WEBVTT - I Ain’t Never Scared, Part 2 0:00:00.920 --> 0:00:03.120 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow 0:00:03.120 --> 0:00:05.720 of death, I will fear no evil. Why? Because you're 0:00:05.720 --> 0:00:07.960 going to do something though. Because you're with me. Because 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:12.080 as long as you're with me, I ain't never scared. 0:00:13.480 --> 0:00:14.960 I ain't never scared. 0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:24.680 This is treasure. Truth with pastor and author James Ford, 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:27.400 junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:30.040 I'm Steve Hillard. Glad that you're with us today as 0:00:30.040 --> 0:00:33.920 we continue a message called I Ain't Never Scared. And pastor, 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:37.080 there may be somebody listening today who feels like they're 0:00:37.120 --> 0:00:39.640 walking through the valley of the shadow of death, and 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:42.760 they're trying to fear no evil, but they're shaken. They're 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:46.120 scared right now, and they're trying to remember that God 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:49.080 is with them, but they're just struggling today. Can you 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:49.959 talk to that person? 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:56.200 I would tell that person, start practicing the presence of 0:00:56.200 --> 0:01:00.360 the person of God. When we first moved to Chicago, 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:06.520 we lived in Humboldt Park, which is largely Hispanic, and 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:11.880 my son, my oldest son was being recruited. And for gang. 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:12.200 Gang. 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:15.960 Yeah. For gang. And, uh, I would walk him to 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:20.120 school and then pick him up from school. He said 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:22.080 to me one day he said, you don't need to 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:27.440 do that anymore, dad. I'm not afraid. I said, you're not. 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:31.720 Help me to understand it. He said, well, we had 0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:37.920 studied Psalm 23. He said, I realized something, that I 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:40.679 wasn't afraid because you were with me. 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:41.720 Yeah. 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:46.240 But then I was discounting the fact that even when 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:49.360 you're not with me, God is with me. Mhm. Yeah. 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:53.440 And I felt like God is more powerful than you. 0:01:54.240 --> 0:01:56.840 And so as long as he's with me, I don't 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:57.560 need you. 0:01:58.080 --> 0:01:59.160 It's pretty profound for. 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:01.480 I was in seventh grade when he. When he told 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:02.080 me that. 0:02:02.120 --> 0:02:02.760 Good for him. 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:03.160 I said. 0:02:03.200 --> 0:02:03.800 Wow, son. 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:08.040 You're absolutely right. Yeah. You know, and so, I mean, 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:12.840 a seventh grader. Yeah. You know, realizes in his walk 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:17.440 that God is more powerful than his very powerful father. 0:02:17.480 --> 0:02:21.960 Yes. Yeah. And I remember you years ago. You're a 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:23.359 big dude. Yeah. I was. 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:27.000 Still big. I used to be 305. Now I'm down to. 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:28.079 Yeah. 0:02:28.160 --> 0:02:31.239 You know, so I've lost some pounds and got 40 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:31.720 more to go. 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:33.800 Oh. Looking good though. It kind of reminds me a 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:37.120 little bit. I don't know if you ever watch VeggieTales, but, uh, 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:40.799 this animated, uh, Christian TV show, uh, videos that came 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:42.399 out years ago. And I think one of the very 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:44.839 first ones they ever did was, uh, where's God when 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:47.480 I'm scared? Had a great song called God is Bigger 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.880 Than the boogeyman. He's bigger than the monsters on TV. 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:53.000 And he's watching out for you and me. So every time, 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:55.760 because I've now got little kids. And so, you know, 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:57.639 every time they're like, I'm scared of the dark. I'm 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:00.600 scared of this. I'm like, hey, remember that VeggieTales song? 0:03:00.830 --> 0:03:03.030 God is bigger than the boogeyman, and he's with you. 0:03:03.070 --> 0:03:05.670 He's watching out for you. So kind of similar to 0:03:05.710 --> 0:03:08.230 what you're talking about there. You're going to have to 0:03:08.230 --> 0:03:10.190 go check that out. Yeah, I think it was Junior 0:03:10.190 --> 0:03:14.510 Asparagus and his dad. Well, we are going to move 0:03:14.510 --> 0:03:16.630 on from VeggieTales here, and we're going to go back 0:03:16.630 --> 0:03:19.590 to the Book of Psalms. We're in Psalm 27 today, though, 0:03:19.630 --> 0:03:23.110 as we continue this message. I ain't never scared. Here's 0:03:23.110 --> 0:03:23.990 Pastor Ford. 0:03:24.590 --> 0:03:26.790 You praise him when heaven's coming down. 0:03:26.990 --> 0:03:27.830 Yeah, but can you. 0:03:27.830 --> 0:03:31.510 Praise him when hell is breaking loose? Uh, yeah. Yeah. 0:03:31.510 --> 0:03:34.070 You you you pray for Big Mama to live. But 0:03:34.070 --> 0:03:37.230 she died anyway. Can you praise the Lord in spite 0:03:37.230 --> 0:03:41.150 of it? Can you yet give him a praise? Yeah. Uh, 0:03:41.150 --> 0:03:43.190 you got the interview, but you didn't get the job. 0:03:43.190 --> 0:03:47.030 But can you praise God? Uh, that you are unemployed 0:03:47.030 --> 0:03:49.710 in the midst of it? Can you praise him? Uh, 0:03:49.710 --> 0:03:52.190 you've been praying for healing, and, uh, we don't put 0:03:52.190 --> 0:03:54.510 so much oil on you. We could have fried ten 0:03:54.510 --> 0:03:58.830 crates of chicken. Uh, but you ain't healed after 20 years. 0:03:58.870 --> 0:04:01.470 Can you still get up in the midst of the 0:04:01.510 --> 0:04:05.110 saints and tell everybody I will praise him. See you 0:04:05.110 --> 0:04:07.630 pray for the child. But the child is still on drugs. 0:04:07.630 --> 0:04:10.990 You pray for your for your relative and they're still gay. 0:04:11.150 --> 0:04:14.910 They're still banging your house, still in foreclosure, your spouse 0:04:14.910 --> 0:04:18.349 still cheating. The vision didn't go like you planned. But 0:04:18.350 --> 0:04:22.110 can you say, like the psalmist, I will bless the 0:04:22.110 --> 0:04:26.669 Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in 0:04:26.670 --> 0:04:31.550 my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. 0:04:31.550 --> 0:04:35.510 The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. Oh, magnify 0:04:35.670 --> 0:04:39.310 the Lord with me, and let's exalt. Are there any 0:04:39.310 --> 0:04:44.029 praises in the house? Are there any who will give 0:04:44.029 --> 0:04:51.469 him the sacrifice of praise? Amen. Amen. Yeah. The sacrifice. 0:04:51.470 --> 0:04:56.070 What do you mean by that? You buy at Payless, 0:04:56.390 --> 0:05:00.230 but you praise him like you got it at Neiman Marcus. Yeah. 0:05:00.270 --> 0:05:03.830 Give him some glory. You drive a hooptie. Uh, yeah, 0:05:04.150 --> 0:05:08.070 but you drive it like you're driving a Bugatti. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 0:05:08.110 --> 0:05:11.029 You eat at Mickey D's every day, but you act 0:05:11.029 --> 0:05:16.270 like you eat at McCormick and Schmidt's every night. Yeah. Yeah. 0:05:16.270 --> 0:05:19.589 You wear polyester, but you praise him like you wear 0:05:19.630 --> 0:05:23.630 an Egyptian cotton. Yeah, yeah. Your unemployment is about to 0:05:23.630 --> 0:05:26.510 run out, but you running around acting like you're the 0:05:26.510 --> 0:05:31.029 CEO of a fortune 500 company. You live in an 0:05:31.029 --> 0:05:35.070 apartment in the projects, but you're walking with swag like 0:05:35.110 --> 0:05:38.150 you got a mansion in Winnetka. I wish I had 0:05:38.150 --> 0:05:42.110 some folk who understand how blessed they are, and can 0:05:42.110 --> 0:05:46.870 just give God some praise for how I am right now. 0:05:47.029 --> 0:05:49.390 You don't got to give me nothing else. You don't 0:05:49.390 --> 0:05:53.070 got to provide anything else. You done already done enough 0:05:53.070 --> 0:05:55.909 for me to praise you, to lift you up, to 0:05:55.910 --> 0:05:59.950 magnify you, to give your name the glory. I ain't 0:05:59.990 --> 0:06:14.950 never scared. I ain't never scared. I ain't never scared. Mm. Yeah. Mm. David, 0:06:15.710 --> 0:06:18.789 would you understand? You want me to share with the congregation? 0:06:19.990 --> 0:06:28.070 God will often change the things around you so he 0:06:28.070 --> 0:06:32.309 can expose to you the things that are really in you. Oh, 0:06:32.350 --> 0:06:35.230 somebody ought to be tweeting that. Now, that's worth taking 0:06:35.230 --> 0:06:37.750 the cell phone out and tweeting that. Let me say 0:06:37.750 --> 0:06:43.270 that again. That's Tweetable moment there. I said, God will 0:06:43.310 --> 0:06:48.790 often change things around you so he can expose to 0:06:48.790 --> 0:06:54.909 you what's really in you. See, all of us can 0:06:54.910 --> 0:06:59.469 talk a good game in church, but what about on 0:06:59.470 --> 0:07:03.630 the job tomorrow. Will you lift your hands and say 0:07:03.750 --> 0:07:10.870 thank you, Lord, that I got a job? Amen. Now 0:07:10.870 --> 0:07:15.630 look at what he's doing here. David is celebrating the 0:07:15.630 --> 0:07:21.230 easiness of God. Aren't you glad God is and never was? Was? 0:07:23.150 --> 0:07:29.630 There goes another tweet. Yeah. That that he's saying. He's saying. Listen, 0:07:29.630 --> 0:07:32.390 the Lord is my light. He's my illuminator. Uh, the 0:07:32.390 --> 0:07:35.390 Lord is my salvation. He's my liberator. And the Lord 0:07:35.390 --> 0:07:38.030 is the strength of my life. He's my generator that 0:07:38.030 --> 0:07:40.470 I've got a God that got me covered. Uh, that 0:07:40.470 --> 0:07:44.270 he's my illuminator, my liberator and my generator. He gives 0:07:44.270 --> 0:07:48.590 me power. He gives me protection. He gives me provision. 0:07:48.750 --> 0:07:54.230 Everything I need is wrapped up in his purse. Amen. Mhm. 0:07:55.070 --> 0:08:01.550 I feel good today. You get a deke? Yes, sir. 0:08:01.630 --> 0:08:04.230 He said the Lord is my light. He said, what 0:08:04.230 --> 0:08:07.750 do you mean, David? You know what I mean. Dispels darkness. 0:08:07.750 --> 0:08:10.230 You remember what happened? The four of us were were 0:08:10.230 --> 0:08:13.830 in my vehicle going to the cemetery. I looked down 0:08:14.790 --> 0:08:16.910 and I had on. I had on black shoes. I 0:08:16.950 --> 0:08:20.150 had on black pants. I had on a black vest, 0:08:20.190 --> 0:08:23.350 had on a black jacket, had on a black hat, 0:08:23.390 --> 0:08:27.830 had on a black overcoat, had a black Bible. And 0:08:27.830 --> 0:08:30.989 I looked and I had on bright. You'll be laughing 0:08:30.990 --> 0:08:35.270 at my socks. Just, just the old school man. We 0:08:35.750 --> 0:08:37.510 this old school. This is what we used to wear. 0:08:37.550 --> 0:08:40.550 Old school. Now you know. That's it. You see that purple? 0:08:40.590 --> 0:08:44.310 The purple in there, baby. Shoot. It's coordinated purple in there. 0:08:44.350 --> 0:08:47.510 Now come on. That's it, that's it. You know, your 0:08:47.510 --> 0:08:50.589 pastor got swag. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So 0:08:50.590 --> 0:08:53.989 whenever I sit down and pull em up. Yeah, yeah. 0:08:54.110 --> 0:08:59.270 And so so so anyway, I had on brown socks, 0:09:00.500 --> 0:09:04.579 I said, look, I got on brown socks. They said, man, 0:09:04.580 --> 0:09:08.540 you should have kept them down. They're messing up your thing. 0:09:09.540 --> 0:09:13.339 But you know what happened? I got dressed in the 0:09:13.340 --> 0:09:18.340 dark and they. I'm looking at some of the brothers. 0:09:18.340 --> 0:09:20.620 I know y'all done done this before. Y'all looking at 0:09:20.620 --> 0:09:23.860 me like that. That man, that's stupid that we do 0:09:23.860 --> 0:09:27.460 that sometime in the dark. But it took the light 0:09:27.500 --> 0:09:32.460 to expose what was happening. If I'd have never come 0:09:32.460 --> 0:09:35.660 in the light, I never would have known I wasn't 0:09:35.660 --> 0:09:38.460 looking good as I thought I was looking. I never 0:09:38.460 --> 0:09:42.860 would have known I was uncoordinated. Yeah. And that's why 0:09:42.860 --> 0:09:44.700 he says the Lord is my light. You want to 0:09:44.740 --> 0:09:46.660 know why? Let me. Let me just share this with you. 0:09:46.700 --> 0:09:50.100 My mother in law, uh, took my my granddaughter Nini 0:09:50.140 --> 0:09:53.300 to her first play. And, uh, her friend went. So 0:09:53.300 --> 0:09:57.100 they were sitting, uh, my my my nanny. Nanny's here. Uh, 0:09:57.100 --> 0:10:00.740 nanny's here. Her friend's there. So the first act was over, 0:10:01.020 --> 0:10:03.780 the curtain goes down and the light goes out. And 0:10:03.780 --> 0:10:06.020 my mother in law said, when the light went out, nay, 0:10:06.020 --> 0:10:09.420 nay jumped in one jump into her lap, she said, 0:10:09.420 --> 0:10:11.380 and the boy that was two seats away. He jumped 0:10:11.380 --> 0:10:14.300 in Nina's lap in one jump, and they were saying, 0:10:14.300 --> 0:10:17.100 what's going on? Why did they turn off the lights? 0:10:17.260 --> 0:10:22.140 I'm scared. Hold me nanny. And she said, I told them, listen, 0:10:22.140 --> 0:10:26.500 let me teach you something. They put the curtain down 0:10:26.940 --> 0:10:31.500 and turned the light out because they're changing things, but 0:10:31.500 --> 0:10:35.460 they don't want you to see them changing things. So 0:10:35.460 --> 0:10:39.540 that's why it's dark. But in a few moments when 0:10:39.540 --> 0:10:45.859 they get done setting everything up, they're going to raise 0:10:45.860 --> 0:10:48.780 the curtain and turn on the light. And she said, 0:10:48.780 --> 0:10:51.460 whenever they raise the curtain and turn on the light, 0:10:51.500 --> 0:10:59.140 they they said, wow, did you see that? Everything has changed. 0:10:59.179 --> 0:11:02.339 I came to tell somebody that you need to know. 0:11:02.340 --> 0:11:05.420 The Lord is your light, that it's dark right now, 0:11:05.420 --> 0:11:09.220 in your trouble, your trial, your test and your tribulation. 0:11:09.220 --> 0:11:11.699 But the curtain is down and the light is up 0:11:11.700 --> 0:11:15.180 because God does his best work in the dark. He 0:11:15.179 --> 0:11:17.780 wants you to walk by faith, not by sight. So 0:11:17.780 --> 0:11:20.339 he can't let you see what he's setting up, but 0:11:20.340 --> 0:11:24.020 he's setting it up so that whenever the curtains go up, 0:11:24.460 --> 0:11:27.860 you done gone from one level to the next level 0:11:27.860 --> 0:11:34.140 and you just say, wow. Then hindsight, which is always 20, 20, 0:11:34.300 --> 0:11:36.940 you look back and say, if it had not been 0:11:37.220 --> 0:11:41.179 for the Lord on my side, where would I be 0:11:41.179 --> 0:11:47.900 if it had not been? Mm. Yeah. He says yeah 0:11:48.460 --> 0:11:53.540 God works in the night seasons. Mhm mhm mhm. He 0:11:53.540 --> 0:11:58.740 said I ain't never scared. Yeah I ain't never scared. 0:12:02.220 --> 0:12:05.100 You're listening to a message entitled I Ain't Never Scared 0:12:05.100 --> 0:12:08.380 from Pastor Ford, really taken from Psalm 27. And we'll 0:12:08.380 --> 0:12:11.700 get back to this teaching in just a moment. If 0:12:11.700 --> 0:12:13.980 you're ever in the Chicago area and you want to 0:12:13.980 --> 0:12:16.579 visit Christ Bible Church of Chicago and hear Pastor Ford 0:12:16.580 --> 0:12:18.740 speak live, you can get all the info you need 0:12:18.780 --> 0:12:23.179 when you come to our website, npr.org, and click on 0:12:23.179 --> 0:12:25.580 the about link. And if you ever have a question 0:12:25.580 --> 0:12:27.860 about something Pastor Ford says on the broadcast, you can 0:12:27.860 --> 0:12:29.860 send us a note at the website. We'll make sure 0:12:29.860 --> 0:12:32.459 that Pastor Ford hears from you. Just come to treasure 0:12:32.460 --> 0:12:37.100 Truth radio.org and click on the contact link. Well, if 0:12:37.100 --> 0:12:39.500 you're just joining us, we are in Psalm 27. So 0:12:39.500 --> 0:12:42.340 open your Bible as we continue the message. I ain't 0:12:42.340 --> 0:12:44.420 never scared. Here's Pastor Ford. 0:12:45.100 --> 0:12:49.620 Look. Look what he says. The Lord is my light. Mhm. 0:12:50.420 --> 0:12:54.820 The Lord is my sun. The Lord is my star. 0:12:55.660 --> 0:12:59.060 The Lord is my beacon. The Lord is my flame. 0:12:59.500 --> 0:13:05.500 The Lord is my fire. He's my luminescence. He's my incandescence. 0:13:05.660 --> 0:13:11.940 He's my phosphorescence. He's my daylight. He's my highlight. He's 0:13:11.940 --> 0:13:16.700 my night light. He's my moonlight. He's my twilight. He's 0:13:16.700 --> 0:13:20.939 my shimmer and my glimmer. He is my razzle and 0:13:20.940 --> 0:13:25.140 my dazzle. He's my brightness. He's my lightness. He's my 0:13:25.140 --> 0:13:30.780 day and he's my ray. Yeah. He could have stopped there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:13:30.780 --> 0:13:36.700 I used the thesaurus. He said the Lord is my 0:13:36.700 --> 0:13:40.540 light and my salvation. He's my savior, he's my Redeemer. 0:13:40.540 --> 0:13:44.859 He's my helper. He's my chain breaker. He's my fetter taker. 0:13:44.860 --> 0:13:50.140 He's my heavy load bearer. Yeah. Huh. So he says 0:13:50.140 --> 0:13:56.260 I ain't never scared. Who should, who should I fear? What, who, 0:13:56.260 --> 0:14:01.500 what person, what doctor's report should I fear? What bar 0:14:01.540 --> 0:14:05.020 should I fear? What neighbor should I fear? What family 0:14:05.020 --> 0:14:10.980 member should I fear? What racist should I fear? No. Yea. 0:14:11.020 --> 0:14:12.860 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of 0:14:12.860 --> 0:14:15.459 death I will fear no evil. Why? Because you're going 0:14:15.460 --> 0:14:17.900 to do something, though. Because you're with me. Because as 0:14:17.900 --> 0:14:21.580 long as you're with me. As long as God is, 0:14:21.620 --> 0:14:25.900 is and never was, was and never will be, will be. 0:14:26.060 --> 0:14:32.060 As long as he is, is. I ain't never scared. 0:14:33.460 --> 0:14:36.700 I ain't never scared. Yeah. Here's the second one. Here's 0:14:36.700 --> 0:14:39.540 the second one. Here's the second one. He says, I 0:14:39.540 --> 0:14:43.900 ain't never scared because of my celebration about God his person. 0:14:43.900 --> 0:14:46.900 But then notice verse two, he says, I ain't never 0:14:46.900 --> 0:14:50.820 scared because of my conquest through God. Listen to what 0:14:50.820 --> 0:14:53.500 he says. When the wicked, even my enemies and my 0:14:53.500 --> 0:14:56.140 foes come upon me to eat up my flesh, they 0:14:56.180 --> 0:15:00.010 stumbled and fell. Man. I looked at the word stumble 0:15:00.010 --> 0:15:03.130 and I looked at the word fail. And they're closely related. 0:15:03.170 --> 0:15:05.410 And he could have used one. He didn't have to 0:15:05.410 --> 0:15:08.450 say stumble and fail, but he wants us to know 0:15:08.570 --> 0:15:10.970 in the first one. Uh, here's what the Bible says. 0:15:10.970 --> 0:15:14.290 No weapon formed against you shall prosper. In other words, 0:15:14.290 --> 0:15:18.050 they can form it, but it can't prosper. In other words, 0:15:18.050 --> 0:15:20.570 they can use it to try to use it against 0:15:20.570 --> 0:15:23.210 you and they can put it against you. But whatever 0:15:23.210 --> 0:15:26.290 they're putting against you for is not going to happen. 0:15:26.970 --> 0:15:29.130 And so he says, listen, I look back in the 0:15:29.130 --> 0:15:33.450 past and I remember what God did. And so now 0:15:33.850 --> 0:15:36.090 I just trust him. I gotta share this. It's one 0:15:36.090 --> 0:15:39.130 of my favorite, favorite stories. Uh, here's what happened to 0:15:39.130 --> 0:15:41.290 me when I, when I got saved. Uh, I was 0:15:41.290 --> 0:15:44.250 going around witnessing. I asked God, let me witness in 0:15:44.250 --> 0:15:48.610 every bar, pool hall, juke joint, uh, that that ever, uh, I, 0:15:48.850 --> 0:15:51.530 I sold drugs in. And before I left Pittsburgh to 0:15:51.530 --> 0:15:54.410 come to Chicago. God showed me. He let me fulfill 0:15:54.650 --> 0:15:57.690 that promise I made to him everyone that was still open. 0:15:58.090 --> 0:16:00.450 You know, and some of em. Some of them I 0:16:00.450 --> 0:16:03.090 used to shut down before I got saved. And some 0:16:03.090 --> 0:16:06.050 of them, I shut them down after I got saved. Amen. 0:16:06.050 --> 0:16:08.170 Because I walk in there with the Bible and and 0:16:08.170 --> 0:16:11.530 quote the scriptures and and chase everybody up out of there. 0:16:11.570 --> 0:16:14.530 As a matter of fact, I was barred from some bars. 0:16:17.370 --> 0:16:19.370 I was deep because I'd go up in there just. 0:16:19.530 --> 0:16:21.690 And they wouldn't, you know, people would. Whenever I would 0:16:21.690 --> 0:16:23.570 go up to put my arms around, have my Bible 0:16:23.610 --> 0:16:26.050 go put an arm. They start backing away because they, 0:16:26.050 --> 0:16:28.730 they said in the community, don't let him touch you 0:16:28.730 --> 0:16:31.090 because he got some kind of touch. Everybody he touch 0:16:31.090 --> 0:16:36.610 and open that Bible to, they get religious. And so, uh, 0:16:36.610 --> 0:16:38.730 Ray and I were trying to witness to a brother 0:16:38.730 --> 0:16:42.250 named hook. His name is Michael. And, uh, Mike, uh, 0:16:42.250 --> 0:16:45.410 was like, like a sinner to the max. And didn't he? 0:16:45.410 --> 0:16:47.570 He would flaunt it in front of us even though 0:16:47.570 --> 0:16:50.130 we were friends. And so, you know, we'd say, you know, 0:16:50.170 --> 0:16:52.490 he say he say you're not smoking anymore, huh? And 0:16:52.490 --> 0:16:55.450 he light up a joint and blow it in your face, 0:16:55.450 --> 0:16:58.010 stuff like that. Yeah. He do stuff like that. You 0:16:58.010 --> 0:17:01.650 ain't drinking no more, huh? Oh. you know, he would 0:17:01.650 --> 0:17:04.449 do something like that. Mike was so bad. Mike had 0:17:04.450 --> 0:17:08.770 two women that both knew that he was going with them, 0:17:08.770 --> 0:17:10.970 and he invited both of them to live with him, 0:17:10.970 --> 0:17:15.290 and they both came to live with him. So two 0:17:15.410 --> 0:17:19.649 he living like Abraham, Hagar and Sarah and I. I 0:17:19.690 --> 0:17:22.369 never could figure out Sarah as a black woman doing 0:17:22.369 --> 0:17:27.050 that one anyway. Ain't no black woman I know. Now, 0:17:27.050 --> 0:17:29.290 when she kicked him out, that's the black women I know, 0:17:29.330 --> 0:17:33.530 you know. But anyway. So. So, uh, two, two, ten 0:17:33.570 --> 0:17:38.290 in the morning, I get a call. Who's this? It's Hulk. 0:17:38.410 --> 0:17:43.530 What's wrong? What's wrong? We want to be saved, man. 0:17:43.530 --> 0:17:47.330 We want to be saved at 210 in the morning. Mhm. 0:17:47.770 --> 0:17:51.210 I got up, brushed my teeth, put on my clothes. 0:17:51.210 --> 0:17:52.930 My wife said, where are you going? I said hook 0:17:52.930 --> 0:17:54.970 called me. He want to be saved. You, you ain't 0:17:54.970 --> 0:17:57.369 going out there tonight are you. Tell him you see 0:17:57.369 --> 0:17:58.970 him in the morning. He want to be saved now. 0:17:58.970 --> 0:18:02.090 I'm going now, he cried. Now I'm going now. And 0:18:02.090 --> 0:18:04.129 I got in what we call the gospel buggy. It 0:18:04.130 --> 0:18:05.730 was a car that was given to me. It was 0:18:05.730 --> 0:18:08.330 the first miracle that God showed me whenever I turned 0:18:08.330 --> 0:18:10.170 my car in, because I had to make a choice 0:18:10.170 --> 0:18:14.369 between keeping my car and paying my rent, and and 0:18:14.369 --> 0:18:17.570 anybody knows, before I got saved, it was no contest. 0:18:17.570 --> 0:18:22.090 I keep my car. But now that I was saved, 0:18:22.170 --> 0:18:24.330 I had to pay my rent. So I had to 0:18:24.330 --> 0:18:26.490 let the car go. And so Ray said, well, let's 0:18:26.490 --> 0:18:29.490 pray and ask God, God don't give cars. And boom! 0:18:29.490 --> 0:18:31.969 Two days later I was given a car and I 0:18:32.010 --> 0:18:34.609 called it the Gospel Buggy. And so I get in 0:18:34.650 --> 0:18:37.050 the gospel buggy and and I get ready to go. 0:18:37.090 --> 0:18:40.050 I leave Homewood, I head on up to Wilkinsburg, uh, 0:18:40.050 --> 0:18:43.649 where where hook live? Uh, when I get around the corner, uh, 0:18:44.369 --> 0:18:47.490 the car stops. I'm four blocks from his house. This 0:18:47.490 --> 0:18:50.130 is a dangerous place. Uh, best I can tell you 0:18:50.130 --> 0:18:52.369 is it's like being in the bucket of blood at 0:18:52.369 --> 0:18:56.409 3:00 in the morning. Amen, Amen. You Chicago folk know 0:18:56.410 --> 0:19:00.050 what I'm talking about. And and so and so I'm saying, God, 0:19:00.050 --> 0:19:01.729 get this car to going, I gotta get the hook. 0:19:01.770 --> 0:19:04.330 And I can't be walking four blocks in in this 0:19:04.530 --> 0:19:09.730 because I knew. Because, see, before, uh, the, the people 0:19:09.730 --> 0:19:12.770 that I was afraid of as a Christian, uh, was 0:19:12.770 --> 0:19:18.689 me before I became a Christian. Yeah. And so and so, 0:19:18.730 --> 0:19:21.090 you know, I said, man, I got to go. Okay, Lord, 0:19:21.090 --> 0:19:22.689 you're not going to start the car. You got to 0:19:22.690 --> 0:19:25.650 protect me. So I'm walking, I'm walking, I'm singing and 0:19:25.650 --> 0:19:28.090 I'm singing. You know, Andre Cross was big back then. 0:19:28.090 --> 0:19:32.050 Andre Crouch was our Kurt Franklin and Tye Tribbett. And 0:19:32.050 --> 0:19:35.050 so I'm singing some Andre Crouch songs, you know, and 0:19:35.050 --> 0:19:38.129 and and and and just watching and and thinking man, 0:19:38.170 --> 0:19:41.170 you know, you used to be out in this, you know. Yeah. 0:19:41.170 --> 0:19:43.810 But that was before I became a Christian. So I 0:19:43.850 --> 0:19:46.730 come around the corner now cemeteries here. And he lives 0:19:46.730 --> 0:19:49.050 on a dead end street. So once you walk, start 0:19:49.050 --> 0:19:51.609 walking up that street, there's only one way out. That's 0:19:51.609 --> 0:19:53.810 the back this way. So as soon as I turn 0:19:53.810 --> 0:19:56.210 the corner, I look out of my peripheral vision. I 0:19:56.210 --> 0:20:01.490 see a guy steps to block my entrance or exit, actually, 0:20:01.490 --> 0:20:03.810 because that's what it would have been. And I begin 0:20:03.810 --> 0:20:06.129 to pray. I said, Lord, I know this scenario. I 0:20:06.130 --> 0:20:08.250 used to do it myself, me and my brother in law, Bill. 0:20:08.290 --> 0:20:10.889 That's the way we were robbed. Somebody come behind them. 0:20:11.130 --> 0:20:12.449 Step out in front of em, I said, I know 0:20:12.450 --> 0:20:14.410 somebody's going to step out in front of me. And 0:20:14.410 --> 0:20:17.490 a couple doors up, God stepped out from a walkway 0:20:17.730 --> 0:20:19.889 and I said, oh, man, I ain't got no money. 0:20:19.890 --> 0:20:22.850 And so, you know, folk, when you ain't got no money, 0:20:23.170 --> 0:20:24.850 you know, I said, okay, well, I'm just going to 0:20:24.850 --> 0:20:27.050 witness to him, Lord, I'm just going to witness to him. 0:20:27.730 --> 0:20:30.050 I said, you know, Ray said, you're a deliverer. I 0:20:30.050 --> 0:20:32.610 need deliverer right now. And I'm telling you, I didn't 0:20:32.609 --> 0:20:35.050 hardly get the words out of my mouth when I 0:20:35.090 --> 0:20:39.689 saw a light. And then I heard, whoop, whoop, whoop! 0:20:39.970 --> 0:20:43.729 Now they used to send me running. It put a 0:20:43.730 --> 0:20:49.090 smile on my face. I turned around and looked. And 0:20:49.090 --> 0:20:53.050 them boys scattered like roaches. When you turn on the lights. 0:20:53.450 --> 0:20:57.649 Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about, man, 0:20:57.650 --> 0:20:59.800 I'm so happy. And so he pulls up. He says, 0:20:59.800 --> 0:21:02.240 what are you doing, sir? I said, I'm going to hooks. 0:21:02.240 --> 0:21:04.639 I got my Bible. He called me. He wants to 0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:06.840 be saved. And so I'm going to save hook. Do 0:21:06.840 --> 0:21:09.679 you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:13.359 And he said, go on, save hook. And he turned 0:21:13.359 --> 0:21:15.840 on around and moved. So then I get up to 0:21:15.840 --> 0:21:18.840 where hook lives. Now there's three floors and you would 0:21:18.840 --> 0:21:21.199 think he lives at the first floor. You think the 0:21:21.200 --> 0:21:24.119 bottom bell was his second third? It wasn't that way. 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:27.360 I hit the bottom bell, and as I hit the 0:21:27.359 --> 0:21:29.720 bottom bell, I'm ringing and ringing and ringing it. And 0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:35.080 nothing's happening. Then I hear, step back now. Wasn't loud. 0:21:35.080 --> 0:21:39.040 It was in my head. Step back. And I stepped back. 0:21:39.359 --> 0:21:42.560 When I step back, the woman on the third floor 0:21:42.760 --> 0:21:45.840 whose bell I was ringing, that was the first one, 0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:49.440 had slammed up her window. And the pane fell out 0:21:49.440 --> 0:21:52.440 and the pane fell where I was standing. 0:21:55.200 --> 0:21:57.960 Well, a dramatic place to hit the pause button in 0:21:57.960 --> 0:22:00.680 this message from Pastor Ford, but we're going to continue 0:22:00.680 --> 0:22:04.480 this next time. Well, this is a listener supported ministry. 0:22:04.520 --> 0:22:07.800 It's really your donations that keep treasure truth on the air, 0:22:07.840 --> 0:22:11.040 broadcasting the truth each weekday. Now we want to give 0:22:11.040 --> 0:22:13.400 a special thanks to our monthly partners, those who give 0:22:13.440 --> 0:22:17.000 generously and at times sacrificially, to keep these broadcasts on 0:22:17.000 --> 0:22:19.880 the air. You can become a monthly partner right now 0:22:19.880 --> 0:22:26.880 by calling 88644 7660, by going online to Treasure Truth radio.org. 0:22:27.240 --> 0:22:28.960 Or you can send a check in the mail. Our 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:34.200 address is Treasure Truth, 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 0:22:34.440 --> 0:22:38.840 606 ten. Whether you become a monthly partner or you 0:22:38.840 --> 0:22:41.240 make a single gift in the amount of your choosing, 0:22:41.640 --> 0:22:44.400 we'll send you a book by Pastor Ford with our thanks. 0:22:44.400 --> 0:22:48.199 It's called seven Reasons Why God Created Marriage. You know, 0:22:48.240 --> 0:22:51.679 marriage is a partnership where both partners have an equal 0:22:51.680 --> 0:22:55.480 responsibility toward each other. And above all, both partners have 0:22:55.480 --> 0:22:59.520 an obligation towards Christ. In Pastor Ford's book, you're going 0:22:59.560 --> 0:23:02.159 to learn how to reset your marriage and build it 0:23:02.160 --> 0:23:05.639 on the fundamentals laid out in the Bible. You know, 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:07.800 most of us wouldn't dream of building a house without 0:23:07.800 --> 0:23:10.720 first checking the blueprints, making sure we're doing it right. 0:23:11.040 --> 0:23:13.600 But it's astonishing how many couples try and build a 0:23:13.600 --> 0:23:17.080 marriage without first understanding what God intends it to be. 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:21.240 Whether you're married, engaged, or praying for a future spouse, 0:23:21.520 --> 0:23:24.800 it's time to start building the right way. Give a 0:23:24.800 --> 0:23:29.200 donation and request seven reasons why God created marriage. Call 0:23:29.200 --> 0:23:35.840 us at 888644 7660 or go online to Treasure Truth Radio. 0:23:37.600 --> 0:23:40.240 I'm Steve Hiller. Our producer is Amy Rios. Join us 0:23:40.240 --> 0:23:42.880 next time for the conclusion of this message. I am 0:23:42.880 --> 0:23:46.720 never scared. That's right. Here on treasure. Truth. A production 0:23:46.720 --> 0:23:50.600 of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.