S1: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
S1: of things not seen. And so what does faith do?
S1: Give you insight into foresight. Like it's hindsight. In other words,
S1: he's going to let you know what your future is
S1: going to be.
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James
S2: Ford Jr, senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago.
S2: I'm Steve Hiller. Glad you're with us today as we
S2: begin a message entitled Faith for Your Future. And, pastor,
S2: I know a lot of people who heard what they
S2: just heard say, oh cool, God is going to give
S2: me insight into what's coming ahead. How is he going
S2: to do that, though? I want to know what my
S2: future's going to be. How do I get God to
S2: tell me that?
S1: Well, the best way is through prayer and the word
S1: of God. So, you know, I always quote the venerable
S1: scholar Doctor Warren Wiersbe. He said it. Everybody uses it
S1: doesn't give him credit for it, but he said it first.
S1: When I opened the Bible, God opens his mouth. And
S1: when I closed the Bible, God closes his mouth. That's
S1: a powerful, powerful statement. That's tweetable. You gotta tweet it
S1: right now. You ought to get on put it on Facebook, Instagram.
S1: That's a great quote. And so God speaks to us
S1: through his word. And so we have the indwelling of
S1: the Holy Spirit who sensitizes us to the Holy Scriptures
S1: to turn us into a holy servant. We have the
S1: mind of Christ. We need to feed it, program that
S1: computer the mind of Christ, and it gives us perception.
S1: And that perception then is turned into footsteps. It's Proverbs
S1: chapter three five and six. Trust in the Lord with
S1: all of your heart. Lean not to your own understanding.
S1: In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct
S1: your path. Here it is real quick. The word direct
S1: has a primary, secondary and tertiary meaning primary. We hear
S1: it all the time. He will guide you. Yeah, but
S1: the secondary and the tertiary, meaning we very rarely hear
S1: secondary meaning, removing obstacles. So he says, I'm guiding you.
S1: There's an obstacle in the way. When there's an obstacle, stop.
S1: Don't try to move it yourself. God says I will
S1: move the obstacle. And in the tertiary, meaning is to
S1: get one to their desired goal. So that's a powerful promise.
S1: And so I can be confident of this very thing
S1: that he who has begun a good work in me
S1: shall perform it until the day of Christ. I'm confident
S1: you have to walk by faith. Sure, you have to
S1: do it.
S2: Yeah. And so I'm thinking of the person listening today
S2: who says, okay, uh, I think God has this for me.
S2: Whether that's a future spouse, maybe a certain job. Uh,
S2: you know, whatever that thing may be, maybe they've had
S2: trouble having kids. And, you know, I believe God is
S2: going to give me a kid. How do you know
S2: when God is saying no or no? It's going to
S2: be a long time.
S1: And he will speak to us through those same meetings.
S2: Those same meetings.
S1: Okay. Yeah. Through prayer, through the Word of God. See, see,
S1: God speaks to us in so many different ways, the
S1: circumstances of life. He can do it supernaturally. If you're married,
S1: he'll speak through your spouse. He'll speak through saints and circumstances.
S1: And so God speaks in various ways. But how do
S1: I get to know his voice? Anybody ever call you
S1: and you talk to them and then you say, uh,
S1: but who is this?
S2: Yeah.
S1: You see, if you're accustomed to communing with God, you'll
S1: be able to distinguish his voice.
S2: Yeah, well, good reminder that we need to get into
S2: his word. So let's do that right now. Philippians chapter one.
S2: As we begin a message, faith for your future, here's
S2: Pastor Ford.
S1: Uh, little Joey was excited about going fishing with his dad, and, uh,
S1: he had gone plenty of times before, but he never
S1: caught anything. And, uh, being a Christian young man, he decided, well,
S1: this time I'm going to pray, and I know I'm
S1: going to catch fish because God will answer prayer. And
S1: so that night, he they could hear him all over
S1: the house as he was talking to God and asking
S1: God to allow him to catch some fish when Him
S1: and his dad went fishing in the morning. And so
S1: they got up early in the morning, and to his chagrin,
S1: it was raining. I mean, it was raining buckets. It
S1: was a downpour. And his father heard him say, God,
S1: I'm disappointed in you. I wanted to go fishing and
S1: you let it rain. I asked for sunshine and you
S1: let it rain. His father said, come on, son, we're
S1: going anyway. And he said, dad, in all this rain,
S1: he said, we're going to starve rock. It's not going
S1: to be raining when we get there. And sure enough,
S1: as they went, the rain was subsiding. By the time
S1: they got there. The rain was over. Young man took
S1: his rod, threw it into the water and boom, hit
S1: a fish. And the fish was that big? Well, no,
S1: it was that big. No, it was that big. Anybody
S1: ever go fishing before? Yeah, it was that big. And
S1: not only did he catch fish, he caught a bunch
S1: of fish. And he was saying, dad, I don't understand.
S1: And his dad said, son, I heard what you said
S1: to the Lord. And what you didn't realize was this.
S1: That he did answer your prayer because the downpour of
S1: rain was so heavy, it was knocking bugs out of
S1: the sky. And when the bugs landed on the face
S1: of the water, the fish who were normally down deep,
S1: come up to eat the bugs and they're able to
S1: see your worms, and it's a better deal for them.
S1: And that's why you caught all those fish. He was embarrassed,
S1: like some of us need to be when it rains
S1: on our parade. And he said, and his father heard
S1: him saying, Jesus, forgive me for being grumpy because I
S1: couldn't see far enough ahead to know what would happen
S1: after the rain. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Little Johnny's not the
S1: only one with that problem, because I came to talk
S1: to some people. It's raining right now. It's raining. It's raining.
S1: It's raining. Right? Y'all don't even recognize the song. I
S1: know you didn't recognize it. Uh, it's raining right now,
S1: and you're wondering. God, what in the world are you doing?
S1: I'm praying for sunshine, and it's not happening. I'm praying
S1: for a job. I'm praying for a boo. I'm praying
S1: for healing. And all I'm getting is all this downpour
S1: of rain. And God sent me to tell you today
S1: that you gotta look beyond the storm to see what's
S1: going to happen after the rain stops. Yeah, yeah. Paul
S1: said the Philippians had it just like little Joey. They
S1: were looking at the problem the wrong way. Now you
S1: know the content of the context of this. You know
S1: what this book is all about. This book is all
S1: about Paul being where prison Paul's in the joint, and
S1: it's not three hots and a cot. As a matter
S1: of fact, if you were in prison back then, if
S1: your family didn't provide for you, you would starve to death. Boy,
S1: if that happened today. Lord have mercy. And so he
S1: didn't commit a misdemeanor or a felony. Uh, he. I
S1: told you before, he didn't miss a child support payment.
S1: He wasn't in there for violating his order of protection.
S1: It wasn't for pushing crack. It was for preaching Christ. Alright.
S1: Paul literally went to jail for being a Christian. I
S1: gotta ask that age old question. If you were put
S1: in jail for being a believer, would there be enough
S1: evidence to convict you at the trial? Yes. Most of
S1: us would hear Johnnie Cochran saying, if it doesn't fit,
S1: you must acquit. Yeah, it don't fit. Yeah, it don't
S1: fit because you don't read your Bible, not even a verse.
S1: A day to keep the devil away. It doesn't fit. Yeah.
S1: You don't pray. You. I know you don't come to
S1: prayer meeting. A man don't come to Bible study. Don't serve,
S1: don't tithe. Yes. If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.
S1: I know you heard the story about the lady who
S1: was falsely arrested. And she was upset at the officer.
S1: When he came, he said, ma'am, I'm so sorry I
S1: arrested you, and. And I just didn't know. I just
S1: didn't know. I'm sorry for the mistake. He said. I
S1: saw you flipping the finger at the guy behind you,
S1: and you were calling him everything but a child of God.
S1: Then I looked at your car and I saw the
S1: Choose Life license plate holder. The vanity plates that said
S1: Jesus is number one. I saw the chrome plated fish emblem.
S1: I saw ww d on the left bumper. And follow
S1: me to Sunday school on the right bumper. And I
S1: just assumed you had stolen that car. So Paul's in prison,
S1: and it's the first Roman imprisonment. And the Philippian saints
S1: are sad about it, but Paul is glad about it.
S1: It's called the Epistle of Joy. 18 times in four chapters. Joy, joy, joy, joy, joy.
S1: And so we see him in all of the chapters.
S1: You remember this in chapter one. He's rejoicing in the
S1: service of Christ. Chapter two he's rejoicing in the selflessness
S1: of Christ. In chapter three, he's rejoicing in the sufferings
S1: of Christ. And in chapter four he's rejoicing in the
S1: sufficiency of Christ. And so Paul is the apostle of joy.
S1: I'm in the middle of it. I'm in the middle
S1: of it, but in the middle of it I'm raising
S1: my hand. In the middle of it. I'm doing my
S1: dance in the middle of it. I'm saying hallelujah. In
S1: the middle of it. I'm praising God because I'm just
S1: in the middle of it. And so what happens? You know,
S1: now Paul's not he's not saying, you know, just act
S1: as if nothing ever happened. No, he's not saying that
S1: we are to be sober minded, but to many of
S1: us are sober faced. Alright. Well, I haven't seen, uh,
S1: Elder Strader more joy at a funeral service than I've
S1: seen in some worship services. Yeah. I mean, you you
S1: ever see him? Uh, they they blow up like a bullfrog. Look,
S1: like they got something in their mouth, and it's nasty,
S1: and they can't spit it out. They just hold it. No,
S1: this is the epistle of joy. Paul is christocentric, and
S1: we ought to be, too. Everything ought to be about Jesus.
S1: You get a raise at the job. Thank you. Jesus.
S1: You see a fool. Lord Jesus, don't let that fool
S1: come around me. Yeah. You meet somebody who piques your interest. Lord,
S1: please let them be saved, sanctified and heterosexual. Because nowadays
S1: you can't tell. You look at them and and and
S1: I have done it. You know, I've made some big
S1: mistakes as a pastor. Let me tell you my first one. Uh,
S1: sister and we're in the old sanctuary. Didn't see a
S1: little more than a hundred people. And, uh, it was
S1: just a just a blessing to get a visitor. And, uh,
S1: this sister came. She was visiting, and I said to her,
S1: I said, thank you for visiting with us today. By
S1: the way, how many months pregnant are you? Never saw
S1: her again because she said, I ain't pregnant. Yeah, yeah.
S1: Big mistake, big mistake. And I'll tell you another one
S1: I made, uh, when I said, uh oh, introduce me
S1: to your sister. That ain't my sister. That's my mama. Yeah, well,
S1: you know. Hey, what can I say?
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with a guy who apparently
S2: will put his foot in his mouth. That's pastor and
S2: author James Ford Jr. A message called Faith for Your Future. Really?
S2: A look at Philippians chapter one today. If you ever
S2: miss a broadcast, you can always catch up when you
S2: come to our website. Treasure Truth Radio org stream programs,
S2: download mp3's, or even order copies of this broadcast on CD. Again,
S2: that's at Treasure Truth radio. Org. Once again, here is
S2: Pastor Ford.
S1: See, you say you love Jesus, but let me remind
S1: you that Satan doesn't care if you have Jesus on
S1: your lips as long as you got hell on your mind. Mhm.
S1: And so Paul was addicted to Jesus. He was a
S1: Jesus addict. So the Philippian saints are heartbroken about Paul's incarceration,
S1: and they're acting like little Johnny, help me preach this.
S1: Look at your neighbor and say, neighbor, neighbor. How you
S1: see the problem may be the problem. Yeah. How you
S1: see the problem may be because here what Paul is teaching.
S1: Get this. If you don't get anything else, he's saying,
S1: my problem is my platform. He said it's not an accident.
S1: It's an appointment that you're looking at me and you
S1: think I'm on trial, but it's actually a trust and
S1: that it's not misery. I'm doing ministry. And so his
S1: perspective about what he's going through is different. In other words,
S1: Paul says, everybody in here ought to view your circumstances
S1: as a call, that you ought to view your opposition
S1: as an opportunity, that you ought to view your pain
S1: as a platform for what, pastor for glad you asked.
S1: You ask intelligent questions. You view your circumstances as a
S1: call to preach Christ. You view your opposition as an
S1: opportunity to pioneer Christ, and you view your pain as
S1: a platform to prioritize Christ. Paul is saying, listen, I
S1: don't have control over my circumstances, but I do have
S1: control over the cause that my circumstances are about. Alright,
S1: let me say that again. I don't have control over
S1: my circumstances, but I do have a cause in my circumstances. Man,
S1: I'm so glad for Jimmy. Not just singing, but, uh,
S1: I shared it this morning. He said, uh, I gotta
S1: tell you, like Paul Harvey, let me give you the
S1: rest of the story. He gave me the whole story. Uh,
S1: Oscar De La Hoya, they call him the Golden boy.
S1: Used to be a great boxer. Now, uh, he's a
S1: promoter now. But anyway, he was on the freeway, and
S1: he was driving in the fast lane, and all of
S1: a sudden, the wheels on his Mercedes Benz locked up.
S1: And when the wheels of his Mercedes Benz locked up,
S1: he got hit from behind. And so he pulled over
S1: to the side and he always carried his cell phone,
S1: but he didn't have it. And so there was a payphone,
S1: and he went to the payphone, only to hear crash.
S1: An 18 Wheeler had ran over his Mercedes Benz, and
S1: when he was sharing it, he started talking about the
S1: fact that here I thought wheels locked up, hit in
S1: the back, don't have my cell phone, but if I
S1: had any of those things, I would have been in
S1: my vehicle and I would have been run over. See
S1: how you see the problem sometimes is the problem, and
S1: you need to understand that God wants to do the
S1: same in your life. As a matter of fact, Jimmy
S1: told me that after that he didn't drive himself anymore.
S1: He gets chauffeured around. Mhm. That's pretty good stuff. And
S1: so you need trust for your trials in the present.
S1: But you need faith for your future. Why. There's three
S1: reasons in this text. Here's what I'm going to give
S1: you I'm going to drop them. I'm not going to
S1: push them. He says in verse 19. You need faith
S1: for your future. Reason number one faith for your future.
S1: How do you get it? You need enlightenment by Christ's
S1: purpose for your life. Secondly, you need to be emboldened
S1: by Christ's people's prayers to your life. And then thirdly,
S1: and finally, he says, you get to be empowered by
S1: Christ's provision in your life. So he says, it's all
S1: about faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
S1: the evidence of things not seen. And so what is
S1: my definition? Here? It is. Faith gives you what? Come on,
S1: say it with me. Insight into foresight. Like a science.
S1: Like what does faith do? Give you insight into foresight.
S1: Like what does faith do? Give you insight into foresight
S1: like it's hindsight. In other words, he's going to let
S1: you know what your future is going to be. And
S1: so let's look at what Paul says. Reason number one.
S1: He says, here's here's how you get faith for the future.
S1: You have to be enlightened by Christ's purpose for your life.
S1: Listen to what he says, for I know that this
S1: shall turn to my salvation. Now I need to tell
S1: you the word know is from the Greek word oida
S1: say oida. It literally means to know comprehensively. It means
S1: to know without a shadow of a doubt. It means full,
S1: accurate knowledge. So then Paul says, I'm in prison, but
S1: I will be set free. That prison is not prison,
S1: because whom the son sets free is free indeed. So
S1: I may be locked up, but I'm not locked out
S1: of Jesus Christ. See? Paul expected to be free. Let
S1: me read verse 26 to you. That you're rejoicing. There
S1: it is again. I want you to have joy. Wait
S1: a minute. Joy. Now may be more abundant in Jesus
S1: Christ for me by my coming to you again. See
S1: what he said? I'm coming again. I'm not in here
S1: to stay. I'm just passing through. And so you need
S1: to understand it. Let me bottom line it for you.
S1: Because I know you see, I thought you said you're
S1: going to. Bottom line, I am. Here's what Paul is
S1: saying where I am is not where I'm going. Therefore,
S1: since I know that where I am will not affect
S1: where I'm going, where I am will not stop me
S1: from where I'm going. So what I'm going through now
S1: cannot hinder me from getting to where God is going
S1: to take me. Let me say it this way. Too
S1: many people let their history mess up their destiny. Mm. See,
S1: some of you, your past is too active in your present,
S1: and it's hindering your future. Y'all ain't going to pray
S1: with me, okay? I really gotta get. I gotta get
S1: plain for some of you. See? Uh, you with Little Willie? Physically.
S1: But you still with Pookie emotionally? You ain't been with
S1: Pookie in two years, but you tore up from the
S1: floor up. Got your mind all messed up emotionally. You
S1: know what I'm talking about. You're with Shaquita, but you're
S1: making her pay for what Bianca did to you. Oh,
S1: y'all ain't going to pray with me up in here.
S1: You got hurt at the old church, and now you
S1: sitting back won't tithe or serve in the new church. Mhm. Mhm. Yeah. See,
S1: the old boss was nasty. Now you won't give the
S1: new boss a chance. Mhm. Paul was saying my pain
S1: is a platform to my purpose. Hey listen don't let
S1: the devil put a period where God has put a comma.
S1: Because I tell you I've seen it so many times
S1: when the devil says the end. God says to be continued. Okay,
S1: let me, let me, let me show you some. Let
S1: me show you something. Let me show you something. Turn
S1: to Luke. Turn to Luke. Turn to Luke. Luke. Chapter 22.
S1: Let me show you something here. This thing. This thing
S1: rocks me every time I look at it. Luke 22.
S1: Listen to what it says in Luke 22, verse 31.
S1: Listen to this. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold,
S1: Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift
S1: you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that
S1: thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted, strengthen
S1: thy brothers. And he said, Lord, I am ready to
S1: go with thee, both into prison and to death. And
S1: he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not
S1: crow this day before thou shalt thrice deny that thou
S1: knoweth me. Now you know what's going on here. We
S1: talked about it Wednesday night, that that we talked about.
S1: We're talking about something else. And we said, Peter is
S1: an example of people who deny what they will do. Uh,
S1: in other words, Peter was serious. Peter didn't know that
S1: betrayal was in him. And he even told Jesus, uh,
S1: you don't know what you're talking about. So what is this?
S1: Peter's failure. He failed him. He's going to abandon him.
S1: He's going to deny Christ. But wait a minute. Look
S1: at verse 3029 and I appoint unto you a kingdom
S1: as to my father, as my father hath appointed to me,
S1: that you may eat and drink at my table in
S1: my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the 12 tribes
S1: of Israel. What did Jesus just tell the disciples? Was
S1: Peter included in this? Okay, now get this. Here it is,
S1: verse 31. You're going to fail me. Verse 30. Let
S1: me tell you your future. I'm going to tell you
S1: your future before I tell you your failure. Why, Jesus?
S1: Because your failure is what is. Your future is what
S1: shall be. So I'm going to tell you what shall
S1: be before what is. So that whenever what is happened,
S1: you won't focus in on what is. You'll focus on
S1: what shall be, that your failure will not stop you,
S1: that your failure will not cause you to say, I
S1: know he can't use me anymore. I done messed up
S1: too many times I messed. No, no, get yourself up,
S1: pick yourself up and start walking. Jesus is able to
S1: restore you. He's able to give you another chance. What
S1: are you talking about? Second chance? No. We are way
S1: beyond that. Yes.
S2: Pastor and author James Ford Jr, directing us to keep
S2: our eyes on the promises that we have in Christ.
S2: Our message is called faith for your future. And you're
S2: listening to Treasure Truth. You know, when we realize that
S2: God has given us so many chances and continues to
S2: work with us even after we mess up time and
S2: time again, the only appropriate response is to share the
S2: good news with others. But as anyone who's tried this knows,
S2: sharing the gospel isn't always easy. You know some people
S2: will be open to the message, but many will be
S2: skeptical and raise objections. And it's important for us to
S2: know how to answer those with biblical truth. In the book.
S2: Had a Witness to anyone. Ari Torrey provides Bible verses
S2: for almost any occasion to equip and strengthen you to
S2: share the gospel. Doctor Torrey was an evangelist and a
S2: Bible teacher who traveled the world at the turn of
S2: the last century, and over the years he collected scripture
S2: passages that were helpful in sharing the gospel. The result
S2: is a practical book and we want you to have
S2: a copy. It's called How to Witness to Anyone. Request
S2: your copy when you give a gift of any amount
S2: to treasure truth. Call us at 888644 7660 or go
S2: online to Treasure Truth Radio.com. It's your financial support that
S2: makes this ministry possible. So thanks in advance for your
S2: generous donation. Again, our number is 888 644 7660. And
S2: our website is Treasure Truth Radio. I'm Steve Hiller, our
S2: producer is Amy Rios. Join us again tomorrow as we
S2: continue this message of faith for your future. That's here
S2: on Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford. A production of Moody Radio,
S2: a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.