WEBVTT - Seeing Purpose in Your Problems and Pain, Part 5 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:03.680 I'm sending it. I want you to see it the 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:06.760 way I see it. Because I'm shaping you to make 0:00:06.760 --> 0:00:12.360 you into something that you currently are not right now. Why? 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.000 Because I can't give you what I want to give 0:00:15.000 --> 0:00:17.000 you the way you are right now. 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:28.520 Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford Jr. 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:31.440 Senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. I'm 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:33.640 Steve Hillard. Glad you're with us today. As we continue 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:36.880 our look at James chapter one and a message called 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:40.720 Seeing Purpose in Your Problems and Pain. You know, this 0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:44.080 idea of God using the painful situations in our lives 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:46.840 to get us ready for something else was something that 0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:49.919 I kind of struggled to understand at a certain time 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:52.320 in my life. And then I heard a pastor at 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:54.800 one time say, hey, if you're a parent, you might 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:57.280 want to look at it this way is your kid 0:00:57.280 --> 0:01:01.040 when they're little, ready for everything you want to give them. 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:04.720 And the answer is obviously no. I mean, you can't 0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:06.960 toss your keys to a four year old. You're just 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:09.320 asking for major trouble if you do something like that. 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:14.200 They go through a process of growing, of maturing. Comprehension 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:17.800 gets more. They begin to take on more responsibility. If 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:21.199 all goes well, and then eventually you're able to give 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:23.800 them what you truly want to give them long to 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:28.040 give them. But you couldn't in their immaturity. And you know, 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:30.920 the same holds true for God and for us. There 0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:33.280 may be things that God wants to give us, but 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:35.640 he's like, I need you to mature a little bit first. 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:37.600 And so I'm going to walk with you through this 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:40.720 difficult season so that I can give you what I 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:43.120 want to give you. Well, that's what we're looking at 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:45.679 in today's broadcast. So if you can join us in 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:48.120 James chapter one, here's Pastor Ford. 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:50.760 You know, I'm going to tell you about a small 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:55.360 time preacher who's struggling with a small church in Dallas, Texas. 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:58.680 Tony Evans, let me tell you what he said. He 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:01.480 said when he was in seminary, Arie, uh, what he 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:03.760 had to do was, uh, work and go to school. 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:06.640 And so he got a job at Trailways. And when 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:08.239 he went there, there were about 4 or 5 other 0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:10.480 guys that worked on the evening shift. He had to 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:12.359 work evening because he went to school in the daytime. 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:15.079 He said that when he went in, they informed him, look, 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:18.239 this is how we roll, uh, on this night shift. Uh, 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:20.920 you could be late. Somebody will punch you in on time. 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:23.600 You can leave early. We'll punch you out. Uh, everybody 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:26.320 doesn't work all night. A couple of us will work, uh, 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:28.680 for a couple of hours. And while the others sleep. 0:02:28.880 --> 0:02:31.040 And then, uh, they wake up, and then we go 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:32.800 sleep and, you know, and that's the way we roll 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:34.639 around here. So we want you to know, uh, that's 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:36.799 what you gotta do. And so he began to to 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:39.120 ponder and say, okay, now I want to be accepted 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:41.799 by these guys, and I want to be socially alienated 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:46.320 and ostracized. Uh, but I got to honor God. And so, 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:48.600 you know what, God? I know it's going to cost me, 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:50.880 but I'm going to honor you. Okay? And so what's 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:53.880 his motivation? Honor. God. So guess what happened? They did 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:56.600 ostracize him. He said that whenever it was time to 0:02:56.600 --> 0:03:00.200 unload and and load some of his buses, uh, nobody 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.190 was around. They had to go to the bathroom, they 0:03:02.190 --> 0:03:04.470 had to do something, and they kept doing what they 0:03:04.510 --> 0:03:07.270 were doing. And he never participated in it. He said, 0:03:07.270 --> 0:03:10.790 three months later, uh, the boss came to him and said, 0:03:10.990 --> 0:03:13.950 come to the office. And he's thinking to himself, why 0:03:13.990 --> 0:03:15.670 are you bringing me to the office? I'm the only 0:03:15.669 --> 0:03:18.030 one around here that work. I ain't done nothing wrong. 0:03:18.070 --> 0:03:19.550 He called him in the office and said, for the 0:03:19.550 --> 0:03:23.070 last month, we've had one of our management team scoping 0:03:23.070 --> 0:03:27.710 out the evening shift. And we know that there's punching 0:03:27.710 --> 0:03:30.269 in and out of people who aren't even here, that 0:03:30.310 --> 0:03:34.230 half will sleep while half work. And, uh, you did 0:03:34.230 --> 0:03:39.510 not participate. We fired them. We're bringing on a whole 0:03:39.510 --> 0:03:42.430 new staff. We want to make you the manager of 0:03:42.430 --> 0:03:48.990 the night shift. Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. It's like it's like 0:03:48.990 --> 0:03:52.950 when you look at it, the problem was the platform 0:03:53.070 --> 0:03:59.230 for his promotion to his new position and his higher pay. Amen. 0:03:59.510 --> 0:04:04.870 See the problem is with your perspective. Is your theology 0:04:04.870 --> 0:04:08.590 greater than your theology? Say, what do you mean by that? 0:04:08.590 --> 0:04:11.310 You know exactly what I mean. Are you more concerned 0:04:11.310 --> 0:04:16.270 about your pain than God's purpose? Because if you are you, 0:04:16.310 --> 0:04:19.110 you will not see. See, here's what you need. You 0:04:19.110 --> 0:04:22.909 need a new perspective. Little boy was wanting to see 0:04:22.990 --> 0:04:25.390 the Bud Billiken Parade, so he was standing on the 0:04:25.390 --> 0:04:28.349 street and he was looking and it would look nice 0:04:28.350 --> 0:04:30.510 and everything. But all he could see was in front 0:04:30.510 --> 0:04:33.190 of me. He's short and all these people couldn't see anything, 0:04:33.230 --> 0:04:37.270 couldn't see good. And he said, parades. I don't like parades. 0:04:37.270 --> 0:04:39.710 And an old man was standing next to him who 0:04:39.710 --> 0:04:43.070 lived in the apartment behind him in the penthouse floor. 0:04:43.470 --> 0:04:45.710 And so the old man said to the little boy, 0:04:45.710 --> 0:04:47.870 come on, little boy. Now wait a minute. All you 0:04:47.910 --> 0:04:51.510 social workers, all you children, workers. Uh, listen, don't. 0:04:51.710 --> 0:04:55.029 No, no, boy, don't go with a stranger. Oh, no. 0:04:55.190 --> 0:04:56.430 Stranger danger. 0:04:56.589 --> 0:05:01.029 This is just an illustration, okay? That's that's all it is. Okay. 0:05:01.070 --> 0:05:06.950 So don't get excited. You know, don't call DCFS. Alright. So, 0:05:07.270 --> 0:05:09.350 so so he says, come on up. So he goes 0:05:09.350 --> 0:05:12.070 up to this man's penthouse. He looks down. He sees 0:05:12.070 --> 0:05:14.350 the beginning of the parade. He sees the ending of 0:05:14.350 --> 0:05:17.710 the parade. He sees everything in between. And that's what 0:05:17.750 --> 0:05:20.150 God told me to come tell you today that you're 0:05:20.150 --> 0:05:22.789 down from the ground looking at it, and it looks 0:05:22.790 --> 0:05:25.310 bleak and it looks bad, and it looks like ain't 0:05:25.350 --> 0:05:27.510 nothing ever going to come of this, but you just 0:05:27.510 --> 0:05:30.310 seeing a little part of it. You're being obscured by 0:05:30.310 --> 0:05:33.270 all the things that are around you. But you got 0:05:33.310 --> 0:05:35.870 an ancient of days who say, come up to heaven 0:05:35.870 --> 0:05:38.909 and look down on it rather than looking at it. 0:05:38.910 --> 0:05:41.070 And when you look down on it, you see it 0:05:41.070 --> 0:05:43.750 from a different light. You see the beginning of it 0:05:43.750 --> 0:05:46.670 and you see it ends, and you see the process 0:05:46.670 --> 0:05:50.029 that takes place in the middle that God is letting 0:05:50.029 --> 0:05:52.670 you know. I got this. When you look from the 0:05:52.670 --> 0:05:56.070 divine perspective, you know there's a beginning. You know there's 0:05:56.110 --> 0:05:59.230 an end. You know that I'm working and it looks 0:05:59.230 --> 0:06:04.070 beautiful when you see the whole thing from my perspective. 0:06:08.510 --> 0:06:11.910 My wife will tell you I'm like everybody else. I'll complain, 0:06:11.910 --> 0:06:14.950 and then I'll put a caveat and I'll say, ooh, girl, 0:06:14.950 --> 0:06:19.190 you know what? What? I'm excited. Why are you excited? 0:06:19.710 --> 0:06:24.190 Because I'm under great persecution. Why are you excited about that? 0:06:24.390 --> 0:06:29.190 Because there's got to be great provision. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 0:06:29.230 --> 0:06:32.429 There has to be. Yeah. And so when we look 0:06:32.430 --> 0:06:37.110 at this, he's saying. View your trials from God's perspective. Man, 0:06:37.110 --> 0:06:39.109 I tell you what it's like. It's like I'm a 0:06:39.110 --> 0:06:41.150 teacher and I know it. I'm looking at this thing 0:06:41.150 --> 0:06:43.630 this morning. I said, I see another outline for the 0:06:43.630 --> 0:06:46.030 book of James. I've got, I bet, you know, less 0:06:46.029 --> 0:06:49.630 than 25 outlines. Here's the outline I saw. Uh, Elder Strider. 0:06:49.670 --> 0:06:52.229 I was looking at it again. I said, wow, looking 0:06:52.230 --> 0:06:54.670 at it from God's perspective, here's what I saw. Verse 0:06:54.670 --> 0:07:00.030 one is God sent. Verse two Is God seen? In 0:07:00.150 --> 0:07:06.390 verse three Is God shaping? Verse four, It's God supplying. 0:07:06.430 --> 0:07:07.990 In other words, look at how you get this thing 0:07:07.990 --> 0:07:10.790 set up, he says. Verse one I sent it. Uh. 0:07:10.830 --> 0:07:14.150 Verse two. You gotta see it from my perspective, because 0:07:14.150 --> 0:07:16.830 if you don't see it the way I see it, 0:07:16.830 --> 0:07:18.910 then you won't respond to it the way I want 0:07:18.910 --> 0:07:21.590 you to respond to it. Then I can't shape you 0:07:21.590 --> 0:07:23.630 the way I want to shape you. And I can't 0:07:23.630 --> 0:07:26.390 supply for you what I want to supply for you. 0:07:26.390 --> 0:07:30.830 Because your shape determines your supply and your seeing determines 0:07:30.830 --> 0:07:33.310 if you know it was sent. And so they all 0:07:33.590 --> 0:07:38.670 fall in line together. I'm sending it. I want you 0:07:38.670 --> 0:07:40.990 to see it the way I see it, because I'm 0:07:40.990 --> 0:07:44.870 shaping you to make you into something that you currently 0:07:44.870 --> 0:07:49.710 are not right now. Why? Because I can't give you 0:07:49.750 --> 0:07:51.989 what I want to give you the way you are 0:07:52.030 --> 0:07:55.310 right now. Yeah. Some of you ladies ain't going to 0:07:55.310 --> 0:07:58.870 never get a husband because you won't get a divorce. 0:07:58.990 --> 0:08:03.110 Who got quiet? It's like you, you you blessing us, 0:08:03.110 --> 0:08:08.550 then you just stole our blessing. Yeah. You're not going 0:08:08.550 --> 0:08:11.670 to get a husband. You can't live with yourself. How 0:08:11.670 --> 0:08:15.310 are you going to live with somebody else? Brother, he 0:08:15.310 --> 0:08:19.630 ain't going to send you that fine woman you waiting on. 0:08:20.190 --> 0:08:28.670 He said get a job. Yeah. And so here, as 0:08:28.670 --> 0:08:31.110 you begin to look at this thing, man, it is 0:08:31.110 --> 0:08:32.750 it is noticed, uh, there's a A and a B 0:08:32.750 --> 0:08:36.990 under here. Notice the attitude that demonstrates the right perspective. 0:08:37.030 --> 0:08:41.110 He says count it all joy. What does that mean? 0:08:41.110 --> 0:08:43.550 What does that mean? Count it all joy. Well, you know, 0:08:43.550 --> 0:08:45.990 when we talked about this plenty of times, uh, that 0:08:45.990 --> 0:08:49.070 whenever you look at, uh, the baptizing work of the 0:08:49.070 --> 0:08:53.069 Holy Spirit, I belong to Christ's body. But the filling 0:08:53.070 --> 0:08:55.990 of the spirit where joy is produced, my body belongs 0:08:55.990 --> 0:08:59.030 to him. So I belong to Christ's body. First John 0:08:59.620 --> 0:09:02.340 13 for by one spirit are we all baptized into 0:09:02.340 --> 0:09:05.140 one body, having all been made to drink of one spirit. 0:09:05.140 --> 0:09:07.260 But then once I get filled with the spirit. Galatians 0:09:07.260 --> 0:09:10.819 522 and 23. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy. 0:09:10.940 --> 0:09:14.220 So joy is independent of circumstances. It is not based 0:09:14.220 --> 0:09:18.380 on what happens. And so David said, the joy of 0:09:18.380 --> 0:09:20.020 the Lord is my strength. But wait a minute. He 0:09:20.020 --> 0:09:21.780 was running for his life. But he said, the joy 0:09:21.780 --> 0:09:23.580 of the Lord is my strength, because if my joy 0:09:23.580 --> 0:09:27.140 doesn't come from the circumstances, it comes from the Savior. 0:09:27.140 --> 0:09:29.540 And so, uh, your sons turn against you. Yeah, but 0:09:29.540 --> 0:09:31.420 the joy of the Lord is my strength. Yeah, but 0:09:31.460 --> 0:09:33.020 your people turn to you. The joy of the Lord 0:09:33.020 --> 0:09:34.740 is my strength. Uh, but they want to kill you. 0:09:34.780 --> 0:09:36.579 Joy of the Lord is my strength. You're in the wilderness. 0:09:36.580 --> 0:09:38.340 Don't have food. The joy of the Lord is my strength. 0:09:38.340 --> 0:09:39.980 But how are you going to eat joy? The Lord 0:09:39.980 --> 0:09:41.860 is my strength. Well, what's going to happen? And when 0:09:41.860 --> 0:09:42.940 are you going to go back? I don't know, but 0:09:42.940 --> 0:09:44.420 the joy of the Lord is my strength. I don't 0:09:44.420 --> 0:09:47.980 know anything, but the joy of the Lord is my strength. 0:09:48.020 --> 0:09:51.700 I trust him so he says, count it all joy. 0:09:51.740 --> 0:09:55.260 That's a mathematical term. Notice first of all, it's a command. 0:09:55.260 --> 0:09:59.100 It's imperative. It's not dusty or old country buffet. He says. 0:09:59.140 --> 0:10:02.980 You better rejoice when you get into diverse temptation. And 0:10:02.980 --> 0:10:05.580 here's how he softens it up. Because notice he started 0:10:05.580 --> 0:10:09.300 with compassion. That is, my brethren, 15 times in James, 0:10:09.300 --> 0:10:11.180 my brother and my brethren. What's he trying to do? 0:10:11.220 --> 0:10:13.420 It's a hard situation, so I'm going to soften it 0:10:13.420 --> 0:10:15.860 up a little bit, but I'm still letting you know 0:10:15.860 --> 0:10:18.540 that even though I'm going to calm down the situation 0:10:18.540 --> 0:10:21.540 and let you know, hey, I'm being compassionate, you need 0:10:21.540 --> 0:10:23.980 to know it's still a command and I like how 0:10:23.980 --> 0:10:26.020 he does it. More of us need to learn that 0:10:26.020 --> 0:10:30.339 he's sensitive to their feelings, but he is astute in 0:10:30.340 --> 0:10:33.020 the scriptures. So what he does is he speaks the 0:10:33.020 --> 0:10:37.100 truth in love. He focused on the product, not on 0:10:37.100 --> 0:10:37.860 the pain. 0:10:39.900 --> 0:10:42.900 You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford. A message 0:10:42.900 --> 0:10:46.140 called Seeing Purpose in Your Problems and Pain. We're going 0:10:46.179 --> 0:10:48.740 to get back to this message in just one moment. 0:10:48.780 --> 0:10:50.780 If you ever want to find out more about Pastor Ford, 0:10:50.780 --> 0:10:53.300 or maybe about Christ Bible Church, where he serves as 0:10:53.300 --> 0:10:56.380 senior pastor, you can always come to our website. It's 0:10:56.380 --> 0:11:00.940 Treasure Truth radio.org. Go ahead and click on the about 0:11:00.980 --> 0:11:03.819 link and you'll find more information there. Again, you can 0:11:03.820 --> 0:11:08.579 start at our website. Treasure truth radio.org. Back to the message. 0:11:08.580 --> 0:11:09.700 Here's Pastor Ford. 0:11:10.500 --> 0:11:13.059 And so that's what Paul did, didn't he? They said, Paul, 0:11:13.260 --> 0:11:15.300 we'll kill you. He said, that's okay. Uh, if you 0:11:15.340 --> 0:11:18.939 kill me, I'll be with Christ, because the die is gain. 0:11:19.220 --> 0:11:21.260 They said, well, we'll let you live. Well, that's cool too, 0:11:21.300 --> 0:11:23.660 because the live is Christ. Well, we'll make you suffer. 0:11:23.700 --> 0:11:25.900 He says, well, okay, let's bring it on. Because, uh, 0:11:25.900 --> 0:11:28.860 I know that this, uh, present suffering is nothing in 0:11:28.860 --> 0:11:32.180 comparison to the glory that's going to be revealed in us. 0:11:32.420 --> 0:11:34.340 So here's what he was saying. He's saying, look, if 0:11:34.340 --> 0:11:36.540 you kill me, I'm going to be with Christ. Yeah. 0:11:36.540 --> 0:11:38.700 And if you let me live, I'm going to live 0:11:38.700 --> 0:11:41.420 for Christ. And if you make me suffer, I'm going 0:11:41.460 --> 0:11:43.300 to get a reward for Christ. So bring it on. 0:11:43.340 --> 0:11:45.660 It's all about Christ. I'm going to be like Christ. 0:11:45.700 --> 0:11:47.819 I'm going to look like Christ. I'm going to be 0:11:47.820 --> 0:11:50.900 with Christ. And so over and over again he tells us, 0:11:50.900 --> 0:11:54.100 now notice something because he says something about these things. 0:11:54.100 --> 0:11:57.700 He says, first of all, he says, uh, this aspects 0:11:57.700 --> 0:12:00.500 of suffering, uh, that show we have the right perspective. 0:12:00.540 --> 0:12:03.380 He says they are certain. Notice, he says, when you 0:12:03.380 --> 0:12:06.700 fall into divers temptation. Not if I don't need to 0:12:06.700 --> 0:12:11.660 say anymore. John 1633 in the world you shall have tribulation. 0:12:11.700 --> 0:12:13.820 Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. He said, 0:12:13.820 --> 0:12:15.579 you're going to you're going to be hated on. You're 0:12:15.580 --> 0:12:17.740 going to be despised and rejected. You're going to be 0:12:17.740 --> 0:12:20.180 kicked to the curb. You ought to just you. You 0:12:20.179 --> 0:12:24.500 better be scared when. When there's nobody hating on you. 0:12:27.020 --> 0:12:33.260 That generally mean you ain't doing nothing for Christ. Mhm. Yeah. 0:12:33.260 --> 0:12:36.220 And so first Corinthians chapter ten, verse 13, there's no 0:12:36.220 --> 0:12:39.459 temptation taken you but that which is common to man. 0:12:39.460 --> 0:12:41.420 But God is faithful who will not allow you to 0:12:41.420 --> 0:12:44.340 be tempted. Notice secondly, not just are they certain but 0:12:44.340 --> 0:12:47.980 they're sudden. He says, when you fall and have you 0:12:47.980 --> 0:12:51.340 ever noticed that your trials, your tests, your temptations don't 0:12:51.340 --> 0:12:54.780 consult your daytimer? They don't ask to be put on 0:12:54.780 --> 0:12:59.020 your schedule. It just comes up and it just overwhelm you. 0:12:59.020 --> 0:13:02.460 And so he says you have no control over your pain. 0:13:02.460 --> 0:13:04.900 You just have control in your pain. Now, let me 0:13:04.900 --> 0:13:08.100 ask you a question. Say ask it. Why is it 0:13:08.100 --> 0:13:11.260 so important to have the right perspective about our problems 0:13:11.260 --> 0:13:14.699 in pain, so that we see it from God's perspective? 0:13:14.700 --> 0:13:16.580 And once we do, what will happen? I'll tell you 0:13:16.580 --> 0:13:20.220 what will happen. And Scripture affirms it. What happened? Pastor, 0:13:20.220 --> 0:13:22.940 for glad you asked. You ask intelligent questions because it'll 0:13:22.940 --> 0:13:27.460 turn my fear into faith. It'll turn my sighing into singing. 0:13:27.460 --> 0:13:30.940 It'll turn my pouting into praising. It'll turn my doubting 0:13:30.940 --> 0:13:34.459 into dancing. It will turn my worrying into worship. It 0:13:34.460 --> 0:13:38.180 will turn my trying into trusting, uh, the you know 0:13:38.220 --> 0:13:40.820 what they meant for evil. God said. I mean it 0:13:40.820 --> 0:13:43.980 for good. Uh, he'll say when I pass through the waters. 0:13:44.100 --> 0:13:46.460 I will not fear because you're with me. In other words, 0:13:46.460 --> 0:13:48.219 he said, you're going to get in some water and 0:13:48.220 --> 0:13:50.780 you're going to get wet. But don't worry, the only 0:13:50.820 --> 0:13:53.339 thing you need to worry about is this I ain't 0:13:53.340 --> 0:13:56.060 going to let you drown. So you may go down once. 0:13:56.059 --> 0:13:57.900 You may go down twice, but you ain't going down 0:13:57.900 --> 0:14:00.420 three times. Because I will be with you. And so 0:14:00.460 --> 0:14:02.660 and so. I'll never forget when we're in another church. 0:14:02.660 --> 0:14:05.300 We had just got a new carpet. Green carpet. And 0:14:05.340 --> 0:14:07.220 you know, and I don't know why we got green, 0:14:07.220 --> 0:14:10.340 I don't know. Uh, somebody said money. No, we didn't 0:14:10.340 --> 0:14:13.900 have none over there. No, we ain't got much over here. 0:14:14.620 --> 0:14:19.460 That's why it's red. Uh, but anyway. So, so so, uh, 0:14:19.460 --> 0:14:21.660 they had a wedding, and I told them. Don't put 0:14:21.660 --> 0:14:25.060 anything on our carpet. They put candles down the aisle 0:14:25.140 --> 0:14:28.060 and let the candles burn, and it seeped into the carpet. 0:14:28.420 --> 0:14:31.620 And Dennis Sanders, who was our, uh, custodian at the time, 0:14:31.660 --> 0:14:33.860 I said, man, I'm upset. I'm calling them people. Hey, 0:14:33.860 --> 0:14:35.100 they going to pay for this? If we got to 0:14:35.100 --> 0:14:36.340 get a new carpet, they're going to pay because I 0:14:36.340 --> 0:14:38.900 told them, don't be. And he said, don't worry about it, pastor. 0:14:38.940 --> 0:14:40.860 I said, what do you mean, don't worry about it? 0:14:40.900 --> 0:14:43.060 He said, I got this. Don't worry. He said it 0:14:43.060 --> 0:14:45.060 won't have any damage. I said, come on, man, look 0:14:45.060 --> 0:14:47.100 how deep that's in the carpet. You start scraping it, 0:14:47.100 --> 0:14:49.140 you're going to scrape the piling. It's going to it's 0:14:49.140 --> 0:14:51.380 going to look bad. He said, pastor, I got this. 0:14:51.420 --> 0:14:53.220 I said, okay, I want to see how you going 0:14:53.220 --> 0:14:55.420 to do this? He went and came back. I said, 0:14:55.420 --> 0:14:57.420 what's that? He said, it's a heat gun. And then 0:14:57.420 --> 0:14:59.180 he had this piece of paper with him or a 0:14:59.180 --> 0:15:01.370 cloth or whatever it was. And so he put the 0:15:01.370 --> 0:15:03.850 heat to it. And then he said, Now I'm going 0:15:03.850 --> 0:15:06.330 to blot it. And he put the whatever it was 0:15:06.330 --> 0:15:09.930 down there. And the wax soaked up in the blotter 0:15:09.970 --> 0:15:13.609 paper or cloth, whatever it was. And you couldn't tell. 0:15:14.370 --> 0:15:17.570 I said, wow, I gotta write that down. He said, 0:15:17.570 --> 0:15:19.210 I knew you was going to use it as a 0:15:19.210 --> 0:15:23.170 sermon illustration. Yes, I am, because that's what God wants 0:15:23.170 --> 0:15:25.970 to do with us. Uh, that there's something in my 0:15:25.970 --> 0:15:30.210 character that just ain't right. And God says, oh, man, 0:15:30.210 --> 0:15:32.650 he's stubborn and hard. It's in the warp and the 0:15:32.650 --> 0:15:35.610 fiber of his soul. And so I need some heat. 0:15:35.610 --> 0:15:37.970 And he puts the heat of the conviction of the 0:15:37.970 --> 0:15:40.770 Holy Ghost on me. And then he blots it out 0:15:40.770 --> 0:15:43.330 with the Scripture, because I'm clean through the word that 0:15:43.330 --> 0:15:45.450 he's spoken unto me, and it blots out. And I 0:15:45.450 --> 0:15:48.370 look and I say, wow, I'm new in that area too. 0:15:48.530 --> 0:15:50.690 And so what you need to be crying out. Say, 0:15:50.690 --> 0:15:55.450 what do we need to be crying out for? Boom 0:15:55.450 --> 0:15:58.850 boom boom. Mhm mhm mhm. Five. 0:15:59.010 --> 0:16:00.170 I yell. 0:16:01.370 --> 0:16:01.810 Boom. 0:16:01.810 --> 0:16:02.450 Boom boom! 0:16:03.250 --> 0:16:12.050 Oh, when it's hot. And God makes it hot. Because 0:16:12.050 --> 0:16:15.450 we've got a toxic personality. Give me some heat. We've 0:16:15.450 --> 0:16:20.650 got a fornication. Adultery. Give me some heat. Gossiping. Backbiting. Jealousy. Lying. 0:16:20.690 --> 0:16:23.810 Give me some heat. Turn up the heat. Give me some. 0:16:23.850 --> 0:16:24.770 Fire. 0:16:27.450 --> 0:16:29.970 In other words, it's Romans 828. All. All things work 0:16:29.970 --> 0:16:32.370 together for good to those who love the Lord. And 0:16:32.370 --> 0:16:34.609 so we have to have a right perspective. Regal prerogative. 0:16:34.650 --> 0:16:37.290 Let me finish this real quick. We have to. The 0:16:37.290 --> 0:16:40.930 third way. A mature believer sees purpose in their problem plan. Is, 0:16:41.690 --> 0:16:44.570 are y'all tired of the word? Okay, okay. Can I 0:16:44.610 --> 0:16:48.970 can I do one more? Thank you very much. Amen. Amen. 0:16:49.570 --> 0:16:55.170 You have to understand the refining process that takes place. 0:16:56.730 --> 0:16:58.850 He says in verse three, listen to this. Knowing this, 0:16:58.850 --> 0:17:03.050 that the trying of your faith works. Patience. Wow. That's powerful. 0:17:03.570 --> 0:17:05.250 Let's let's now look, some of you won't come to 0:17:05.250 --> 0:17:07.609 Bible study, so I gotta bring Bible study to you. Okay. 0:17:07.650 --> 0:17:09.970 There are five kinds of suffering in the Bible that 0:17:09.970 --> 0:17:11.890 I find. Let me. Let me give you the five. 0:17:12.010 --> 0:17:14.410 If you take notes, you may want these first kind 0:17:14.410 --> 0:17:18.649 of suffering is religious suffering. It's religious suffering. You say what? 0:17:18.650 --> 0:17:22.850 What what is that? It's. It's when you suffer because 0:17:22.850 --> 0:17:26.410 your religion puts a stipulation on you that God does not. 0:17:26.890 --> 0:17:31.209 So every religion is false. Yeah. And and here's what 0:17:31.250 --> 0:17:35.490 first Corinthians 1022 says. They are not worshiping God. They 0:17:35.490 --> 0:17:40.210 are worshiping demons. Did you hear what I said? They're 0:17:40.210 --> 0:17:44.370 worshiping demons. I didn't say that. Don't shoot the mailman. 0:17:44.410 --> 0:17:48.129 It says it in first Corinthians 1022 that all religion 0:17:48.170 --> 0:17:52.210 other than Christianity is the worship of demons. They think 0:17:52.210 --> 0:17:54.530 they're worshiping God, but they're. Okay, let me give you 0:17:54.530 --> 0:17:57.290 an example. In India, people are starving, but it's not 0:17:57.290 --> 0:18:01.369 caused by a food shortage or by overpopulation. It's the 0:18:01.369 --> 0:18:04.850 result of religious belief. Because they are Hindus and Buddhists 0:18:04.850 --> 0:18:07.210 and they believe that that roach that you killed this 0:18:07.210 --> 0:18:10.490 morning was probably your Uncle Willie, who died ten years 0:18:10.490 --> 0:18:14.609 ago and came back as a roach. And so you're 0:18:14.609 --> 0:18:18.730 not allowed to kill rats, mice and cows. And so 0:18:18.930 --> 0:18:21.690 get this now. Why is there a hunger problem? Because 0:18:21.730 --> 0:18:24.810 of its religious suffering. Because you can't kill a cow. 0:18:25.090 --> 0:18:29.210 Every cow is sacred. So then one cow could feed 0:18:29.210 --> 0:18:33.770 seven people. Which means then, since they have 200 million 0:18:33.770 --> 0:18:38.290 sacred cows, they could feed. If they just chopped them 0:18:38.290 --> 0:18:43.610 boys up into Big Macs and Whoppers, they'd be able 0:18:43.609 --> 0:18:51.970 to feed 1,400,000,000 people. But their religion prohibits it. And 0:18:51.970 --> 0:18:55.929 the mice and the rats consume 50% of the stored 0:18:55.930 --> 0:19:00.730 grain in India. See? Religious suffering. Then secondly, and I 0:19:00.770 --> 0:19:05.570 gotta hasten on, there's rapacious suffering. Say rapacious. What is rapacious? 0:19:05.570 --> 0:19:11.050 Rapacious is demonic suffering. Like the man in Mark five. Uh, 0:19:11.090 --> 0:19:13.530 he was touched not by an angel, but touched by 0:19:13.530 --> 0:19:16.850 a demon. And there were how many demons in him? 0:19:16.850 --> 0:19:22.330 How many thousand? 6000 demons. Now, that shouldn't surprise you, 0:19:22.330 --> 0:19:25.650 because some of y'all got more than that. I done 0:19:25.650 --> 0:19:27.690 dealt with some of y'all. And here's what I love 0:19:27.690 --> 0:19:29.210 about it I have to I have to make this 0:19:29.210 --> 0:19:32.730 comment because it says. And they said, Jesus said, what 0:19:32.730 --> 0:19:35.250 is your name? And they said, now get this, they 0:19:35.250 --> 0:19:38.570 is plural because there's 6000 said is singular because only 0:19:38.570 --> 0:19:41.890 one spoke for all. Alright. Well I said the church 0:19:41.890 --> 0:19:46.970 had that kind of unity. What is your name? Everybody 0:19:46.970 --> 0:19:49.970 would be saying her name. My name, my name, my name, 0:19:50.410 --> 0:19:55.889 my God. No, we're Christ's Bible church. Anyway. And so, uh, 0:19:55.890 --> 0:20:00.490 there's rapacious suffering. Then thirdly, there's Is retributive suffering. You say, 0:20:00.490 --> 0:20:04.129 what is that? That suffering for our sin? John 514. 0:20:04.330 --> 0:20:07.770 Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh John 513 0:20:07.810 --> 0:20:10.290 through 17 that is some some of us are suffering 0:20:10.290 --> 0:20:12.209 on our own. It's kind of like I tell you 0:20:12.210 --> 0:20:13.889 all the time, you say, God, why am I in 0:20:13.890 --> 0:20:16.890 this financial trouble? Why you let this happen? And God says, 0:20:17.290 --> 0:20:19.770 my name ain't on. None of them slips on any 0:20:19.770 --> 0:20:25.650 of them credit cards. Yeah. Amen. Then there's redemptive suffering. 0:20:25.650 --> 0:20:29.129 What's redemptive suffering? Write down second Corinthians one three through 0:20:29.170 --> 0:20:33.530 11 if you're doing that, uh, because redemptive suffering is 0:20:33.530 --> 0:20:36.770 when you don't suffer for yourself, that your suffering is 0:20:36.770 --> 0:20:39.410 so God can connect to somebody else. There was one 0:20:39.410 --> 0:20:41.850 year my wife was in the hospital five times for 0:20:41.850 --> 0:20:45.010 two weeks at a time. Three of those two sets 0:20:45.050 --> 0:20:48.369 of weeks, she led a nurse to Christ. So three 0:20:48.369 --> 0:20:51.170 people came to Christ while she was in the hospital. 0:20:51.369 --> 0:20:55.610 And we rejoiced because we said that suffering wasn't for you, 0:20:55.609 --> 0:20:57.770 that suffering. So you can go in there and witness. 0:20:57.770 --> 0:21:01.080 When Pastor Betts was in the hospital. He led people 0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:05.000 to Christ. And so here God allows us sometimes to 0:21:05.040 --> 0:21:07.880 suffer so that other people can be blessed. But here 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:11.720 it is in this text. Uh, it's called remedial suffering. 0:21:11.800 --> 0:21:14.639 Let me give you the definition of a very handsome 0:21:14.640 --> 0:21:17.280 preacher on the south side of Chicago. Uh, Pastor James 0:21:17.320 --> 0:21:23.119 Ford junior. Here's what he said. And I quote. Remedial 0:21:23.119 --> 0:21:30.200 suffering is a special course of study for helping students 0:21:30.960 --> 0:21:36.840 in the University of the Holy Spirit to overcome deficiencies 0:21:37.160 --> 0:21:44.320 in specific character, skills, ability, knowledge, or wisdom. 0:21:46.640 --> 0:21:47.880 This is treasure truth. 0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:51.400 With Pastor James Ford Junior. And today's message is called 0:21:51.600 --> 0:21:54.600 Seeing Purpose in Your Problems and Pain. And for more 0:21:54.600 --> 0:21:58.280 teaching and additional resources, come to our website treasure truth. 0:21:58.280 --> 0:22:02.800 Radio You know, as Christians, we believe that God is 0:22:02.800 --> 0:22:05.880 the source of all reality and his word. The Bible 0:22:05.880 --> 0:22:09.920 is absolute truth. But we live in a relativistic age 0:22:10.119 --> 0:22:14.399 where claims to absolute truth are treated with skepticism and 0:22:14.400 --> 0:22:18.439 sometimes downright hostility. Perhaps you struggled to explain your beliefs 0:22:18.440 --> 0:22:21.880 to non-believers. Or maybe right now you're listening and you're 0:22:21.880 --> 0:22:24.160 wrestling with your own doubts about what the Bible is 0:22:24.200 --> 0:22:27.000 and how you should respond to it. Well, we'd like 0:22:27.000 --> 0:22:29.640 to encourage you with a book by Doctor John MacArthur 0:22:29.640 --> 0:22:33.160 called Why Believe the Bible? In this easy to read book, 0:22:33.160 --> 0:22:37.159 doctor MacArthur presents convincing evidence that we can believe the 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:40.159 Bible and shows that God's Word is true not only 0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:44.760 in abstract religious terms, but also in our experience. So 0:22:44.760 --> 0:22:48.040 discover why the Bible is trustworthy and find out how 0:22:48.040 --> 0:22:51.280 it can change your life when you request this practical book. 0:22:51.720 --> 0:22:54.359 It's yours for a gift of any amount to treasure truth. 0:22:54.680 --> 0:23:00.520 Just call us at 888644 660 or go online to 0:23:00.560 --> 0:23:04.680 Treasure Truth Radio.com. If you prefer to write, you can 0:23:04.680 --> 0:23:09.879 send your check to Treasure Truth. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, 0:23:09.920 --> 0:23:14.640 Illinois 606 ten. Well, maybe you're in a place today 0:23:14.640 --> 0:23:17.040 where you can give more than a one time gift 0:23:17.040 --> 0:23:20.440 and you'd like to become a monthly partner. Automating your 0:23:20.480 --> 0:23:23.120 donation is the best way to support treasure truth on 0:23:23.119 --> 0:23:26.400 this station, and to ensure that this clear and passionate 0:23:26.400 --> 0:23:30.360 Bible teaching continues to become a monthly partner, call us 0:23:30.359 --> 0:23:38.199 at 888644 7660 or go online to Treasure Truth radio.org. Well, 0:23:38.200 --> 0:23:40.879 I'm Steve Hiller, our producer is Amy Rios. Join us 0:23:40.880 --> 0:23:43.880 again next time for more Bible teaching from Pastor Ford 0:23:44.080 --> 0:23:47.959 here on Treasure truth. A production of Moody Radio, a 0:23:47.960 --> 0:23:50.280 ministry of Moody Bible Institute.