WEBVTT - Seeing Purpose in Your Problems and Pain, Part 7 0:00:01.240 --> 0:00:07.760 Sometimes the solution to your problem is in your problem. 0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:14.960 That is, your deficiency may be the provision for your sufficiency. 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:25.119 Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:28.400 junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:31.400 We're going to continue our study of James chapter one 0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:34.680 today with a message called Seeing Purpose in Your Problems 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:38.960 and Pain. And as Pastor Ford pointed out, sometimes it's 0:00:38.960 --> 0:00:41.040 in the midst of our problem, in the midst of 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:45.440 our pain, that we see the sufficiency of God show up. 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:48.360 I think sometimes God allows us to get to the 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:51.440 end of our rope. Maybe we've been struggling to solve 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:55.120 this problem by ourselves for some time, but we're just 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:58.520 making matters worse. Maybe we've been in pain for so long. 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:01.840 You've finally come to the point where you've just given 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:05.480 up and said, God, I need you now. And it's 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:09.520 very often in those times of life where we finally 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:13.360 totally yielded and surrendered to God that he says, okay, 0:01:13.800 --> 0:01:16.560 now that I've got your attention, now that you know 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:19.399 it's going to be me. Look what I'm going to do. 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:22.600 And he will meet us where we are. And very 0:01:22.600 --> 0:01:26.320 often provide for us more than we would imagine. And 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:29.640 he may use that to grow us, to mature us 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:32.520 so that our faith is stronger, and so that he 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:36.319 may continue to conform us more into the image and 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:39.560 the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ. Well, that's part 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:41.880 of what we're going to be looking at in today's broadcast. 0:01:41.880 --> 0:01:44.600 So if you can join us in James chapter one, 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:48.080 as we continue the message seeing purpose in your problems 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:50.480 and pain. Here is Pastor Ford. 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:57.640 In southern Louisiana. There was an infestation of mosquitoes. Uh, now, 0:01:57.640 --> 0:02:01.200 this was before West Nile, of course, but, uh, it 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:05.640 was serious nonetheless. Uh, I mean, uh, there was such 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:10.960 a proliferation of mosquitoes. Uh, it was kind of like, uh, 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:15.280 your relatives, when they find out that you came into 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:19.800 some big money. Or if you never had that happen, 0:02:19.800 --> 0:02:22.200 just just come and do some big money. They come 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:26.520 out of the woodwork. Well, uh, these mosquitoes were everywhere. Uh, now, 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:30.600 to add injury to insult, uh, there was a threat 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:36.120 of a hurricane. Uh, a small one in comparison to most, uh, 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:39.600 not like Matthew category five, but, uh, this one was 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:43.120 a category one. And so here you got one problem 0:02:43.120 --> 0:02:47.560 going into another problem. And I'm sure the residents, uh, were, 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:50.600 you know, in a quandary, wondering, how are we going 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:54.480 to survive this? Well, the hurricane hit didn't do a 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:59.640 whole lot of damage. Uh, but when the hurricane was gone, 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:03.829 the mosquitoes were gone. You know what that means. Say, 0:03:03.830 --> 0:03:10.750 what does it mean? It means that sometimes the solution 0:03:10.750 --> 0:03:16.669 to your problem is in your problem. You ain't going 0:03:16.669 --> 0:03:21.910 to pray with me. That is, your deficiency may be 0:03:21.910 --> 0:03:27.230 the provision for your sufficiency. In other words, it may 0:03:27.230 --> 0:03:32.430 look like a detriment, but actually be an instrument for 0:03:32.430 --> 0:03:39.550 being a supplement for your benefit. I'm working hard. Uh, 0:03:39.550 --> 0:03:44.590 look at Second Kings chapter six. Uh, remember in chapter six, 0:03:44.590 --> 0:03:48.350 there was a famine. And, uh, you know, famine is bad. 0:03:48.350 --> 0:03:51.470 That means no food. Now, for a lot of us, 0:03:51.750 --> 0:03:57.070 that's a crisis. Alright. Amen. And it says in chapter 0:03:57.070 --> 0:04:01.750 six that 80 shekels Is what it costs for a 0:04:01.750 --> 0:04:09.710 donkey's head and five shekels for a bowl of greens. Now, see, 0:04:09.750 --> 0:04:13.390 we we we don't understand, uh, the terminology. So what 0:04:13.390 --> 0:04:15.310 we'll do is we'll say what is the shekel? And 0:04:15.310 --> 0:04:17.589 then somebody will tell us, well, it's about six worth 0:04:17.630 --> 0:04:20.390 60 $0.01 in our currency. But you can't look at 0:04:20.390 --> 0:04:22.750 it that way. Here's how you have to look at it. 0:04:22.990 --> 0:04:25.470 If you look back at that time, what did that 0:04:25.470 --> 0:04:29.870 mean for them? Well, the average person, it took them 0:04:29.870 --> 0:04:35.150 four months to make 30 shekels. Now, if you put 0:04:35.150 --> 0:04:38.950 that in our currency, that means it takes you approximately 0:04:38.950 --> 0:04:42.630 four days to make one shekel. Everybody still with me? 0:04:42.630 --> 0:04:44.990 I know. Okay, good. So it takes you about four 0:04:44.990 --> 0:04:50.070 days to make one shekel. That means five shekels was 0:04:50.070 --> 0:04:56.270 20 days pay. So you had to pay 20 days 0:04:56.310 --> 0:05:01.070 pay for a bowl of greens. Now, wait a minute, 0:05:01.070 --> 0:05:05.030 wait a minute. So let's take minimum wage and figure 0:05:05.029 --> 0:05:08.950 this thing out. If you make $10 an hour, this 0:05:08.950 --> 0:05:21.990 costs you $1,600. I have it on sale today. But 0:05:21.990 --> 0:05:24.390 you get it. And that's serious, isn't it? That you 0:05:24.390 --> 0:05:28.670 pay $1,600 for something like this? That's what the famine 0:05:28.670 --> 0:05:31.710 had done. Uh, so they're they're they're having a problem, man. 0:05:31.750 --> 0:05:34.550 They they're in a they're in a bad situation. And 0:05:34.550 --> 0:05:37.310 so what happens? You know what happens? Uh, you got 0:05:37.310 --> 0:05:40.030 these four lepers. We study them already, and what they 0:05:40.029 --> 0:05:42.550 were doing was waiting for the food to come over 0:05:42.550 --> 0:05:45.990 the wall because they weren't allowed to be in the, uh, 0:05:46.150 --> 0:05:48.909 in the city. And so they were waiting for the scraps, 0:05:49.070 --> 0:05:52.750 and then the the scraps stopped. Now, wait a minute. 0:05:52.750 --> 0:05:55.870 You got a famine? You're a leper. You got problems. 0:05:55.870 --> 0:05:58.510 You got issues. Man, this thing is a test. You're 0:05:58.510 --> 0:06:02.950 testing in your health. Now you're tested for your physical well-being, 0:06:02.950 --> 0:06:08.270 your food, and then the food stops because everybody in 0:06:08.270 --> 0:06:12.350 there is hungry and they're eating their own scraps. Some 0:06:12.350 --> 0:06:15.150 of us know what that means. Somebody said, what you 0:06:15.150 --> 0:06:18.150 do with your leftovers. And my family, there never were 0:06:18.430 --> 0:06:23.270 any leftovers. Amen. And so now, I mean, don't miss 0:06:23.270 --> 0:06:26.589 the lesson because I think God stopped the scraps, uh, 0:06:26.870 --> 0:06:29.550 because they would have stayed there. And so the test 0:06:29.550 --> 0:06:34.789 was designed, uh, to move them because they were immobilized. 0:06:34.790 --> 0:06:36.589 And so what do they say? We're going to go 0:06:36.589 --> 0:06:40.870 to the enemy because we stay here. Uh, we could starve. Uh, 0:06:40.910 --> 0:06:43.070 if we go there, they could kill us. Either way, 0:06:43.070 --> 0:06:46.230 we're dead. So let's at least move toward where we 0:06:46.230 --> 0:06:49.110 know we might be able to get something. And so, 0:06:49.150 --> 0:06:52.110 I mean, you start walking and God starts working. Let 0:06:52.110 --> 0:06:55.430 me say it again. You start walking and God starts working. 0:06:55.870 --> 0:07:01.310 You know you ain't walking. Maybe that's why God ain't working. Yeah. 0:07:01.390 --> 0:07:05.550 And so what happens now? Uh, they get there and, uh, their, 0:07:05.550 --> 0:07:09.870 their effort. Remember, we studied this. Their effort was amplified 0:07:09.870 --> 0:07:13.190 by God because at least they made an effort to 0:07:13.190 --> 0:07:17.590 do something. So as they were walking for lepers, the Syrians, uh, 0:07:17.710 --> 0:07:22.750 thought they heard an army because God amplified their efforts. 0:07:23.630 --> 0:07:26.670 And so you don't always have to have everything you need. 0:07:26.710 --> 0:07:28.710 All you got to do is walk to where God 0:07:28.710 --> 0:07:35.550 tells you to walk, and God will amplify your efforts. Yeah. 0:07:35.590 --> 0:07:39.030 And so here, now they get there. And what happens, 0:07:39.030 --> 0:07:41.710 you know, the rest of the story. Uh, they get there. 0:07:41.750 --> 0:07:44.910 The Syrians thought they were army. They left. Now, when 0:07:44.910 --> 0:07:47.790 the Syrians heard that they had a famine, here's what 0:07:47.790 --> 0:07:50.590 they said, man. They're down. This is a good time 0:07:50.590 --> 0:07:53.910 to step on them, because there's a whole lot of people. 0:07:53.910 --> 0:07:58.790 They wait until you're down before they step on you. Oh, man, 0:07:58.790 --> 0:08:01.350 I thought I was in a praying church. anyway. I'm 0:08:01.350 --> 0:08:03.190 just going to let it go. Go on. Preach. Okay, 0:08:03.190 --> 0:08:06.110 I will, I will. And so what happens? What happens 0:08:06.110 --> 0:08:09.550 to him? They they say, okay, we're going to siege them. 0:08:09.550 --> 0:08:11.870 How long does a siege last? How many people know that? 0:08:12.630 --> 0:08:15.950 Two years. That's the average. So what does that mean? 0:08:16.190 --> 0:08:19.510 The Syrians came, and that means they had to bring 0:08:20.870 --> 0:08:27.510 two years worth of food. Wow. Man, it's hard getting through, y'all. 0:08:27.510 --> 0:08:29.550 And so they had to bring two years worth of food. 0:08:29.550 --> 0:08:34.310 So what happened? The Syrians became the Israelites food pantry. 0:08:34.590 --> 0:08:36.470 All I came to tell somebody is I tried to 0:08:36.470 --> 0:08:40.910 finish this thing, is that you need to understand that 0:08:40.950 --> 0:08:45.309 the Syrians became the solution to their problem. Which means then, 0:08:45.350 --> 0:08:50.430 as I said earlier, that the solution to your problem 0:08:50.830 --> 0:08:54.470 often is in your problem, that the solution to your 0:08:54.470 --> 0:09:02.340 problem often comes with your problem. And so that's exactly what, uh, 0:09:02.860 --> 0:09:07.300 happened to them. They went from insufficiency to sufficiency because 0:09:07.300 --> 0:09:13.260 of God's all sufficiency, because the storehouses are storehouse shelves 0:09:13.260 --> 0:09:17.740 of God are never empty. Psalm 8110 I am the 0:09:17.740 --> 0:09:19.500 Lord your God, who brought you up out of the 0:09:19.500 --> 0:09:24.060 land of Egypt. Open your mouth and I will fill it. Yeah. 0:09:24.100 --> 0:09:26.780 Psalm 84 one for the Lord is a sun and 0:09:26.780 --> 0:09:30.020 a shield. The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good 0:09:30.020 --> 0:09:34.380 thing will he withhold from them that walk upright. Or 0:09:34.420 --> 0:09:37.180 our favorite Philippians 419. Can you say it with me? 0:09:37.220 --> 0:09:39.219 Come on. That way I can get you to say something. 0:09:39.220 --> 0:09:43.420 But my God shall supply all my needs according to 0:09:43.420 --> 0:09:48.580 his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Amen. And so 0:09:48.580 --> 0:09:51.140 here it is. Here's here's what I came to tell you. 0:09:51.179 --> 0:09:56.219 James wants us to know. Sometimes your answer comes disguised 0:09:56.260 --> 0:10:00.660 as your problem. Yeah, that's why the songwriter said I 0:10:00.660 --> 0:10:04.460 have many tears and sorrows. I've had questions for tomorrow. 0:10:04.620 --> 0:10:07.460 There's been times I didn't know right from wrong, but 0:10:07.460 --> 0:10:11.980 in every situation God gave blessed consolation that my trials 0:10:11.980 --> 0:10:14.860 were only to make me strong. Through it all. Through 0:10:14.860 --> 0:10:18.179 it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus. I've learned 0:10:18.179 --> 0:10:21.260 to depend upon His word. So I thank God for 0:10:21.260 --> 0:10:24.460 the mountains. And I thank him for the valleys. And 0:10:24.460 --> 0:10:27.260 I thank him for the storms he brought me through. 0:10:27.260 --> 0:10:30.820 For if I never had a problem, I never know 0:10:30.820 --> 0:10:33.939 that God could solve them. I wouldn't know what faith 0:10:33.940 --> 0:10:39.380 in God could do. See, praise is what you do 0:10:39.980 --> 0:10:43.500 when you remember what God has done. Let me say 0:10:43.500 --> 0:10:48.740 that again. Praise is what you do when you remember 0:10:48.980 --> 0:10:52.740 what God has done. Has God done anything for me 0:10:52.780 --> 0:10:54.980 in the midst of all of your problems, in the 0:10:54.980 --> 0:10:58.140 midst of all of your trials, has God come through 0:10:58.179 --> 0:11:08.380 for you? Hallelujah. Yeah. And so James sang this song 0:11:08.380 --> 0:11:14.500 before Andre wrote it. He tells us, see purpose in 0:11:14.500 --> 0:11:17.660 your problems and your pain. And then he talked about 0:11:17.660 --> 0:11:21.100 five ways a mature believer sees purpose in their problems 0:11:21.100 --> 0:11:23.300 and pain. What we already did. I'm not even going 0:11:23.340 --> 0:11:26.100 to review. Uh, we saw, first of all, verse one 0:11:26.100 --> 0:11:29.179 that you submit to the regal prerogative of God. James 0:11:29.220 --> 0:11:33.740 is identification. Uh, servant. Uh, that's his dedication, uh, of 0:11:33.740 --> 0:11:36.819 Jesus of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's his affirmation. And 0:11:36.820 --> 0:11:39.580 so he said, listen, I submit to the regal prerogative 0:11:39.580 --> 0:11:43.300 of God. God is sovereign. Then we saw, uh, verse two, 0:11:43.340 --> 0:11:46.620 have the right perspective in your problems and pains. And 0:11:46.620 --> 0:11:49.780 so how you see the problem is the problem most 0:11:49.780 --> 0:11:52.260 of the time. And he says, you've got to count 0:11:52.260 --> 0:11:56.700 it all joy. Uh, then we saw that. He said, listen, 0:11:56.700 --> 0:12:00.500 you have to understand the refining process Cess in your 0:12:00.500 --> 0:12:04.900 problems and God is doing something in your life now. 0:12:04.940 --> 0:12:07.859 Verse three and four. He says, you need to understand 0:12:07.860 --> 0:12:15.300 the resultant purposes for your problems and your pain. 0:12:17.380 --> 0:12:19.100 Now we're going to pause right there, but we'll get 0:12:19.100 --> 0:12:21.939 back to this message. Seeing purpose in your problems and 0:12:21.940 --> 0:12:24.819 pain in just one moment. You know, maybe as you've 0:12:24.820 --> 0:12:27.780 been listening to this broadcast, there's been a question that's 0:12:27.780 --> 0:12:30.300 come to mind about a Bible passage or about how 0:12:30.300 --> 0:12:33.060 we apply this teaching in our own lives. Well, you 0:12:33.059 --> 0:12:35.660 can always ask Pastor Ford your questions. Just come to 0:12:35.660 --> 0:12:39.980 our website and click on the contact link. Fill out 0:12:39.980 --> 0:12:42.100 that note there, give us your feedback and ask any 0:12:42.100 --> 0:12:45.540 question you may have. Our website address is Treasure Truth 0:12:45.540 --> 0:12:47.900 Radio org. And while you're there, go ahead and click 0:12:47.900 --> 0:12:49.780 on the about link. There you can find out more 0:12:49.780 --> 0:12:52.820 about Pastor Ford and Christ's Bible Church where he serves 0:12:52.820 --> 0:12:55.140 as Senior Pastor. We'll link you to all that when 0:12:55.140 --> 0:12:58.380 you come to treasure Truth Radio. Back to the message. 0:12:58.380 --> 0:12:59.580 Here's Pastor Ford. Forward. 0:13:00.500 --> 0:13:03.780 Now I need to clarify something from the outset. You 0:13:03.780 --> 0:13:06.380 know what he's trying to tell us? When you're going 0:13:06.380 --> 0:13:09.980 through problems and when you're going through pain, don't pull 0:13:09.980 --> 0:13:16.780 out your hair. Pull out your Bible. Yeah, because God 0:13:16.780 --> 0:13:19.660 wants to reveal to us what? Listen what he says. 0:13:19.660 --> 0:13:22.340 He says knowing this, that the trying of your faith 0:13:22.340 --> 0:13:25.260 works patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that 0:13:25.260 --> 0:13:29.860 you may be complete and entire, lacking nothing. He's saying, 0:13:29.860 --> 0:13:32.260 can I tell you something? Remember last week? Just just. 0:13:32.260 --> 0:13:34.179 I just gotta say it again. I just like to 0:13:34.179 --> 0:13:36.540 say it, that's all. It sounds good to me. Verse 0:13:36.540 --> 0:13:41.740 one God sent. Uh, verse two. Uh, God. Scene. Verse three. Uh, 0:13:41.740 --> 0:13:45.700 God shaped. Uh. Verse four. God supply. Uh, that's what's 0:13:45.700 --> 0:13:48.100 going on. He's saying, listen, here's how you look at 0:13:48.100 --> 0:13:51.780 your problem and your pain that God sent it. But, 0:13:51.780 --> 0:13:54.300 but but it has to be God seen. You can't 0:13:54.300 --> 0:13:56.300 look at it from a human perspective. You got to 0:13:56.300 --> 0:13:58.740 look at it from the divine perspective. Why? So that 0:13:58.740 --> 0:14:02.340 you won't look at it as adversity. You'll look at 0:14:02.340 --> 0:14:06.420 it as a university that you will realize God has 0:14:06.420 --> 0:14:10.540 me in school. And remember when the students taking a test, 0:14:10.580 --> 0:14:14.260 the teacher is silent. That's why God ain't saying anything. 0:14:14.380 --> 0:14:17.220 Whoever been in the taking a test in school and 0:14:17.220 --> 0:14:20.900 the teacher is talking while you taking a test. So 0:14:20.900 --> 0:14:25.580 God is shaping you. What's that? Capacity. Say capacity. And 0:14:25.580 --> 0:14:28.100 then verse four. God supplies. Get it, get it. Look 0:14:28.100 --> 0:14:31.140 at it. It's so well rounded. I sent this to you. 0:14:31.140 --> 0:14:33.820 You gotta see it the way I see it. Because 0:14:33.820 --> 0:14:37.340 I'm shaping you to fill you with something that's going 0:14:37.380 --> 0:14:40.300 to prepare you for where I'm taking you. If you 0:14:40.300 --> 0:14:43.500 don't go through this, you will not be prepared for 0:14:43.500 --> 0:14:47.220 what I prepared for you. So it's already there and 0:14:47.220 --> 0:14:50.060 it's waiting on you. I just have to give you 0:14:50.100 --> 0:14:55.340 capacity in order to deal with it. And God, every 0:14:55.380 --> 0:14:58.460 time he shapes something, he fills it. Let me borrow 0:14:58.460 --> 0:15:00.970 from a preacher I heard on TV. I ain't going 0:15:00.970 --> 0:15:04.090 to call his name. He said. God created the earth 0:15:04.090 --> 0:15:08.130 with capacity. And then he filled it. Uh, God created 0:15:08.130 --> 0:15:12.050 the seas with capacity. Then he filled it. God created 0:15:12.050 --> 0:15:16.330 the sky with capacity. Then he filled it. God created 0:15:16.330 --> 0:15:20.130 man with capacity. Then he blew into him the breath 0:15:20.130 --> 0:15:22.610 of life. That was good stuff. I shout about that. 0:15:22.850 --> 0:15:25.690 I said, that's good stuff. And so what God's doing 0:15:25.690 --> 0:15:29.250 right now? Come on. Say he's shaping me. Yeah, so 0:15:29.250 --> 0:15:33.570 he can fill me so he can use me because 0:15:33.570 --> 0:15:36.730 I'm going somewhere, and God's going to do something in 0:15:36.730 --> 0:15:43.970 my life. Amen. Amen. Yeah. That's what he's doing. Yeah. 0:15:44.970 --> 0:15:47.810 And so when you look at what's going on here, 0:15:48.130 --> 0:15:49.850 he wants us to know. Now, let me give all 0:15:49.850 --> 0:15:51.650 of it. Then I'll come back and just kind of 0:15:51.690 --> 0:15:54.330 review it for you. He says four things in verse three, 0:15:54.370 --> 0:15:56.850 B and four. He says, here's what God is doing. 0:15:56.890 --> 0:16:00.810 He says, he says this resultant Purposes in your problems 0:16:00.810 --> 0:16:03.810 and pain. Let me clarify them for you. First of all, 0:16:03.850 --> 0:16:07.930 God is testing our faith. What's he doing? Yeah, he says. 0:16:07.930 --> 0:16:11.050 Second of all, he's teaching us endurance. What's he doing? 0:16:12.210 --> 0:16:14.770 He said, third of all, he's taking us to maturity. 0:16:14.770 --> 0:16:19.570 What's he doing? He said, last of all, he's transporting 0:16:19.570 --> 0:16:26.330 us to our future or to our destiny. What's he doing? Yeah. 0:16:26.330 --> 0:16:28.610 So every time we look at it like God looks 0:16:28.610 --> 0:16:30.570 at it, we ought to be saying, okay, I don't 0:16:30.570 --> 0:16:32.930 like it. I don't understand what's going on, but bring 0:16:32.930 --> 0:16:35.770 it on, bring it on, because I know it's not 0:16:35.770 --> 0:16:37.850 going to make me better. It's going to make me better. 0:16:37.850 --> 0:16:41.410 I know that. Hey, hey, all things are going to 0:16:41.450 --> 0:16:44.130 work together for good to those who love the Lord 0:16:44.130 --> 0:16:46.450 and those who are the called according to it. I'm 0:16:46.450 --> 0:16:49.010 just happy, that's all. Because we go through some stuff 0:16:49.010 --> 0:16:56.170 all the time, don't we, babe? Mm. You know, in 0:16:56.170 --> 0:17:01.810 order to have a testimony. Amoni you gotta have a 0:17:01.850 --> 0:17:08.810 test because the first four words in testimony is test. 0:17:10.250 --> 0:17:13.290 It's amazing to me how many Christians want to be 0:17:13.290 --> 0:17:20.170 overcomers and ain't never overcame anything. Yeah. And so here 0:17:20.170 --> 0:17:23.850 it is. He says, listen, this is just a test. 0:17:24.450 --> 0:17:26.690 Now I need to get you to Bible class. So 0:17:26.690 --> 0:17:28.889 since you won't come meet me, uh, once again, I'm 0:17:28.890 --> 0:17:32.770 going to meet you. And there are five sources of tests. 0:17:32.810 --> 0:17:34.210 Let me give em to you real quick. I'm drop. 0:17:34.210 --> 0:17:37.130 I'm not going to push them. There's the satanic source. 0:17:37.650 --> 0:17:40.010 The devil. Oh, yeah. He will tempt us. He will 0:17:40.010 --> 0:17:43.210 test us. He's on us like white on rice. Like 0:17:43.210 --> 0:17:47.369 a duck on a June bug. Like stink on a hog. Uh, 0:17:47.410 --> 0:17:53.450 like grits on Al Green. Uh, like drugs on al heard. Yeah, uh, 0:17:53.450 --> 0:17:57.490 like a body shirt on a bishop. He's on us tight. 0:17:58.850 --> 0:18:02.810 I always like saying that every now and then. Yeah. 0:18:03.010 --> 0:18:06.810 And so he's on us and and somebody said he's 0:18:06.810 --> 0:18:09.129 not bothering me. That's probably because you ain't bothering him. 0:18:09.130 --> 0:18:11.810 Because if you don't meet the devil as you walk 0:18:11.810 --> 0:18:14.410 this Christian walk, it probably means both of you are 0:18:14.410 --> 0:18:17.850 are going in the same direction. First Peter five eight says, 0:18:17.890 --> 0:18:21.010 be sober. Be vigilant for your adversary. The devil walketh 0:18:21.010 --> 0:18:24.810 about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 0:18:25.090 --> 0:18:27.570 Oh yeah, he's looking for us, and he wants us 0:18:27.570 --> 0:18:30.929 to make God look bad. Then there's the secular source. 0:18:31.170 --> 0:18:34.209 That's the world. Uh, now there are three words translated 0:18:34.210 --> 0:18:37.369 world in in the Greek New Testament. Uh, this one 0:18:37.369 --> 0:18:43.250 is cosmos. Say, cosmos. We get the word cosmetics from it. Now, 0:18:43.250 --> 0:18:46.010 what is the world? Get this. Every woman ought to 0:18:46.010 --> 0:18:51.450 have this definition down. Because what do you do in 0:18:51.450 --> 0:18:53.570 the morning? You put on your bass, right? It ain't 0:18:53.570 --> 0:18:57.490 called bass foundation. Okay. Put on your foundation. Then what 0:18:57.490 --> 0:19:04.170 you put on next, baby. Well, you is looking so 0:19:04.170 --> 0:19:08.570 good and you're all dolled up. I thought maybe you'd 0:19:08.570 --> 0:19:11.450 help a brother out this morning, but you know what 0:19:11.450 --> 0:19:13.290 I mean. It's like you went in the mirror. You 0:19:13.290 --> 0:19:15.649 begin to look, you know, and you straighten out the weave. 0:19:15.650 --> 0:19:17.650 If you have one, or you put the wig on 0:19:17.650 --> 0:19:21.010 your head, you know, and you you made sure everything 0:19:21.010 --> 0:19:25.050 was arranged so that you could get those compliments. You 0:19:25.050 --> 0:19:29.609 look good this morning. What is the world? It is 0:19:29.609 --> 0:19:38.130 the arranged system that leaves God out. That's it. Of course, 0:19:38.130 --> 0:19:39.889 I don't have to make any comments about that because 0:19:39.890 --> 0:19:43.250 we know we're living in it. Third one, third one. 0:19:43.290 --> 0:19:46.690 The self source. That's the flesh. Remember, the enemy is 0:19:46.690 --> 0:19:50.210 the enemy, the old sin nature. That's why Paul, remember 0:19:50.210 --> 0:19:52.770 in Romans six said, who shall free me from this 0:19:52.770 --> 0:19:56.850 body of death? And remember that the the word picture, 0:19:56.850 --> 0:19:58.810 how many remember the word picture? Let me see your hands. 0:19:59.609 --> 0:20:01.050 I wasn't going to call on you. I just want 0:20:01.050 --> 0:20:03.169 to see if you remember the word picture. Okay. The 0:20:03.170 --> 0:20:06.649 word picture was if you committed premeditated murder and you 0:20:06.690 --> 0:20:10.129 murdered somebody, they would strap that person on your back 0:20:10.450 --> 0:20:13.570 and you would have to carry that person until the 0:20:13.609 --> 0:20:17.410 putrification from their body went into yours. And and you 0:20:17.410 --> 0:20:23.570 became diseased and died. That was your punishment. And he says, 0:20:23.570 --> 0:20:26.650 the flesh is like that. Who shall free me from 0:20:26.650 --> 0:20:30.530 this body of death? So, so, so so the spirit says, 0:20:30.530 --> 0:20:34.250 we're going to Bible study Wednesday night. And the flesh said, Uh-Uh, 0:20:34.450 --> 0:20:40.290 Empire coming on. We going to prayer. Uh, uh, scandal 0:20:40.290 --> 0:20:44.889 coming on. Yeah. So the flesh here. Here's the fourth one. 0:20:44.890 --> 0:20:49.570 Here's the fourth one. The situational or circumstantial source? Natural 0:20:49.570 --> 0:20:53.290 cause and effect. Galatians says it this way. Whatsoever a 0:20:53.290 --> 0:20:55.770 man soweth, uh, God is not mocked whatsoever a man soweth, 0:20:55.770 --> 0:20:57.850 that shall he reap. In other words, there are natural 0:20:57.850 --> 0:21:02.960 consequences that are situational or circumstantial that happen. It just 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:07.480 happened because. Stuff happens. But here's the one he's talking 0:21:07.480 --> 0:21:12.200 about here, the sovereign source, that God will test our 0:21:12.200 --> 0:21:17.720 faith so we can know exactly how much faith we have. See, 0:21:17.760 --> 0:21:22.240 salvation will get us into heaven, but the test is 0:21:22.240 --> 0:21:23.679 to get heaven into us. 0:21:25.119 --> 0:21:28.360 You know God has a purpose in everything that we 0:21:28.359 --> 0:21:30.920 go through. I hope that you're able to see that 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:34.480 with even more clarity after today's message. You're listening to 0:21:34.520 --> 0:21:38.720 Treasure Truth with Pastor James Ford Jr. You know, there's 0:21:38.720 --> 0:21:41.600 a lot of talk about the reliability of the Bible 0:21:41.640 --> 0:21:45.160 or about the inerrancy or trustworthiness of God's Word, but 0:21:45.160 --> 0:21:48.760 so often it's academic. You know, the question is simple 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:51.880 can we believe the Bible? But sometimes the answers from 0:21:51.920 --> 0:21:55.520 trained theologians and professors are filled with jargon. That's kind 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:59.600 of difficult to understand. Well, Pastor John MacArthur recognized this 0:21:59.600 --> 0:22:03.320 problem and decided to provide a solution. The result is 0:22:03.359 --> 0:22:06.000 a compelling and easy to read book called Why Believe 0:22:06.000 --> 0:22:09.680 the Bible? Now, this book provides biblical answers to common 0:22:09.680 --> 0:22:12.280 questions about God's Word, and then shows how to get 0:22:12.280 --> 0:22:15.200 the most out of the Bible into your own life. 0:22:15.600 --> 0:22:17.240 You know, this is a book that every Christian should 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:20.040 read and then keep on the shelf as a reference 0:22:20.040 --> 0:22:22.879 for those times where a friend, or maybe a skeptic 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:26.520 comes up with a new challenge about Scripture. And right now, 0:22:26.520 --> 0:22:28.800 when you give a gift of any amount to treasure truth, 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:31.320 we're going to send you a copy with our thanks. 0:22:31.720 --> 0:22:37.120 Just call us at 888644 7660. You can also go 0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:40.600 online to Treasure Truth Radio org or send a check 0:22:40.600 --> 0:22:45.119 in the mail. Our address is Treasure Truth, 820 North 0:22:45.119 --> 0:22:51.399 LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. You know, your individual 0:22:51.400 --> 0:22:54.720 gifts are hugely important to this ministry, but we also 0:22:54.720 --> 0:22:57.840 need monthly partners, those willing to stand with us on 0:22:57.840 --> 0:23:02.000 an ongoing financial basis each and every month, as you 0:23:02.000 --> 0:23:04.960 do so with an auto gift of $30 or more. 0:23:05.200 --> 0:23:07.359 We're going to say thank you with a discount to 0:23:07.400 --> 0:23:11.280 Moody Publishers. You can receive 50% off every product on 0:23:11.280 --> 0:23:14.600 the Moody Publishers website, and you can use that discount 0:23:14.640 --> 0:23:17.600 on as many products as you'd like. Sign up to 0:23:17.640 --> 0:23:20.080 become a monthly partner when you come to our website, 0:23:20.119 --> 0:23:28.160 Treasure Truth Radio, or call us at 888644 7660. And again, 0:23:28.240 --> 0:23:30.639 whether you call mail in a gift or give a 0:23:30.680 --> 0:23:32.800 gift through the website, we want to say thank you 0:23:32.800 --> 0:23:36.560 by sending you John MacArthur's book, Why Believe the Bible? Well, 0:23:36.560 --> 0:23:39.399 I'm Steve Hiller. Our producer is Amy Rios. Be listening. 0:23:39.400 --> 0:23:42.760 On Wednesday for the eighth part in the series called 0:23:42.800 --> 0:23:46.520 Seeing Purpose in Your Problems and Pain. Treasure truth is 0:23:46.520 --> 0:23:51.000 a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.