S1: Here's what I'm trying to get you to see. Those
S1: aren't stumbling blocks. Those are stepping stones. Every storm was
S1: designed to get him where God ultimately wanted him to be.
S2: Welcome to 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 that you're with us today as
S2: we're going to continue a message entitled The Perfect Storm.
S2: Now we're in acts chapter 27. And no big surprise.
S2: In this chapter of acts, the Apostle Paul has set
S2: sail for Rome and he gets caught in a storm. Now,
S2: God ultimately allowed that storm to happen because many people
S2: were saved spiritually as the result of that storm. That
S2: might be one of the reasons that God allows a
S2: storm to come into our lives. But there may be
S2: other reasons why God allows storms. We've already looked at
S2: how very often God gives storms or allows them to
S2: inspect us, to correct us. He also does so to
S2: protect us or even direct us. And that's exactly what
S2: Pastor Ford was talking about just a moment ago. God
S2: may want us to go down a certain path, but
S2: for one reason or another, we're convinced we're to go
S2: a different direction. We may even think that we hear
S2: God telling us to go that way, but that's not
S2: really the way he wants us to go. So in
S2: order to redirect our steps, he allows a storm to
S2: enter our lives and say, no, that's not where I
S2: want you to go. I need to get you back
S2: on track. As Pastor Ford was talking about, that storm
S2: or stumbling block ultimately became a stepping stone because it
S2: redirected our path back to God's path where he designed
S2: us to be. We're going to continue to look at
S2: that in today's broadcast. So if you can join us
S2: in acts 27 as we continue the perfect storm. Here
S2: is Pastor Ford.
S1: Now, that's what storms will do. Sometimes you get something
S1: out of the storm that you didn't have before the storm.
S1: And would not have had had you not had the storm.
S1: And so we've been looking at what acts 27 tells us.
S1: We've been surveying really hasn't been exposition. Just surveying give
S1: you the fine lines. We said that God uses storms,
S1: and when he uses them, they're perfect storms. Uh, so
S1: we looked at and we already talked about that. Storms
S1: are designed to inspect us. And we saw verse nine.
S1: A failure to wait, foolish decisions following the crowd, fair
S1: weather circumstances. Here it is. Bottom line is this you
S1: never know what kind of faith you have until it's
S1: tested by the storm, that storms are designed to let
S1: us know whether or not we really have the faith
S1: that we say that we have, because there's a whole
S1: lot of folk that think they have faith. But when
S1: the storm comes, they find out they don't trust God
S1: at all. And that's really what it's all about. And
S1: so many of us have had that. All of us
S1: have gone through that. You had a financial difficulty. Did
S1: you trust God? You had you had a health issue.
S1: Did you trust God? Relationship problem. Did you trust God?
S1: In other words, faith then. Second Corinthians seven five. We
S1: walk by faith and not by sight. If we believe
S1: what God has said, faith is believing. It is so,
S1: even when it's not so, until it becomes so. Because
S1: God said so. And so Paul had given them a word.
S1: Will you believe the word? Will you trust what the
S1: word has to say? And that's what God was doing
S1: with this storm. Will you trust the word? Here's the
S1: second thing the storm was designed to correct us. Some
S1: storms come because we don't want to obey God. And
S1: so we talked about Jonah. Jonah was supposed to go
S1: to Nineveh. He wouldn't go. God sent a storm. And
S1: then Jonah decided, you know what? I think I'll go
S1: to Nineveh. And that's all he had to do, because
S1: God picked up the fare with the Uber fish and
S1: took him straight to Nineveh. And so God may be
S1: trying to correct us in our storm because we're headed
S1: in wrong directions. And, you know, the the the thing
S1: about it is he's got time. He's eternal, got more
S1: time than we have. And so, you know, and then
S1: we saw thirdly, storms are designed to protect us. That's
S1: Roman numeral three. That's what we studied last week. First
S1: Thessalonians 518 in everything give thanks, for this is the
S1: will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. So we
S1: saw we must stand on the promise. Verse 24, we
S1: must surrender to God. 25 and 26 we must strengthen
S1: our faith. So are you in a storm right now?
S1: Let me ask you a question. Are you standing on
S1: his promises? Let me ask you another question. Have you
S1: surrendered to God? Let me ask you another question. Have
S1: you strengthen your faith? How do you strengthen your faith
S1: through the Word of God? Faith comes by hearing. Hearing
S1: by the Word of God. Now let's look at this.
S1: Storms are designed to direct us. Uh, so when you
S1: look at what's happening with the apostle Paul, uh, he's
S1: getting direction. Let me read this. What seems like the
S1: best course of action is the worst course of action.
S1: If God told us something different. And so now he's
S1: sharing with them. Listen, you guys need to understand something. Uh,
S1: God already gave us a word about what's going to happen, uh,
S1: to this boat and to us. The boat's going to
S1: be destroyed. We are going to survive. You got to
S1: believe what God is doing. And you have to understand
S1: that he has sent the storm to direct us. You know,
S1: I was reading about David, and it's amazing, isn't it? Uh, remember,
S1: David was anointed to be king. At what age? Anybody
S1: remember 17 years old? When did he become king? How old?
S1: 30 years old. So you have a king's anointing on
S1: a kid. So 13 years before he's ever going to
S1: get where God wants him to be, God anoints him
S1: for that. But here's what I want you to see.
S1: And you know, God always calls the things that are
S1: not as though they are. And so why did God
S1: anoint him at 17? Because he wanted him to know
S1: where he was taking him, so he would begin to
S1: head in that direction. But guess what? God God doesn't
S1: need us to help him and to go in the
S1: direction he wants us to go. Guess what? He can
S1: send a storm. So so so so here's what I
S1: focus on. Where is he ultimately going to end up?
S1: In the palace. How does he get there? A storm
S1: named Goliath. See, everybody else was hiding in the officer's club.
S1: Saul was in the officer's club. Hiding? Everybody else was
S1: afraid of Goliath. He's too big to hit. What did
S1: David say? He's too big to miss. So he kills him,
S1: cuts off his head with his own sword. Anybody know
S1: what happens after that? He's ushered into the palace. Where's
S1: God going to take him? 13 years from the anointing
S1: to the palace. What's the first step in God getting
S1: him there? A storm? Look at the stepping stones to
S1: the palace Alice for David. Storms. Storms. So he comes
S1: back in. He just killed Goliath. Saul should be happy, right?
S1: But the women are singing a song at the top
S1: of the pop charts. Saul has slain his thousands, David.
S1: His tens of thousands. It was probably a R&B. Or
S1: maybe it was hip hop. I don't know. All I
S1: know is Saul didn't like it. So you. You overcame
S1: the storm of the enemy of the people of God
S1: on the outside. Now you come on the inside. You're
S1: in the palace, but you're not on the throne. And
S1: what happens? Saul wants to kill you. Another storm. Then
S1: he runs into the wilderness. Another storm. He goes, uh, down, uh,
S1: to the Philistines. Another storm. But here's what I'm trying
S1: to get you to see. Those aren't stumbling blocks. Those
S1: are stepping stones every storm was designed to get him
S1: where God ultimately wanted him to be. Okay, I guess
S1: I'll have to get contemporary. Some of you know, and
S1: you've been praying. We appreciate it. Uh, that my wife
S1: has been hospitalized in the last month four times. So
S1: she just got out of hospital Sunday. Now, let me
S1: tell you about this last time. Uh, she has a
S1: doctor's appointment on a Friday. I am on my way
S1: to the airport to go to Phoenix, Arizona. And I
S1: get a call. Baby? What? Sugar babe. The doctors are
S1: going to keep me. And, uh, they're going to hospitalize me.
S1: They can't let me go home because I fainted. I
S1: said okay. Alright. So maybe what I need to do
S1: is just cancel. No. Don't cancel, don't cancel. Call your boys.
S1: Tell your boys their mother needs them this weekend. And
S1: that's what I did. And both my boys stepped up,
S1: took care of their mother. Here's what happened. So my
S1: wife was having chest pains, heart palpitations and all this
S1: kind of stuff. Oh, I'm talking about the last time.
S1: This is the one before. I'm sorry. I get them
S1: mixed up because it was four times in one month.
S1: You have a tendency to get them mixed up. Well,
S1: the one before I was at morning Bible study and
S1: I went and I got a text message, and I
S1: called Ethel Hill for it. She said, your wife's having palpitations.
S1: The ambulance is here. They're rushing her to the hospital.
S1: And so she thought she was having a heart attack.
S1: Get there? No, because of the bronchitis and the acute asthma. Uh,
S1: you're bruised, your muscles are sore. All of it feels
S1: like a heart attack. But. But you're okay. But you
S1: got pancreatitis. So what is that? We. They told us
S1: what it is. Well, what happens with that? Well, there's
S1: enzymes secreted from your pancreas. It should never be more
S1: than a level of 200. What's hers? 900. That was
S1: the first day. Thursday 1500. Friday over 1700. She's going
S1: to have to have surgery. We're going to have to
S1: do something about that. That's extremely high. That's dangerous for her. Okay,
S1: so we need to transfer to our own hospital. That's Sunday.
S1: So Sunday night it was over 1700. Monday morning I
S1: get a call. Hey, honey, you had sugar, babe. What's up? Uh,
S1: come get me. Take me home. What do you mean,
S1: take you home? Come get me. Take me home. Aren't
S1: we going to transfer you over to our hospital so
S1: you can have surgery? No. Why? Because my level is 200. Amen.
S1: I said so what happened? So what happened? Well, she
S1: said she really doesn't know what happened. Uh, maybe there
S1: was some gallstones that they couldn't see. Uh, that that passed.
S1: And I said, what'd you tell him? I told him
S1: I got a whole church praying for me. And the
S1: effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man or woman availeth much. Now,
S1: here's my point. Here's my point. There's a storm. She's
S1: got chest pain. We don't know about the pancreatitis, but
S1: all of a sudden now, uh, because we had a storm.
S1: We discovered something that we wouldn't have discovered ordinarily until
S1: it was too late. But the storm brought us to
S1: the hospital where we discovered the pancreatitis. God used that
S1: to direct us. And often you and I need to
S1: understand that God wants to move us and to direct
S1: us to places which we don't want to go. Not
S1: thinking about. And so God sends a storm. It happens
S1: over and over and over again that we need to
S1: realize that God does that. So Paul finds it out
S1: that God is doing something. And what seems like the
S1: best course of action is the worst. If God told
S1: us to do something different.
S2: This is treasure truth with Pastor Ford, a message called
S2: The Perfect Storm, and we'll get back to the teaching
S2: in just a moment. Well, however, you've connected with us,
S2: whether it's been online, through the radio, maybe through the
S2: Moody Radio app, whatever it's been, we're glad that you're here,
S2: that you're listening, and hope that Pastor Ford's teaching is
S2: making a difference in your life. And it's all possible
S2: because those who believe in this ministry give towards treasure, truth,
S2: and moody radio. So if you're growing in your walk
S2: with Christ because you're a regular listener, would you give
S2: a gift to support? To do so, you can come
S2: to our website. Just stop by Treasure Truth Radio org
S2: and click on the link that says make a donation.
S2: That's at Treasure Truth radio.org. Back to the message again.
S2: Here is Pastor Ford.
S1: Now, you know, I wanted to give you a couple
S1: other ones, but you can go through the Bible and
S1: you can see it. Okay, get this one. Just one more.
S1: Exodus chapter 13. The children of Israel are on their
S1: way out of Egypt. You know what? We say it
S1: all the time. It took them one day to get
S1: them out of Egypt. It took them 40 years to
S1: get to Egypt out of them. Deuteronomy chapter one says
S1: it was an 11 day journey from Kadesh Barnea to
S1: the Promised Land. And so God had to get everybody out,
S1: and they wandered in the wilderness. Now, why did God
S1: lead them that way? Now we know because they didn't
S1: walk by faith. They walked by sight. They did not
S1: want to go into the promised land. But. But let
S1: me read to you what it says in Exodus gives
S1: us a different perspective, doesn't it? Exodus chapter 13, verse 17. 13.
S1: Verse 17. Listen to what God says. This is what
S1: I wanted to do. And it came to pass when
S1: Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them
S1: not through the way of the land of the Philistines,
S1: although that was near. For God said, let's peradventure the
S1: people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.
S1: Wait a minute. All that wandering in the wilderness, all
S1: that drama, all that trauma. God, you could avoid that.
S1: Why did you let me go through this? You saw
S1: it coming? Yes, I saw it coming. I led you
S1: to the wilderness because I knew if you would have
S1: kept going in the direction that you were going, you
S1: would meet up with the Philistines, who are some gangbangers.
S1: You weren't ready for that. So I detoured you away
S1: from that because you weren't ready for it. I directed
S1: you by that storm called the wilderness. And sometimes we
S1: have to realize that's the perfect storm that God directs us.
S1: And sometimes it's through a storm. Now, let me show
S1: you something else. Alright. Imma show you something else. You
S1: ain't going to like this one. But Imma show it
S1: to you anyway. That even when the storm is your
S1: fault and you're in sin now. You don't believe me,
S1: do you? Look at judges chapter 14. I'm going to
S1: show you something. Judges chapter 14. We talk about him
S1: all the time. We need to leave him alone. Samson.
S1: He-Man with a she weakness. Yeah, yeah. Women were not
S1: his problem. He was his problem. Yeah. And so what happened?
S1: Now watch this. Remember, he goes down to Timnath and
S1: saw a woman in timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
S1: And so what happens? He goes down to Timnath. Now
S1: get this, get this, get this. Let me tell you
S1: this real quick. Timnath means allotted portion. So it belongs
S1: to the Philistines right now. But it used to belong
S1: to God. It's the appointed place. Get it? In other words,
S1: here's what happened. There was something that belonged to God
S1: that you gave to the world. And the world took
S1: God's appointment from you. Okay, I know you just went
S1: over your head, right? You're saying I don't understand that? Uh, okay.
S1: How many times have I said, you're on Facebook, but
S1: you're not in his book. So if you spent the
S1: time in the Bible that you spent on Facebook, you
S1: have more faith. Appointed place. Appointed place. You've given what
S1: was appointed to him, to the world. And now that's
S1: drawing him. Now get this. Here's my whole point. I
S1: just had to throw that out. Check out verse four.
S1: But his father and his mother knew not that it
S1: was of the Lord. Let me get this. God knew
S1: this man's proclivity. He knows all of ours too, don't he?
S1: And everybody has a proclivity, don't we? What's a proclivity?
S1: Every one of us has a sin that we're fond of.
S1: How do I fight what I like? Yeah. Every one
S1: of us have one. Yeah. And so what happens that
S1: he didn't know that this was of the Lord? In
S1: other words, God chose him not just because of who
S1: his parents were and that God knew. I'm going to
S1: use this man's sin to accomplish my purpose. Now the
S1: storm is his sin. He got a haircut and the
S1: devil's barbershop. And then what happened? Listen, listen to this.
S1: But his father and his mother knew not that it
S1: was of the Lord. That he sought an occasion against
S1: the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion
S1: over Israel. Do you see what that verse is saying?
S1: He's responsible for his sin. But God is going to
S1: use his sin for his ultimate purpose. So this man
S1: goes through this storm, gets his hair cut and and
S1: all that kind of stuff chained, read into the story
S1: that he killed more Philistines in his death than he
S1: did in his life. And then remember this he's overcome
S1: by guilt because God didn't say he had to die.
S1: He asked God to kill him. Yeah, let me die
S1: with him. So God said, sure, I'll do that. But
S1: here's the point. Here's the point. What you're going through
S1: right now, you need to get on your knees, is
S1: what you need to do and see what God is
S1: trying to do in your life, and then work with
S1: him in getting that accomplished, because we all over the place.
S1: I want to try this, and I want to do
S1: this and I want to do that. What's God say?
S1: Do what's he say. Do not what your pastor says,
S1: not what your mama, your big mama, your daddy says
S1: uncle Willie Bubba. Pookie nim. What is God telling you?
S1: Because you gotta connect with that and you gotta roll
S1: with that. I'll get this. Let me bring this in.
S1: What did Paul want to do more than anything? Does
S1: anybody know what Paul wanted to do? Where did he
S1: want to go? More than anywhere else? Rome. That's his destination. Question.
S1: Did he get there? Yes. How? Chained in a slave ship.
S1: He's going in a slave slash prison ship now. I
S1: don't know about you, but what it says to me
S1: is this. You may like the product, but you may
S1: not necessarily like the process. But we don't worry about
S1: what's happening in the process because God is going to
S1: put us through it whether we want to or not.
S1: We focus on the product. This is where I'm going.
S1: And so therefore I'm keeping my eyes on the prize.
S1: I'm not detouring because this is where God has taken me.
S1: And so Paul went to Rome. He got what he wanted.
S1: It was just a rough ride getting in there. How
S1: many people know that God works that way? Why? Because
S1: of the next reason. Because of the next reason. What's
S1: the next reason? Because God sends us storms to perfect us. Now,
S1: now here. Here it is. What's going on? These guys
S1: that are on here, they're not listening to Paul. Now
S1: they're listening to Paul. Paul has shared with them. I
S1: got a word from God about what we're going to do.
S1: So Paul told them, he said, listen, let me give
S1: you some reassurance. This ship will not. Well, first he
S1: reprimanded them. You ain't listen to me. Uh. Then, uh,
S1: he gave them reassurance. An angel of God came to me.
S1: Then he gave him revelation and told me ship would
S1: be lost. But you won't. And then he talked about
S1: his reliance, I trust God. Then they turn around and say, okay,
S1: if you trust him, since you told us what you
S1: told us and it came true, then what we're going
S1: to do is we're going to believe what you just
S1: told us. See what happened to them. The word perfect.
S1: You know it already, right? What is the word perfect?
S1: It's our old friend Stelios who could holler out what
S1: it means. Come on, real quick. What does it mean
S1: to be complete? To fulfill the purpose for which you
S1: were created? That's why you got to tap into purpose.
S1: Purpose keeps you from drifting all over the place. And
S1: so he promised them that. That God is doing a work.
S1: Here it is James chapter one. He says, my brethren,
S1: count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations,
S1: knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
S1: But let patience have her perfect work, that you may
S1: be complete and entire, lacking nothing.
S2: What a reminder that God will use storms to shape
S2: us into the person he would have us be, to
S2: conform us more into the image and the likeness of
S2: his son. Not always easy to have that perspective, to
S2: be thankful in the midst of storms, but that's what
S2: we're called to do as followers of Christ. Not to
S2: be thankful because of the storm, but because of how
S2: God may be at work in our lives in the
S2: midst of that storm. Or you're listening to a message
S2: called A Perfect Storm, and we're going to continue on
S2: our next broadcast. If you want to make sure you
S2: don't miss it, of course you can listen to your radio,
S2: but you can also download the Moody Radio app. Not
S2: only can you listen to Treasure Truth, but you'll be
S2: able to listen to other moody programs and internet music stations.
S2: You'll find links to the app, which is free. When
S2: you come to treasure Truth Radio. Well, thanks for listening today.
S2: Thanks to our producer, Amy Ross. I'm Steve Hiller. Join
S2: us next time for Treasure Truth. A production of Moody Radio,
S2: a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.