Dreaming. Guess what’s fixing to get him out of it? Interpreting dreams. You don’t tell me God can’t turn it around, and just change what you got in trouble with, and turn it around to something great. But anyway, he fell asleep, and Pharaoh had another dream, and nobody could tell him. Joseph responds to Pharaoh and said, I could tell you in advance, I can tell you what the dreams are. It means seven years, you’re going to have prosperity, and let’s store it up, and let’s get ready. Seven years, you’re going to have famine. But Pharaoh, you’re the king, you’re over Potiphar who threw me in jail. Do know what he says, man, couldn’t anybody else do this? No. He said, listen, he knows the meaning of the dream. Guess what I’m going to do? I’m going to promote him. And it sums it up, and it says, you’re going to be in charge or my court, and all the people are going to take orders from you Joseph. And as I sit on the throne, there’s no other higher ranked than me. Joseph, in other words I want you to know you got promoted, your second most powerful person in Egypt. Joseph was probably the second most powerful person in the world, dreams got him into trouble, dreams got him out.

James Greer: 31:56 How would you like to know if the process worked? How would you like to know, wherever you’re at in life, the process, the pain, the disappointment. How would you like to know if you’re being developed where God can really use you now? I could tell you how. The same people that hurt him, his brothers, they were starving. Guess where they had to come? They had to come to Egypt. Guess who was in charge of the food? They’re brother. And they became fearful, and they said man, he’s going to pay us back. Please forgive us they said, you know, because we wronged you. And Joseph broke down and wept. They threw themselves, and said, we’re your slaves. Oh ho, they got that right, he told him that 15, 20 years ago. But Joseph replied, don’t be afraid of me, I’m not God, I’m not going to punish you. He said, what you intended to harm me? God had intended for my good. You see, God brought me to this very place, this very position so, I could save the lives of many. It says, but for you, you meant it for my harm, and a lot of people mean stuff for your harm. God meant it for my good. I developed through it all, in order to bring me to this day, where I can save men’s lives. That’s what God’s bringing you to. Where God can use you, where other people could come to know him as their personal savior? How do you know the development process is working? That you can forgive the people that hurt you the most? Not only can you can forgive them, you almost feel sorry for them. Can you imagine, dude, if my brothers came in there and they had thrown me in the pit. and they sold him into slavery. And I was in charge, I’d probably say, starve your butt off. Say, what do you think about my dreams now. No, that’s not him. He processed, he cried, wept, hugged them, loved them, provided for them, and let them live there with him. That’s what the process does.

James Greer: 33:57 In closing let me give you a few insights. I pray that you’d come this morning, you’d put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Would you come and become totally dependent on God to care for you, and not somebody else, where he can develop you? Would you forgive anybody and everybody that ever hurt you? Would you allow your hurts and disappointments to allow you to turn to God, where God can develop you in you and use you? Would you allow God to bless you, no matter where you’re at? He was successful when he’s in Potiphar’s house, he was successful when he was in jail, and he was successful when Pharaoh promoted him. To be successful, you got to be bless able wherever you’re at. He allowed God to have the process, he saw that God was in charge, God could trust him, so God can bless him. Can God trust you? Can others trust you? Is it time that you start turning to God, and say, God, I want to be trusted. And when God does promote you, can you remember it came from God, and give him the honor and glory? I’ve never seen a time in history, when people get promoted, sometimes it’s the worst thing that ever happened. They forget where it came from, and they’ll basically lose the promotion.

James Greer: 35:18 Maybe you’re here today, and you’re really disappointed, you really feel discouraged. Jesus says, for you to come unto him, all that labor and heavy laden, and he wants you to find rest this morning.

James Greer: 35:32 Will you stand and let me pray with you, and pray for you. God, you’re such an awesome God. Boy you have a process for our life, so many times what we call hurts, and sorrows, and disappointments are nothing more than you trying to develop us. To where you can use us in a great way. God, I pray for everybody here this morning, God. That you would touch their hearts, that they would see that you’re with them, that you’re developing them. You want to use them, for those that don’t know Christ, that they’d come, for those who never been publicly baptized, for those that are hurting, whatever God’s called you, maybe you need to pray with somebody, and have somebody pray. Whatever God’s called you to do, I pray you do it this morning. And it’s in Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.