WEBVTT - Takers, Part 10 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:04.100 God has given us revelation about the promises that he 0:00:04.100 --> 0:00:07.820 has for us. He's already done everything he's ever going 0:00:07.850 --> 0:00:11.990 to do, and he's given the revelation without the manifestation, 0:00:11.990 --> 0:00:16.070 because there must be the demonstration of application in order 0:00:16.070 --> 0:00:18.200 to receive that manifestation. 0:00:24.710 --> 0:00:28.040 This is treasure truth with pastor and author James Ford Jr, 0:00:28.070 --> 0:00:31.220 senior pastor of Christ Bible Church in Chicago. I'm Steve 0:00:31.220 --> 0:00:33.350 Hiller and glad that you've joined us. As today we 0:00:33.380 --> 0:00:36.020 continue to look at the book of Joshua in a 0:00:36.020 --> 0:00:40.220 message entitled takers. Pastor, we've talked quite a bit about 0:00:40.220 --> 0:00:44.330 the fact that God has revealed in His Word promises 0:00:44.330 --> 0:00:47.600 that are applicable for us today. We need to rightly 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:53.390 discern what those are. And sometimes I think well-meaning Christians 0:00:53.420 --> 0:00:57.140 can struggle with discerning what they are because they hear 0:00:57.170 --> 0:01:01.080 contrary Bible teaching. Sometimes they may hear what we may 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:04.320 refer to as prosperity gospel and think that is a 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:08.820 promise for me today. After all, it's in the Bible. 0:01:08.850 --> 0:01:10.530 How would it not be for me? So how do 0:01:10.530 --> 0:01:13.860 we discern, you know, those promises that are for us 0:01:13.860 --> 0:01:18.720 today versus those promises that they may hear from a 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:20.100 prosperity gospel preacher? 0:01:20.100 --> 0:01:25.679 Well, what is timeless principle that that's what we're looking for? 0:01:25.709 --> 0:01:30.330 Principle is a timeless truth that's applicable to all believers 0:01:30.330 --> 0:01:35.190 across all generations. And so, you know, they are promises 0:01:35.190 --> 0:01:38.010 that we can claim now. Now, when I listen to 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:40.860 the tease, if I were just to hear the tease, 0:01:40.860 --> 0:01:45.690 I would say, huh? Yeah. What's he talking about now? 0:01:45.720 --> 0:01:48.600 Now let me just share. All of my grandchildren know 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:55.530 this pawpaw has a college fund for them. I started 0:01:55.530 --> 0:01:58.800 it when they were babies and when they were old 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:02.830 enough to comprehend, I share it with them. I have 0:02:02.830 --> 0:02:06.940 some money that I'm going to give to you for college. 0:02:06.940 --> 0:02:10.930 I gave them a revelation, but I didn't give them 0:02:10.930 --> 0:02:15.100 the manifestation because they don't get the money until they 0:02:15.130 --> 0:02:18.610 sign up to go to college. So what happens if 0:02:18.610 --> 0:02:24.790 they don't go to college? They don't get the money. Yeah. See, 0:02:24.790 --> 0:02:28.000 they don't get the manifestation of the revelation because there 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:34.329 hasn't been a demonstration and application of what the conditions were. 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:35.380 Are you feeling me? 0:02:35.380 --> 0:02:37.060 I'm feeling you. I think the light bulb just went 0:02:37.060 --> 0:02:37.990 on for a few of us. 0:02:38.020 --> 0:02:40.270 All right, all right. And that's the way it is 0:02:40.270 --> 0:02:43.330 in the word of God. I mean, if it's a 0:02:43.330 --> 0:02:46.540 conditional promise and you have to ask yourself, to whom 0:02:46.540 --> 0:02:49.840 was this written? And so if it was written to Israel, 0:02:49.870 --> 0:02:53.799 some of the promises to Israel only apply to Israel. Mhm. 0:02:54.010 --> 0:02:57.640 But is there a timeless principle that applies to us 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:00.429 as believers? Now I'm just going to be honest, sometimes 0:03:00.460 --> 0:03:04.090 we as evangelicals, we throw out the baby with the bathwater. 0:03:04.300 --> 0:03:07.450 You know, because of the prosperity gospel, we don't want 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:09.580 to believe anything that God has said. We don't want 0:03:09.610 --> 0:03:12.490 to trust him for anything. Now, you know, the Bible 0:03:12.490 --> 0:03:17.410 says in Ephesians one three, we're blessed with all spiritual 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:21.910 blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And so if 0:03:21.910 --> 0:03:24.280 I want to be blessed, I've got to make sure 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:29.590 I'm in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, because everything, remember, 0:03:29.590 --> 0:03:33.369 has to do with the purpose of God. And so 0:03:33.370 --> 0:03:36.430 we don't have to ask God for a lot of things. 0:03:36.460 --> 0:03:39.310 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, 0:03:39.310 --> 0:03:46.030 and all these things shall be added unto you. So 0:03:46.030 --> 0:03:48.670 when my oldest grandson was getting ready to go to college, 0:03:48.670 --> 0:03:51.970 he didn't say, now remember that promise you made me right? No. 0:03:51.970 --> 0:03:55.540 I took the money out and gave him a cashier's check, 0:03:55.750 --> 0:03:59.920 and he said, well, thank you, Papa, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 0:03:59.950 --> 0:04:03.680 Well, that is a truth that many of us, as 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:05.960 we've been talking about in this series, need to work 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:09.140 on applying and strengthening our faith in that way. We 0:04:09.140 --> 0:04:11.450 look at that today from the book of Joshua as 0:04:11.450 --> 0:04:14.630 we continue takers. Here's Pastor Ford. 0:04:14.990 --> 0:04:18.409 Now, Thomas Geisel wanted to write children's books. I've told 0:04:18.410 --> 0:04:20.360 you about him before, but I want to share something 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:22.850 else about him because he wanted to do it in 0:04:22.850 --> 0:04:27.500 his own style. Uh, he felt that his style was 0:04:27.589 --> 0:04:33.710 more creative, uh, more innovative and more captivating than what 0:04:33.710 --> 0:04:39.080 was currently going on in the marketplace at that time. Uh, 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:43.219 the only problem with his first work was that 27 0:04:43.220 --> 0:04:50.240 publishers didn't agree with him. I said 27 publishers didn't 0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:56.090 agree with him. In other words, he was rejected 27 0:04:56.089 --> 0:05:02.460 times by 27 different Publishing companies. You said that already. 0:05:02.490 --> 0:05:04.349 Pastor Ford, how many times are you going to say it? 0:05:04.350 --> 0:05:07.140 I just want you to. How many would it take 0:05:07.140 --> 0:05:10.770 for you to give up? How many times do you 0:05:10.770 --> 0:05:14.460 need to be rejected before you give up? Uh, well, 0:05:14.460 --> 0:05:19.589 I'm saying he was 27, and here's here's what he said. Uh, one, 0:05:19.589 --> 0:05:23.760 one letter said this. This is too different from other 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:28.440 genres on the market to warrant its selling. But why 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:31.680 do you share it again? Because I like his attitude. 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:36.690 Here's his attitude. He had the attitude of a taker. 0:05:36.779 --> 0:05:40.200 He's going to possess his possessions. And so what he 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:42.839 decided to do was this here's what he said I 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:44.190 know you're going to like this. I know you're going 0:05:44.220 --> 0:05:47.490 to like it, he said. I did not get rejected 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:54.690 27 times. It wasn't 27 rejections. It was 27 steps 0:05:54.690 --> 0:06:01.210 to acceptance. I like that, man, I like that. Yeah, yeah. 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:03.460 And he went on to be he went on to 0:06:03.460 --> 0:06:07.089 be published. Uh, let me Fordyce, this thing for you. See, 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:11.440 often rejections are just steps for directions. Let me let 0:06:11.470 --> 0:06:15.969 me say it this way. Uh, God often uses our 0:06:15.970 --> 0:06:22.479 rejection for redirection. That that we're going in the wrong direction. Uh, 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:25.900 going to the wrong things, people, places, things. And God 0:06:25.900 --> 0:06:28.719 has to give us a rejection so that he can 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:32.469 redirect us. Some of you know what I'm talking about. Uh, 0:06:32.470 --> 0:06:35.950 because you wouldn't let them go. So God had them 0:06:35.950 --> 0:06:40.000 reject you. But now you can look back and in hindsight, 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:44.050 because hindsight's always 20 over 20. And thank God for 0:06:44.050 --> 0:06:48.040 unanswered prayer. Amen. Thank you, Lord, for not giving me 0:06:48.070 --> 0:06:51.340 who I was begging you for. And now I can 0:06:51.339 --> 0:06:55.000 look back and see. I really didn't want that person 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:58.480 in the first place. They weren't good for me, even 0:06:58.510 --> 0:07:01.430 though they might have been good to me back then. 0:07:01.430 --> 0:07:05.300 I know that right now who I have is better 0:07:05.300 --> 0:07:08.510 than what I ever would have had. So I thank 0:07:08.510 --> 0:07:10.580 you for the rejection. I know what some of us 0:07:10.580 --> 0:07:12.260 need to do. Here's what we need to do. We 0:07:12.260 --> 0:07:15.770 need to go out to Walmart or to Walgreens and 0:07:15.770 --> 0:07:20.030 go in the car department and send a thank you 0:07:20.030 --> 0:07:25.130 to everybody that rejected us and pushed us toward our 0:07:25.130 --> 0:07:27.679 God given possessions. That's what we are to thank you 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:30.200 for hating on me. Thank you for lying on me. 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:32.840 Thank you for cheating on me because you only revealed 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:37.100 who you really was and your rejection, uh, helped me 0:07:37.100 --> 0:07:40.520 to move on. And now look who I'm with. Look 0:07:40.520 --> 0:07:42.650 what I have. Y'all ain't going to pray with me 0:07:42.650 --> 0:07:44.690 this morning, but I'm going to preach anyway. I came 0:07:44.690 --> 0:07:47.930 to preach to myself anyway. And so, you know, you 0:07:47.930 --> 0:07:50.810 you you the job you wanted that rejected you. But 0:07:50.810 --> 0:07:53.240 now the one that you've gotten is better than the 0:07:53.240 --> 0:07:55.550 one you would have had had they accepted you. And 0:07:55.550 --> 0:08:00.450 now you're glad they threw out your resume? Yeah. Sometimes 0:08:00.450 --> 0:08:03.870 to get where you're supposed to be, God has to 0:08:03.870 --> 0:08:06.900 take you out of what you should not have been 0:08:06.900 --> 0:08:13.170 in first place. Mhm. So Thomas Geisel saw rejection as what? 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:19.710 What did he see it as 27 steps to acceptance 0:08:19.740 --> 0:08:23.340 instead of 27 rejection. You want to know why? Because 0:08:23.340 --> 0:08:26.250 he was a taker and not a taker. Yeah. He 0:08:26.250 --> 0:08:30.210 went after it and he didn't stop until it happened. 0:08:30.240 --> 0:08:32.790 So so what what will happen? Thomas went on. And 0:08:32.790 --> 0:08:36.150 to have that book published that was rejected 27 times. 0:08:36.150 --> 0:08:39.330 Then he went on to write 60 books, 48 of 0:08:39.330 --> 0:08:43.829 which are children's books. They are written in 15 different languages. Today, 0:08:43.830 --> 0:08:48.450 he has sold over 600 million copies of his books. 0:08:48.450 --> 0:08:53.280 His books were turned into four feature films, 11 TV specials, 0:08:53.309 --> 0:08:58.770 a Broadway musical, and four TV series. He has one. 0:08:58.770 --> 0:09:03.780 Thomas Geisel has won. He's won. Where? He won two 0:09:03.780 --> 0:09:08.700 Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards. The Pulitzer Prize. Uh, in 0:09:08.700 --> 0:09:14.370 in in literature and a Peabody Award. All of that 0:09:14.520 --> 0:09:19.230 because he understood. Sometimes you just got to be a taker. 0:09:19.260 --> 0:09:23.790 You gotta understand that your stumbling blocks are actually stepping stones. 0:09:23.820 --> 0:09:27.059 Somebody's gotta realize that a setback is often a set 0:09:27.090 --> 0:09:29.309 up for a comeback. Y'all ain't going to help me 0:09:29.309 --> 0:09:33.330 in here. And so what happened? Yeah, we know who 0:09:33.330 --> 0:09:36.900 he is. Who is? Who is Thomas? Thomas Geisel? Well, 0:09:36.900 --> 0:09:39.750 his middle name. And you would know him by one 0:09:39.750 --> 0:09:42.990 of his favorite characters and most well known characters, the 0:09:42.990 --> 0:09:48.960 Cat in the hat. Because Thomas Geisel is Thomas Seuss Geisel, 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:53.610 we know him as Doctor Seuss. And I know that 0:09:53.610 --> 0:09:56.130 there's some folk I'm talking to today who are just 0:09:56.130 --> 0:10:01.660 like Thomas Seuss Geisel. Yeah, yeah. Nobody knows your name. 0:10:01.660 --> 0:10:05.530 But God has given you something that is a possession 0:10:05.530 --> 0:10:08.770 that you need to take so that everybody will know 0:10:08.770 --> 0:10:13.750 that God is a God that blesses us too. Amen. Amen. 0:10:13.750 --> 0:10:17.470 And so he uses middle name. And in our text 0:10:17.500 --> 0:10:21.610 we have seen that Joshua is being told by God, 0:10:21.610 --> 0:10:24.579 I want you to be a doctor. Seuss. Uh, but 0:10:24.580 --> 0:10:27.880 that when you look at the promised Land, you need 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:31.390 to be a taker and you need to take your 0:10:31.390 --> 0:10:34.570 God given possession. So here's the theme that God will 0:10:34.570 --> 0:10:39.070 give us the manifestation of his revelation when we meet 0:10:39.070 --> 0:10:44.410 his qualifications for his possession. So this this text is 0:10:44.410 --> 0:10:47.800 tailored to teach this timeless truth. There are six qualifications 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:51.880 required by us to possess our God given possessions. Here 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:54.010 we go. Review the two and then move on and 0:10:54.010 --> 0:10:57.670 finish the four. Number one respond to God's plan. That's 0:10:57.670 --> 0:11:00.100 verses one and two. Listen to what it says now 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:02.550 After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, 0:11:02.550 --> 0:11:05.100 it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua 0:11:05.130 --> 0:11:08.580 the son of nun, Moses minister, saying, Moses, my servant 0:11:08.580 --> 0:11:12.450 is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou 0:11:12.450 --> 0:11:14.819 and all this people unto the land which I do 0:11:14.850 --> 0:11:17.760 give to them, even to the children of Israel. Stop! 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:21.210 Here's what he's saying. Joshua is now time to respond 0:11:21.210 --> 0:11:24.630 to my plan. Moses is dead, but God programmed. It 0:11:24.630 --> 0:11:27.780 continues on. So you mourn for 30 days. That's enough. 0:11:27.780 --> 0:11:30.929 That's enough delay on my program. Get you up. And 0:11:30.929 --> 0:11:33.570 all of these people respond to my plan. And in 0:11:33.570 --> 0:11:36.630 verses one and two, respond to my plan in spite 0:11:36.630 --> 0:11:39.480 of people. Don't worry about the fact that Moses is 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:41.790 dead and that people may say, well, when Moses was 0:11:41.790 --> 0:11:44.640 our pastor, we did it this way, Joshua. Move on. 0:11:44.670 --> 0:11:47.849 Don't let anybody despise your youth, your newness, any of 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:49.890 that kind of stuff. So in spite of people, but 0:11:49.890 --> 0:11:52.770 then in spite of the past, because we've not always 0:11:52.770 --> 0:11:55.680 done it this way before, and we've not always gone 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:59.010 this way before, and we need new direction with new 0:11:59.010 --> 0:12:02.040 ministry springing up with new people that we don't know. 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:04.620 Some of you said, who are some of those folk? 0:12:06.059 --> 0:12:08.910 And so, in spite of the problems, they're looking at 0:12:08.910 --> 0:12:12.180 a swelling Jordan. And God points to the Jordan, say 0:12:12.179 --> 0:12:14.460 you're going to go over this, Jordan. So he says, 0:12:14.460 --> 0:12:18.480 respond to the plan. Don't let anything stop you. Be 0:12:18.510 --> 0:12:20.910 a taker. So remember what he said. Here's the outline 0:12:20.910 --> 0:12:24.810 of the book. Take my people in. That's chapters. What? 0:12:25.710 --> 0:12:30.420 How many been here? All messages okay, that's chapter chapters. 0:12:30.420 --> 0:12:36.300 What one through five. That's right. And take those people out. 0:12:36.330 --> 0:12:42.990 What chapters are those? That's right. Six through 13, I 0:12:42.990 --> 0:12:47.850 mean 12. And then take that place over. See take, take, take, 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:51.390 take my people in chapters one through six. Take those 0:12:51.390 --> 0:12:55.650 people out verse chapter 6 to 12 and take that 0:12:55.650 --> 0:12:59.070 place over chapter 13 through 22. So God is saying, 0:12:59.070 --> 0:13:02.439 I want you to be a taker. Now, remember, there 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:04.900 was over 2 million people who died in the wilderness 0:13:04.900 --> 0:13:09.130 because they would not possess their God given possessions. Look 0:13:09.130 --> 0:13:11.140 at your neighbor. Come on, come on. Help me preach this. 0:13:11.170 --> 0:13:14.170 Look at your neighbor. Say, neighbor. You can't have a 0:13:14.170 --> 0:13:19.450 five star church with two star people and a one 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:26.320 star vision. Amen. Amen. And so they failed to believe God. 0:13:26.350 --> 0:13:29.559 Hebrews chapter four, verse three. It says, and you look 0:13:29.590 --> 0:13:33.189 at it later on, it says that because the promise 0:13:33.190 --> 0:13:36.670 was not mixed with faith, those who had the promise 0:13:36.670 --> 0:13:39.189 didn't go into the land. They all died in the 0:13:39.190 --> 0:13:43.240 wilderness because of unbelief. So they didn't have faith. Now 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:46.420 remember what we said? We said that that faith is 0:13:46.420 --> 0:13:50.439 like Jheri curl activator, that if you had a Jheri curl, 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:53.680 it wasn't going to come into fruition and look good 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:57.220 until you activate it with the Jheri curl juice. But 0:13:57.220 --> 0:13:59.900 it was the activator that really made the Jheri curl. 0:13:59.929 --> 0:14:01.940 Am I right about it? Some of y'all had a 0:14:01.940 --> 0:14:05.300 Jheri curl. Y'all know that? Yeah. And so he's saying. 0:14:05.300 --> 0:14:07.940 He's saying I got a promise and you activate it 0:14:07.940 --> 0:14:10.610 by faith. Here's my plan. And they didn't believe it. 0:14:10.610 --> 0:14:13.250 And if you don't believe it, you don't get it. See, 0:14:13.250 --> 0:14:17.030 they acted like they didn't know that the God above 0:14:17.030 --> 0:14:20.750 you is greater than the problems around you and the 0:14:20.750 --> 0:14:23.810 fear inside of you. Let me say it again. That's tweetable. 0:14:23.810 --> 0:14:26.900 That's Tweetable. They didn't realize that the God above you 0:14:26.900 --> 0:14:29.810 is greater than the problems around you and the fear 0:14:29.810 --> 0:14:33.590 that's within you. Amen. And so then Doctor Martin Luther 0:14:33.590 --> 0:14:38.060 King Junior said, faith is taking the first step, even 0:14:38.060 --> 0:14:41.510 when you don't see the staircase. That's it. 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:45.530 Well, that is it. And that was Tweetable just a 0:14:45.530 --> 0:14:48.980 moment ago. Speaking of tweeting, you can always follow Pastor 0:14:48.980 --> 0:14:51.800 Ford on Twitter. You can also like us on Facebook. 0:14:51.830 --> 0:14:53.720 And we'd love to connect with you and interact with 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:56.030 you on social media. That way you'll find those links 0:14:56.030 --> 0:15:00.320 when you come to our website. It's Treasure Truth Dawg. 0:15:00.350 --> 0:15:01.700 I also want to remind you, if you're ever in 0:15:01.700 --> 0:15:04.490 the Chicago area, you can visit Christ Bible Church and 0:15:04.490 --> 0:15:08.630 hear Pastor Ford speak live. Information at our website. Treasure 0:15:08.660 --> 0:15:13.550 Truth radio.org. Back to the message. Here's Pastor Ford. 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:15.920 See, see, I, I tell you all the time. Let 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:19.220 me repeat it. Can I repeat it? Say repeat it, pastor. Yeah, yeah. 0:15:19.250 --> 0:15:25.910 Faith gives you insight like it is foresight. I mean, no, no. 0:15:26.180 --> 0:15:33.530 Faith gives you insight into foresight. Like it's hindsight. Okay, 0:15:33.530 --> 0:15:35.660 I got that right that time. So even the way 0:15:35.660 --> 0:15:38.000 you respond to it, guess what? I'm always trying to 0:15:38.000 --> 0:15:40.670 grow and I, I, I believe I have a teachable spirit. 0:15:40.700 --> 0:15:42.920 Now some things I'm not going to move on because 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:44.510 I'm settled in it. But if you show me some 0:15:44.510 --> 0:15:47.270 things and I go back and restudy and stuff and say, whoa, 0:15:47.300 --> 0:15:48.860 I don't have to back up off of this. I 0:15:48.860 --> 0:15:50.630 used to say, boom, you know, I do that all 0:15:50.630 --> 0:15:53.120 the time. I'm not. So I used to sign my books. 0:15:53.150 --> 0:15:55.729 God bless you at the end. God bless you. And 0:15:55.730 --> 0:15:58.340 then I'm reading the book of Ephesians, and I realize 0:15:58.340 --> 0:16:01.080 that's not the most biblically accurate thing to say to 0:16:01.110 --> 0:16:04.920 a person, because Ephesians one three says, we are blessed 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:08.310 past tense with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in 0:16:08.310 --> 0:16:12.540 Christ Jesus. So I start, I start saying, God has 0:16:12.540 --> 0:16:15.750 blessed you already. Somebody say, God bless you, pastor. I say, 0:16:15.750 --> 0:16:19.560 God has blessed you already because that's in the past tense. 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:22.980 It's this. It's it's what's in this book, in this chapter, 0:16:22.980 --> 0:16:25.860 what we're talking about now that God has given us 0:16:25.860 --> 0:16:30.060 revelation about the promises that he has for us, he's 0:16:30.060 --> 0:16:33.210 already done everything he's ever going to do, and he's 0:16:33.210 --> 0:16:37.229 given the revelation without the manifestation, because there must be 0:16:37.230 --> 0:16:42.660 the demonstration of application in order to receive that manifestation. 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:45.030 And so, in other words, that's why we're talking about 0:16:45.030 --> 0:16:48.120 what do they have to do to possess this? God 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:51.750 has some things that he wants them to do in 0:16:51.750 --> 0:16:54.840 order to possess it. And so he says, the land 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:58.920 I have given you past tense. It's already yours. All 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:02.650 you got to do is walk in it. And so 0:17:02.650 --> 0:17:07.149 then notice God's plan gives you direction and dimensions. What 0:17:07.150 --> 0:17:09.220 do you mean, Pastor Ford? It tells you which way 0:17:09.220 --> 0:17:11.679 to go. And it tells you what your parameters are, 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:14.500 where you can't step outside of this and step inside 0:17:14.500 --> 0:17:16.390 of that. Uh, you know, I didn't get a chance 0:17:16.390 --> 0:17:18.280 to introduce her. She's going to kill me. But that's okay, 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:20.560 because I want to introduce her right now in my sermon. 0:17:20.590 --> 0:17:23.080 Miss Shawn Diaz. Stand up, stand up, miss Shawn, dear. 0:17:23.109 --> 0:17:25.090 Look at it. Look at it. I saw her eyes cut. Boy. 0:17:25.090 --> 0:17:27.940 She said, ooh, Imma get you. She's working with us 0:17:27.940 --> 0:17:32.020 in our marketing and media along with my son right now, 0:17:32.020 --> 0:17:35.320 and we're trying to put together a larger media team, 0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:39.550 but she is off the chain. Amen. You may be 0:17:39.550 --> 0:17:43.240 seated and and she she's just so creative. And this 0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:45.699 social media stuff, she didn't even told me because I 0:17:45.700 --> 0:17:47.830 don't post all the time. She even told me when 0:17:47.830 --> 0:17:50.710 I should post on Facebook. I say, man, now you know, 0:17:50.710 --> 0:17:53.260 that's deep, that's deep. So she's real good. I'm, I'm 0:17:53.260 --> 0:17:56.350 really pleased to be learning some stuff, uh, from the 0:17:56.380 --> 0:18:00.050 both of them about, uh, marketing and media. But anyway, 0:18:00.050 --> 0:18:02.090 that's that's her forte. She's got her degree in that 0:18:02.090 --> 0:18:04.730 she's very good at it, and she's going around with 0:18:04.730 --> 0:18:12.350 job interviews. And she got offered a job at NBC. Yeah. Yeah. 0:18:12.380 --> 0:18:15.980 One of the big three. And she turned it down. 0:18:16.460 --> 0:18:19.160 And she turned it down for a company of which 0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:22.609 I have never heard. And as I was trying to 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:25.190 think what she told me, the name of the company was, 0:18:25.190 --> 0:18:30.350 I couldn't even remember it. And when I, when I 0:18:30.350 --> 0:18:32.930 heard the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey said, 0:18:32.930 --> 0:18:35.210 I said, wow, I wish I had had that and 0:18:35.210 --> 0:18:37.969 worked that in the beginning of my message. Because why 0:18:37.970 --> 0:18:40.639 didn't you want that job? They're offering a bigger salary 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:43.879 than the one you got. Yes, but they only do TV. 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:49.730 And I want a company that does TV, radio, internet, computers, 0:18:49.730 --> 0:18:53.450 social media. I want a company. And this company does 0:18:53.450 --> 0:18:58.520 it all. So I won't be locked in to just television. Now, 0:18:58.550 --> 0:19:00.879 maybe one day I'll accept the job at NBC. But 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:03.909 for right now, I want to get all that exposure. 0:19:03.940 --> 0:19:11.680 Because one day I want to have Shonda Williams Media Corporation. 0:19:12.910 --> 0:19:16.060 I said, man, that's it. I mean, I kind of 0:19:16.060 --> 0:19:20.020 felt like, uh, you know, uh, the A-Team. I love 0:19:20.020 --> 0:19:23.020 it when a plan comes together and God says, I've 0:19:23.020 --> 0:19:25.359 got a plan for you. Now God's plan, let me 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:28.899 tell you, you're either on the way or in the way. 0:19:28.930 --> 0:19:31.270 Come on, tell somebody. If you're in the way. Get out! 0:19:31.300 --> 0:19:33.580 Get out of the way! Come on, go on. Yeah. 0:19:33.609 --> 0:19:39.160 Then secondly, we saw. Rest on God's promises. Rest on 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:43.179 God's promises. That is verses three and four. Look at 0:19:43.180 --> 0:19:46.149 verses three and four. Verses three and four. Every place 0:19:46.150 --> 0:19:49.840 that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, uh, 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:53.770 that I have given unto you, as I said unto Moses, 0:19:53.770 --> 0:19:58.570 from this wilderness and this Lebanon, even until the great river, 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:03.699 the river Euphrates unto the great sea. Toward the going 0:20:03.700 --> 0:20:09.010 down of the sun shall be your coast. Now, God, 0:20:09.010 --> 0:20:11.200 what are you saying? What are you doing? God is 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:14.560 letting them know. Listen, listen. You've got to rest on 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:16.959 the promises I gave you. Promises. Now a lot of 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:21.400 people make promises. Uh, you got some people who say, uh, 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:26.800 loan me some money until payday Friday and somebody can testify. 0:20:26.830 --> 0:20:28.720 Don't raise your hand. You might be sitting next to him, 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:31.449 or they may be in the sanctuary. Uh, but what 0:20:31.450 --> 0:20:36.520 did they do? They didn't tell you which Friday. And 0:20:36.520 --> 0:20:40.270 they didn't tell you which year? Some. Come on. Some 0:20:40.270 --> 0:20:42.970 of us know there's folk now trying to look away 0:20:42.970 --> 0:20:45.460 because they know they owe us money. And they look, 0:20:45.490 --> 0:20:48.010 they say sitting over here and they and instead of 0:20:48.010 --> 0:20:49.840 looking at me, they're looking at the wall because they 0:20:49.840 --> 0:20:52.120 know you looking from over there. Because you moved from 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:54.610 over there. Because they ain't paid you your money yet. 0:20:55.090 --> 0:20:57.280 And then walk up in here talking about praise the Lord, 0:20:57.280 --> 0:21:01.149 acting like they don't know they owe you money? Yeah, yeah. 0:21:01.180 --> 0:21:03.400 You saw us up here. Why do you think I 0:21:03.400 --> 0:21:06.070 said suppose. Because you never know what's going to happen. 0:21:06.070 --> 0:21:09.160 Because we made that promise. I so and so do 0:21:09.190 --> 0:21:11.980 take you so and so as my lawfully wedded spouse 0:21:11.980 --> 0:21:14.139 to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, 0:21:14.140 --> 0:21:18.910 in poverty until death do us part. And I tell 0:21:18.910 --> 0:21:21.010 you all the time, some of us, it's just until 0:21:21.010 --> 0:21:25.060 death do us part. Yeah. People make promises. I'll call 0:21:25.060 --> 0:21:27.190 you back later on today. We're going to hook up 0:21:27.190 --> 0:21:30.070 later on this week. Come on now. I mean, how 0:21:30.070 --> 0:21:32.050 many have been told that and and heard from the 0:21:32.050 --> 0:21:34.060 person yet? Come on, come on. Look at look at 0:21:34.060 --> 0:21:36.640 look at the hands. Look at the hands. Yeah. And 0:21:36.640 --> 0:21:41.320 so what? Oh, here's the here's one. I'll pray for you. 0:21:41.920 --> 0:21:44.320 Look at that. Look at that, everybody. Everybody's saying, man, 0:21:44.320 --> 0:21:47.770 what a farce. You know, and so we make promises. 0:21:47.770 --> 0:21:51.100 But we need to understand here. God makes them a promise. 0:21:51.100 --> 0:21:53.980 And he says, listen, I want you to understand two things. 0:21:53.980 --> 0:21:56.800 You've got to personalize the promise. And I told you 0:21:56.800 --> 0:21:59.360 what I do. I put my name there. I put 0:21:59.359 --> 0:22:02.840 my name there. Uh, pastor for can do all things 0:22:02.840 --> 0:22:05.630 through Christ who strengthens him. Pastor Ford has never seen 0:22:05.630 --> 0:22:08.720 the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Pastor Ford 0:22:08.720 --> 0:22:11.900 is the head and not the tail. Pastor Ford that 0:22:11.900 --> 0:22:14.720 knows the plans that God has for him. Plans for 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:16.820 good and not for evil, to bring him to a 0:22:16.820 --> 0:22:22.550 desired end. Pastor Ford, pastor for I personalize it. But then. 0:22:22.550 --> 0:22:24.650 But then you got to participate. Notice what he told them. 0:22:24.650 --> 0:22:27.800 Walk in it. Walk in it. It's yours, but you're 0:22:27.800 --> 0:22:31.040 not walking in it. You're not possessing your possession. God 0:22:31.040 --> 0:22:33.110 says you gotta walk in it. Oh, yeah. I know 0:22:33.109 --> 0:22:35.240 the tests are hard, but you got to go to 0:22:35.270 --> 0:22:37.760 school in order to get that degree. You ain't going 0:22:37.760 --> 0:22:41.240 to get it at home. And so we need to 0:22:41.240 --> 0:22:43.910 do that. This neighborhood is ours. He's given it to us. 0:22:43.940 --> 0:22:48.649 We're a lighthouse, a beacon. Man, we we got to 0:22:48.650 --> 0:22:50.540 do it. We've got to do it. 0:22:52.850 --> 0:22:56.240 A real practical application for Christ Bible Church. But also, 0:22:56.240 --> 0:22:58.909 how many of us can listen to this Bible teaching 0:22:58.910 --> 0:23:01.530 and think of areas in our life where we've got 0:23:01.530 --> 0:23:03.750 to do it. We've got to take it. You're listening 0:23:03.780 --> 0:23:06.540 to Treasure Truth, a message called takers. It's from Joshua 0:23:06.540 --> 0:23:10.140 chapter one, and Pastor Ford has been on this passage 0:23:10.140 --> 0:23:11.880 of scripture for a number of days. If you've missed 0:23:11.880 --> 0:23:15.480 any of the broadcast, come to Treasure Truth radio.org and 0:23:15.480 --> 0:23:18.450 you can always listen online. 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