S1: He's saying, listen, you need to understand it's a motivating factor.
S1: In other words, even though you're going through something, live
S1: in your not yet right now.
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 be wrapping up our message, seeing purpose
S2: in your problems and pain. It's really been an in-depth
S2: look at the first 12 verses of James chapter one,
S2: and it's been so good to be reminded of the
S2: sovereignty of God, to take a look at why he
S2: may be allowing those problems and pain, the suffering that
S2: we experience in our lives, how he uses that to
S2: refine us and conform us more into the image and
S2: the likeness of His Son, Jesus. And so as we
S2: understand these truths and begin to apply them to our lives,
S2: it can strengthen our faith in such a way that
S2: we're able to totally trust the promises of God to
S2: lean into His Word. And as Pastor Ford said just
S2: a few moments ago, to live in are not yet,
S2: but to do so right now, to actively engage that faith,
S2: to choose through an active faith, to trust God, to
S2: know that he's going to use that pain and those
S2: problems in our lives to accomplish his purposes. So if
S2: you can one more time, open your Bible to James
S2: chapter one and join us there as we wrap up
S2: the message seeing purpose in your problems and pain. Here
S2: is Pastor Ford.
S1: Sometimes what happens is that we need to understand God saying,
S1: Will you obey me when it's not easy to obey
S1: me when it's not comfortable to obey me now? Now,
S1: I went to Walmart and got myself a piggy bank. Now,
S1: I remember in my early 20s I used to keep
S1: all my change in a purple bag. Oh, okay. I
S1: can tell who came out of the streets from who
S1: just laughed. Yeah. So? So, uh, some of some of
S1: them were. Why are they laughing? Somebody holler out what
S1: the purple bag was. Crown royal? Yeah. Uh, but I
S1: remember in 1961, I was ten years old, and my
S1: mama gave me a piggy bank. Now I got this one.
S1: This is different. This one has a little thing on
S1: the bottom. You can pull it out and get the coins. But.
S1: But back in the day, is anybody had one like
S1: I used to have. It didn't have this on the bottom.
S1: How many of you had had a remember that. It
S1: didn't have that. How would you have to get the.
S1: Because you yeah you you'd have to bust it. But
S1: see not from my family. You didn't bust it because
S1: mama paid for this. Yeah. So you don't bust nothing.
S1: Mama paid because then mama would whip your behind. So
S1: here's what you would do. You want to get some
S1: money out of it? What you do is you take it,
S1: turn it upside down, and you would shake it until
S1: something came out. See, you got to realize that God
S1: puts something valuable in every one of you. Everybody la
S1: di da di and everybody. He put it in you.
S1: And it's not going to come out of you very naturally.
S1: So sometimes what God has to do is turn you
S1: upside down and shake it until it falls out, because
S1: God knows that unless you turn them upside down and
S1: shake them, what he put in them is not going
S1: to come out of them. And therefore, what needs to
S1: come out of you to prepare you for where God
S1: is taking you won't come out. And so God takes
S1: you and shakes you, and out comes more faith. God
S1: takes you and shakes you, and out comes more power.
S1: And God takes you and shakes you, and out comes
S1: mercy and love and grace and peace and vision and you, you. Yeah.
S1: It comes out of you and you think I can't
S1: make it? And God says, oh yes you can, and
S1: it comes out of you, I can't take it. And
S1: you say, yeah, it's in. I didn't know all that
S1: was up in me. Come on, tell him. Shake me,
S1: Lord tell something come out that you put in that
S1: I can use to move toward what you have for me. Mhm.
S1: This thing getting gooder. But then notice not just test
S1: our faith, notice, teach our endurance. So he says let patience.
S1: He's used the word twice now in chapter one the
S1: word patience is hupomone say hupomone. And it literally means hoopah.
S1: Under Monet abide to abide under. In chapter five he
S1: uses the word macro through me, say macro through me,
S1: and macro long through me are minded. Now here's what
S1: it means. He bookends it with patience. In chapter one
S1: he says, you have to be patient in problems. That's hupomone.
S1: And then he says, I gotta take you to the
S1: bigger stuff. Chapter five. You gotta be patient with people.
S1: And so being patient with problems and patience with people
S1: he says to abide under, why do I need to
S1: abide under. Because some things that happen to you are
S1: actually happening for you. Sometimes when it looks like things
S1: are falling apart, things are really falling in place. But
S1: you must stand your ground. See, God wants you to
S1: hold out instead of giving out. You gotta stay under it.
S1: Let me, let me just quote I'd like to read
S1: after Pastor Butler. Here's what he said. The old tongue
S1: in cheek adage I want patience and I want it
S1: now reflects the difficulty of developing patience. Patience doesn't come
S1: overnight and it doesn't come without tribulation. He's got book, chapter, verse.
S1: You know what it is. Anybody know that verse in
S1: Romans chapter six? That's right. Verse three. Tribulation worketh patience.
S1: If you've ever prayed for patience, what you said is
S1: bring me some trouble. I just I read everybody's mind
S1: just then. I ain't never praying for patience again. Never, never. Yeah,
S1: that's what you're praying for. And so Hebrews 12. That's
S1: a powerful patience. Here's it says, wherefore, seeing we are
S1: compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let
S1: us run with patience the race, that's why. Because it's
S1: not a 100 yard dash. It's a 26 mile marathon.
S1: And he's saying, listen. So. So you gotta go for
S1: the long haul. Mhm. See here's what we do. We
S1: come up with all these excuses about why we can't
S1: stay under what God is allowing or authorized for us
S1: to go through in Romans 12, when it says, wherefore,
S1: seeing we compassed about with. You know what it's all
S1: about people who stood, people who stood their ground, who
S1: did not let any of their circumstances cause them to
S1: get out from under what God was doing. Okay, let
S1: me call the roll because somebody said, I'm too old
S1: to serve God. You know, I'm to leave it to
S1: the young folk. I'm just too old to serve God.
S1: And Moses said, you're never too old to serve God.
S1: I didn't start my ministry till I was 80, and
S1: then I served him for 40 years and served him
S1: until I was 120. How old are you? You? Never
S1: too old. Somebody talking about. Well, well, see, I'm too young.
S1: You know God can't use me. I'm just too young.
S1: And David says I was 17 when the Lord used
S1: me to defeat Goliath. And Daniel says I was 16
S1: when I was taken into Babylon and and and, uh, became, uh,
S1: a president at an early age and and Josiah says,
S1: I was eight when I came to the throne of
S1: Israel and started revival. And Jeremiah says, I got all
S1: y'all beat. I was in my mother's womb. Hey, he
S1: called me hey in the womb. I gave him praise
S1: in the womb. I guess you could call that prenatal praise. Yeah, yeah.
S1: And so here it is. Here it is. Somebody said
S1: I can't put myself on the altar like Romans 12
S1: one and two says, and and Isaac says, I did.
S1: I did somebody saying, well, see, you don't have baby
S1: mama drama and baby daddy drama. And Jacob said, tell
S1: me about it. Mhm. Yeah. And, and so what's going on.
S1: I can't serve because I was a thought. Mhm. Yeah. And,
S1: and Rahab says look uh don't let that bother you girlfriend.
S1: I ran the Best little whorehouse in Jericho and I'm
S1: in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Mhm. Yeah. And somebody
S1: says I was too much of a player, and David
S1: and Solomon look at each other and say, wannabe. Somebody says,
S1: I talk too much and I can't back up my claims.
S1: And and Peter says, join the club. In other words,
S1: they could have given up. But they stood. They stood.
S1: They understood that the struggle that I'm going through is
S1: for the future. I'm going to. That the struggle is
S1: a part of making me who I'm going to become.
S1: It's the old butterfly coming out of the cocoon. The
S1: man was jogging. He saw it, wanted to help it
S1: broke it out. Next day he came. He thought it
S1: would just be a chrysalis. He wanted to take it
S1: up and show everybody how he helped the butterfly to fly.
S1: But the butterfly was dead. He went to his entomologist friend.
S1: That's a bug doctor. And he said, man, what's going on?
S1: I helped this thing out and wow, it was dead.
S1: The next day. And the entomologist, that's a bug doctor said, look,
S1: when you broke open the chrysalis, what you did was
S1: circumvented the process by which when he struggles, fluids leave
S1: his body go to his wings, which strengthens the wings
S1: to fly. When you circumvented the struggle, you circumvented the
S1: process where the fluid could flow, where he could fly.
S1: So he died. God wants to fill you with the
S1: Holy Spirit and anybody that circumvents that process, or helps
S1: you out and brings you out of that struggle. What
S1: they're doing is circumventing the flow of the Holy Ghost
S1: through your entire being, that you would be filled with
S1: the spirit to have God's fruit in your life. I'm
S1: working hard. I'm working hard, I'm working hard. And so
S1: he says. Thirdly, he says to take us to maturity. Uh,
S1: so he says, listen, we need to know God wants
S1: us to be mature. He wants us to grow in
S1: the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior,
S1: Jesus Christ. Now, uh, there's nothing that you're going through
S1: that Jesus can't see you through. Let me say it again.
S1: I said, there's nothing that you're going through that Jesus
S1: can't see you through. And so what's he saying here?
S1: To take us through maturity. Here's what the word means.
S1: Let me read it to you. Full grown, rounded out
S1: for a specific purpose. Wow. You have a specific purpose.
S2: Isn't that helpful to know? I mean, God uses the
S2: pain and the problems in our lives for a specific purpose.
S2: We need to see that purpose in our problems and pain.
S2: And that's what our series has been all about from
S2: James chapter one. We'll get back to it in just
S2: a moment. But if you are ever on the go
S2: and you want to make sure you don't miss Pastor
S2: Ford's teaching a few different ways, you can listen, you
S2: can just come to our website, Trisha. Org and stream
S2: the program through your computer or mobile device. You can
S2: download an MP3 for free. You can sign up to
S2: begin podcasting the program, or you can also listen if
S2: you have the Moody Radio app. And we've just released
S2: a new version of the app. You'll find it at
S2: your favorite app store, like the iOS App Store or
S2: Google Play, or we'll simply link you to it when
S2: you come to our website. It's Treasure Truth Radio. Well,
S2: if you're just joining us, we are in James chapter one.
S2: Let's get back to our message. Here is Pastor Ford
S2: then entire.
S1: The word entire literally means an animal sacrifice that has
S1: no spots or blemishes wanting nothing. Let me read this definition.
S1: It's long not being left behind because of defects in
S1: your body that give you the inability to cope. Wow,
S1: that's what he's doing man, man, my favorite ditty. You
S1: already know it. I walked a mile with pleasure and
S1: she chattered all the way, but I was none the
S1: wiser for all pleasure had to say. But I walked
S1: a mile with sorrow. And never a word said she.
S1: But oh, the things I learned that day. When sorrow
S1: walked with me. Check this out. Check this out. Okay,
S1: let's take David. Let's take David. Now, now, what does
S1: God want him to do? Okay. David was. How old?
S1: Whenever Samuel anointed him. Okay, that's. That's close. He was 17.
S1: Now he anointed him. For what? To be the king. Okay.
S1: So you got a king anointing on a kid? God
S1: wasn't anointing him for where he was. God was preparing
S1: him for where he's going. Y'all still with me? So
S1: now God's preparing him for where he's going. Now, for
S1: 13 years, he had this anointing on him. You know
S1: what most of us have done? Uh, Brother Strother, we
S1: have walked up to the castle at 17 and said,
S1: you sitting in my throne? Anyway, okay, so. So what happened? So, David. So, David, now, uh,
S1: has to do what? Wait 13 years. Now, when you
S1: read the story, I don't have time to tell you
S1: the story. You look at it. Look at all the
S1: things he went through. Everything was preparation for where he's going.
S1: Let me say it again. Right over your head. Everything.
S1: What do you mean, everything? He shepherds sheep until he
S1: was 17. Why? Because God wanted to teach him as
S1: a shepherd how to shepherd human sheep by shepherding the
S1: animals and everything that he did for the animals he
S1: had to do for the people. As a matter of fact,
S1: he began to understand the correlation between Him and Yahweh
S1: and him and his sheep, because he said, the Lord
S1: is my shepherd, I shall not want. And then he
S1: went down those other five verses and talked about everything.
S1: So he knew what a shepherd would do, how he
S1: learned that by being a shepherd. So look what he
S1: went through. He went through for 13 years. And remember
S1: this God gave him a foretaste of what was going
S1: to happen, because what he did was everything he went through. Okay. Goliath.
S1: Goliath wasn't a problem. Goliath was a platform. Everybody else
S1: looked at Goliath and said, he's too big to hit.
S1: What did David say? Come on, come on. He's too
S1: big to miss. That's right. And so, you know, what
S1: did he do? You know, Goliath got stone. And David
S1: then was catapulted to the palace. Wait a minute, wait
S1: a minute. He got a foretaste. God said, let me
S1: show you where I'm taking you. And so Goliath got
S1: him into the palace. Now, remember, he ran from Saul
S1: for the rest of those years, and he had an
S1: opportunity to get out of that tribulation a number of times. Remember,
S1: one time Saul was in a cave. David went in,
S1: cut a piece of garment off, and then said, I
S1: could have killed you, but I didn't. Why? Because he
S1: knew everything he's going through. God allowed it so he
S1: could be properly prepared when he took the throne. Doug
S1: cursed them and they said, I'm going to chop his
S1: head off one of his armor bearers. Oh, chop his
S1: head off, he said. Ah, how do I know? God
S1: didn't send him to say that to me, so I
S1: could analyze it and get myself together in areas where
S1: I'm not ready yet. Man, maybe that's why he was
S1: called a man after God's own heart. Here's the last one.
S1: Verse 12. Here's the last one. Verse 12. Listen, blessed
S1: is the man that endureth temptation. For when he is tried,
S1: he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord
S1: has promised to them that love him. Get this now,
S1: because you know how you and I are. We want
S1: full time benefits, but we serve Jesus part time. Verse
S1: 12 is a promise that there's something in the not yet,
S1: so that we can have the right mentality about the right.
S1: Now you get it, he says, blessed Makarios. I'm not
S1: going to take time to explain to you. Just here's
S1: what he's saying. He's saying, listen, when you go through
S1: it and you honor me through it, I am going
S1: to reward you. And so he said, listen, I'm taking
S1: you because it says at the end wanting nothing. That's
S1: that's de come on. That that God wants us to
S1: understand and to recognize that he's transporting us to our destiny.
S1: And here now we are going to have the reward
S1: The promise. This is the last one. The reward. Promise.
S1: Verse 12. So where's the reward? In the. Not yet.
S1: Where are we? In the right now? So what is
S1: God saying? I'm going to tell you about the not yet,
S1: so that you can deal with your right now and
S1: know that you're right now. Don't cancel out your not yet.
S1: So focus on the not yet and you'll make it
S1: through the right now. And that's what he's saying. He's
S1: saying listen you you need to understand it's a motivating factor.
S1: In other words, even though you're going through something live
S1: in your not yet right now. Call the things that
S1: are not as though they are and he's going to
S1: give us a reward. Wait a minute. You're going to
S1: give us a reward and all we're doing is obeying you? Yes,
S1: that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give
S1: you a reward, even though, uh, we're just obeying you.
S1: And there are five crowns. Let me give them to you.
S1: Since you won't come to Bible study, I'll bring Bible
S1: study to you there. There are five crowns that you
S1: can get. Six. Uh, if you have the crown of life. Twice. Uh,
S1: the incorruptible crown. First Corinthians 925 through 29. It's for
S1: those who master the old sin nature. Uh, that is,
S1: you walk in the spirit more. You walk in the flesh.
S1: Number two, the crown of rejoicing. First Thessalonians 219. That's
S1: the crown that's given to soul winners. One plants, one waters.
S1: God gives the increase. So if you just planted a seed,
S1: God said, Imma give you a soul when it's crown.
S1: If you water the seed, God said, I'm giving you
S1: a soul winner's crown. If you were the one who
S1: actually led them to belief in Jesus Christ, you get
S1: a crown. Everybody that participates in soul winning gets a crown. Amen. Amen.
S1: Then there is the crown of righteousness. Second Timothy four eight.
S1: It's for all of those who love the doctrine of
S1: the rapture of the church. You're looking for Jesus to come.
S1: You'll be so glad when he comes because you know
S1: when he comes, he's going to catch you in your
S1: own bed, not in somebody else's that you don't belong in. Hallelujah.
S1: Number four, the crown of glory. That's the shepherd's crown
S1: that's given to all of those who work with their
S1: pastoral leadership, all of our elders and our deacons to
S1: fulfill the vision for which God has given this people.
S1: But here's the one he's talking about in here. Crown
S1: of life. He says it's the crown. What is the
S1: crown of life now? Revelation two seven talks about it
S1: as well. The crown of life is for all of
S1: those who honor God when they go through stuff. Who, who,
S1: who go through stuff. And they, they lift up Jesus
S1: Christ in the midst of it so that people know
S1: there's something different about them as a believer when they
S1: go through stuff. See, they they they laugh at you
S1: on the job. If you live for Jesus Christ, but
S1: you're the one they look for when nobody's around and
S1: they need somebody to talk to. Hey, can I talk
S1: to you for a minute? Can I talk to you
S1: for a minute? Hey, this is what's going on. Can I,
S1: can I? Hey, man, what do you think? What do
S1: you think? They're always looking for you. You want to
S1: know why? Because they see you honor God when you're
S1: going through something, they see you lift up the name
S1: of Jesus when you're in pain and when you're hurting.
S1: And they say, that's the kind of faith I want.
S1: And so here it is. Here it is. And you've
S1: been so gracious. I'm done. But but listen, here's what
S1: he says. You need to understand that what's going on
S1: here is what Jesus did. Here's what the Bible says. Who?
S1: For the joy that was set before him. What joy!
S1: He's going to the cross. He's despised the cross. He's
S1: going to be whipped all night long. They're going to
S1: jam his head. What's so joyous about that? It's independent
S1: of the circumstances. Because Jesus could see you, you, you,
S1: you and me. You on Calvary, bearing our sin. And
S1: he said, this is going to be a happy day
S1: because Imma save James for junior in 74. Yes, I'm
S1: going to bring many sons to glory, because if a
S1: seed doesn't die, it abides alone. But when I die,
S1: I'm not going to be buried. I'm just going to
S1: be planted. And when I come up, everybody who will
S1: receive me will be saved. Our problem is we want
S1: the power of Resurrection Sunday without the pain of Good Friday.
S2: Well, how many of us can relate to that? You know,
S2: we do want that easy life. But sometimes God allows
S2: those painful circumstances, those problems of life, to drive us
S2: to him. Maybe you've got a story of how God
S2: has used the difficulties in your life to really grow
S2: you in your walk with him. I know I can
S2: look back at some of the most painful seasons of
S2: my life and say, I never want to go through
S2: that again. It was terrible. But I value how my
S2: relationship with the Lord grew during that time. And if
S2: you've got a story like that, we'd be encouraged to
S2: hear it. Share your story with us when you come
S2: to Treasure Truth Radio org and click on the contact link. Again,
S2: it's just simply the contact link at Treasure Truth radio.org.
S2: You know, pastor, there are a lot of places that
S2: we can choose to put our money and to expect
S2: some sort of return on investment, but when we give
S2: to Christian radio, to Moody Radio, and to treasure truth,
S2: really we're choosing to invest in something that really is Kingdom.
S1: Of course. Well, what is the gospel? The old preachers
S1: used to say the gospel is just one beggar telling
S1: another beggar where to find bread. Yeah. So when a
S1: person gives to treasure truth to moody Radio, that's exactly
S1: what they're doing. They're extending the gospel to individuals Viduals
S1: who ordinarily would not hear the gospel. And so that's
S1: what you're doing. There's a crown. It's called a soul
S1: winner's crown. First Thessalonians 219 and is given to all
S1: of those who win souls for Jesus Christ. And when
S1: you invest in Moody Radio, that's exactly what you're doing.
S1: I think there's going to be a surprise in heaven
S1: because we think, well, I didn't articulate to anyone the
S1: good news. And God says, you know, you get this
S1: crown because you gave so that someone else could articulate
S1: the good news.
S2: Well, you can give right now by coming to Treasure
S2: Truth Radio org and clicking on the donate button. Again,
S2: that's a treasure. Truth radio. Thanks for giving and for listening.
S2: Treasure truth is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry
S2: of Moody Bible Institute.