S1: I want to tell you something. That Jesus is the
S1: light of the world. John 812. That you and I,
S1: we can deal with our sin appropriately with one broad stroke.
S1: You know what that is? Fellowship with the light.
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 Hiller. Glad you're with us today as we
S2: continue a message. The enemy, enemy and pastor, when you
S2: say that the way that we deal with sin effectively
S2: is to have fellowship with the light, what does that mean?
S1: Uh, well, Christ is the light. And, uh, have you
S1: ever gone into a dark room?
S2: Yes.
S1: And then turn on the light.
S2: Yes.
S1: Well? What happened?
S2: Darkness appears to flee.
S1: Yes, it dissipates in the light. And so it is
S1: when we fellowship with Christ. His light shines on us. Uh,
S1: he reveals things and we become more transparent in his presence. Uh,
S1: we want, uh, to deal with everything that he doesn't like. So,
S1: I mean, it's first John one seven. First John one
S1: seven states, uh, that if we walk in the light
S1: as he is in the light, then we have fellowship
S1: one with another, and the blood of his son, Jesus Christ,
S1: cleanses us from all sins. Here it is. First John
S1: one nine. Those are the sins I know about. First
S1: John one seven. Those are the sins I don't know about.
S1: And so you're covered. You know, it's.
S2: Either way.
S1: It's whole life, not term. I'm covered. And so, you know,
S1: as I walk with him, he's dealing with things. Things
S1: I don't even know about. Things of which I am
S1: not aware. I'm grateful for the privilege of being with him.
S2: Yeah. And as we walk with him, we learn to
S2: do battle with sin. And as we've talked about in
S2: previous programs, uh, as God shines that light a little
S2: bit brighter and a little bit brighter and a little
S2: bit brighter, he's gradually allowing us to become more like
S2: his son, Jesus.
S1: Oh, most definitely. And so what happens is we're walking
S1: with the light. He's given us a light. And so
S1: it's Matthew chapter five. Let your light so shine before
S1: men that they will see your good works and glorify
S1: your father which is in heaven. And so we don't
S1: manufacture the light, we manifest the light. Uh, that has
S1: been given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ.
S2: Well, if you can grab a Bible, join us in
S2: James chapter one as we continue the message. The enemy. Enemy.
S2: Here is Pastor Ford.
S1: It's closed now, but on 71st Street there used to
S1: be a bakery. You and my mama. My mama makes
S1: some cold blooded bread pudding. It was one of my favorites. Now,
S1: some people don't even know how to make bread pudding.
S1: They say, I know how to. I say, what do
S1: you start with? They say bread. I said, what kind
S1: of bread? Bread. Bread? No. The best bread pudding starts
S1: with moldy bread. If you don't make it with moldy bread,
S1: you don't know what you're doing. I don't care what
S1: you say. Mama made it with moldy bread. Boy, knock
S1: your socks off. And so there was a bakery on 71st,
S1: and I used to go up there and buffet my body,
S1: and he said, hey, why don't you try some of
S1: my bread pudding? I said, no, because nobody makes bread
S1: pudding like my mama. He said, I tell you what,
S1: I'm going to give you two pieces free. He gave
S1: me two pieces free, along with my dozen doughnuts that
S1: I was taking back to all my family. I said,
S1: let me taste this. I knew as soon as I
S1: tasted it. I went back in. You know, I got
S1: out of my car, I went back in because, you know,
S1: you know, you never get them home before you start
S1: eating them. I said, you made this with moldy bread.
S1: He said there's no other way to make bread.
S3: And I said, man, man.
S1: I told him, I said, you know what? I used
S1: to push drugs, and you just did to me what
S1: I would do to everybody else if I had somebody
S1: who never got high before they first hired was free,
S1: because I knew that once they had what I had,
S1: they be coming back. I told them, I know what
S1: you're trying to do. You're trying to get me up
S1: here at 3:00 in the morning. Say, where? The bread
S1: pudding dog? Where the bread pudding man, you know. But
S1: that's it. That's it. Remember the old Chinese proverb? First
S1: the man takes a drink, then the drink takes a drink.
S1: Then the drink takes the man. That's us. So whatever
S1: it is, your proclivity. Because everybody La dee da dee.
S1: And everybody in here has some proclivity to some sin.
S1: Look at her. Looking all innocent, like not me. Mhm.
S1: Your halo going to become your new sun and told
S1: you that plenty of times. But it's our own lust.
S1: Man one of the things I hate to hear is
S1: he made me hit him. Oh, yeah. She made me
S1: hit her. He made me hit her. What? Nobody makes
S1: you do anything. You do it yourself. You did it.
S1: You did it. So the inception of sin comes from
S1: our flesh. In my flesh, there's no good thing. And remember,
S1: when it comes to salvation, Jesus Christ is God in
S1: the flesh. Who died, was buried, and rose again the
S1: third day. As a matter of fact, uh, when we
S1: look at the resurrection, it is the capstone of Christianity,
S1: and we know that. And so you say, what's going
S1: on here? He says the inception of it, uh, has
S1: to do with our own lust here. Now he goes
S1: from inception to reception. So God does not tempt with evil. Uh,
S1: neither tempt thee any man. But every man is drawn
S1: away of his own lust. Here's what he wants us
S1: to understand. Desire is neutral. It can be good or bad,
S1: depending on what we do with it. And so, you know,
S1: it is. It's like one sister told me, pastor, please
S1: pray for me that God would take away these desires
S1: that I have so that I won't even want a man.
S1: I said, I'm not doing that. Why not? Because what
S1: happens when you when you get a man and then
S1: you don't have the desire anymore? So what he's supposed
S1: to do. Oh, pastor. No, no. Because then you come
S1: back talking about, uh, pray for me that God give
S1: me the desire back because he took it away. No, no,
S1: we have to learn to deal with it so you
S1: can say no. First Corinthians 1013 there is no temptation
S1: taken you, but such as is common to man. But
S1: God is faithful who will not allow you to be
S1: tempted above that you're able to stand, but will, with
S1: the temptation, make a way of escape that you may
S1: be able to bear. Come on, you know this very well.
S1: I tell it to you all the time. Who are
S1: our enemies? How many do we have? Who are they?
S1: The world, the flesh and the devil. Does the Bible
S1: give us a specific prescription to fight each one of them?
S1: What are they? What do we do with the world?
S1: We face the world. Tell me where it's found. First
S1: John 44B. This is the victory that overcomes the world.
S1: Even your faith. That's a weapon. And you have to
S1: know how to use a weapon. There's a difference between
S1: a knife and a gun. And so God distinguishes what
S1: we can do to say no to each of these enemies.
S1: The world, our external enemy, the flesh, Our internal enemy
S1: and the devil are infernal enemy. And so then what
S1: do we do with the wicked one? So we face
S1: the world. First John five four. B we fight the
S1: wicked one. James four six through eight, and we flee
S1: the flesh. Second Timothy 222 flee also youthful lust. And
S1: that's what Joseph did. Remember Genesis 39 seven and eight.
S1: He refused. He said, I cannot do this sin against God.
S1: And so he did not have her. You can put
S1: in your Bible. He refused, and so can I. Same power.
S1: Same power. And so he refused. And then, by the way,
S1: just let me point out. What did he say? It's
S1: a sin against God, wasn't it? Sin against Potiphar? Wasn't
S1: it sin against his own Christianity? Wasn't the sin against
S1: his people when he went to the top of the line?
S1: He said, when we all sin is sin against God.
S1: All sin is sin against God. And you know, in
S1: my devotions this morning, I ran across something that really
S1: was significant to me. And it was, uh, when God said, uh, that, uh,
S1: he called it sin when a person was falsely incarcerated,
S1: you know, you know, I put in my journal. Justice
S1: is a spiritual issue, not a secular one, anyway. So
S1: what happens? He says, every man who is drawn away
S1: and enticed. See, the devil wants us to let our
S1: desire be evil. What does he do? He always wants
S1: us to go beyond what God has said. God gives
S1: us food to enjoy. Satan says, be a glutton. He
S1: gives us wine. Satan says, be drunk. He gives us sex.
S1: He says have premarital or extramarital. He gives us sleep
S1: and we get lazy. Now he uses two metaphors. Every
S1: man is tempted when he's drawn away of his own
S1: lust and enticed. Two metaphors fishing and hunting. See, here's
S1: here's the fishing analogy. The devil goes fishing and he
S1: knows what bait to put on the hook. When? When
S1: my son was growing up, my baby boy, he loved fishing.
S1: And so, uh, Mr. Lambkin took him, and he just
S1: got he got hooked on fishing. So he would say, dad,
S1: take me fishing. And so I said, okay. So, uh,
S1: we would go up around there, especially when the salmon
S1: run and, uh, we throw it in. We never caught anything. So, uh,
S1: I asked Mr. Lambkin, I said, would you come with
S1: us one time? And and he said, what kind of
S1: bait you're using? I said, well, we didn't have any
S1: real bait, so we just used Snickers. He said, you're
S1: not going to catch fish with Snickers. I thought it
S1: was sweet. They would like it or something like that.
S1: He said, you're never going to catch anything with the
S1: kind of bait you're using. Well, the devil knows what
S1: you like. And he wiggles his bait and he hides
S1: the hook. He conceals the hook. Why? Because the hook
S1: is the consequence of taking the bait. Y'all ain't praying
S1: with me in here. That's what it is. And so
S1: he never shows you the consequences. Doesn't show you the
S1: end of it. The devastation, the abuse, the poverty, the drunkenness.
S1: Don't show you all that. Adam and Eve saw the fruit.
S1: It was good for food. And they lost the garden
S1: because of what they were looking at. They had separation
S1: from God. And so they saw the fruit. But they
S1: didn't see the separation from God, the death of their children,
S1: the destruction, Hitler, Hurricane Katrina. You take the bait, you
S1: get caught on the hook.
S2: Or that really is a word of warning from Pastor
S2: Ford today. Sometimes the enemy makes sin look so tempting,
S2: doesn't he? We've got to know that we have this enemy.
S2: Enemy that we're doing battle with constantly. And I hope
S2: that today's message is reminding you of that and helping
S2: you prepare to do battle against that. That's one of
S2: the reasons that we produce this program, to be able
S2: to encourage people in their walk with Christ. And if
S2: you're benefiting from Pastor Ford's teaching, I want to ask
S2: you to support this ministry. We truly are dependent upon
S2: your financial generosity to cover the production costs and airtime.
S2: We are listener supported, and so if you're a listener
S2: who's benefiting, would you give a gift? You can do
S2: that by coming to our website. It's Treasure truth. Org
S2: and click on the link that says make a donation.
S2: Again our website address is Treasure Truth radio.org. Again, here's
S2: Pastor Ford.
S1: Here it is. He. Thirdly, talks about the deception of sin.
S1: He says, entice the metaphor of a hunter setting a trap.
S1: Every sin has lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes,
S1: pride of life. I don't have time to do it
S1: because my time is gone. But I want you to
S1: go back. Look at Adam and Eve. What do you have?
S1: Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life.
S1: And they saw that the tree was good for food.
S1: That's lust of the flesh. It was pleasant to the eyes,
S1: lust of the eyes, and was to be desired to
S1: make one wise. Pride of life. What about Achan? He
S1: went and saw Babylonian gardens, lust of the eyes. And
S1: he took them. Uh, anyway, you know Samson. Same thing.
S1: Lust of the eyes. Get her for me. You know
S1: all the rest. Jesus. Temptation in Matthew four. In other words,
S1: he don't change it. First John 215, he says that
S1: we need to To realize that we need to stop
S1: loving the world, because all that's in the world is
S1: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
S1: and the pride of life. That's what he's going to
S1: get us from ambition, appetite and avarice, ambition, appetite and avarice. Ambition, appetite. Avarice.
S1: That's what he uses. That's why he comes. And so
S1: when you look at it, notice something that every sin
S1: has that. So notice it starts with the emotions. Then
S1: it moves to the intellect, desire, emotions, deception, the mind,
S1: because the battlefield is in the mind. So even though
S1: he gets your passion, he has to control your perception.
S1: He got to control your mind. How do you know that?
S1: Second Corinthians chapter four three and four. If our gospel
S1: is hid, it is hid to those who are lost,
S1: whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds
S1: of them that believe not, lest the glorious light of
S1: the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God,
S1: should shine unto them. The battlefield is the mind. Second
S1: Corinthians ten three through eight. For the weapons of our
S1: warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the
S1: pulling down of strongholds. And he goes through and he says, listen,
S1: you gotta let go of those thoughts that are excessive thoughts,
S1: entrenched thoughts, exalted thoughts, and bring them under captivity to
S1: Jesus Christ. What's he talking about there that we have
S1: been given the mind of Christ. And so we have
S1: two minds. We have our own mind, and we have
S1: Christ's mind. What mind are you in? Have you lost
S1: your mind yet? Because you'll never utilize the mind of
S1: Christ until you lose your own mind. So instead of
S1: programming ourselves with the world, we have to program ourself
S1: with the word. Now, you know, I tease about it
S1: all the time. And I know why you do that, pastor,
S1: because you don't watch it, you know? Well, there's a
S1: reason I don't watch it, because I don't want to
S1: get captured. No, I can't watch Empire. No, I can't
S1: watch scandal. No, I can't watch any of them other
S1: that that's captivated a whole world. Can't watch it. Why?
S1: Because I don't trust me, that's why. Because it always
S1: starts small. You remember that story? That story about the
S1: guy was driving the stagecoach. And the guy was the.
S1: He was. He was his, uh, rifle man. And he
S1: was on the back and he said, hey, hey, hey,
S1: there's an Indian coming after us. He said, well, well,
S1: how far away is he? I don't know, but he's
S1: about this big. And then he said, well, he's gaining
S1: on us. He said, how far back is he? He said,
S1: I don't know, but he's about this big. He said, well, well,
S1: well don't worry about it. Not yet, not yet. He said,
S1: oh he ain't catching up with us. How far away
S1: is he? I don't know, but he's about this big.
S1: And he said, no, no, no, don't don't worry about it.
S1: Don't worry about it. He can't hurt us. And then
S1: he said, hey, man, he is right behind us. How
S1: big is he? He's this big. He said, well, shoot him.
S1: He said, I can't. He said, why? Because I know
S1: him since he's that big. Now you get it, sister
S1: Jackson said. But you get it. It's like. It's like
S1: I have a proclivity. I have a sin that I
S1: coddle and I because it's just a little sin. I mean,
S1: you know, but a little leaven leavens the whole lump,
S1: and yeast begins to permeate the whole thing. So finally,
S1: I'm captivated by it, captured by it. Now I no
S1: longer control it. It controls me. And I find myself,
S1: you know, just seeking it out, drawn to it. Lust.
S1: And so what do you have? Here's what Achan did.
S1: And remember, write down Proverbs 23 seven. Proverbs 23 seven.
S1: Don't have time, but but, uh, tell you all the
S1: time about how they used to catch monkeys. They would put, uh,
S1: a cage, and they would they would, uh, have a
S1: chain on it, put an aluminum foil, shiny, like, shiny stuff,
S1: and it would put his hand in and grab it,
S1: and then they would come and capture it. Uh, well,
S1: couldn't let it go. It won't. It can't get that
S1: aluminum foil through the bars and it'll pull on aluminum foil.
S1: It won't let the aluminum foil go because it's shiny.
S1: It's attracting. And so so what happens first there is
S1: the first glance of deception, then the firm grip of desire,
S1: then the foolish game of defiance, then the foul guilt
S1: of disobedience. Anything we have to hide is wrong. Let
S1: me say that again. Anything we have to hide Is wrong.
S1: Here's the final thing. The conception of it. So he
S1: talks about the inception, the reception, the reception now the
S1: conception that when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin.
S1: And when sin is finished brings forth death. He says,
S1: when there is this interaction of me with anything that
S1: God says is wrong, then I have a sin, baby.
S1: Now notice he doesn't name the sin. Why? Let me
S1: tell you three reasons. I gotta let you out of here.
S1: Number one, to reinforce our own responsibility for our sin.
S1: All sin, even the little sin. Because having a little
S1: sin is like being a little pregnant. It's all going
S1: to come out after a while. Number two. So we
S1: can put our sin there so we don't have to
S1: worry about. Well, my sins not there. Uh, I did, uh,
S1: in the morning, we did the book of Galatians. We're
S1: almost done. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord. And, uh, we did, uh,
S1: the 17 works of the flesh. And I said, I'm
S1: going through every one of them. And I went through
S1: every one. And they had four categories. There was the
S1: sexual sin, there was the spiritual sin, there was the
S1: social sins, and there were the self-indulgent sins, broke it
S1: down into four different sin categories and said, now, now,
S1: some of you may say, uh, all these 17, none
S1: of mine are there. He said, and such were some.
S1: And he began to add the fact that he didn't
S1: try to make it exhaustive. There are more sins than
S1: just 17. Then thirdly. So you can acknowledge that you
S1: can't deal with it until you confess it. First John
S1: one nine. Now I want to leave you like that. Well,
S1: what's what's the solution to this thing? The songwriter said
S1: it best. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full into
S1: his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow
S1: strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.
S1: I want to tell you something that Jesus is the
S1: light of the world. John 812. That you and I,
S1: we can deal with our sin appropriately with one broad stroke.
S1: You know what that is? Fellowship with the light. Man,
S1: you know I've done it so many times. I'll go
S1: to my closet and my wife is asleep, and I'm
S1: trying not to wake her up. And so I'll grab
S1: a pair of shoes, and I wear Stacy Adams. And
S1: so I have, like, a brown pair of Stacy Adams,
S1: a black pair of Stacy Adams, a Burgundy pair of
S1: Stacy Adams, and, you know, several shades of brown. But
S1: sometimes you can't tell what color is what in the dark.
S1: And so there have been plenty of times when I thought,
S1: I'm good to go. I look down one brown shoe,
S1: one black shoe you see in the dark I was deceived.
S1: In the light it was uncovered. And I could see
S1: and do what I was supposed to do. Change them.
S1: And first John one nine says, if we confess our sins,
S1: he's faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse
S1: us from all unrighteousness. Father, bless the truth to our hearts.
S1: We pray for Christ's sake.
S2: Amen. Well, you're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford.
S2: A message called The Inner Me enemy a look at
S2: James chapter one, verses 13 to 18. Now, this is
S2: just the second day in our broadcast series. If you've
S2: missed the previous broadcast, I want to encourage you to
S2: go to our website and catch up on what you've missed.
S2: Our website address is Treasure Truth radio.org. Now from there
S2: you can stream the program through your computer or mobile device.
S2: You can download MP3's or you can order copies of
S2: this broadcast on CD. Number of different ways that you
S2: can listen right through the website. You can also listen
S2: if you podcast this program or you have the Moody
S2: Radio app. Now both the podcast and the app are
S2: free and you can find those when you come to
S2: our website. Treasure Truth radio.com. I would love to know
S2: how this Bible teaching program is making a difference in
S2: your life. Maybe there's a specific way that Pastor Ford's
S2: teaching has impacted your walk with Christ. Maybe it's helped
S2: save your marriage, help you get a handle on your finances,
S2: or help you begin a relationship with Jesus. Would you
S2: share that story with us? Visit the contact page of
S2: our website and let us know how the Lord has
S2: used this program to bless your life. Again, our website
S2: address is Treasure Truth radio.org. Well, thanks for listening today.
S2: Thanks also to our producers, Amy Rios and Ryan McConaughey.
S2: I'm Steve Hiller. Treasure truth is a production of Moody Radio,
S2: a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.