WEBVTT - The Inner-Me Enemy, Part 4 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:03.320 And I see it happen all the time. Folk just trying. 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:05.200 I gotta make a way, I gotta make it. Listen, 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:07.160 let me tell you something. And let me tell everybody. 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:10.080 If Jesus has a plan for you, he's going to 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:12.880 make sure you fail. As you try to make your 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:16.240 own way. You're going to fail every time because he's 0:00:16.239 --> 0:00:17.920 got a prescribed course. 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:28.240 Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:31.040 junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:33.680 I'm Steve Hiller. Glad you're with us. As we continue 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:37.000 a message called The Inner Me Enemy. We've been in 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:39.720 James chapter one, and today we're going to be taking 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:41.840 a look at one of the struggles that I think 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:44.720 many of us face. We have this idea of where 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:47.640 we want our life to go. We say, I want this, 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:49.960 I want to accomplish that. I want to attain this 0:00:49.960 --> 0:00:52.400 certain thing. And then we go off in our own 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:54.760 power to try and make that happen. And it sounds like, pastor, 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:57.880 you're saying if you're only following your own plan, uh, 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:00.040 don't be surprised if you run into some roadblocks. 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:04.720 You're going to run into roadblocks. Big ones, God sized 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:09.080 roadblocks because God has a purpose and a plan. You know, 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:12.040 in the model prayer, we're studying that now at Christ 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:15.800 Bible Church. Yeah. Uh, in the model prayer, he said, 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:17.880 Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:22.800 Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as 0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:26.800 it is in heaven. In other words, what is the 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:30.959 responsibility of those of us on earth connected to the 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:34.959 Lord Jesus Christ when we pray and when we serve? 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:39.080 And it is God, what is it that you have 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:42.720 decreed in heaven that we're to execute on the earth? 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:45.640 That's not just corporately. That has to do with our 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:48.920 personal lives as well. Uh, that I'll give you a 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:55.880 classic example, Steve. Um, whenever I was praying about being trained, uh, 0:01:55.920 --> 0:02:00.160 for the pastorate, I got accepted in three schools, of 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:03.680 which Moody was one. I came to Moody on a 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:08.160 very spiritual reason. It was the only one that was 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:09.320 tuition free. 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:09.960 Yes. 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:16.480 But that was in God's design. Yeah, because once I 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:20.440 got here as a second semester freshman, the church that 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:24.519 I've been pastoring for the last 36 years opened up. 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:29.040 And I've been there ever since. So I matriculated here 0:02:29.040 --> 0:02:35.519 at Moody and, uh, was pastoring simultaneously as a student. 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:39.320 And God has done some miraculous things in my life. 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:41.799 But that wasn't my plan. Yeah. Go ahead. Say, what 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:42.240 was your plan? 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:43.120 What was your plan? 0:02:43.160 --> 0:02:46.359 My plan was to matriculate at Moody and then leave 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:48.919 and go to Dallas so that I could go to 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:52.960 Dallas Theological Seminary. And if that had happened, then maybe 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:57.680 I would have been Tony Evans then. But that was 0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:01.470 my plan. Yeah. And then to go back to Pittsburgh 0:03:01.630 --> 0:03:06.030 and the pastor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. So that was my plan. Yeah, 0:03:06.070 --> 0:03:08.710 but the thing about it is, I had wisdom enough 0:03:08.830 --> 0:03:12.630 to submit my plans to God. I didn't say, my 0:03:12.630 --> 0:03:16.270 kingdom come. Thy will be done. I said, thy kingdom come, 0:03:16.270 --> 0:03:20.350 thy will be done. And God showed me. LED me. Yeah. 0:03:20.669 --> 0:03:23.990 And showed me where he wanted me to be. And 0:03:24.070 --> 0:03:26.470 of course, I know this is where he wanted me 0:03:26.470 --> 0:03:30.350 to be. All the things that have transpired, even being 0:03:30.510 --> 0:03:33.670 on Moody Radio all these years. Sure is, because I've 0:03:33.669 --> 0:03:36.510 been in the great city of Chicago. Amen. 0:03:36.990 --> 0:03:39.830 Well, we could spend more time unpacking that story, but 0:03:39.830 --> 0:03:42.190 we need to get to today's message. We're in James 0:03:42.190 --> 0:03:45.190 chapter one. So, uh, grab a Bible, join us there 0:03:45.470 --> 0:03:49.910 as we continue. The enemy. Enemy. Here is Pastor Ford. 0:03:50.430 --> 0:03:53.150 Now, here's what happens. Let me put it into context, 0:03:53.150 --> 0:03:56.869 because remember what the context is. This is not devoid 0:03:56.870 --> 0:04:00.110 or separate. This is not a separate pericope. This is 0:04:00.110 --> 0:04:03.110 in the pericope of talking about how we deal with 0:04:03.110 --> 0:04:07.590 our sinful tendencies. Paragraph pericope. You know, I gotta let 0:04:07.590 --> 0:04:10.390 you know. I went to seminary. I told you that. So? 0:04:11.510 --> 0:04:15.630 So what does God do? Everything that he does is so. 0:04:16.350 --> 0:04:20.230 God so loved the world. See the measure of it? 0:04:20.270 --> 0:04:22.550 You know, it's like. It's like he just didn't love 0:04:22.550 --> 0:04:26.469 the world. He so loved the world. I mean, you know, 0:04:26.510 --> 0:04:32.190 when you put that adjective in there, it expands, uh, whatever, uh, 0:04:32.310 --> 0:04:35.070 the noun or the pronoun is, you know, it's like 0:04:35.070 --> 0:04:38.630 you come home and, uh, you know, I remember coming 0:04:38.630 --> 0:04:41.230 home and saying stuff like, you know, uh, she say, 0:04:41.270 --> 0:04:44.230 clean your room, do this, do that. I'm so tired. 0:04:44.589 --> 0:04:47.630 And and my mother would say, if tired were the 0:04:47.630 --> 0:04:51.550 prerequisite for anything being done, you'd never eat. As a 0:04:51.550 --> 0:04:55.710 matter of fact, you wouldn't have been born. So. So 0:04:56.110 --> 0:04:58.870 we put in in there he's saying, listen, the measure 0:04:58.870 --> 0:05:01.910 of the gifts, the kind of gift that he gives. 0:05:01.910 --> 0:05:05.030 It is. So now why does he do that in 0:05:05.029 --> 0:05:06.790 the context? Let me tell you why he does that 0:05:06.790 --> 0:05:13.789 in the context, because he wants you to understand that 0:05:14.150 --> 0:05:19.550 anything you could get through your sinful tendencies, God has 0:05:19.550 --> 0:05:25.030 something better. Yeah, even because the whole the whole section 0:05:25.190 --> 0:05:30.030 is in the context of trials. So he's saying, listen, 0:05:30.029 --> 0:05:35.029 everything that God does is good, even when it's bad 0:05:35.470 --> 0:05:40.110 to us. Come on. That's right. Even when it's bad 0:05:40.110 --> 0:05:45.070 to us. Now here's the point. If you take what 0:05:45.110 --> 0:05:51.230 God does not want you to have, God withholds what 0:05:51.230 --> 0:05:56.110 he does want you to have. When you give God 0:05:56.110 --> 0:06:00.790 what he wants, God gives you what you want. Okay, 0:06:00.790 --> 0:06:03.909 let me give you an example. Aiken. In the Old Testament, 0:06:03.910 --> 0:06:06.950 God said, when you go into Jericho, let me tell 0:06:06.950 --> 0:06:09.870 you something. Everything is under the ban. Under the ban, 0:06:09.910 --> 0:06:14.589 it's anathema. It belongs to me. I want it all burned. 0:06:14.630 --> 0:06:18.909 Don't keep anything. None of the jewelry, none of the clothes, 0:06:19.270 --> 0:06:22.510 none of the people. Wipe out everybody. Except where you 0:06:22.510 --> 0:06:26.430 see that scarlet cord coming down off of that wall 0:06:26.589 --> 0:06:31.870 from Rahab's crib? The scarlet thread of redemption. A symbol 0:06:31.870 --> 0:06:34.510 of the blood of Jesus Christ. That the only people 0:06:34.510 --> 0:06:40.190 who were saved in Jericho were saved by the red. No, 0:06:40.190 --> 0:06:44.310 I like that. And so he said, if you don't 0:06:44.310 --> 0:06:47.630 have that out there, you're going to die. You know, 0:06:47.670 --> 0:06:50.950 death Angel passed over every house that had the blood. Anyway, 0:06:50.950 --> 0:06:52.990 let me go on and say it. So? So then 0:06:53.029 --> 0:06:58.270 Aiken saw the Babylonian garments, and he took them into 0:06:58.310 --> 0:07:02.550 his tent and hid them in his tent. He took 0:07:02.589 --> 0:07:06.510 what God did not want him to have. Anybody know 0:07:06.510 --> 0:07:09.950 the outcome? Maybe that's why his name was Aiken. Because 0:07:09.950 --> 0:07:12.910 they took him out and stoned him. And then they 0:07:12.910 --> 0:07:16.710 stoned his family. People say, why did they stone his family? 0:07:16.710 --> 0:07:20.190 That wasn't right. Well, if he hid it in the tent, 0:07:20.430 --> 0:07:24.950 that means the whole family knew it. And so God said, 0:07:24.950 --> 0:07:31.230 I want them all punished. Now get this. He took 0:07:31.590 --> 0:07:34.110 what God did not want him to have. And what 0:07:34.110 --> 0:07:37.070 did he miss? What God wanted him to have. See, 0:07:37.070 --> 0:07:40.990 that's called a firstfruits. Jericho was the first fruits. The 0:07:40.990 --> 0:07:45.150 first fruits always go to God. Honor the Lord with 0:07:45.150 --> 0:07:49.230 the firstfruits of all thy substance and thy increase. That 0:07:49.230 --> 0:07:51.510 is the money you found on the ground. That $100. 0:07:51.510 --> 0:07:54.429 Should you tithe off of this? Or you should or 0:07:54.430 --> 0:07:59.830 break God off a piece? How about that? So what 0:07:59.950 --> 0:08:04.630 happened when they go to I, they go to I 0:08:05.390 --> 0:08:08.710 and they get whipped. Now they say it's a small city, 0:08:08.710 --> 0:08:11.750 so we don't need to take Lottie, Dottie, everybody, let's 0:08:11.750 --> 0:08:15.309 just send 30,000 men up. And the. I whooped them 0:08:15.310 --> 0:08:19.630 like they stole something. Joshua goes back and begins to pray. 0:08:19.630 --> 0:08:24.870 And God says anytime to pray, it's time to get 0:08:24.870 --> 0:08:27.710 up and find out where the sin is in the camp. 0:08:28.070 --> 0:08:30.310 So they found out where the sin is. Here's my point. 0:08:31.430 --> 0:08:37.550 If he just would have waited. Because when they took I, 0:08:37.710 --> 0:08:44.030 who knows what God said split everything else among yourselves. 0:08:44.550 --> 0:08:47.910 All he had to do was just wait. But see 0:08:48.150 --> 0:08:52.190 the sinful tendency for materialism hitting. And he said, okay, 0:08:52.190 --> 0:08:54.310 I could get this my way. I don't need to 0:08:54.309 --> 0:08:57.510 do it God's way, and I'm going to do this. 0:08:57.510 --> 0:09:03.060 And nobody knows. God knows. And so now, because you 0:09:03.059 --> 0:09:05.660 took what God did not want you to have, you 0:09:05.660 --> 0:09:08.460 do not get what God wants you to have. And 0:09:08.460 --> 0:09:10.940 I see it happen all the time. Folk just trying. 0:09:10.980 --> 0:09:12.940 I gotta make a way, I gotta make. Listen, let 0:09:12.940 --> 0:09:15.140 me tell you something. And let me tell everybody. If 0:09:15.140 --> 0:09:17.980 Jesus has a plan for you, he's going to make 0:09:17.980 --> 0:09:21.260 sure you fail. As you try to make your own way. 0:09:21.260 --> 0:09:24.380 You're going to fail every time because he's got a 0:09:24.420 --> 0:09:30.100 prescribed course and your money is tied up to your master. Wow. 0:09:30.540 --> 0:09:32.819 It's tied up to his purpose. And he ain't going 0:09:32.860 --> 0:09:39.100 to let you prosper without him. Cuz then you feel 0:09:39.100 --> 0:09:41.260 you don't need him. And so he gotta let you 0:09:41.260 --> 0:09:43.500 get out there, and he let you go. And he 0:09:43.500 --> 0:09:48.620 lets you fail. And you're supposed to say, you know what? 0:09:48.620 --> 0:09:50.740 I've been trying to do this my way. Let me 0:09:50.780 --> 0:09:53.340 see how God wants me to do it. But some 0:09:53.340 --> 0:09:56.220 of you don't. You keep doing it. You keep doing it. 0:09:56.220 --> 0:09:58.300 I gotta do this. I gotta do that. I gotta 0:09:58.300 --> 0:10:00.540 get this. It's gotta do that. I gotta do this. 0:10:01.660 --> 0:10:06.180 Go ahead. You know it's a Doctor Phil moment. How's 0:10:06.179 --> 0:10:10.699 that working for you? Ain't working. How many times does 0:10:10.700 --> 0:10:15.900 it take for you to see you're failing? Because your 0:10:15.900 --> 0:10:20.740 motivation is wrong. Our motivation should be to glorify him. 0:10:22.140 --> 0:10:24.460 Why do you work hard on a job so that 0:10:24.460 --> 0:10:29.100 people can say, wow, that person works hard. And every 0:10:29.140 --> 0:10:31.740 time you ask them, they say, because I work for 0:10:31.740 --> 0:10:37.580 Jesus and not for the job. And so the Bible says, uh, 0:10:37.700 --> 0:10:42.900 Deuteronomy 610 through 15 he says, look. And here it is. 0:10:43.100 --> 0:10:47.020 Taking the devil's bait is an indication of one thing. 0:10:47.020 --> 0:10:54.460 You have forgotten the goodness of God. Psalm 7811 he said, 0:10:54.460 --> 0:10:58.580 you forgot. I gave you this land and everything in it, 0:10:58.580 --> 0:11:01.340 and I've defeated the people because the battle is the 0:11:01.340 --> 0:11:05.380 Lord's and you forgot. And remember what is one of 0:11:05.380 --> 0:11:07.740 the things he told them? Don't get in the land 0:11:07.740 --> 0:11:14.940 and forget who put you there. That's what kills me. 0:11:15.179 --> 0:11:17.860 Why do I have to cajole people and tell them 0:11:17.860 --> 0:11:19.740 you need to come to Bible study. You need to 0:11:19.740 --> 0:11:23.340 come to worship because they don't have enough Jesus in them. 0:11:24.500 --> 0:11:27.980 That's why they've forgotten. You are not your own. You've 0:11:27.980 --> 0:11:33.339 been bought with a price. What do we gotta tell somebody? 0:11:33.620 --> 0:11:37.939 Say something for Jesus. Now, if you've been wondrously saved, 0:11:38.140 --> 0:11:40.260 you'll want to. That's what we're talking about this morning. 0:11:40.300 --> 0:11:43.579 Paul said in Galatians 614, God forbid that I should 0:11:43.620 --> 0:11:48.620 boast or glory in anything. Saved the Lord Jesus Christ 0:11:48.620 --> 0:11:51.500 and his cross. Paul said, you want to know what 0:11:51.540 --> 0:11:55.620 turns me on? Talking about Jesus and the cross of Christ. 0:11:56.500 --> 0:12:01.660 Man that's it. Psalm 106 13 through 21. He says 0:12:01.660 --> 0:12:05.059 the same thing. Second Samuel 12, seven and eight he 0:12:05.059 --> 0:12:10.380 tells David, you forgot that I put a king's anointing 0:12:10.380 --> 0:12:14.540 on a kid, and for 13 years I protected you 0:12:14.540 --> 0:12:19.699 and put you on the throne. And now this is 0:12:19.700 --> 0:12:23.940 how you treat me. You're going to kill one of 0:12:23.940 --> 0:12:31.460 your mighty men, sleep with his wife, impregnate her. You 0:12:31.460 --> 0:12:37.020 forgot how good I've been to you. Now notice the 0:12:37.020 --> 0:12:39.420 motive of the gifts. He tells us the measure of 0:12:39.420 --> 0:12:42.700 the gift. Notice the motive of the gifts. Teleoceras, our 0:12:42.700 --> 0:12:46.980 old friend. What does it mean? It means to accomplish 0:12:47.940 --> 0:12:51.380 that which you are created to do. Here it is. 0:12:51.660 --> 0:12:56.100 He says the gifts are perfect. The gifts are powerful. 0:12:56.420 --> 0:13:00.060 In other words, the first point talks about what he gives, 0:13:00.100 --> 0:13:03.900 and the second talks about why he gives it. So 0:13:03.900 --> 0:13:06.460 what does he give? Good gifts. Why does he give it? 0:13:06.460 --> 0:13:10.700 Because they're perfect. What do you mean? I have designer trials. 0:13:11.059 --> 0:13:15.699 They're designed for Pastor James for junior. Why? Because there's 0:13:15.700 --> 0:13:20.220 too much Ford in Ford and not enough Lord in Ford. 0:13:20.220 --> 0:13:23.380 So he allows those things that will get the Ford 0:13:23.380 --> 0:13:26.980 out of Ford and put more Lord into Ford. See, 0:13:26.980 --> 0:13:29.579 that's why I'm glad my name rhymes with Lord. 0:13:31.940 --> 0:13:34.020 He's got a little benefit there, and a lot of us, 0:13:34.020 --> 0:13:37.620 doesn't he? You're listening to Pastor Ford. A message entitled 0:13:37.860 --> 0:13:42.059 The Enemy. Enemy. Look at James chapter one in today's broadcast. 0:13:42.059 --> 0:13:44.260 And we're going to get back to this teaching in 0:13:44.260 --> 0:13:47.020 just one moment. I know as we are talking about 0:13:47.020 --> 0:13:49.179 the doctrine of sin, you may have some questions that 0:13:49.179 --> 0:13:52.100 come to mind. You can always ask your question of 0:13:52.100 --> 0:13:55.420 Pastor Ford. Simply come to our website. It's Treasure Truth 0:13:55.420 --> 0:13:58.900 radio.org and click on the contact link there. You can 0:13:58.900 --> 0:14:02.020 ask that question, we might answer that in a future broadcast. 0:14:02.059 --> 0:14:04.340 You can also let us know where you're listening and 0:14:04.340 --> 0:14:07.660 why you're listening. It's always so encouraging to hear how 0:14:07.660 --> 0:14:09.819 God is using this program in the lives of those 0:14:09.820 --> 0:14:13.060 who find us. Again, our website address is Treasure Truth Radio. 0:14:13.059 --> 0:14:16.579 Org and click on the contact link. Once again, here's 0:14:16.580 --> 0:14:17.460 Pastor Ford. 0:14:18.420 --> 0:14:24.220 And so that's it. So trials are given their gifts. 0:14:24.860 --> 0:14:28.940 Didn't he tell Paul that he said Paul said there 0:14:28.940 --> 0:14:35.260 was a throne, a messenger of Satan to buffet me. 0:14:35.900 --> 0:14:43.500 The word given is the word grace. There was a illness. 0:14:43.500 --> 0:14:49.180 Grace to me. The source is God. The agent is 0:14:49.180 --> 0:14:54.380 the devil. But God allowed it to happen because all 0:14:54.380 --> 0:14:56.860 things work together for good to those who love the Lord, 0:14:56.860 --> 0:14:59.340 those who are called according to his purpose. And God 0:14:59.340 --> 0:15:02.250 allowed that to happen. Because, my brethren, count it all 0:15:02.250 --> 0:15:05.050 joy when you fall into divers temptations, knowing this, that 0:15:05.050 --> 0:15:07.530 the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience 0:15:07.530 --> 0:15:10.930 have her perfect work, that you may be complete and entire, 0:15:10.970 --> 0:15:17.890 lacking nothing. So it's complete. There's nothing lacking. It's designed 0:15:17.890 --> 0:15:21.530 to bring us to the place where we will fulfill 0:15:21.570 --> 0:15:26.050 the purpose of God in our lives. What Satan offers. 0:15:26.090 --> 0:15:29.770 It may look better at first glance, but it's only 0:15:29.770 --> 0:15:35.930 designed to throw you off your square. Mm. I love this. 0:15:38.250 --> 0:15:42.810 Why is it when you pray for a tree, God 0:15:42.810 --> 0:15:46.729 gives you an acorn? When you pray for a tree, 0:15:46.770 --> 0:15:50.610 God gives you an acorn. Anybody know why? Ask me why. 0:15:51.610 --> 0:15:54.050 So that you can both grow at the same time. 0:15:55.730 --> 0:16:00.050 So you can both grow at the same time? Yes. 0:16:00.090 --> 0:16:03.210 In other words, get get this now. I'm praying for something. Lord, 0:16:03.210 --> 0:16:05.930 I want this, I want that, and instead of giving 0:16:05.930 --> 0:16:10.250 me what I want in full blown maturity, he gives 0:16:10.250 --> 0:16:15.170 me a seed. Why? Because as it grows, I learn 0:16:15.170 --> 0:16:18.570 to trust him. I learn to depend upon him. I 0:16:18.570 --> 0:16:21.090 begin to look to him in the things that I 0:16:21.090 --> 0:16:23.770 said earlier. He say, what are you talking about? When 0:16:23.770 --> 0:16:28.410 I said that it guides our footsteps. It grows our faith. 0:16:28.410 --> 0:16:31.490 It governs our focus. It guides our future. So then 0:16:31.490 --> 0:16:33.970 it guides our footsteps. It leads us to Christ. It 0:16:33.970 --> 0:16:37.090 grows our faith. We learn of Christ. It governs our focus. 0:16:37.090 --> 0:16:40.170 We look to Christ. It guides our future. We love 0:16:40.170 --> 0:16:43.730 Christ more. And so let me finish this up. Let 0:16:43.730 --> 0:16:46.370 me finish this up. And remember God said, I have 0:16:46.370 --> 0:16:48.850 found a man. Wait a minute. Wait wait wait wait 0:16:48.850 --> 0:16:51.810 wait wait wait. He told David. How old was David? 0:16:51.850 --> 0:16:55.130 He was about what? 17. I have found the man. 0:16:55.130 --> 0:16:57.690 Is he a man? No. He can't even go to war. 0:16:57.730 --> 0:16:59.450 Because in Israel. How old did you have to be 0:16:59.450 --> 0:17:03.970 to go to war? 20. I have found the man. God. 0:17:03.970 --> 0:17:06.890 Why do you call a boy a man? Because I'm 0:17:06.890 --> 0:17:10.570 not calling him according to what he is now. I'm 0:17:10.570 --> 0:17:13.689 calling him what I'm about to make him. In the 0:17:13.690 --> 0:17:17.930 13 years as he experiences my good and perfect gifts. 0:17:20.170 --> 0:17:23.250 So the very man whose place he's going to take. 0:17:23.369 --> 0:17:26.210 I'm going to give him an opportunity. What's the opportunity? God. 0:17:26.530 --> 0:17:28.650 Two times. I'm going to give him the chance to 0:17:28.650 --> 0:17:32.170 kill him and get the throne by killing my anointed. 0:17:33.330 --> 0:17:39.130 And he refuses to do it. They said, hey, Saul 0:17:39.130 --> 0:17:41.570 in the cave. David went in there, cut off a 0:17:41.609 --> 0:17:45.930 piece of his robe. You see what I'm saying? He 0:17:45.930 --> 0:17:51.850 could have had the kingdom nine years earlier. How many 0:17:51.850 --> 0:17:53.970 of us would have said, well, God said, I'm going 0:17:53.970 --> 0:17:59.250 to be king, or he out of here now. Jack. Oh, yeah. No, 0:17:59.690 --> 0:18:04.090 that's not what he did, because he understood that God 0:18:04.369 --> 0:18:10.409 has a time frame and that that time frame. God 0:18:10.410 --> 0:18:13.730 is setting other things up so that whenever he gives 0:18:13.730 --> 0:18:17.530 you what that good and perfect gift is, it's the 0:18:17.530 --> 0:18:22.250 right time for it. Wow. It's the right time for it. Mm. 0:18:23.530 --> 0:18:27.450 And so then notice what it says. It talks about, uh, 0:18:27.490 --> 0:18:32.210 last of all, the manner of the gifts it cometh down. 0:18:33.090 --> 0:18:35.090 Let me just say this, and then I gotta stop. 0:18:36.130 --> 0:18:40.169 It's a present participle. That means the words ought to 0:18:40.170 --> 0:18:45.930 be ending in i-n-g. In other words, keeps on coming down. 0:18:46.450 --> 0:18:54.690 He doesn't give occasionally. He gives constantly. Wow. Yeah. What 0:18:54.690 --> 0:18:58.250 do you mean, pastor? He gives. It keeps coming down. Well, well, 0:18:58.290 --> 0:19:00.530 how come I don't see it? Well, sometimes I don't 0:19:00.530 --> 0:19:04.050 see it because I don't recognize the goodness of God 0:19:04.609 --> 0:19:06.530 that I got up this morning, and I put my 0:19:06.530 --> 0:19:09.530 own clothes on, and I fed my own self, and 0:19:09.530 --> 0:19:12.690 I walked out on my own power, and I could see. 0:19:12.730 --> 0:19:15.330 And I have all of my faculties. That's the goodness 0:19:15.330 --> 0:19:18.810 of God. The clock woke me up this morning. No, 0:19:18.810 --> 0:19:22.410 it did not go to the cemetery. Let the clock 0:19:22.410 --> 0:19:27.850 ring and see how many people get up. Nobody's getting up. 0:19:27.850 --> 0:19:31.810 But the goodness of the Lord is that he's faithful. 0:19:31.850 --> 0:19:34.129 And that the the sun came up when it was 0:19:34.130 --> 0:19:36.929 supposed to. And it's going down when it's supposed to. 0:19:36.970 --> 0:19:39.290 That the air that I'm breathing, I just take it 0:19:39.290 --> 0:19:42.090 for granted. That's why the Bible says, let everything that 0:19:42.090 --> 0:19:45.890 have breath praise take the breath test. Do you understand 0:19:45.890 --> 0:19:48.890 that even the fact that we can breathe. If you 0:19:48.930 --> 0:19:53.770 knew that the earth was two centimeters closer to the sun. 0:19:53.770 --> 0:19:57.530 We burn up two centimeters away from the sun. We 0:19:57.530 --> 0:20:02.570 would freeze It's the goodness of God. I share with 0:20:02.570 --> 0:20:05.369 my family and some of you know it. You were here. Uh, 0:20:05.369 --> 0:20:09.090 I lost ten family members, immediate family members in two 0:20:09.090 --> 0:20:12.450 years and did all of their homegoing and funeral services. 0:20:12.450 --> 0:20:13.889 And people were saying, how can you do it? How 0:20:13.890 --> 0:20:17.169 can you do it? Because I focus in on who's left, 0:20:17.170 --> 0:20:21.570 not on who's lost, because I focus in on the 0:20:21.570 --> 0:20:27.810 fact that even though God has chosen to take my 0:20:27.810 --> 0:20:33.449 son in 1999, I still have two left. That's how 0:20:33.450 --> 0:20:36.409 I do as a pastor. You know, it used to 0:20:36.410 --> 0:20:38.970 be when people leave, it break my heart. I said, 0:20:38.970 --> 0:20:43.889 why they leave? I mean, what happened? Hey. You know. Hey, man. Okay. 0:20:43.890 --> 0:20:46.609 They're gone. It gives me more time to to minister 0:20:46.609 --> 0:20:49.810 to the people who are still here. You know, people come, 0:20:49.850 --> 0:20:52.530 people go. Hey. Alright. If that's what God is leading 0:20:52.530 --> 0:20:57.650 you to do, I ain't tripping, you know? Yeah. Okay. So, 0:20:57.650 --> 0:21:00.960 so so what does he do in verse 16? He 0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:04.880 looks ahead and he says, see the judgment of sin. 0:21:05.119 --> 0:21:08.920 Then verse 17, look around and see how God has 0:21:08.920 --> 0:21:13.360 been good to you. Verse 18, look inside and see 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:16.960 how you have been born from above, and you possess 0:21:16.960 --> 0:21:21.600 the divine nature. So then I can't get to it 0:21:21.640 --> 0:21:24.240 right now. Finish it. Lord willing, next week. But. But 0:21:24.280 --> 0:21:26.440 what's he going to talk about? Begot you again by 0:21:26.440 --> 0:21:28.880 the word of truth. Now he's hooking it together and 0:21:28.880 --> 0:21:32.199 he's saying, listen, you have been born again. Christ lives 0:21:32.200 --> 0:21:34.000 in you. Now what do you have to do? You 0:21:34.040 --> 0:21:37.760 got to feed your spiritual man. You've got to feed 0:21:37.760 --> 0:21:41.240 your spiritual woman. You've got to this. This is supposed 0:21:41.240 --> 0:21:43.840 to be the icing on the cake every day, getting 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:47.600 into the Word of God every day, fellowshipping with the 0:21:47.600 --> 0:21:53.359 Lord every day, meeting with him, fellowshipping with him. Because 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:57.920 what you're tuned into, you're turned into. 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:04.440 That's Tweetable right there, isn't it? What you are tuned into. 0:22:04.480 --> 0:22:08.000 You are turned into. You're listening to Treasure Truth with 0:22:08.000 --> 0:22:12.160 Pastor Ford. A message called the Inner Me enemy. I 0:22:12.160 --> 0:22:16.200 look at James chapter one in today's broadcast. Well, we've 0:22:16.200 --> 0:22:19.320 already had a number of broadcasts in the short series, 0:22:19.320 --> 0:22:21.359 and if you've missed any of those, you can always 0:22:21.359 --> 0:22:24.120 come to our website and catch up. Simply stop by 0:22:24.119 --> 0:22:28.200 Treasure Truth Radio and there through your computer or mobile device, 0:22:28.200 --> 0:22:31.359 you can stream the program, you can download MP3's, or 0:22:31.400 --> 0:22:34.040 you can order copies of this broadcast on CD. Just 0:22:34.040 --> 0:22:38.639 simply stop by Treasure Truth radio.org. Well, if you ever 0:22:38.680 --> 0:22:41.520 want to find out more about Pastor Ford or you 0:22:41.560 --> 0:22:43.040 know you're going to be in the Chicago area and 0:22:43.040 --> 0:22:45.000 you'd like to hear him speak live, you can get 0:22:45.000 --> 0:22:47.480 all the information you need by coming to our website 0:22:47.480 --> 0:22:50.479 and clicking on the about link. 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