S1: You can better evaluate whether your focus is on God
S1: or whether it's on you. So when you get the criticism,
S1: if God gave it to you, why are you offended
S1: that somebody is criticizing what God told you to do?
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James
S2: Ford Jr, senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago.
S2: I'm Steve Hiller. Glad you're with us today. We're continuing
S2: our look at Nehemiah chapter two in a message called
S2: How Haters Hate. And pastor, I think that's such an
S2: important truth that you just brought out there a moment ago.
S2: You know, when we have our own plans and agenda
S2: and somebody criticizes us, it's very easy to take that personally.
S2: But man, if our direction and vision is coming from
S2: the Lord, if they're criticizing what happened, they're actually it's
S2: like they're criticizing him.
S3: And that's exactly what they're doing. You know, if you
S3: look in the Old Testament, you'll find that they murmured
S3: against Moses. Then my question is why does it say
S3: and the people rebelled against the Lord because Moses was
S3: just his mouthpiece? Sure. You know. And so here, now
S3: he is the agent. But God is the source. And
S3: this is really liberated me in my ministry. You know,
S3: I've been pastoring for 35 years, and I've gone through
S3: some changes. Um, because, you know, God's people sometimes can
S3: put you through changes. And one of the things I've
S3: done is evaluate criticism. Uh, quote unquote, my haters, in
S3: light of what God has called me to do when
S3: it's outside of that purview, my evaluation is greater. But
S3: when I'm doing something that God has told me to do,
S3: I'm telling you it's like water off a duck's back.
S3: I'm not going to back up, let up, give up
S3: or shut up, because this is what he called me
S3: to do. Yeah. You got to be confident in that.
S2: Well, and that's so important for us to then understand
S2: and totally know what God has called us to do.
S2: Have there been times where maybe that criticism has caused
S2: you to second guess whether God has actually called you
S2: to do that certain thing?
S3: Oh, yes. Until I evaluate it and I usually evaluate
S3: it in, you know, reevaluate my motives and all those
S3: kinds of things, I go through a litany of, you know,
S3: how God speaks to us. And when I'm confirmed in it, then,
S3: then I move on. I ask God to remove my doubts.
S3: And here's the thing, Steve. I'm going to tell you
S3: the truth that generally what I try to do is
S3: make sure before I even start, because Romans 14, Romans
S3: 15 says, whatsoever is not of faith is sin. So
S3: my motto is when in doubt, don't. So generally, if
S3: there's any doubt about whether God wants me to do this,
S3: I wait until I'm assured that it's him. Now, sometimes
S3: it turns out to be the anchovies that was on
S3: the pizza.
S2: Right, right.
S3: You Yeah.
S2: But.
S3: Uh, that's what I try to do.
S2: Yeah, I like that answer. Well, if you can open
S2: your Bible, join us in Nehemiah chapter two as we
S2: continue the message how haters hate. Here is Pastor Ford.
S1: You can better evaluate whether your focus is on God
S1: or whether it's on you. So when you get the criticism,
S1: if God gave it to you, why are you offended
S1: that somebody is criticizing what God told you to do? Alright,
S1: you gotta be like Hezekiah. Spread it before the Lord.
S1: See what they saying about you? Right. Number five you
S1: get to see a different perspective. You don't always see everything.
S1: And sometimes a critic will help you see something that
S1: will avoid you from crashing later on. Number six, you'll
S1: be better prepared. I remember in the early years of ministry,
S1: I go in because I'm a person of vision. My
S1: my administration tell you once I did something, a couple weeks,
S1: I'm ready to go. I'm ready to do something else.
S1: And so that's that's kind of like a fault.
S3: Of mine, you know.
S1: I'm ready to move on. Some of you know, you
S1: started the ministry. I worked with you until I thought
S1: you got it. Then you don't hear from me anymore.
S1: It ain't that I don't care. I got too many
S1: other things to do. But then I start coming in.
S1: How do I come in? Now I have pages. This
S1: is what we're going to do. This is the pole.
S1: This is the negative. This is the con. This. And
S1: then I have a OG in f s category. What's that,
S1: Pastor Ford? Only God knows for sure. Better prepared. Why?
S1: Because of criticism. Uh, number seven. It makes you hungry
S1: for heaven. Man, I'm so tired of this. I pull
S1: my hair out if I had some. But since I
S1: don't have any. Oh, I can't wait until Jesus give
S1: the shout and we'll be gone. And I don't have
S1: to pastor anymore. I know you say that about your children. Yeah.
S1: Number eight, you learn to surrender to the righteous judge
S1: because you don't always know what is positive and negative criticism,
S1: because some of the things that they're saying negative about
S1: you are true. And so you lay it up before God.
S1: Is this true about me? Now we can deny them.
S1: He ain't going to let us deny him. Oh, you
S1: ask me. Let me show you who you really are.
S1: And sometimes. Isn't it surprising you really didn't know you
S1: were that way? I must be putting the oil to
S1: the squeak because it mighty quiet in here. Mhm. So. Yeah.
S1: Number nine, you get to reevaluate your motives for doing
S1: what you are trying to do. In other words, now
S1: why am I really trying to do this. Uh, then. Okay.
S1: You know, they can attribute motives to me all they want.
S1: Like when somebody told me, you building this for your
S1: own personal aggrandizement. No, I'm building this because the Lord
S1: told me. Because he's getting ready to have to go
S1: to for services. And. And they're just already killing the preacher.
S1: And and we needed more room because we could have
S1: had one service. Don't say it. Don't send me any
S1: cards on it. I know we can still have one service.
S1: I know number 11 or number ten. It helps you
S1: see God's power. If they are wrong, God will always
S1: vindicate you. Always. Just wait. Give him time. Number 11.
S1: It helps you see how people view you. So the
S1: criticism people give you, it really helps you. You know
S1: what they think about you by what they say to you. Yeah.
S1: So listen sometime number 13, it tests your commitment about
S1: what you're doing. What does it take to make you
S1: quit somebody speaking harsh to you, somebody being mean to you.
S1: You're never going to get anything accomplished. I don't care
S1: what it is. I don't care what it is. Number 14.
S1: It drives you to your knees in prayer. It always
S1: makes me pray more. People who are your haters make
S1: you pray more than the people who support you. And
S1: number 15. It often indicates to you that what you're
S1: doing is making or going to make a difference. Here's
S1: the last one. Number 16. It's the litmus paper for
S1: your faith. Because Proverbs 2410 says, if you faint in
S1: the day of adversity, your faith is small. And so
S1: look at them. Look at them. Look at this. They
S1: come at a critical time. Verse 18, vision. Verse 19,
S1: vision killers. Verse 18 dreamers. Verse 19 nightmares. And so
S1: in verse 18 you have protagonists. And in verse 19,
S1: here come the antagonists. Every time you try to make
S1: a mark, someone will come along with an eraser and
S1: try to erase it. Here it is. Number two. Number two.
S1: There's always a leader of the opposition. Let me read
S1: the verse again. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah
S1: the servant, the Ammonite and Gershom the Arabian heard it.
S1: Notice this symbol. Its name is first. Now look at
S1: verse ten. Look at verse ten. When Sanballat the Horonite.
S1: His name is. First look at Nehemiah four one. And
S1: it came to pass, when Sanballat heard that we builded
S1: the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and
S1: mocked the Jews. Uh, look at what it says in
S1: six one. Turn! Six one now, when it came to pass. When. Sam.
S1: Look at verse two, that sanballat look at verse five,
S1: that sanballat. And guess what? You'll see his name all
S1: over the place. There's only two times his name is
S1: not first, and there's a reason for it. Let me
S1: give it to you real quick. The first time that
S1: his name is not first is because he has an
S1: outsider that he paid to try to get close to
S1: Nehemiah the second time. His name is not. First is
S1: because his friend Tobias has a son who's married to
S1: Eliab's daughter, who is the high priest. So he's got
S1: people on the inside and people on the outside to
S1: come along with him, to try to destroy this thing.
S1: Y'all ain't listening to me. Mhm. Yeah. They have to
S1: have a leader. Why? Because if they don't have a leader,
S1: they go underground. See? You think they're silent. They're not silent.
S1: They're really stabbing you in the back until they get
S1: a voice. They need a sound ballot. Who is a punch?
S1: You in the face. Punch you in the nose. Kind
S1: of a person. His name is Sam Ballot. Uh. That's Babylonian.
S1: His name is Babylonian. Now what is he, a Samaritan? Now,
S1: why does he have a Babylonian name? His name means
S1: sin is my life. Now, unless you think I'm talking
S1: about committing sin. Sin is the Babylonian moon god. Here's
S1: a man who's worshiping Yahweh. Uh, who should be supporting that?
S1: Jerusalem would get a wall. He wants it to stay down. Why?
S1: Because no wall means a weak Jerusalem. And a weak
S1: Jerusalem means a powerful sand ballot. What was the wall
S1: all about? The wall was designed to protect. The wall
S1: was designed so that you could keep your provisions and
S1: have safety. And so he opposes Nehemiah because he wants
S1: the wall to stay. Listen to me. Mm. It's not you,
S1: per se. You say. What do you mean by that? Yeah.
S1: It's not you, per se. Uh, Sam Ballard wants what
S1: you stand for. He's against what you stand for. It's
S1: not you, per se. It's what you want to do.
S1: It's not you, per se. It's the change that you're
S1: trying to bring. See, you need to understand that the
S1: only people that like change is wet babies. That's it. Yeah.
S1: And so it's not you, per se. It's what you bring.
S1: It wouldn't matter who it is. What is the goal?
S1: That's what they don't like. Mm. See, the walls are
S1: down and he has what it takes to be a
S1: good hater. Say, what are you talking about? Okay, okay.
S1: Watch this. Chapter four, verse two. Let me read it
S1: to you. Here's what it says. And he spake before
S1: his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, what
S1: do these feeble Jews? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice?
S1: Will they make an end in a day? Will they
S1: revive the stones out of the rubbish heap? On and
S1: on it goes. And here's what he tells us. It
S1: tells us that he was the governor of Samaria. What
S1: did he have? That everyone that leads some haters gotta
S1: have power, position and prestige. Power, position and prestige. You see,
S1: some people get power, position and prestige, and they don't
S1: know how to handle it. And here's what people say.
S1: They got some power and they went straight to their head.
S1: No it didn't. No, it didn't go straight to their head.
S1: You say why you say that, pastor? Because when they
S1: got the power, they're only showing you who they really
S1: were before they got it. What do you mean by that,
S1: Pastor Ford? Okay, I'm glad you asked. You ask intelligent questions.
S1: In other words, they knew if they showed you who
S1: they really were before they got the power, they never
S1: would have got the power. But they know once they
S1: get the power, it's hard to be put out of power.
S2: You're listening to treasure, Truth and a message called How
S2: Haters Hate. It's biblical and practical teaching on today's program,
S2: and maybe you feel like you've got haters in your
S2: life and you want to go back and listen to
S2: this teaching again. You can do so by coming to
S2: our website, Treasure Truth Radio. You can stream programs through
S2: your computer or mobile device, download MP3's, or order copies
S2: of this broadcast on CD. You'll find that in a
S2: lot more when you come to treasure Truth Radio. Back
S2: to our message how haters hate once again. Here is
S2: Pastor Ford.
S1: Okay, numbers. Chapter 12 numbers. Chapter 16. I'm not going
S1: to turn to them, but. But you can check it out.
S1: What happened in numbers 12, Miriam comes against Moses. Moses
S1: married a black woman and she goes to Aaron and
S1: she say, Aaron. Moses married a black woman. Aaron says, okay.
S1: She said, that ain't right. We only supposed to marry
S1: Jewish people. He married a black woman. Oh, that ain't right.
S1: What are we going to do about it now? Why
S1: did she go to Aaron? Because he was closer to
S1: Moses than she was. That's the closest he could get
S1: to power and know that he could influence someone. Because,
S1: you know, Aaron was a wimp. He built that calf. Yeah.
S1: You know, because they said, build us. Build us a.
S1: He knew God had delivered them. He knew he shouldn't
S1: have built that. And so Miriam knew it, too. If
S1: I want to get somebody with power to criticize somebody
S1: with more power, I gotta get somebody on my side.
S1: And so she goes to Aaron. Now, why is that
S1: a violation of Scripture? You New Testament saints. Holler it out.
S1: Somebody holler it out. That's a violation of Scripture. Why?
S1: That's right. Because Matthew 18 says, if you have art
S1: with your brother or sister, you go to your brother
S1: or sister, you don't go to somebody else. Numbers. Chapter 16.
S1: Same kind of deal. Korah, Dathan and Abiram. And on
S1: they gather people together and they begin to go after Moses. Hmm.
S1: Number three, let me tell you how haters hate. Here's
S1: the third way. They don't come forward unless they feel
S1: they've garnered enough support. If you'll notice, you notice what
S1: goes on? Uh. They're silent. And listen, let me just
S1: give you some hits. Here's how. You know somebody's trying
S1: to pull you into a hater situation. Have you heard
S1: what's going on? Here's another one. Here's another one. I'm
S1: just curious. What do you think of what they're doing?
S1: You're being drawn in. Don't become a sanctified sucker. They're
S1: trying to draw you in. Amen. So they can go
S1: back and say, I was talking to so-and-so. Or they
S1: can say everybody's upset about this. Mm. Yeah. Let me
S1: show you something. Look at number 16 real quick. Real quick.
S1: Look what's going on in number 16. Now, this is this.
S1: I've never preached this here. I preach this all over
S1: the country, in the world. I've never preached it here.
S1: Not one time. You say, why ain't you a preacher here, pastor?
S1: It would seem too self-serving because the title of the
S1: message is why the people oppose leaders when they're not
S1: in sin. And there are 17 reasons in the chapter.
S1: So notice what it says in numbers. Chapter 16. Listen
S1: to this. Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son
S1: of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram,
S1: the sons of Eliab, and on the son of Pelath,
S1: sons of Reuben took men. Now here's, here's, here's what happened.
S1: Here's what the Bible tells us first. It was Korah.
S1: And look at his credentials. He is. He is the
S1: son of Izhar. Who is this, sir? He's a Levite.
S1: As a matter of fact, he's not any Levite. He
S1: is the priestly Levite. He is under his daddy. Levi.
S1: That man got power. And so he is the son
S1: of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi,
S1: and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. And on
S1: the son the sons of Reuben took men. In other words,
S1: they went to. They went to Darom, and then Korah
S1: and Dathan went to Abiram and Korah, Dathan and Abiram
S1: went to on, and Korah, Dathan, and Abiram the on
S1: went to men. And then notice what happens here. I'll
S1: just tell you. You can read the rest of it
S1: you want. Here's what happened. So they went to them,
S1: and then they went to men. Who were the men?
S1: They went to the princes. Who's that? That's the elders
S1: and the deacons. Then they went to the people. See
S1: what happened? This thing trickled down and it infected everybody. Everybody. Listen,
S1: churches are split. Ministries are destroyed. People are damaged, discouraged,
S1: and defeated because it's like a snowball rolling down the hill.
S1: It just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. Mm. All right.
S1: I know y'all are tired of this. Imma get you
S1: up out of here. Look at number five. Here's the
S1: fifth thing that happens when haters hate, they usually garner
S1: more support the longer they persist. Okay, follow me again.
S1: Watch this. Uh, verse ten, chapter two, verse ten. Follow along.
S1: When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the ammonite.
S1: How many people are there? Two. Look at verse 19.
S1: Sanballat the Horonite. Tobiah the servant. Ammonite. Gershom the Arabian.
S1: How many people are there now? Three. Okay, now turn
S1: to chapter four, verse seven. Chapter four, verse seven. But
S1: it came to pass when Sam, Tobiah and the Arabians
S1: and the ammonites and the astronauts. How many are there now? Five.
S1: Is that five? Did I count that right? One. Two. Three. Four. Oh, yeah. Five.
S1: What's happening? This thing is building, isn't it? It's growing,
S1: isn't it? More people are jumping on board. What's happening here?
S1: There are people who were not convinced, but somebody who
S1: was their friend now is believing it. And so that's
S1: my friend. I'm going to believe it. And somebody that's
S1: on my team now is believing. So I'm going to
S1: believe it. Mm. Now watch this. Turn to chapter six,
S1: verse one. Now, it came to pass when Sanballat, Tobiah
S1: and Gershom the Arabian, and the rest of them, you
S1: see that he, he, he been listening to them. Why
S1: you stop listening? The only thing I can think of
S1: is now there's too many of them. It's. It's an
S1: old school phrase. We used to say Buku. There's buku
S1: of them. There's bunches of them. It's Ray-Ray, them Pookie
S1: in them. All them. And so what happened? Man, this
S1: thing has gotten out of hand. Negativity spreads like cancer.
S1: And if you don't cut it out, it grows, and
S1: it will consume your whole body. Mm. Wow. Sorry about
S1: that man who said told his pastor I only come
S1: to church. Why don't you come to church? Because there's
S1: too many hypocrites. Oh, come on now. Don't paint everybody
S1: with a broad brush there. The church is filled with hypocrites.
S1: So pastor said okay. Alright then. He said, uh, you
S1: got a pig farm, right? Yeah. He said, I'm coming
S1: out next week. He said, really? Yeah, yeah, I want
S1: to buy a pig. Okay. Come on. Pastor goes out.
S1: He says, okay, let me see this. He said, I
S1: got the big best pigs in the county. Nobody has
S1: better pigs than I have. He said, okay, give me
S1: that one right there. Which one? That little one right there.
S1: He said, no, you don't want that. That's the runt
S1: of the litter. No, I want to buy that one,
S1: the pastor said. And I'm going to take it into
S1: the whole county and show everybody the kind of pigs
S1: that you grow. You'll get that on the way home. Yeah.
S1: In other words, you can't be known by your worst.
S1: It's like. It's like, why don't we do that to people?
S1: Why do we identify them by their worst? Rahab the.
S1: But she's not anymore. She's in the line of Jesus Christ.
S1: Blank Bartimaeus. He ain't blind now. He's been healed. Why
S1: you keep calling them by what they used to be
S1: and not what they are now. Everybody makes a mistake.
S1: You're right. I tell you, I remember one time I
S1: was getting all kind of criticism. That was early in
S1: the ministry. And I thought to myself, you know what?
S1: If half the things folk are saying about me are true,
S1: I don't like me either. Yeah. Number number six. Number six.
S1: They generally speak from a limited perspective. Notice what it
S1: says and they heard. Remember verse ten chapter two. And
S1: he heard. We saw it in chapter six verse one.
S1: And he heard, he heard, he heard what's wrong? He's
S1: working on second hand information. He never talked to Nehemiah.
S1: Look at your neighbor and say, go to the source. Yeah,
S1: because if you don't go to the source, you don't
S1: know whether you have all the news or not. Go
S1: to the source.
S2: It's really some practical and biblical teaching today from Pastor
S2: Ford here on Treasure Truth. Our message is called how
S2: haters Hate. You know, the purpose of these messages is
S2: not just to provide you with knowledge of the Bible.
S2: It's to help you be obedient to Christ. So with
S2: that in mind, we're always on the lookout for resources
S2: that you can use to develop your faith in practical ways.
S2: And this month, we've been talking about a book by R.A.
S2: Torrey called How to Witness to Anyone. Now, you can
S2: likely recall a situation in which you wanted to share
S2: your faith, but you felt hesitation or uncertain about what
S2: to say. Well, How to Witness to Anyone is a
S2: collection of Bible verses arranged topically that will guide you
S2: and encourage you as you talk about the good news.
S2: So keep the book in a convenient location, or you
S2: can grab it and browse through it in your spare moments,
S2: and you'll find yourself immersed in God's Word, all the
S2: while you're training and equipping your mind for evangelism. Request
S2: a copy of How to Witness to Anyone when you
S2: give a gift of any amount to treasure truth. Call
S2: us at 888 644 7660 or go online to Treasure
S2: Truth Radio.com. If you prefer to write, you can send
S2: a check in the mail or address. Is Treasure Truth,
S2: 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. Well, I'm
S2: Steve Hiller. Our producer is Amy Rios. I hope you'll
S2: join us again next time for more Bible teaching from
S2: Pastor Ford here on Treasure truth. A production of Moody Radio,
S2: a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.