S1: He's saying, remind them who they're working for, that God's
S1: call and ultimate accountability will be to him. That is
S1: God's call on your life, that God has gifted you,
S1: that he has given you the things that he wants
S1: you to do.
S2: This is treasure. Truth with pastor and author James Ford,
S2: junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago.
S2: I'm Steve Hillard. Glad you're with us. As today we
S2: continue to look at Colossians chapter four in a message
S2: entitled Get Involved. And, pastor, I think it's so important
S2: for us to understand that while God may have placed
S2: us in a job where we're working for a boss,
S2: ultimately that individual is not the one that we are
S2: truly working for.
S1: That's right. Well, you know, Paul said in Ephesians, he said,
S1: on our jobs we're to work as unto the Lord. Yeah. Boy,
S1: that elevates your job performance. Amen. And, uh, remember, uh,
S1: Paul said at the judgment seat of Christ, and we're
S1: all going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
S1: What is that pastor for? That is where we're going
S1: to be evaluated based on the works that God has foreordained,
S1: that we should walk in them. Ephesians 210. And so
S1: God wants us to know he's already set forth in
S1: eternity past the works that we're supposed to do, uh,
S1: here in the present, uh, or in time. And, uh,
S1: he's going to say, okay, this is what I have
S1: given you to do. Uh, here's what you did. Uh,
S1: here's what you didn't do, but here's the evaluation of
S1: what you did. And Paul said, this way he will
S1: evaluate it based on what sort it is, whether it's gold, silver,
S1: precious metal, wood, hay, stubble. And here's what I like, Steve.
S1: He didn't say he's going to evaluate it based on
S1: what size it is. Okay, he said, what sort it is.
S1: So for all the pastors that are listening, listen, it
S1: is not the size of your church. It's the sort
S1: of your church. Because I remember when I tripped and
S1: I had growth in my ankle, but it wasn't good
S1: growth because it was swollen. Now that I don't have
S1: anything against large churches. We're a mid-sized church, but I
S1: don't have anything because some of them have grown well.
S1: Praise the Lord for my friend Pastor Meeks and the
S1: Salem Baptist Church, a mega church. He preaches the Word
S1: of God. He gives the gospel of Jesus Christ. They
S1: have accountability, church discipline, evangelism, discipleship. And so they're a
S1: mega church. Uh, but there's a lot that, you know,
S1: they're going to be surprised that the Lord is just
S1: going to say it's a great size, but not a
S1: great sort. And so we evaluate our work. Steve had
S1: said all that to say this, we evaluate our works.
S1: What is going to be the main criteria at the
S1: judgment seat of Christ? Not just what you did. Manner
S1: of your work. Sure. Why you did it. The motivation
S1: I have it happen to me all the time. Somebody
S1: standing in front of Walgreens, I give them a dollar.
S1: Did I do that to glorify Christ or did I
S1: give it to them so I don't have to be bothered? Well,
S1: you know, it all depends on what kind of mood
S1: I'm in. Sure. You know, but at the judgment seat
S1: of Christ, I'll find out for sure.
S2: Yeah, that's very true. And we all will.
S1: Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I was going to say that.
S1: And so will you, Steve. But yeah, you know, I
S1: just wanted to leave you out of it. You know,
S1: everybody ought to take out their own garbage.
S2: Yeah, that's very true. And yeah, I'll be there too,
S2: along with, well, the rest of us. But right now,
S2: I hope you'll join us in Colossians chapter four as
S2: we continue a message entitled Get Involved, here's Pastor Ford.
S1: And so here, notice it's a responsibility. It's the responsibility
S1: of the body to encourage the body. It is not
S1: my job alone. So I tell you all the time,
S1: if you see somebody missing, call the office. You know,
S1: I haven't seen brother or sister so and so in
S1: a long time. So that somebody can get in touch
S1: with them and find out if they need some help.
S1: Hebrews 1024 he says, provoke one another. The word is peroxisome,
S1: from which we get, you know what a paroxysm, a
S1: paroxysm is, right? When somebody has a paroxysm, it's like
S1: an epileptic seizure. It just comes on Sunday. And here
S1: he's saying it's like a sudden outburst. You know what
S1: a mother Eagle does when she wants her eaglets to
S1: fly before she does that. Before she does that. Because she. what?
S1: She pulls out all of the feathers and everything that
S1: made it comfortable, because she makes it out of thorns.
S1: And then if they don't get out, she turns the
S1: nest over. But usually all she got to do is
S1: take out the animal skin and and all the things
S1: that made it comfortable and soft. And when them baby
S1: eaglets sit down and get stuck, they they try to
S1: fly away. I got to get away from here. I
S1: thought mama loved me. But it's time to fly. Come on.
S1: Come on people. It's time to fly. And here's what
S1: I hear all the time. Well, I don't think I
S1: know enough. Who said you had to know enough? Who
S1: said that? The woman in John chapter four. And so
S1: what happened? I'll tell you what happened. She got saved
S1: and then went to Moody Bible Institute and took her
S1: the course in evangelism, then went back to the city
S1: and said, uh, the Roman road said, is that what
S1: she did? No, she got saved. And she went into
S1: the village and said, come see a man who told
S1: me everything I ever did. That's what he did, huh? Yeah.
S1: So you don't need a whole lot. Here it is. Secondly. Secondly,
S1: says confront them to instigate them. Notice. Secondly, challenge them
S1: to involvement. It says it say to our churches, take
S1: heed to the ministry. The word is Aleppo. It literally
S1: means to look to something. In other words, here's what
S1: he's telling. Here's what he's telling us. Archippus. He was
S1: the pastor of this church. Something caused him to look
S1: away from the ministry. And Paul says, tell him to
S1: look back. Look at what God had committed to his care.
S1: We'll see that in a minute. So something had turned
S1: him away. Some decision. Maybe somebody damaged him. Maybe some
S1: board meeting got out of hand. Maybe he felt like
S1: he was unappreciated. Maybe he was doing too much. Maybe
S1: he was trying to make up for some of the 50%
S1: that was doing nothing. And so. Sometimes we have to realize,
S1: like Habakkuk had three chapters one, two, three. And so
S1: you look at the book of Habakkuk and what you'll
S1: find is chapter one. He's looking at the storm. Chapter
S1: two he's looking through the storm. Chapter three. He's looking
S1: above the storm. Now you have to ask yourself, what
S1: are you doing right now? No, no, I'm not talking
S1: about your neighbor. I'm talking about you in terms of
S1: your ministry involvement in this assembly. Are you looking at
S1: the problems you're looking through, or are you looking beyond
S1: because I submit to you? Unless you're looking beyond, you'll
S1: never make it. Because the only way to make it
S1: is to look beyond, to see what God has called
S1: us to do, that we haven't finished, and to say,
S1: I'm going through all of this, and I will be
S1: like Habakkuk. I will stand upon my watch and wait
S1: to hear what he will say to me when I
S1: am reproved. See, a lot of Christians are like wheelbarrows.
S1: No good unless you push them. A lot of Christians
S1: are like canoes. No good unless they're paddled. A lot
S1: of Christians are like kites. If you don't keep them
S1: on a string, they'll fly away. Some. Some Christians are
S1: like a football. Never know where they're going to land next.
S1: Some are like balloons full of hot air and ready
S1: to blow up. Some are like trailers have to be pulled.
S1: Some are like neon lights that go on, off, on, off.
S1: In other words, Esther 414. Remember what she said? Mordecai said,
S1: look girl, God gave you that beauty for such a
S1: time as this. I mean, you, you know, if you
S1: don't do what God called you to do, he's going
S1: to get somebody else. How do you know that you
S1: weren't raised up for such a time as this? And
S1: remember now what what what kind of time is it?
S1: What kind of time is it? Anybody remember? I know
S1: you remember because I'm going to talk. Oh, okay. Okay.
S1: It is what? It's ate at time. What is at time?
S1: At time is purpose. Time. Purpose time. That's good, That's good.
S1: What are the other three? Not you two. Uh, what
S1: are the other three times? No, I was trying to
S1: prove a point. You know, I'm always trying to prove
S1: a point. No, no, no, no, you be quiet. I
S1: know you know it. Come on. I want to hear
S1: from them. What is it? Kairos. That's right. Kairos time.
S1: What kind of time is that? That's perfect time. That's
S1: God's time. He works in the Kairos. What's the other one? Chronos. Alright.
S1: Chronos time. And what is that? That's people time. That's right.
S1: Come on. What's the other kind of time? Eschatos time.
S1: Eschatos time. What is that? Prophetic time? Prophetic time? Those
S1: are the four kinds of time. And I tell you
S1: all the time, there is no hammer time. And so
S1: he says, for such an act as this, that this
S1: is the time Christ's Bible Church, we are on the
S1: precipice of what God wants to do in us. See,
S1: the people, uh, you know, and I'm only doing this, uh,
S1: because he's one of the newest and that's that's that's, uh,
S1: Elder Anthony. Okay. Look at what God is doing with
S1: our singles ministry. We had none, and now they've been
S1: out evangelizing. And a couple weeks ago, they led two
S1: people to Christ. They've been involved in helping other ministries.
S1: I mean, remember what I told you? New people are
S1: not an intrusion. They're an infusion. We are doing things
S1: because God led that man here that we've never done before,
S1: and it's moving us forward. Amen. Amen. And that's what
S1: you bring to the table. You bring your giftedness. You
S1: bring the things that God has put in your heart
S1: and spirit. And you're in a church where you can
S1: do it, where you don't have a pastor that's holding
S1: you back, that gotta control everything. Amen. You have freedom
S1: and liberty to fulfill together the plan of God and
S1: the vision that he's given to us. And the tragedy
S1: is some of you are still sitting on some of
S1: the most powerful stuff that hasn't even been released yet.
S1: And when we get to heaven, you ain't going to
S1: be able to blame me. That's right. Because God knows
S1: about this sermon. God know how often I've been in
S1: 35 years of ministry. I've only started one thing in
S1: this church. You know what that is? Sites. Every other
S1: ministry was started by somebody who said, God is leading
S1: me to do this every ministry. And so if you're
S1: sitting on your giftedness, the ministry, guess what? The word
S1: is diaconate. It is. It is the word from which
S1: we get deacon. And it literally means double worker. Double worker.
S1: So every deacon deacon knows this ought to be chosen
S1: because they're double workers. Yeah.
S2: That's kind of a challenging thought, isn't it? You're listening
S2: to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford and a message entitled
S2: Get Involved, and we're going to get back to this
S2: teaching in just a moment. You know, the best way
S2: that you might be able to listen is just on
S2: the radio. I know many of us have found the
S2: program that way, but we want to make it easy
S2: for you to listen wherever you happen to be. And
S2: so there are a few different ways you can do that.
S2: First of all, if you have a laptop or mobile device,
S2: you can come to the website and listen. That way
S2: you can also begin to podcast this program or you
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S2: can still hear treasure truth. Now the app is available
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S2: to our website treasure. Org. Click on the app button
S2: at the bottom of the homepage for more information. Right now,
S2: let's get back to the message. Here is Pastor Ford.
S1: Jeremiah was telling the story of a woman whose daughter
S1: was ill and the prescription was needed, and they called
S1: the doctor that night, and the doctor called it in
S1: to the pharmacy. And she went and was in such
S1: a hurry to get the medicine that she left her
S1: keys in the car and locked her keys in the car.
S1: So she came out. Oh no, oh no. She got
S1: a hanger trying to do it. And she said, Lord,
S1: please help me. She had just finished the prayer. When
S1: around the corner came a big burly guy with a beard,
S1: you know, looked like a like a, like a motorcycle
S1: gang dude. And he said something wrong. She said, oh, well,
S1: I locked my keys in the car. He said, oh,
S1: you know, opened her car. She said, wow. Do you
S1: know I pray for you? And I almost rejected God's
S1: answer to my prayer because I the way you looked,
S1: I say, how'd you do that so fast? He said, well,
S1: you know, I just got out of prison yesterday. Uh, and, uh,
S1: you know, I was in prison, uh, for stealing cars.
S1: She said, I need to thank God, she said. He
S1: grabbed she grabbed his hand and said, Lord, I thank
S1: you for answering prayer. And you even sent me a professional. Amen. Hey,
S1: that's it, man. That's it. You are God's professional. I
S1: can't do what God gifted you to do. I'm gifted
S1: to do what I'm doing. I need to stay in
S1: my lane. I need to listen. Listen. I don't know
S1: whether you know it, but there are people here who
S1: know when I haven't had time to study like I
S1: usually study. They told Paderewski. You don't. He's the great
S1: piano player. You don't need to practice. Dude, he said
S1: if I miss a Miss of practice. Then I know it.
S1: If I miss more than one, everybody else going to
S1: know it too. And that's what it is. And so
S1: you are God's professional. See, the doors are locked in
S1: ministry and we're jamming them and we're pulling. But God
S1: sent you because you know how to use the coat
S1: hanger of your spiritual gifts to unlock the door of
S1: opportunity for the gospel of Jesus Christ. He says, listen,
S1: here's what I want you to do. Confront them. To
S1: instigate them. Challenge them to evolve. Here's the third one.
S1: Change their insight. Notice this, he says, which thou hast
S1: received in the Lord. What do you mean, change their insight? See?
S1: Because sometimes, pastor, why? Why don't you tell people I
S1: want you to do this? I want you to do that.
S1: Why do you say, hey, this is a possibility? Would
S1: you pray about it? Because I don't want them to
S1: think that they're doing it for me. Amen. Amen. They
S1: are not doing it for me. If you're doing it
S1: for me, you need to stop because it ain't going
S1: to help you. It ain't going to help me. And
S1: it definitely not going to help the church. He says,
S1: let them know this this thing came from the Lord. Uh,
S1: he's saying, remind them who they're working for. That God's
S1: call and ultimate accountability will be to him. That is
S1: God's call on your life that God has gifted you,
S1: that he has given you the things that he wants
S1: you to do. Ephesians 210. We are his workmanship, created
S1: in Christ Jesus unto good works. Who can finish it?
S1: Which God hath foreordained that we should walk in them?
S1: That God hath foreordained, that we should walk in them. Mm.
S1: And so here it is God's call on your life.
S1: So ministry is not something we do for God. It's
S1: something God does in and through us. Hebrews 1320 and 21.
S1: It says, God shall establish you. The word is. Did
S1: anybody remember when we spent four sermons studying one word?
S1: Anybody remember that? From which we get the word artist
S1: in the middle. Cardiology comes from that word. And what
S1: does it mean, remember? Matter of fact, in this Bible study,
S1: because we said, Carter. To do what? To mend a
S1: broken bone. Reset the bone. My star pupil sitting up
S1: in the front. Then it meant what? To reset a
S1: broken bone. What does that mean? It means that sometimes
S1: in ministry, I mess up, I break a bone, and
S1: God says it's going to be painful. But now it'll
S1: grow back. You'll heal and I'll use you again. And
S1: then I go mess up again. Sister Mendoza, you got
S1: to snap it back in. It's painful. It hurts, but
S1: it heals. But then it also meant to mend a
S1: broken net. You say? What do you mean? That this
S1: is a fishing? Like. Like if you're going fishing, fishermen
S1: go for a specific fish. They know what the fish want.
S1: They put it on the line. When you net fish,
S1: you don't know what you're going to get. Come on,
S1: sister Denise. Am I right about it? You don't know
S1: who and what you're going to get, you know? And
S1: so what happens? Your net breaks and he says, listen,
S1: when it comes to you, me, our cod, our Tiso,
S1: I'll reset the broken bone when it comes to ministry.
S1: I'll mend the net again. I'll mend the net again.
S1: Then Carter Tiso meant equipping a soldier to go out
S1: to battle. And so he says, look, you put on
S1: the whole armor of God and there's none for your back. Why?
S1: Because God don't want any coward soldiers. But don't worry,
S1: your back is covered because goodness and mercy.
S3: Shall follow me all the days of my life.
S1: And then the fourth was to outfit a ship for
S1: a journey, giving the ship everything that was necessary to
S1: make the journey. That's his promise. Thank you God. Wow.
S1: Billy Graham was asked one time would he do anything else?
S1: And he said. He said, I'm a servant of Jesus Christ,
S1: and I would not stoop to be a king or
S1: the president of the United States. He said, that's a
S1: step down. It's a step down. And I tell everybody,
S1: you know, I hey, I was just with the Minnesota
S1: Vikings and, uh, you know, they asked, you want some autographs?
S1: You want mine. I don't collect autographs. What I do
S1: is way more important than what they do on that field.
S1: They ought to be asking for my autograph.
S3: Amen.
S1: Amen. Because what I do has eternal consequences. I ain't lying.
S1: And my kids just convinced me. Dad, you're going to
S1: all these teams. You ain't taking no pictures, man. We
S1: going to put them on Facebook. I said okay, okay, okay,
S1: I'll start taking them. I'll start taking them. But yeah, yeah, yeah.
S1: You know it's like I ain't impressed. Mhm. Here's the
S1: last one. Completion should be the intent. Uh you say
S1: what are you talking about. He says that he fulfill it.
S1: The word is plural. Say plural. It literally means to
S1: fill it up till it can't be filled anymore. In
S1: other words, man, we need to get to the place
S1: where we are, like the Apostle Paul. What did he say?
S1: I have fought a good fight. I have kept the faith.
S1: I have finished the race, and therefore there is laid
S1: up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord
S1: has preserved for those who love him, and those who
S1: love his appearing.
S2: At his Pastor Ford here on Treasure Truth. As we're
S2: wrapping up this message called Get Involved. It comes from
S2: Colossians chapter four, and you can listen to any broadcast
S2: in the short series you may have missed. Just come
S2: to our website. It is Treasure Truth Radio org. You
S2: can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. Again,
S2: that's at Treasure Truth radio.org. You know, if you're a
S2: regular listener of this program, you may know that we
S2: do depend on your generosity to keep the broadcast on
S2: the air. Being listener supported, that's exactly what it sounds like.
S2: It's your giving, your support that allows us to produce
S2: the program, to cover the cost of airtime and all
S2: the things that happen behind the scenes to be able
S2: to bring you Pastor Ford's teaching each and every day.
S2: So if you're benefiting from listening, I want to encourage
S2: you to give a gift to support today. You can
S2: do that by coming to our website, Treasure Truth radio.org.
S2: Click on the donate button. There you can give a
S2: one time gift or an ongoing monthly gift. Again, come
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S2: One other place that I'd encourage you to click on
S2: is the contact link, because we would love to hear
S2: from you. Where do you listen to this broadcast? Why
S2: do you listen? And what difference has it made in
S2: your walk with Christ? You know, a really so encouraged
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S2: using it to draw listeners like you to himself and
S2: strengthening you in your walk with Christ. So come to
S2: treasure Truth radio.org and click on the contact link. Well,
S2: thanks for doing that. Thanks also for listening today. Big
S2: thanks to our producer, Amy Rios. And on behalf of
S2: her and Pastor Ford, I'm Steve Hiller. Treasure truth is
S2: a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.