S1: That there's some people, no matter what you do to them,
S1: no matter what they go through, they will never deny him.
S1: They'll never backslide on him, that they can go without food,
S1: without job, without and still have the joy of the Lord.
S1: Still tell people that Jesus Christ is the center of
S1: their joy.
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford,
S2: junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago.
S2: I'm Steve Heller. Glad you're with us. And, pastor, I think, uh,
S2: probably most of us know someone like this where they
S2: just seem to have this joy, and you're like, I
S2: don't get where that joy is coming from, right? Because
S2: your life seems like it's such a mess, but yet
S2: you still have this joy. I want that. How can
S2: we learn to cultivate that kind of joy?
S3: Uh, well, you know, the Holy Spirit is resident in
S3: every believer, but the Holy Spirit is not president over
S3: every believer. So he resides in us, but he does
S3: not preside over us. And so what we need to
S3: do is Ephesians 518 be not drunk with wine, wherein
S3: is excess, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. When
S3: you see a person that exhibits that kind of joy,
S3: that's an individual who is filled with the Holy Spirit,
S3: because the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace,
S3: and six other manifestations of the filling of the Holy Spirit,
S3: which we call the fruit of the spirit. And so
S3: that's a person that understands happiness is based on what
S3: happens comes from an Anglo-Saxon word, and it talks about circumstances.
S3: So I'm happy because I got a raise. I'm happy
S3: because the loan went through. I'm happy. But joy is
S3: independent of your circumstances. Now, if you look at joy. Yeah.
S3: You understand? Well, let me, let me just. I hate
S3: to get the Bible in this, but now, a word
S3: from our sponsor. Here's what James said. James, chapter one
S3: two through four. My brethren, count it all joy when
S3: you fall into divers temptations, knowing this, that the trying
S3: of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her
S3: perfect work, that you may be complete and entire, lacking nothing.
S3: Then it goes on. We often stop there. But here
S3: James goes on to say, you know what? I better
S3: anticipate somebody saying, well, you know what? How am I
S3: going to know that this is going to work out
S3: to what God has designed? I mean, it's evil to
S3: have lack and and to go through what I'm going through.
S3: And so James continues, he says, uh, if any man
S3: lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to
S3: all liberally and upbraideth not, but let him ask in
S3: faith nothing doubting, for he that doubts is like the
S3: wave of the sea tossed and driven. Let not that
S3: man think he will receive anything from the Lord, because
S3: a double minded man is unstable in all of his ways.
S3: So what's he saying in five, six and seven? He's
S3: saying this. He's saying, let me tell you in verses
S3: three and four, this is what God is doing. Let
S3: me tell you in five, six and seven, this is
S3: how you can know that God is working with you,
S3: and God is developing you in your walk with him,
S3: rather than trying to destroy you in your walk with him.
S3: And I think it's something that we need to pay
S3: strict attention to. We got to be job Christians.
S2: Well, we could spend more time talking about that, but
S2: right now we're going to open our Bibles to Second
S2: Corinthians chapter eight. So join us there as we continue
S2: the Macedonian mindset. Here is Pastor Ford.
S1: Grace govern their attitude, which determine the amount they gave.
S1: In other words, the motivation was not philanthropy. That's Warren Buffett.
S1: The motivation wasn't guilt because there are people who can
S1: guilt you into giving. I'll never forget it. My brother
S1: in law had me cracking up. We were new believers
S1: and young in the Lord. He went to a church.
S1: It was a church where they collect the money. Didn't
S1: they tell you how much they have? And they tell
S1: you how much they gotta have? So it was something like,
S1: you know, well, we gave $200 and we can't leave
S1: here until we get 350. So put the Levites on
S1: the door. He said there was a guy who was
S1: just seeking. He was a seeker. He wasn't a Christian.
S1: And when they said, put the Levites on the door.
S1: Ain't nobody leaving till we get this $150. My brother
S1: in law said the guy said an expletive deleted. I
S1: don't care who on the door they going to get
S1: off of the door. I'm getting up out of here
S1: right now. They weren't guilted into it. They weren't coerced
S1: into it. Yeah. Even when I preach a Malachi, I
S1: don't preach it from the Old Testament standpoint. I tell
S1: you the New Testament, whenever I preach it, I say, but, but,
S1: but but you're not cursed. You can never be cursed.
S1: How can what God has blessed be cursed for not giving?
S1: I hold you accountable for it. So it's not coercion.
S1: It's not philanthropy. It's not guilt or any of those things.
S1: It's not even tithing folk, not even that generous. Giving
S1: comes from grace. Now, what kind of grace is there?
S1: I'm glad you asked me. First of all, there's saving grace.
S1: Ephesians two eight and nine. For by grace we've been
S1: saved through faith. And that is the gift of God,
S1: not a result of works, lest any man should boast.
S1: So we are saved by grace. We like to have
S1: that acronym, God's redemption at Christ's expense, God's riches at
S1: Christ's expense. In other words, he saved us not because
S1: of us, but in spite of us. God saved us.
S1: But then there's sanctifying grace. So saving grace is when
S1: he saves you up, sanctifying grace when he cleans you up,
S1: then it's glorifying grace. That's when he keeps you up.
S1: And so then you have serving grace. Ephesians 210. We
S1: are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.
S1: Then you have suffering grace. We don't want. We don't
S1: want that kind of grace. Give me all the rest
S1: of it. I don't want no suffering kind of grace.
S1: But Paul found out in Second Corinthians 11 when he
S1: prayed three times, God removed this thorn in the flesh
S1: from me. God said, my grace is sufficient for you.
S1: Some of you know that because you've got maladies and
S1: you are in fellowship with God, and you're wondering why
S1: God or have you not healed me of this? Why
S1: haven't you taken this away? My wife asked it all
S1: the time, and she comes up with the same answer
S1: that God wants to demonstrate his ability to have someone
S1: go through something that he has designed and that he desires,
S1: like job, where he can get the glory. So there
S1: are people who will know that there are people who
S1: serve God not for what God can give them, but
S1: God for who he is. That there's some people, no
S1: matter what you do to them, no matter what they
S1: go through, they will never deny him. They'll never back
S1: up on him. They'll never backslide on him. That they
S1: can go without food, without job, without and still have
S1: the joy of the Lord. Still tell people that Jesus
S1: Christ is Lord, that Jesus Christ is the center of
S1: their joy, that there are individuals who know. That. He's
S1: all I got, but he's all I need. You're the
S1: little boy. Pray the Lord is my shepherd. That's all
S1: I want. He messed it up. No he didn't. And
S1: so there's suffering, grace. But then there's sharing grace. That's
S1: what's happening right here. That that that this was motivated
S1: not by their hand, but by their heart. Wow. You know,
S1: you know, I tell this story, and I. And I
S1: love it. You know, it's about the Lord's baseball team. See,
S1: the Lord's baseball team was playing the Devils baseball team,
S1: and it was the bottom of the ninth. It was
S1: zero zero. And the devil was excited because he thought
S1: if he could get all the God's players out, then
S1: it's zero zero. And he ties God. He knows he
S1: can never beat God, but boy would it be nice
S1: to tie him. So the Christian says to God, what's
S1: going to happen here? You know, and God said, watch this.
S1: So he calls love to bat. Love comes up to
S1: the bat and the devil throws a screwball. Love swings.
S1: Bam hits it on the first pitch, gets on first base.
S1: You want to know why? Because love never fails. Then
S1: God called him and he said, now watch this Christian.
S1: And he called his second batter. He called him faith.
S1: And faith came up to bat and the devil said, oh,
S1: I got this one, and he threw a fastball 600mph. POW!
S1: Faith hits it on the first pitch. Love moves the second.
S1: Faith is on first. Wanna know why? Because faith always
S1: works with love. Then God calls godly wisdom. He said,
S1: watch this. He calls godly wisdom to the bat. He
S1: throws a screwball ball one throws a fastball. Ball two,
S1: throws a curve ball. Ball three, throws another fastball. Ball four.
S1: And now the bases are loaded. Godly wisdom gets on base.
S1: You want to know why? Because godly wisdom never swings
S1: at what Satan throws. So the bases are loaded. And
S1: God said to Christian, Christian, watch this. And so he
S1: calls his pinch hitter up. He says, grace. Come on up.
S1: Grace comes up to bat. But the devil and the
S1: demons elder are looking. And. And anybody ever been in
S1: grammar school or in high school? And you were last pick? Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's.
S1: And everybody move in whenever you come to bat because
S1: because you, you, they don't figure you could hit. Well,
S1: that's what they did to Grace. Everybody moved in. And
S1: so Satan threw his best pitch. It was 1000mph ball
S1: and pow grace hit it. Uh, grand slam. Christian was
S1: kind of confused. He said, I don't understand it. Uh, why?
S1: What's up? He said, well, listen, you're a love. Faith
S1: and godly wisdom can get you on base, but I
S1: can't let it win the game. Why, Lord, because of
S1: your love, faith and wisdom won the game. You would
S1: have thought you did it yourself. But I had to
S1: have grace. Why? Because love, faith and wisdom will get
S1: you on base. But only by grace can bring you home.
S1: That's it. It's grace. Oh, I hate to get the
S1: Bible in this, but now a word from our sponsor. Listen, listen, listen.
S1: I walked through and did a study on grace. And
S1: here's what I found. It's not exhaustive, but here's what
S1: I found. Titus 211 through 13. We are stopped by grace.
S1: Ephesians two eight and nine. We are saved by grace.
S1: Ephesians one three. We are sons and daughters by grace.
S1: Galatians 115. We're summoned by grace. First Corinthians 15 nine
S1: and ten we're shaped by grace. Second Corinthians 12 nine
S1: we're sanctified by grace. Colossians 416 we're spiritually gifted by grace. Uh,
S1: second Corinthians 12 nine we're supplied by grace. Colossians four six.
S1: Our speech is by grace. Hebrews 1319 stimulated growth is
S1: by grace. Second Timothy two one. We're strengthened by grace.
S1: Second Peter 318 we serve by grace. Hebrews 13 nine.
S1: We're stabilized by grace. Hebrews 416. We're sustained by grace.
S1: And in this passage we share by grace. Amen. It's
S1: all about grace. See if what you have you didn't
S1: get from Grace. Then you didn't get it from God.
S1: If what you're doing wasn't done by grace, then what
S1: you did did not and was not empowered by God. Listen,
S1: if what you are becoming isn't by grace, then what
S1: you are becoming isn't pleasing to God. And isn't it
S1: amazing what we are proud of? We're proud of race.
S1: We're proud of faith. We're proud of place, and we're
S1: proud of grace. And we had nothing to do with
S1: any of it. The Macedonian mindset the right motivation for giving.
S2: We'll continue to look at this right motivation from Second
S2: Corinthians chapter eight in just one moment. You know, as
S2: you listen to Pastor Ford's teaching, you may think, I
S2: wonder if he's ever written a book on something. Well,
S2: he has, and you can check those out by coming
S2: to our website and clicking on the Books by Pastor
S2: Ford link. On the left side of the homepage, you'll
S2: see the different titles available as a paperback or in
S2: an e-book format. Just come to Treasure Truth Radio and
S2: click on Books by Pastor Ford. Let's get back to
S2: the message once again. Here is Pastor Ford.
S1: The Macedonian mindset the right motivation for giving. Not giving
S1: to get. Amen. I'm so sick of this stuff and
S1: I hear it all the time. I just shut my
S1: mouth because it's like, man, there's so many people. And
S1: I just got tired of arguing with people about it.
S1: When the praises go up, the blessings come down. The
S1: praises go up. The. So the only time I'm going
S1: to praise God is when I'm looking for something. That's
S1: why some people come to church. No, not at 11,
S1: but at the eight. There was some folk there. The
S1: praises ought to go up. Even if the blessings don't
S1: come down, the praises ought to go up. If he
S1: heals Big Mama, and the praises ought to go up.
S1: If he takes Big Mama home, the praises ought to
S1: go up. If I got a good job, the praises
S1: ought to go up. If I don't have a job,
S1: praises ought to go up. If my kids are in college,
S1: and the praise ought to go up. If my kids
S1: are in jail, the praise ought to go up. If
S1: my wife submits to me and act like the Bible,
S1: tell her to. Preach.
S4: Glory to God.
S1: Or if my wife doesn't act like the Bible tells
S1: her to, the praises need to go up. Yeah, yeah.
S1: I will bless the Lord at all times. And his
S1: praise shall continually be in my mouth. Oh, magnify the
S1: Lord with me. Let us exalt his name together. Come
S1: into his presence with thanksgiving. And into his courts with praise.
S4: Amen.
S1: The right mindset. Notice secondly with me not just the
S1: right mindset, but the right method. Now walk through because
S1: I'm not going to take a lot of time on this,
S1: even though I have a lot of points. Say it's
S1: a miracle. Now walk with me. Walk with me now
S1: watch this. The right mindset tells us what. Why we
S1: give the right method. Tells us what how to give.
S1: Now watch this. Walk with me now. Verse two and three.
S1: A sacrificially. Verse two b generously. Verse three B willingly.
S1: Verse four. Enthusiastically. Verse five. Personally, let me say it
S1: again sacrificially. Verse two generously to be willingly three Be enthusiastically.
S1: Verse four. Personally verse five. So notice now the method
S1: that they had based on their mindset. So don't let
S1: me wear it out. But I, I have to repeat
S1: it that the method was based on the mindset, not
S1: vice versa. So let's notice they gave sacrificially. Listen to
S1: what it says. How that in a great trial of affliction,
S1: the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded
S1: unto the riches of their liberality. And a whole lot
S1: of folk don't understand it. Let me read it in
S1: the ESV. For in a severe test of affliction, their
S1: abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in
S1: a wealth of generosity on their part. Now get this.
S1: Here's what he's saying. Let me let me tell you
S1: two words real quick. Uh, the word that he uses
S1: for trial, ESV has it translated more appropriately. Test. Here
S1: it is. It's a test. A test of what these
S1: Macedonians were poor Christians. The Corinthian believers were not. Yet
S1: the poor Christians gave way more than the rich Christians,
S1: and the rich Christians held back on part of what
S1: they said they was going to give. So it's a test.
S1: What kind of test? Who do you trust? Your stuff
S1: or your savior? They said, you know what? God gave
S1: us the stuff. So if we give it all to him,
S1: he can give us more stuff. That's what they're saying.
S1: And then the word poverty, let me tell you, the
S1: word literally speaks of a beggar who's totally destitute of
S1: everything and lacks the ability to acquire anything. This person
S1: is helpless. This person is homeless. This person is hopeless.
S1: That's what's in the text. Now you say, wait a minute.
S1: How is that possible? Yes, they gave sacrificially, man. Let
S1: me ask you a question. Say, ask the question. Do
S1: you give in light of your circumstances or do you
S1: give in spite of your circumstances? Mhm. Mark chapter 1441
S1: through 44. It's a very familiar passage of Scripture. It
S1: is where the widow gave her two pennies. Now Jesus,
S1: it says, went to watch people give. Y'all worried about
S1: if the pastor see you put an envelope in. You know,
S1: some people when offering plate pass, they don't have nothing
S1: in hand. They just act like it. Yeah, there are
S1: people that do that. Why do you do that? You look,
S1: look look look look, look. God sees it. You ain't
S1: gotta perpetrate for me or anybody else. Just pass it.
S1: That's it, you know? And for if you're unsaved here today,
S1: let me tell you something. God doesn't want your money.
S1: God wants your soul. That's what he wants. I used
S1: to do it all the time, and then the elders
S1: and deacons came and said, quit doing that. Because I
S1: used to say at offering time, I'm how many remember this? Okay.
S1: And we're about to give. If you're unsaved, please do
S1: not give anybody remember how long, how many years? I
S1: said that about 15 years. And the elders and deacons said, pastor,
S1: you you need to just be quiet. And I submitted
S1: to their authority because there was more of them than me.
S1: And so they might have jumped me or something, you know? Yeah.
S1: And and so it's like it's like, where's, where's me
S1: when you need him? The widow. This is called the
S1: sermon on the Mount. Why? Because she didn't give from
S1: the top of her purse. She gave from the bottom
S1: of her heart. Mm. Yeah. Let me ask you a question.
S1: Especially those of us who do form 1040 A. If
S1: you couldn't write your gift off on schedule. 1040 A
S1: would your giving be the same or is your motto
S1: what I give to God is deductible from what I
S1: owe to Caesar. There are people. Yeah, I want to
S1: give so I can get the write off. I can
S1: get the write off. I can get the write off. Ah,
S1: somebody asked me one time, you know, if you find money,
S1: what should you do? Should you give? What should I do?
S1: Because I already tithed on my on my on the
S1: money I get back from the IRS. Uh, what should
S1: I do? I said read Proverbs three, nine and ten.
S1: Honor the Lord with the first fruits of all of
S1: thy substance And thy increase and thy increase. You know
S1: what that means. And thy increase is money you find,
S1: and thy increase is the money you get from back
S1: from the IRS. And the increase is like everything I get,
S1: I break God off a piece.
S4: Yes. Right.
S1: Everything. Amen. Everything he say. You say. You say. You
S1: look at that. It's really. He says honor. It's the
S1: word kabod. It's translated worship. So then giving is reverence
S1: to God. That's the adoration of giving. Then he tells
S1: you the mount first fruits. That means giving is regulated
S1: by God. That's the amount you give. And then he says,
S1: so shall your barns be running over. I ain't got
S1: time to talk about it. So shall. In other words,
S1: it's not because you gave. It's because God is more
S1: generous than we are. It's rewarded by God. That's acknowledgment forgiven.
S1: Francis Quarles said this nothing is more pleasing to God
S1: than an open hand and a closed mouth man that
S1: goes together like a coconut's mouth. Hallelujah. Amen. Then it
S1: says they gave sacrificially. They gave generously liberality. It just
S1: means they were generous. Just generous.
S2: Boy, as you listen to Pastor Ford describe this Macedonian mindset,
S2: don't you just wish you had that? I know that's
S2: certainly true for me. Were you listening to Treasure Truth
S2: with Pastor Ford? And you can always listen to this
S2: program again when you come to our website. It's Treasure
S2: Truth radio.org. You know, pastor is someone tunes in and
S2: listens to Moody Radio. Not only are they going to
S2: hear this Bible teaching program, but just a wide array
S2: or variety of programming that can really be used to
S2: encourage and help them grow in their walk with Christ?
S1: Oh, yes. And you're going to hear things that are
S1: going to build you up in your most precious faith
S1: in Jesus Christ. Uh, you know, it's amazing to me. Uh,
S1: I say it all the time, but, you know, sometimes
S1: what we do is we buy things we don't need
S1: with money. We don't have to amass bills we can't
S1: pay to police people we don't like and don't care
S1: Here anyway, we are going to be held accountable for
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S2: Yeah, absolutely.
S1: Because that's an investment that draws a dividend that has
S1: eternal consequences. And I mean, when you invest in Moody Radio,
S1: you are actually investing in the only two things that
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S2: Well, you can make an investment right now by coming
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S2: Thanks for giving and for listening. Thanks also to our producer,
S2: Amy Rios for Pastor Ford, I'm Steve Hiller. Treasure truth
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S2: Bible Institute.