WEBVTT - Seeing Purpose in Your Problems and Pain, Part 1 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:03.240 Somebody came in and they're tore up from the floor up. 0:00:03.240 --> 0:00:05.600 They don't know what to do. I'm going through all 0:00:05.600 --> 0:00:08.920 of this. God sent you here so I can tell 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:14.120 you today. Don't you dare waste your sorrows. God is 0:00:14.120 --> 0:00:15.080 up to something. 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:24.840 Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:27.560 junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:30.080 I'm Steve Hillard. Glad you're with us. Is today we're 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:34.320 beginning a message called Seeing Purpose in Your Problems and Pain. 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:37.600 And that is so true. Very often in the midst 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:40.360 of our pain and our problems, we can't see the 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:43.080 purpose that God has for us. But as Pastor Ford 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:45.519 has pointed out a moment ago, if you're in a 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:49.239 season like that right now, don't waste that now. I 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:52.760 know you hear those words. Don't waste that. And you think, yeah, okay, 0:00:53.000 --> 0:00:55.840 I'd like to not, but I can hardly see my 0:00:55.840 --> 0:00:58.880 way out of what I'm going through right now. How 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:02.240 do I not waste that? Well, that's what we're going 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:06.200 to be talking about in this series, how we can, 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:08.080 in the midst of the pain and in the midst 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:10.440 of the problems, how we can grow, how we can 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:13.759 learn to lean into the strength that God provides for us, 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:17.480 how we can receive his peace, how we can actually 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:21.000 mature through that pain. You know, one of the themes 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:23.960 of the book of James actually is maturity. And so 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:25.680 that's what we're going to be looking at as we 0:01:25.680 --> 0:01:29.000 begin the message today. If you can open your Bible 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:31.880 to James chapter one, as we begin to look at 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:35.880 the first 12 verses and begin the message seeing purpose 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:39.280 in your problems and pain. Here is Pastor Ford. 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:44.240 When we were in the Iraq war, uh, the story 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:48.080 is told. It's supposed to be a true story, uh, about, uh, 0:01:48.480 --> 0:01:52.440 one of the attacks upon the the city that they 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:57.240 were going to make. Uh, they were out by the desert. And, uh, 0:01:57.240 --> 0:01:59.960 the desert is right before you get to the city. 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:04.760 And they wanted to attack, but it was raining. A 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:08.640 group of Christian soldiers got together and said, okay, what 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:12.760 we'll do is we will pray that God will stop 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:16.040 the rain so that we can go in and get 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:20.359 this deal done. And so they prayed, but nothing happened. 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:25.639 It rained the next day. And it's unusual for rain 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:28.800 in that region. And it rained the next day. And 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:32.640 so those group of Christian soldiers got together and they 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:35.720 prayed that the Lord would stop the rain. But it 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:40.919 didn't happen. Third day they got together and they prayed 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:44.880 that the rain would stop, but it didn't happen. Can 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:49.680 anybody relate to what they went through? Have you ever 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:52.440 called on God only to feel like he let it 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:57.000 go to voicemail? Uh, you ever felt like God got 0:02:57.000 --> 0:03:01.790 caller ID and he knew it was you? So he 0:03:01.790 --> 0:03:05.709 just didn't pick up. Oh, yeah. You all. Y'all are holy. 0:03:05.750 --> 0:03:08.630 He always answers all your prayers. Yes. Okay. But anyway. 0:03:08.630 --> 0:03:11.190 And so they got together and and they prayed, but 0:03:11.190 --> 0:03:15.310 nothing happened. Fourth day, as they were preparing, the rain 0:03:15.310 --> 0:03:18.110 had stopped. The sun was shining. They were preparing for 0:03:18.110 --> 0:03:22.829 the attack. Uh, as they looked over that desert, there 0:03:22.830 --> 0:03:28.269 were thousands of shiny objects exposed all over the desert. 0:03:28.750 --> 0:03:34.990 They were landmines that if God would have answered those 0:03:34.990 --> 0:03:39.950 Christian soldiers prayers, many of them would have never come home. 0:03:40.910 --> 0:03:44.350 Much of the equipment that they had would have been destroyed. Uh, 0:03:44.350 --> 0:03:49.830 that they realized that God doesn't always give you what 0:03:49.830 --> 0:03:53.350 you want, but he'll always give you what you need. Okay. 0:03:53.350 --> 0:03:56.390 Don't shout me down. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, can I 0:03:56.390 --> 0:04:00.070 ask you a question? Say, ask us a question. Aren't 0:04:00.070 --> 0:04:04.110 you glad that there are some prayers that God didn't answer? 0:04:05.390 --> 0:04:07.950 I mean, when you look back and you think about 0:04:07.950 --> 0:04:12.310 him or her back, then God said no. And you 0:04:12.310 --> 0:04:15.470 look at them right now and you're glad that God 0:04:15.470 --> 0:04:19.110 said no back then? Okay, you ain't going to pray 0:04:19.110 --> 0:04:21.190 with me. I know why some of y'all some of 0:04:21.190 --> 0:04:23.710 y'all ain't responding because you ain't listening to God and 0:04:23.710 --> 0:04:31.110 you married them. I mean, you know, you're crying out, oh, God, 0:04:31.150 --> 0:04:34.990 I gotta have her because she's my dream. And God says, no, 0:04:35.150 --> 0:04:42.910 you can't have her because I know she's your nightmare. Oh, Lord, oh, Lord, 0:04:44.230 --> 0:04:47.550 send me my boo. I want him for my boo. 0:04:47.670 --> 0:04:50.590 And God says, no, he ain't your boo. He's your 0:04:50.589 --> 0:04:55.030 boo hoo. And I know how many of y'all are 0:04:55.029 --> 0:04:57.589 waiting on your Boaz. Come on. Yeah, he's waiting on 0:04:57.630 --> 0:05:00.230 your Boaz. And God said, God said, I ain't giving 0:05:00.230 --> 0:05:03.950 you him because he is not your Boaz. He's just 0:05:03.950 --> 0:05:10.070 a bozo. And so there are times when we are 0:05:10.070 --> 0:05:14.909 glad that God answers the prayer. No, see, these soldiers 0:05:14.910 --> 0:05:17.830 found out what I trust that we will find out today. 0:05:17.950 --> 0:05:22.910 And that is this there is purpose in your problem 0:05:22.910 --> 0:05:25.070 and in your pain. I know you don't believe it, 0:05:25.070 --> 0:05:27.190 but I hope by the time we leave here, I 0:05:27.190 --> 0:05:30.630 can convince you through the writings of James, that there 0:05:30.630 --> 0:05:34.510 is purpose in your problems and in your pain. Somebody 0:05:34.510 --> 0:05:36.549 came in and there tore up from the floor up. 0:05:36.550 --> 0:05:38.909 They don't know what to do. I'm going through all 0:05:38.910 --> 0:05:42.230 of this. God sent you here so I can tell 0:05:42.230 --> 0:05:47.350 you today. Don't. Don't you dare waste your sorrows. God 0:05:47.630 --> 0:05:54.550 is up to something. Amen. And so they found out 0:05:54.550 --> 0:05:58.590 there's purpose in our problems. There's significance in our suffering. 0:05:58.589 --> 0:06:03.510 There's treasure in our trials. Joseph found it out. You remember? 0:06:03.510 --> 0:06:06.029 We talk about him all the time. He was in 0:06:06.029 --> 0:06:09.990 the pit. He was forsaken by his family in Potiphar's. 0:06:10.029 --> 0:06:13.190 He was falsely accused by a foe in the prison. 0:06:13.230 --> 0:06:16.190 He was forgotten by a friend. Look at what Joseph 0:06:16.190 --> 0:06:25.910 went through. Abused, accused and abandoned. Wow. Yeah. Accused. Abused 0:06:26.070 --> 0:06:29.229 and abandoned. And you know what? Joseph did what many 0:06:29.230 --> 0:06:37.150 of us can testify to. Joseph succeeded on his back, right? Yeah. 0:06:37.790 --> 0:06:39.910 When you look at what he did, he is a 0:06:39.910 --> 0:06:43.469 mature believer. How do you know he's a mature believer? 0:06:43.550 --> 0:06:46.589 Because the scripture tell us that. But guess what? Uh, 0:06:46.589 --> 0:06:48.750 he's a mature believer. Look at what it says in 0:06:48.750 --> 0:06:52.710 Genesis 41 when he named his two children. How many 0:06:52.710 --> 0:06:55.750 children did he have? Oh. That's good. You've been reading 0:06:55.750 --> 0:07:02.950 your Bible. Now tell me their names. Manasseh and Ephraim. 0:07:02.950 --> 0:07:06.750 Who said that? Who said that? Raise your hand. Okay, alright, alright. 0:07:06.790 --> 0:07:12.550 See the smart people sit up front, huh? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Manasseh. 0:07:12.670 --> 0:07:22.670 What does it mean? Forgetting Ephraim twice. Blessed. Get this. Hey, Joseph. 0:07:22.710 --> 0:07:25.590 You went through the pit. The Potiphar's the prison. Come on, 0:07:25.590 --> 0:07:28.750 tell us. What about your experience? Come on, take out your. 0:07:28.790 --> 0:07:31.830 Take out your violin and have a pity party. Invite 0:07:31.830 --> 0:07:34.670 your three friends. Me, myself and I. Because you went 0:07:34.670 --> 0:07:38.750 through it, man. You know, abused by your family, man. Oh, yeah. 0:07:38.790 --> 0:07:42.270 Accused by a foe. Oh, yeah. Man a forgotten by 0:07:42.270 --> 0:07:45.190 a friend. Come on man, you can play. You deserve 0:07:45.230 --> 0:07:49.390 to play the violin and have a pity party all 0:07:49.470 --> 0:07:52.150 by yourself. And he says, no, I'm not. Have a 0:07:52.150 --> 0:07:55.910 pity party, because you need to understand that that was 0:07:55.910 --> 0:07:58.470 in my past. So I forget the things that are behind. 0:07:58.510 --> 0:08:01.350 I press toward the mark of the upward call of 0:08:01.350 --> 0:08:04.550 God in Christ Jesus. Uh, yeah, I was in the pit, 0:08:04.550 --> 0:08:07.710 but guess what? I forgot that because he twice blessed me. 0:08:07.710 --> 0:08:10.670 I was in Potiphar's, but I forgot that. Why? Because 0:08:10.670 --> 0:08:13.030 he twice blessed me. I was in the prison, but 0:08:13.030 --> 0:08:16.630 I forgot that. Why? Because he twice blessed me, Manasseh 0:08:16.630 --> 0:08:20.390 and Ephraim. So every time he calls him. Come here, Manasseh. 0:08:20.430 --> 0:08:24.310 Come here. Ephraim. He's reminding himself that he's a mature 0:08:24.310 --> 0:08:28.030 believer who understands that God has a purpose, and that 0:08:28.030 --> 0:08:32.910 my pain is not as great as what God's purpose is. 0:08:32.950 --> 0:08:41.350 It should always be subservient to what God wants to do. Amen. Lights. 0:08:43.470 --> 0:08:46.949 And so here we look at him. He's a mature believer. 0:08:46.950 --> 0:08:53.630 Now there are immature believers because, see, immature believers go 0:08:53.630 --> 0:08:59.310 through their problems. Mature believers grow through their problems. Yeah. 0:08:59.429 --> 0:09:01.460 Ask your neighbor, are you going through or are you 0:09:01.460 --> 0:09:05.180 going through? Come on, ask him. Go and help me 0:09:05.179 --> 0:09:06.620 preach this. Look at him, because you ain't going to 0:09:06.620 --> 0:09:08.860 say much else to me. Look at him and say, neighbor, 0:09:09.780 --> 0:09:18.460 is your Christianity a lifestyle or is it just a hobby? Yeah. Yeah. 0:09:18.500 --> 0:09:22.180 Because some people aren't being the church. They're just playing church. 0:09:22.179 --> 0:09:25.260 Some people aren't being the church. They just come to church. 0:09:25.260 --> 0:09:28.059 And so here we need to know that a lot 0:09:28.059 --> 0:09:32.699 of people are perpetrating they are generic and not genuine. 0:09:33.220 --> 0:09:35.900 Don't look around because we don't want you accusing anybody. 0:09:35.900 --> 0:09:38.420 They learn the lingo, but they don't live the life. 0:09:38.660 --> 0:09:42.860 They're shouting in the aisles on Sunday and they're living 0:09:42.860 --> 0:09:46.420 in the gutter on Monday. See, too many churches are 0:09:46.420 --> 0:09:53.260 playpens for babies rather than workshops for adults. In other words, 0:09:53.260 --> 0:09:56.579 they're growing old in the faith, but they're not growing 0:09:56.580 --> 0:10:02.620 up in the faith. And so a mature believer learns 0:10:02.620 --> 0:10:05.460 the language, lives the life. How do you know that? 0:10:05.460 --> 0:10:08.100 James says it. Let me tell you the context before 0:10:08.100 --> 0:10:10.780 I give you the content, because this whole book can 0:10:10.780 --> 0:10:14.979 be summarized in this way. Uh, what's his theme? Maturity. 0:10:14.980 --> 0:10:17.660 Let me identify for you a mature Christian. What does 0:10:17.660 --> 0:10:19.980 a mature Christian look like? Because we don't know. Here's 0:10:19.980 --> 0:10:23.579 what James says. Chapter one. You know, a a mature 0:10:23.620 --> 0:10:28.260 Christian by how that person thinks. Chapter two you know, 0:10:28.260 --> 0:10:32.980 a mature Christian by what that person does or how 0:10:32.980 --> 0:10:37.140 they act. Chapter three you know, a mature Christian by 0:10:37.140 --> 0:10:41.459 what they say. Chapter four you know, a mature Christian 0:10:41.460 --> 0:10:46.420 by how they feel. Chapter five just look at their checkbook, 0:10:46.700 --> 0:10:50.339 how they give. Just look at how they treat other believers, 0:10:50.340 --> 0:10:53.140 how they give. So he says, here's a picture right here. 0:10:53.140 --> 0:10:55.300 I'm going to give you the full picture. And remember, 0:10:55.300 --> 0:11:00.060 there's no conflict between Paul and James. It's just a 0:11:00.179 --> 0:11:04.900 contrast because Paul is looking from the divine perspective, and 0:11:04.900 --> 0:11:08.380 he says that salvation is by faith alone in Jesus 0:11:08.380 --> 0:11:11.420 Christ alone. And so Paul is looking down and saying, 0:11:11.420 --> 0:11:15.500 from the divine perspective, it is by faith and faith alone. 0:11:15.500 --> 0:11:19.059 But James is saying, listen, remember what my son preached. Uh, 0:11:19.059 --> 0:11:22.740 your faith works. If your work works, he's not looking 0:11:22.740 --> 0:11:26.740 at justification like Paul. He's looking at sanctification. That if 0:11:26.740 --> 0:11:30.140 you say, uh, that you've been a Christian for 20 0:11:30.140 --> 0:11:33.380 years and your life ain't changed, you still clubbing, you 0:11:33.380 --> 0:11:35.699 still making it rain, dropping it like it's hot, backing 0:11:35.700 --> 0:11:39.420 it up. You better check your salvation. Check yourself before 0:11:39.420 --> 0:11:42.020 you wreck yourself. If you're still down in a court 0:11:42.020 --> 0:11:44.580 of goose every night, you better check yourself before you 0:11:44.580 --> 0:11:45.540 wreck yourself. 0:11:47.380 --> 0:11:51.020 That is such an important truth to understand that if 0:11:51.020 --> 0:11:55.740 we truly are saved, our lives will change. And it 0:11:55.740 --> 0:11:58.460 doesn't happen only because of an act of will. Now 0:11:58.460 --> 0:12:01.300 there is a will that's involved in that, but it's 0:12:01.300 --> 0:12:04.819 because we desire to have this close relationship with Christ. 0:12:04.860 --> 0:12:07.420 It's part of spiritual maturity. What we're looking at in 0:12:07.420 --> 0:12:11.820 today's broadcast, seeing purpose in your problems and pain. If 0:12:11.860 --> 0:12:14.780 you ever miss a portion of this series or this broadcast, 0:12:14.780 --> 0:12:17.460 you can always come to our website and listen to 0:12:17.500 --> 0:12:20.300 each and every program online. Just stop by Treasure Truth 0:12:20.300 --> 0:12:23.780 Radio org. There you can stream the program, you can 0:12:23.780 --> 0:12:26.979 download MP3's, or you can order copies of this broadcast 0:12:26.980 --> 0:12:30.700 on CD. Again, just stop by treasure truth radio org. 0:12:31.020 --> 0:12:33.100 Back to the message. Here's Pastor Ford. 0:12:34.059 --> 0:12:38.340 So his question then on the floor. How is a 0:12:38.340 --> 0:12:44.020 mature Christian strengthen in their problem and in their pain? Here, 0:12:44.020 --> 0:12:46.500 let's talk about it. I've got five of them. I 0:12:46.500 --> 0:12:48.900 only got time for two today. Here's the first one. 0:12:48.900 --> 0:12:51.500 I want you to notice verse one, that you must 0:12:51.500 --> 0:12:56.660 submit to the regal prerogative of God in your suffering. 0:12:56.660 --> 0:12:59.420 That's verse one. Let let's look at it. James, a 0:12:59.420 --> 0:13:02.540 servant of God in the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 0:13:02.540 --> 0:13:08.260 12 tribes scattered abroad. This is more than just a greeting. 0:13:08.460 --> 0:13:12.260 It's so packed full of powerful principles to help you 0:13:12.260 --> 0:13:16.459 and I. That's the principle. What James is saying is this. Listen, 0:13:16.460 --> 0:13:19.700 everything you're going through now, you need to submit it 0:13:19.700 --> 0:13:25.540 to the sovereignty of God. He has regal prerogative as 0:13:25.540 --> 0:13:29.020 the king. He can do with us what he will 0:13:29.059 --> 0:13:32.020 because he purchased us from the slave market of sin. 0:13:32.020 --> 0:13:35.460 We are not our own. We've been bought with a price. 0:13:35.460 --> 0:13:39.660 Therefore glorify God in your body, which is his. Anyway. 0:13:39.660 --> 0:13:42.300 You and I don't own a thing. We are stewards 0:13:42.300 --> 0:13:45.140 of everything that we have. The earth is the Lord's, 0:13:45.140 --> 0:13:48.140 the fullness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein. 0:13:48.179 --> 0:13:51.540 He bought us on Calvary. He owns us lock, stock 0:13:51.540 --> 0:13:55.860 and barrel, and therefore we exist. Oh, I know you're 0:13:55.860 --> 0:13:59.380 not going to believe this, especially if you've been watching TV. V. 0:14:00.300 --> 0:14:08.900 We exist for his glory. He doesn't exist for our glory. 0:14:10.860 --> 0:14:12.780 And so James wants us to know it. Now watch 0:14:12.780 --> 0:14:15.300 what he does. He says two things here in this 0:14:15.300 --> 0:14:18.740 text about this regal prerogative. He says God has the 0:14:18.780 --> 0:14:24.140 regal prerogative over our person, and God has regal prerogative 0:14:24.140 --> 0:14:27.140 over our problems. Watch where he says it, because here's 0:14:27.140 --> 0:14:29.700 what he does. James, the servant of God and the 0:14:29.700 --> 0:14:32.220 Lord Jesus Christ. He's talking about his person. And what 0:14:32.220 --> 0:14:34.300 does he do? I'm going to drop him. I'm not 0:14:34.300 --> 0:14:36.260 going to push him. First thing he does is give 0:14:36.260 --> 0:14:40.980 us his identification. James. Then he gives us his dedication. 0:14:40.980 --> 0:14:45.979 The servant. Then he gives us his affirmation, Lord Jesus Christ. 0:14:45.980 --> 0:14:49.420 So then James is saying, listen, uh, who was this James, 0:14:49.420 --> 0:14:52.740 half brother of Jesus Christ? And he wasn't even a 0:14:52.740 --> 0:14:59.140 believer when Jesus was ministering. He didn't get saved until 0:14:59.250 --> 0:15:03.850 after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And then, being not 0:15:03.850 --> 0:15:08.490 even knowing Christ as Savior, then became the head of 0:15:08.490 --> 0:15:11.530 the Jerusalem Church. In other words, he became the mega 0:15:11.530 --> 0:15:15.170 pastor over the Jerusalem Church, which is about 5000 members. 0:15:15.490 --> 0:15:18.090 About the time of the Jerusalem Council, acts 15. So 0:15:18.090 --> 0:15:22.210 he's got the first mega church, 5000 members and their 0:15:22.210 --> 0:15:26.210 disciples there who walk with him, see how he superseded them. 0:15:26.250 --> 0:15:29.890 As a matter of fact, he was also nicknamed Camel Knees. 0:15:29.930 --> 0:15:34.170 Ask me why? Because he prayed so much that the 0:15:34.170 --> 0:15:39.650 skin on his knees literally turned black and was like 0:15:39.850 --> 0:15:44.290 hide rawhide because he prayed so much. And that made 0:15:44.290 --> 0:15:48.530 me think, if somebody would label your knees by your 0:15:48.530 --> 0:15:53.890 acts of prayer, could they call you camel knees? Or 0:15:53.890 --> 0:16:00.410 would they say, never on your knees? Now. Now here, 0:16:00.410 --> 0:16:03.890 here it is. His identification, who he is. Here's what 0:16:03.930 --> 0:16:08.330 gets me. Here's what gets me. What a lesson. You 0:16:08.330 --> 0:16:12.690 know what it tells me? Say what? Don't ever write 0:16:12.690 --> 0:16:16.890 anybody off. Don't ever write. And we do it all 0:16:16.890 --> 0:16:19.010 the time. Don't. We ain't gonna never going to be nothing. 0:16:19.010 --> 0:16:21.290 Your daddy wasn't nothing here. You ain't going to be nothing. 0:16:21.890 --> 0:16:25.770 How do you know? Because maybe you take nothing to identify. Nothing. 0:16:27.810 --> 0:16:30.730 Don't ever write anybody off. Oh, let me give you 0:16:30.730 --> 0:16:33.650 some examples. Uh, this person was told. Why don't you 0:16:33.650 --> 0:16:37.050 stop wasting people's time? He went on his first audition 0:16:37.050 --> 0:16:40.050 for a movie. They said, why don't you stop wasting 0:16:40.050 --> 0:16:43.770 people's time and go out and be a dishwasher or something? 0:16:44.490 --> 0:16:49.930 That's what they told Sidney Poitier. And of course, you know, 0:16:49.930 --> 0:16:53.410 he's the second African American to win an Oscar, and 0:16:53.410 --> 0:16:57.850 he's the first African American man to win an Oscar. 0:16:58.930 --> 0:17:03.650 Don't ever, don't ever write anybody off. Uh, this person 0:17:03.650 --> 0:17:07.650 was told you lack creativity. You don't have any good ideas. 0:17:07.650 --> 0:17:11.450 So he was fired by a newspaper editor. Uh, his 0:17:11.450 --> 0:17:16.610 name is Walt Disney. You don't have any good ideas? 0:17:16.609 --> 0:17:21.369 No creativity. Don't ever write anybody off. He was cut 0:17:21.369 --> 0:17:24.890 from the high school basketball team in the first cut. 0:17:26.050 --> 0:17:28.129 Don't even bother to come back. You're never going to 0:17:28.130 --> 0:17:31.530 make the team. That's what they told Michael Jordan, the 0:17:31.530 --> 0:17:37.730 greatest basketball player of all time. His first comedy set. 0:17:38.170 --> 0:17:43.290 He botched it. He was booed and they booed him 0:17:43.290 --> 0:17:49.010 off the stage. He cried. Now Jerry Seinfeld is worth 0:17:49.010 --> 0:17:55.930 over $600 million. Mm. They said you're too stupid to 0:17:55.970 --> 0:17:58.930 learn anything. And he was fired from his first two 0:17:59.090 --> 0:18:05.650 jobs for not being productive enough. His name is Thomas 0:18:06.090 --> 0:18:11.050 Alva Edison. The reason why you can see me in here. 0:18:13.410 --> 0:18:18.570 This morning. Amen. This man was an engineer, and so 0:18:18.570 --> 0:18:22.929 he went to Toyota and he said, listen, I'm an engineer. 0:18:22.970 --> 0:18:24.530 I want to work for you so bad. Help you 0:18:24.570 --> 0:18:27.209 create concept cars and all of that. I'll be a 0:18:27.210 --> 0:18:30.210 benefit and a blessing to to the Toyota motor company. 0:18:30.650 --> 0:18:35.530 And they turn down. Uh saturo. They turned him down. 0:18:36.130 --> 0:18:38.690 And so Jiro Soichiro said, well, what am I going 0:18:38.690 --> 0:18:40.889 to do? And for years he was without a job 0:18:41.130 --> 0:18:45.929 with an engineer degree. Finally somebody said, Saturo, listen. You 0:18:46.170 --> 0:18:49.649 are creative and an engineer. Make your own stuff. So 0:18:49.650 --> 0:18:52.770 he began to make motor cars in his home. Oh, 0:18:53.010 --> 0:19:01.010 what's his last name? His name is Saturo Honda. What's 0:19:01.010 --> 0:19:05.570 my point? Don't ever write anybody off. Yeah, because you 0:19:05.570 --> 0:19:09.010 don't know what God can do when he gets Ahold 0:19:09.050 --> 0:19:13.369 to somebody. Look at me, look at me. Folk wrote 0:19:13.369 --> 0:19:16.410 me off. People would be out witnessing and wouldn't give 0:19:16.410 --> 0:19:19.250 me a track because I was pushing drugs. But look 0:19:19.250 --> 0:19:22.449 at me now. I'm preaching Christ. I went from pushing 0:19:22.450 --> 0:19:26.730 drugs to preaching Christ. I went from LSD. Try to 0:19:26.730 --> 0:19:29.850 get a PhD. I mean, you know, God is doing 0:19:29.850 --> 0:19:32.450 the thing and somebody will say, look at him, poor 0:19:32.450 --> 0:19:36.129 little welfare boy. Family of ten. You know, mama went 0:19:36.170 --> 0:19:41.330 third grade education. Well, I earned all my degrees except 0:19:41.330 --> 0:19:48.889 the one I was given. Yeah. Don't ever write anybody off. 0:19:48.890 --> 0:19:52.490 She was fired from her job, and she was told 0:19:52.810 --> 0:19:56.010 you are unfit for television. So the first job she 0:19:56.010 --> 0:20:00.369 had as a TV announcer, she was fired. Now she 0:20:00.369 --> 0:20:07.610 owns her own. And she is the richest African American 0:20:07.609 --> 0:20:12.290 in America. Worth over $3 billion. What's her name? Everybody. 0:20:12.330 --> 0:20:18.690 Same time Oprah. Now, I don't agree with her philosophy, 0:20:19.290 --> 0:20:22.890 but I sure wouldn't mind having some of her money. I. 0:20:25.609 --> 0:20:30.450 Will say I would too. And so what's going on here? Listen, 0:20:30.490 --> 0:20:33.770 he's saying listen, let me tell you about my identification. 0:20:34.010 --> 0:20:37.050 My name is James. But then look at his dedication. 0:20:37.050 --> 0:20:41.130 There are seven words in the New Testament translated servant 0:20:41.369 --> 0:20:46.410 or minister. And this is the one. Doulos. Doulos. Guess 0:20:46.410 --> 0:20:48.690 where it fits. Come on, holler out a number from 0:20:48.690 --> 0:20:52.369 1 to 7. Holler out a number from 1 to 7. Seven. 0:20:53.250 --> 0:20:57.530 It's the worst term. It's the most abject term that 0:20:57.530 --> 0:21:02.640 one could use for slavery. And that's what he uses. 0:21:02.680 --> 0:21:05.480 Now you say wait wait wait wait wait. See? He's saying, look, 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:10.160 am I suffering? I submit to the regal sovereignty of God. 0:21:11.040 --> 0:21:15.040 He could have said, God, my brother. He could have 0:21:15.040 --> 0:21:17.879 said James, if I'd have wrote it. You think he 0:21:17.880 --> 0:21:21.600 would have said James, the servant of Jesus Christ? James, 0:21:22.040 --> 0:21:27.640 half brother of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know what 0:21:27.640 --> 0:21:33.280 I'm saying? Ate at the same table with him. You 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:37.760 know what I'm saying? In the same crib. You know 0:21:37.760 --> 0:21:44.040 what I'm saying? I am somebody. But he doesn't say that. 0:21:44.080 --> 0:21:46.560 He puts none of the relationship. He says, let me 0:21:46.560 --> 0:21:51.360 tell you, I am a slave to Jesus Christ. That's 0:21:51.359 --> 0:21:54.120 why he can do anything he wants. Because I'm a 0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:57.320 slave to Jesus Christ. 0:21:59.880 --> 0:22:02.760 You know, submitting to God in our suffering may seem 0:22:02.760 --> 0:22:05.560 like a challenge, but when we learn to trust him, 0:22:06.240 --> 0:22:08.439 then we find that there is a reason and a 0:22:08.440 --> 0:22:11.800 purpose for everything we go through. It's really an encouraging 0:22:11.800 --> 0:22:15.320 message today from Pastor Ford. It's called seeing purpose in 0:22:15.320 --> 0:22:18.840 your problems and pain. Well, with so many competing truth 0:22:18.840 --> 0:22:21.680 claims out there, why do you trust the Bible? Well, 0:22:21.680 --> 0:22:24.719 chances are you've encountered a question like this from friends 0:22:24.720 --> 0:22:29.040 or maybe coworkers who are skeptical about Christianity. In the 0:22:29.040 --> 0:22:32.560 book Why Believe the Bible? Doctor John MacArthur provides some 0:22:32.560 --> 0:22:36.000 satisfying answers to these questions and shows how to get 0:22:36.000 --> 0:22:39.360 the most from God's Word by trusting it as a 0:22:39.359 --> 0:22:42.560 source of truth and freedom. So contact us today with 0:22:42.560 --> 0:22:44.520 the gift of any amount, and we'll send you this 0:22:44.520 --> 0:22:48.199 book called Why Believe the Bible? Our phone number is 0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:54.280 888 644 7660 or go online to Treasure Truth Radio.com. 0:22:55.320 --> 0:22:57.240 If you prefer to write, you can send a check 0:22:57.240 --> 0:23:00.320 in the mail. Our address is treasure. Treasured Truth. 820 0:23:00.359 --> 0:23:06.520 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. Why? Trust the 0:23:06.520 --> 0:23:09.160 Bible is a book that every Christian should read and 0:23:09.160 --> 0:23:11.840 keep on their shelf, not just for your own benefit, 0:23:11.840 --> 0:23:13.919 but also as a trusted resource to give to a 0:23:13.920 --> 0:23:16.359 friend or a loved one who has questions about God 0:23:16.359 --> 0:23:19.480 or the Bible. So give a donation and support this 0:23:19.480 --> 0:23:22.920 ministry and request your copy of Why Trust the Bible? 0:23:23.320 --> 0:23:28.880 Our phone number is 888644 7660 or go online to 0:23:28.920 --> 0:23:33.000 Treasure Truth Radio.com. And thanks for helping to keep this 0:23:33.000 --> 0:23:36.440 teaching ministry on the air. I'm Steve Hiller. Our producer 0:23:36.440 --> 0:23:39.440 is Amy Rios. Join us again tomorrow as we continue 0:23:39.440 --> 0:23:43.080 the study on seeing purpose in your problems and pain 0:23:43.280 --> 0:23:46.760 here on Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford. A production of 0:23:46.760 --> 0:23:50.400 Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.