WEBVTT - How Haters Hate, Part 1 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:05.200 They have an opportunity. There will always be opposition that 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:08.640 whenever you step out in faith, you better believe something 0:00:08.640 --> 0:00:12.000 will come along to make you fear, so that you 0:00:12.000 --> 0:00:16.640 need to understand that victory will always be followed by 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:17.320 a valley. 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:28.160 Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, 0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:30.920 junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:32.960 I'm Steve Hillard. Glad you're with us today as we 0:00:32.960 --> 0:00:36.880 begin a new series called How Haters Hate and pastor, 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:39.280 I love the title of the series because it seems 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:42.520 as if any time we step out and do something 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:44.720 for God, you're going to get pushback. You're going to 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:47.000 get people who are going to criticize that. And I 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:48.760 even heard you say just a moment ago, you may 0:00:48.760 --> 0:00:51.599 very often, in fact, it's almost a guarantee there's going 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:54.160 to be some sort of valley experience after that. 0:00:54.200 --> 0:01:00.320 Well, it was with Elijah. You know, he just defeated 5000, 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:04.440 I mean, five, 5500 prophets of Baal. I'm reading that 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:09.039 Bible upside down, 500 prophets of Baal. And then he 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:12.240 runs from one woman, right? You know. Well, well, you 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:14.240 know what, Steve? I'm just going to be honest. I 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:17.039 think I'd rather face 500 men than one woman. 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:19.520 One woman too. Exactly. Especially that one. Oh my. 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:24.080 Goodness. You know, it's like I was just thinking, what's 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:28.800 the difference between a cantankerous, evil woman and a pit bull? 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:31.240 I can't wait for this answer. 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:31.960 Lipstick. 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:32.480 Ah! 0:01:36.040 --> 0:01:38.559 Nice. And so you always have it, though, you know, 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:43.520 because if it were a freeway, everybody would be doing 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:47.039 something for God. Yeah, but it's mountains and peaks and 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:51.760 valleys and and so, you know, sometimes you have to 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:57.600 go through something in order to accomplish something for God's glory. 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:01.200 And you look at the people who made the greatest Impact. 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:06.280 They were the ones who experienced the old adage new level, 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:09.079 new devil. I've rephrased it. I found when you go 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:12.040 to a new level, you got stronger devils. Yeah. You know. 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:16.040 And so here you have individuals, uh, that if you say, 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:19.080 I'm getting ready to go on a diet, I'm getting serious. 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:22.400 Do you know somebody's going to make you a pound cake? 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:26.880 Of course. You know something that you love. And I 0:02:26.919 --> 0:02:29.600 just thought of you and made this, you know? So 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:30.720 there's always a challenge. 0:02:30.760 --> 0:02:34.880 Oh, of course there is. Absolutely. You know, and I remember, um, 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:38.600 going on youth retreats when I was younger. Uh, my 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:41.440 daughter came back from a missions trip not that long ago. And, 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:43.040 you know, one of the things that, you know, the 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:45.519 youth pastors and those who are on the trip said is, hey, 0:02:45.560 --> 0:02:48.440 be ready. You've just been on this mountaintop experience. You've 0:02:48.440 --> 0:02:50.840 been doing things for God. You're going to get slammed 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:53.400 when you get back home. And sure enough, that does happen. 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:55.440 So we may have some people who are at the 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:58.240 mountaintop right now. How do they get ready for the 0:02:58.240 --> 0:02:59.239 valley that's coming? 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:04.510 Uh, well, you just ride in on your fellowship with God? 0:03:04.550 --> 0:03:07.350 Take the hit knowing that he's with you. It happened 0:03:07.350 --> 0:03:12.510 to him. Matthew chapter three. You have God the Father 0:03:12.550 --> 0:03:16.670 audibly glorifying the son. You have the son in the 0:03:16.669 --> 0:03:20.510 water tangibly, and you have the Holy Spirit visibly. And 0:03:20.510 --> 0:03:24.269 then what does chapter four say? Then was Jesus led 0:03:24.270 --> 0:03:26.790 in the wilderness to be tempted of the devil? It 0:03:26.790 --> 0:03:28.829 even happened to our Lord. 0:03:28.870 --> 0:03:30.389 Yeah, you got to expect it. 0:03:30.389 --> 0:03:31.070 That's right. 0:03:31.270 --> 0:03:33.790 Well, we're going to be in Nehemiah chapter two today. 0:03:33.790 --> 0:03:36.070 So if you can open your Bible, join us there 0:03:36.070 --> 0:03:39.990 as we begin the message. How haters hate. Here's Pastor Ford. 0:03:40.910 --> 0:03:44.510 I used to be a courier boy. Now, you wouldn't 0:03:44.510 --> 0:03:47.590 understand it because I'm from Pittsburgh. It was called the 0:03:47.590 --> 0:03:50.750 Pittsburgh Courier. Uh, but all you have to do is 0:03:50.750 --> 0:03:56.510 think of Chicago Defender. And so I was a courier boy. 0:03:57.070 --> 0:04:01.270 It was a weekly African-American newspaper. I believe it was 0:04:01.270 --> 0:04:04.910 the second in the nation. Uh, but, uh, it came 0:04:04.910 --> 0:04:08.270 out once a week, and, uh, a friend of mine, 0:04:08.270 --> 0:04:10.150 he was a courier boy, but he was getting ready 0:04:10.150 --> 0:04:13.550 to quit. And so they made a nickel off of 0:04:13.550 --> 0:04:18.190 each paper, and the paper was $0.20. Now, you know, 0:04:18.190 --> 0:04:22.230 I just dated myself. But all of you know, I'm 65, 0:04:22.230 --> 0:04:25.790 so I'm old school in his house. I'm back in 0:04:25.790 --> 0:04:27.950 the day when you could take a penny and get 0:04:27.950 --> 0:04:33.790 two pieces of candy. Yeah. Hey, man. Yeah, I remember 0:04:33.790 --> 0:04:37.310 a loaf of bread was $0.15. Okay, so that's how 0:04:37.310 --> 0:04:42.550 old I am. I'm proud to be able to say it. Hey, man. 0:04:44.230 --> 0:04:46.870 And so I was looking forward to it, because each 0:04:46.870 --> 0:04:50.670 courier boy got a nickel off of each paper. And 0:04:50.670 --> 0:04:54.550 so he his paper route had a hundred people. That 0:04:54.550 --> 0:05:00.270 was $5 a week. Do you know how much candy 0:05:00.270 --> 0:05:04.430 that would buy. And so I asked him, I said, man, 0:05:04.430 --> 0:05:05.990 I want to take you a route over. He said, 0:05:05.990 --> 0:05:08.550 I'm quitting next week. And so I went to my mama. 0:05:08.589 --> 0:05:11.790 I said, you know, Leroy's quitting and I want to 0:05:11.790 --> 0:05:13.550 take over his route. Can I can I do it? 0:05:13.589 --> 0:05:17.190 Can I? No, no no, no. You get robbed on 0:05:17.230 --> 0:05:19.390 that route, you get beat up. No, no, I don't 0:05:19.390 --> 0:05:21.430 want you doing that, mama. I'm not worried about. I'm not. 0:05:21.430 --> 0:05:22.870 I just want I want to do it. I want 0:05:22.910 --> 0:05:25.350 to do it. No, no, no. And I just wore 0:05:25.350 --> 0:05:29.190 her down. Wore her down. So finally, whenever Leroy gave 0:05:29.190 --> 0:05:31.909 up his route, I took his route. So I said, Leroy, 0:05:31.910 --> 0:05:34.429 why do you want to quit your route, man? Making 0:05:34.430 --> 0:05:36.909 a nickel of paper, he said, I can tell you 0:05:36.910 --> 0:05:39.510 in one word. I said, what's that? He said, Skippy. 0:05:40.710 --> 0:05:43.150 I said, Who's Skippy? He said, you going to take 0:05:43.150 --> 0:05:44.630 this route? I said, yeah, he said, you going to 0:05:44.630 --> 0:05:48.110 find out real quick. And so my first week on 0:05:48.110 --> 0:05:50.510 the route, because my mama said, you know, I'm worried 0:05:50.510 --> 0:05:52.589 about you. I said, don't worry about it. I got 0:05:52.589 --> 0:05:55.870 my stick. And as long as I got my stick, 0:05:55.870 --> 0:05:58.070 I'm going to be able to whoop anybody that comes 0:05:58.110 --> 0:06:01.589 to comes to rob me. And so, uh, I'm, I'm 0:06:01.870 --> 0:06:05.150 selling my papers, and I'm doing real good. Finished up. 0:06:05.150 --> 0:06:08.190 All the papers are gone. Everybody did deliver the house 0:06:08.190 --> 0:06:11.630 to I delivered it. Everything was hunky dory, baby. And 0:06:11.630 --> 0:06:14.750 so I'm pocket full of chains. Rattling few dollars in 0:06:14.790 --> 0:06:17.550 the pocket, you know, happy and skipping. And then. Then 0:06:17.550 --> 0:06:19.870 a guy stood in my way. I said, what? What's 0:06:19.870 --> 0:06:22.710 wrong with you, man? Who are you? He said, my 0:06:22.710 --> 0:06:28.229 name is Skippy. So I went home. My mother said, 0:06:28.230 --> 0:06:33.070 what's wrong? I said, I got robbed. You got robbed? Yeah. 0:06:33.070 --> 0:06:36.110 Who robbed you, Skippy? Well, why don't you hit him 0:06:36.110 --> 0:06:42.630 with the stick? He took that, too. I mean, that's 0:06:42.630 --> 0:06:46.550 injury to insult. I got robbed and he took my stick. 0:06:49.510 --> 0:06:52.350 But you know what? I learned something. I wonder, have 0:06:52.350 --> 0:06:55.630 you learned it yet? I was bad as long as 0:06:55.630 --> 0:06:59.230 I was by myself. Yeah, I was bad as long 0:06:59.230 --> 0:07:02.670 as there was no opposition, but as soon as there 0:07:02.670 --> 0:07:08.150 was opposition in the old school terminology, I found that 0:07:08.150 --> 0:07:11.310 all I was doing was selling wolf tickets. I don't 0:07:11.310 --> 0:07:12.790 know what y'all call it today. That's what we used 0:07:12.790 --> 0:07:16.110 to call it. Whenever you're talking loud but you're saying 0:07:16.110 --> 0:07:20.070 nothing or that you're you're all talk but no walk. 0:07:20.070 --> 0:07:22.350 And that's what I was that day. And don't laugh 0:07:22.350 --> 0:07:26.310 at me because many of you have been in that situation. 0:07:26.550 --> 0:07:30.350 It's easy to talk about what you're going to do 0:07:30.470 --> 0:07:34.510 when there's no opposition. Help me, somebody. If you don't 0:07:34.510 --> 0:07:37.910 believe me, ask Peter, because remember what Peter did. Uh, 0:07:37.910 --> 0:07:40.110 you're going to deny me. Uh uh. And remember, on 0:07:40.110 --> 0:07:44.070 Wednesday night, we said that Peter was sincere about it. 0:07:44.110 --> 0:07:48.230 He did not know that denial was in him. Let 0:07:48.230 --> 0:07:51.310 me tell y'all something. Some of you got some punk 0:07:51.350 --> 0:07:56.670 in you that ain't been discovered yet. Because you have 0:07:56.670 --> 0:08:02.870 met the person that's going to punk you. You're bad 0:08:03.710 --> 0:08:08.590 till you meet that person or that circumstance or that situation, 0:08:08.590 --> 0:08:12.350 and then you find out. I thought I didn't have 0:08:12.350 --> 0:08:18.390 any punk in me, but I did. And so, you know, 0:08:18.430 --> 0:08:20.790 Peter did it. He let his mouth write a check. 0:08:20.790 --> 0:08:23.590 His commitment couldn't cast. We talk about it all the time, 0:08:23.790 --> 0:08:28.070 and some of us are great at talking big at 0:08:28.070 --> 0:08:33.710 church on Sunday and failing to walk it at work 0:08:33.710 --> 0:08:38.710 on Monday. Don't shout me down now. Yeah. Have you 0:08:38.710 --> 0:08:44.430 ever noticed that every time you make a commitment to 0:08:44.470 --> 0:08:49.829 serve the Lord, to reach a goal, to accomplish a vision, 0:08:49.830 --> 0:08:55.070 or to see a dream fulfilled, the devil says, we'll 0:08:55.070 --> 0:08:59.550 see about that. We'll see about that. Yeah, yeah. You 0:08:59.550 --> 0:09:02.340 said I'm going to stay out of debt. Devil says 0:09:02.340 --> 0:09:05.860 we'll see about that. And the next day. Here it comes. 0:09:05.900 --> 0:09:13.179 Pre-Approved credit card. No application necessary. Just sign on the 0:09:13.179 --> 0:09:16.780 dotted line. Huh? Yeah. You said. Yeah. I'm going to 0:09:16.820 --> 0:09:22.060 wait for Mr. Right, and here he comes. Mr.. Right now. 0:09:22.900 --> 0:09:25.780 You say, you know what, man? I'm going to keep 0:09:25.780 --> 0:09:28.140 myself pure till I get married. I ain't even going 0:09:28.140 --> 0:09:30.980 to look at a woman the wrong way. And here 0:09:30.980 --> 0:09:42.380 she come. Boom chicka. Skirt the size of a postage stamp. Yeah, yeah, 0:09:42.380 --> 0:09:45.020 you know what I'm talking about. The devil says. Yeah, 0:09:45.020 --> 0:09:48.220 we'll see about that. You say I'm going to quit gossiping, 0:09:48.220 --> 0:09:51.660 but here comes the juiciest piece of gossip that you 0:09:51.660 --> 0:10:00.140 ever heard. And it was about Elder Green. Huh? Yeah. 0:10:00.420 --> 0:10:02.220 And so you say, hey, I'm going to give more 0:10:02.220 --> 0:10:04.580 time to his book. That's until you got caught up 0:10:04.580 --> 0:10:10.900 in Facebook. Mm. Yeah. And so here it is. We 0:10:10.940 --> 0:10:14.260 say it all the time. I'm committing to come to 0:10:14.300 --> 0:10:17.059 Bible study on Wednesday night, and all of a sudden, 0:10:17.059 --> 0:10:20.820 overtime is offered. All of a sudden, Empire got a 0:10:20.820 --> 0:10:28.100 new season. Mm. Now, we shouldn't be surprised. And we 0:10:28.100 --> 0:10:31.300 say it all the time. I'm not going to lie anymore. 0:10:31.500 --> 0:10:33.620 And then we find that a lie is a present 0:10:33.620 --> 0:10:38.700 help in the time of trouble. And so don't be 0:10:38.700 --> 0:10:42.100 surprised that the devil does it to us. Didn't he 0:10:42.140 --> 0:10:45.300 do it to the Lord Jesus Christ? He most certainly did. 0:10:45.340 --> 0:10:49.940 Matthew chapter three. We have the baptism of Jesus. God 0:10:49.980 --> 0:10:53.540 took on flesh, came down, dwelt among us. Now he's 0:10:53.540 --> 0:10:56.579 going in the water to be baptized, and the father 0:10:56.580 --> 0:11:01.380 is there audibly, and the spirit is there tangibly, while 0:11:01.380 --> 0:11:05.460 Jesus is in the water physically and God gives him 0:11:05.660 --> 0:11:10.020 that great commendation. This is my beloved son in whom 0:11:10.020 --> 0:11:13.500 I'm well pleased. Hear ye him. God gave to Jesus. 0:11:13.500 --> 0:11:16.699 Remember we studied it. He gave to him affection. He 0:11:16.700 --> 0:11:21.700 gave to him. Acknowledgement he gave to him attention. And 0:11:22.059 --> 0:11:25.300 that's the great victory. But what happened in chapter four? 0:11:25.420 --> 0:11:28.140 The Bible says, then the devil tempted him in the world. 0:11:28.179 --> 0:11:30.819 You see what happened? God put him on display and 0:11:30.820 --> 0:11:33.660 here comes the devil. I tell you, I don't care 0:11:33.660 --> 0:11:36.500 who you are. I dare you to say you're going 0:11:36.540 --> 0:11:39.459 to lose weight. I guarantee you somebody's going to cook 0:11:39.500 --> 0:11:44.460 your favorite dessert and offer it to you. Y'all know 0:11:44.460 --> 0:11:46.020 because y'all say it to me all the time. I 0:11:46.020 --> 0:11:48.620 know you got sugar diabetes, but I made you this. 0:11:49.660 --> 0:11:53.500 Your favorite. You love banana pudding. You ain't nothing but 0:11:53.500 --> 0:11:57.700 the devil. I don't want to tip you. Don't worry 0:11:57.700 --> 0:12:01.740 about it. And that's what he does to all of us. 0:12:01.780 --> 0:12:04.820 So in Nehemiah chapter two, verse 19, guess what? We 0:12:04.820 --> 0:12:09.820 see how haters hate. We get to see how those 0:12:09.820 --> 0:12:15.740 individuals that are just natural haters come out. I don't 0:12:15.740 --> 0:12:18.380 care what you're making an effort to do, you better 0:12:18.380 --> 0:12:21.740 expect a hater to show up. Now, if you don't 0:12:21.780 --> 0:12:26.060 expect a hater to show up, maybe it's because you're 0:12:26.100 --> 0:12:29.980 the hater. Don't look around. We don't want anybody to 0:12:29.980 --> 0:12:32.860 be convicted. And so what do they do? Imma drop em. 0:12:32.860 --> 0:12:34.340 I'm not going to push em. I'm going to walk 0:12:34.340 --> 0:12:37.900 through all ten of these. Number one, number one, they 0:12:37.940 --> 0:12:41.179 come at a critical or a crucial time. 0:12:43.900 --> 0:12:46.340 That's number one. We're going to get into that. And 0:12:46.340 --> 0:12:49.140 the other nine in just a few moments here on 0:12:49.140 --> 0:12:52.700 Treasure Truth, you're listening to a message called How Haters 0:12:52.700 --> 0:12:55.660 Hate from Nehemiah chapter two. And we're going to get 0:12:55.660 --> 0:12:58.260 back to this teaching in just a few seconds. If 0:12:58.260 --> 0:13:01.020 you ever miss a broadcast, you'll find it online. Come 0:13:01.020 --> 0:13:04.260 to Treasure Truth radio org. Stream the program through your 0:13:04.260 --> 0:13:07.460 computer or mobile device. Download the MP3 or order a 0:13:07.460 --> 0:13:11.980 copy on CD that's at Treasure Truth radio.org. Again, here's 0:13:11.980 --> 0:13:12.860 Pastor Ford. 0:13:13.780 --> 0:13:16.220 Look what happens in verse 19 because it's only one verse. 0:13:16.220 --> 0:13:18.939 All these principles come from one verse. But when Sanballat 0:13:18.940 --> 0:13:22.060 the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Gershom 0:13:22.059 --> 0:13:24.660 the Arabian heard it, they laughed us to scorn and 0:13:24.660 --> 0:13:27.500 despised us, and said, what is this thing that you do? 0:13:27.540 --> 0:13:30.540 Will you rebel against the king? Then I answered them 0:13:30.540 --> 0:13:32.420 and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will 0:13:32.420 --> 0:13:35.620 prosper us. We're his servants. So when you look at 0:13:35.620 --> 0:13:39.020 it now, look what's going on in Nehemiah 218. We 0:13:39.020 --> 0:13:41.580 study that at least five times in my 35 years 0:13:41.580 --> 0:13:44.100 of ministry. And this morning I asked how many heard 0:13:44.100 --> 0:13:47.260 the message. Only eight people raised their hand. How many 0:13:47.260 --> 0:13:50.900 heard that message? Nehemiah 218. Then I told them of 0:13:50.900 --> 0:13:52.660 the hand of my God, which is good upon me, 0:13:52.660 --> 0:13:55.140 as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. 0:13:55.140 --> 0:13:57.780 And they said, let us rise up and build. So 0:13:57.780 --> 0:13:59.820 they strengthened their hands for this good work. Let me 0:13:59.860 --> 0:14:01.420 see how many people heard that. How many heard it? 0:14:01.420 --> 0:14:03.780 At least once. Okay. At least once. At least once. 0:14:03.820 --> 0:14:07.740 Look at that. Four people. Five. See, that's how I 0:14:07.740 --> 0:14:12.340 know I could do them again. Because most of y'all 0:14:12.380 --> 0:14:15.900 that heard it, you ain't hear it all anyway. You 0:14:15.900 --> 0:14:22.380 was texting. Just kidding. Just kidding. And so they come 0:14:22.380 --> 0:14:24.980 in now. Now what's the what's the backdrop? You know it. 0:14:25.020 --> 0:14:29.700 How long had the wall been down? 13 years. Wait 0:14:29.700 --> 0:14:32.780 a minute. Can I ask you a question? Where were 0:14:32.780 --> 0:14:37.660 they those 13 years? You don't hear anything from them? Why? 0:14:37.700 --> 0:14:41.380 Because nothing was being done. You better listen to me. 0:14:41.540 --> 0:14:47.140 Haters only rise up when something is trying to be done. Yes. 0:14:50.340 --> 0:14:53.740 That's when they rise up. So listen, you were going 0:14:53.740 --> 0:14:56.300 back to school and somebody said, ain't you too old 0:14:56.300 --> 0:14:59.100 for that? Where's the money going to come from? Uh, well, 0:14:59.140 --> 0:15:01.530 you know, I mean, if you ain't got it by now. 0:15:03.210 --> 0:15:09.930 How old was your mama when she got her degree? Grandmother, 90, 0:15:10.050 --> 0:15:17.970 got her bachelor's at 90. How old are you? A doctorate? Oh. 0:15:18.010 --> 0:15:23.130 I'm sorry. Excuse me. I don't want to hate on granny. 0:15:24.610 --> 0:15:30.530 Then she got her doctorate at 90. Well, that's convicting me. Yeah. 0:15:30.530 --> 0:15:33.850 And so, what's going on here? Nehemiah 218. Then I 0:15:33.850 --> 0:15:35.730 told them the hand of my God was good upon me. 0:15:35.770 --> 0:15:38.010 You remember the sermon? We talked about it and broke 0:15:38.010 --> 0:15:40.370 it down in three aspects. Then we came at it 0:15:40.370 --> 0:15:42.650 again and had a different outline every time. But here 0:15:42.650 --> 0:15:45.050 was the first outline I gave you that when you 0:15:45.050 --> 0:15:47.370 have a vision and when you want the wall to 0:15:47.370 --> 0:15:49.530 go up, when you want to do something in this 0:15:49.530 --> 0:15:52.690 community to stop black on black crime, when you want 0:15:52.730 --> 0:15:56.170 to do something in this community to help in the 0:15:56.170 --> 0:16:00.770 housing market and the job and everything. And so you 0:16:00.810 --> 0:16:03.490 look at this thing, what happens? First of all, they 0:16:03.490 --> 0:16:07.570 are motivated. It says, uh, Nehemiah told them divine revelation. 0:16:07.850 --> 0:16:11.330 And and then what did they do? They rose up. Uh, 0:16:11.330 --> 0:16:15.210 there's the church organization. So it says, and they said, 0:16:15.210 --> 0:16:18.610 let us rise up and build. So they were motivated, uh, 0:16:18.610 --> 0:16:22.450 and build activated. They strengthened their hands for this good work. 0:16:22.450 --> 0:16:28.450 They were consecrated. They were Max. Motivated, activated. Consecrated. Max. 0:16:29.130 --> 0:16:33.090 So now they're ready to go. A wall that's been 0:16:33.090 --> 0:16:35.890 down for 13 years is about to be built. Look 0:16:35.890 --> 0:16:38.770 at verse 19. But and remember, I always told you 0:16:38.770 --> 0:16:42.010 this a conjunction of contrast. It literally means what comes 0:16:42.010 --> 0:16:44.530 after is going to cancel out what came before. So 0:16:44.530 --> 0:16:48.810 here it is. They have an opportunity. Verse 19, there 0:16:48.810 --> 0:16:53.330 will always be opposition that whenever you step out in faith, 0:16:53.330 --> 0:16:56.210 you better believe something will come along to make you 0:16:56.210 --> 0:17:00.970 fear so that you need to understand stand. That victory 0:17:00.970 --> 0:17:04.690 will always be followed by a valley. So what's going 0:17:04.690 --> 0:17:09.170 on here? I mean, Nehemiah now has this unholy trinity 0:17:09.170 --> 0:17:16.210 in verse 19. Wow. Very antagonist. And guess what? They're 0:17:16.250 --> 0:17:19.330 the worst kind of haters. Why do you say that, 0:17:19.330 --> 0:17:24.730 Pastor Ford? See, there are haters. They stab you in 0:17:24.730 --> 0:17:29.370 the back. This ain't that kind. These are the kind 0:17:29.410 --> 0:17:33.609 that slap you in your face. Oh, yeah. These are 0:17:33.609 --> 0:17:37.290 the haters that punch you in the nose. Big bad, 0:17:37.330 --> 0:17:42.450 bold booty. Bodacious. Make no bones about it. Haters. You 0:17:42.450 --> 0:17:44.570 know what they are. Say what are they pastor for? 0:17:45.210 --> 0:17:50.170 They're a fight. Going somewhere to happen. I guess this 0:17:50.170 --> 0:17:52.930 must be old school day. Because I remember the house party. 0:17:52.930 --> 0:17:55.570 We'd be in house party. Everything be nice until they 0:17:55.570 --> 0:17:59.209 showed up. And whenever they showed up, you always knew 0:17:59.250 --> 0:18:00.890 this was is going to end up being a fight. 0:18:01.170 --> 0:18:03.810 Every time they come. Matter of fact, when I saw 0:18:03.810 --> 0:18:05.649 him coming. This time to go. Come on, baby, I 0:18:05.690 --> 0:18:08.530 grabbed my girlfriend. Let's go, let's go, let's go. Because 0:18:08.570 --> 0:18:09.930 he said, you know, he going to jump up here. 0:18:09.930 --> 0:18:11.930 He going to try to cut in, want to dance 0:18:11.930 --> 0:18:13.770 with you and all that kind of stuff. Then they're 0:18:13.770 --> 0:18:17.650 going to be a fight up in there. And I'm 0:18:17.650 --> 0:18:23.449 ready to leave now because I can't whoop him. And 0:18:23.450 --> 0:18:26.970 so here it is now. And and and I like 0:18:26.970 --> 0:18:29.530 what Fred Smith said. I read this article. You can 0:18:29.530 --> 0:18:33.010 see it if you just Google Fred Smith. The care 0:18:33.010 --> 0:18:37.169 and feeding of critics. He talked about five kind of haters. 0:18:37.170 --> 0:18:40.570 There are the hostile haters. These are people who resent 0:18:40.570 --> 0:18:44.770 authority per se. They disrespect la di da di and everybody. 0:18:44.770 --> 0:18:49.690 They have no respect for authority whatsoever. They disrespected their parents. 0:18:50.010 --> 0:18:54.650 They disrespected their teachers. They disrespect the authority, the police, 0:18:54.650 --> 0:18:58.450 they do all kinds of stuff and they're against leadership. Uh, 0:18:58.450 --> 0:19:02.090 then you have your people who are your high level haters. Uh, 0:19:02.090 --> 0:19:06.490 these are the haters with natural leadership ability. They become 0:19:06.490 --> 0:19:10.730 leaders of the minority, uh, majority and feel that they 0:19:10.970 --> 0:19:15.050 have to be in opposition in order to serve their function. 0:19:15.090 --> 0:19:18.770 The more capable they are, the more difficult they are 0:19:19.090 --> 0:19:22.170 to deal with it. Uh, then you just have your 0:19:22.170 --> 0:19:25.929 hater haters. These are the people who criticize to show 0:19:25.930 --> 0:19:30.290 how much they know more than you know anybody like that. 0:19:32.130 --> 0:19:35.129 And then the last two there, the haters. These are 0:19:35.130 --> 0:19:39.209 individuals who are like a hound dog laying on a 0:19:39.250 --> 0:19:45.850 cocklebur and refuse to move or roar. Roar. He said, 0:19:45.850 --> 0:19:50.770 you know what the kookaburra is? Every new idea. Roo 0:19:51.330 --> 0:19:55.610 roo roo just got to say something. Don't know nothing 0:19:55.810 --> 0:20:03.570 but got to say something. Roar, roar Hmm. Yeah. And 0:20:03.570 --> 0:20:07.369 then finally, there's the honest hater. Say, what are you 0:20:07.369 --> 0:20:12.010 talking about? A person who is genuinely interested and really 0:20:12.010 --> 0:20:16.570 wants to see a spiritual change. So we don't throw 0:20:16.570 --> 0:20:18.530 out the baby with the bathwater. Now, you do know 0:20:18.530 --> 0:20:24.410 the difference between constructive criticism and destructive criticism. Say, what 0:20:24.410 --> 0:20:30.050 is it? Constructive criticism is when I criticize you. Destructive 0:20:30.050 --> 0:20:36.650 criticism when you criticize me. Now, I had to put 0:20:36.650 --> 0:20:40.050 this down. I've been ministering in this church, one church 0:20:40.050 --> 0:20:45.370 35 years. Amen. 35. Now, let me tell you what 0:20:45.369 --> 0:20:50.450 I've learned about criticism in 35 years. In five, I 0:20:50.490 --> 0:20:52.129 started to say five seconds, but it ain't going to 0:20:52.130 --> 0:20:54.650 be that quick. Here's what I learned. And I've got 0:20:54.650 --> 0:20:59.600 35 journals. I've been journaling 40 years, and here's what 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:02.840 I put in my journals. What I've learned about criticism 0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:06.080 over the year I coalesced them. I've got 16 things 0:21:06.080 --> 0:21:11.560 I've learned positive about negative criticism. Here it is. Number one, 0:21:11.880 --> 0:21:16.320 you depend more on God. When you get criticized. It 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:18.479 ought to push you to God. You ought to depend 0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:21.920 upon him more. Stop trusting yourself as much and start 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:25.480 trusting him more. Number two, it develops your character because 0:21:25.480 --> 0:21:29.280 you see what kind of person you are. And I'm 0:21:29.280 --> 0:21:32.520 telling you, early in my ministry, I didn't have the 0:21:32.520 --> 0:21:35.800 character I have now late in my ministry, and there's 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:38.400 some people who, if they were still members of the church, 0:21:38.400 --> 0:21:40.960 would tell you when he first came, he still had 0:21:40.960 --> 0:21:43.080 some of that gangster in him. Because when you said 0:21:43.080 --> 0:21:47.639 something that that blew him up, he snatched you. I 0:21:47.640 --> 0:21:50.760 remember that there's a brother who will tell you he 0:21:50.760 --> 0:21:53.760 said something I didn't like. I snatched him in my office, 0:21:53.800 --> 0:21:56.800 lift him up against the wall and said, what the 0:21:57.000 --> 0:22:00.800 did you say? And I skipped that word because it 0:22:00.800 --> 0:22:06.080 wasn't a godly one. Now I had to repent. And 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:11.920 I repented to him. But now I just smiled. Amen. 0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:14.360 It keeps you humble. 0:22:17.119 --> 0:22:20.359 You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor James Ford Jr, 0:22:20.359 --> 0:22:22.160 and we're going to hear more on how to deal 0:22:22.160 --> 0:22:25.880 with critics as this message continues. If you missed any 0:22:25.880 --> 0:22:28.360 part of today's program, you can find it online. Just 0:22:28.359 --> 0:22:31.360 come to Treasure Truth Radio org and look for the 0:22:31.359 --> 0:22:35.359 title How Haters Hate. You know, it doesn't matter whether 0:22:35.359 --> 0:22:38.520 you're surrounded by friends or being attacked by critics, God 0:22:38.520 --> 0:22:41.680 calls every Christian to share the gospel. Now, of course, 0:22:41.680 --> 0:22:44.320 it's easier if the people you witness to are friendly, 0:22:44.600 --> 0:22:46.800 but we need to be ready with an answer to 0:22:46.840 --> 0:22:50.600 any response. At Treasure Truth, we want to equip you 0:22:50.600 --> 0:22:53.000 with a practical tool that can teach you to become 0:22:53.000 --> 0:22:55.840 a successful soul winner by using God's Word to answer 0:22:55.840 --> 0:23:00.080 difficult questions. The book is called How to Witness to Anyone, 0:23:00.080 --> 0:23:03.440 and it's written by R.A. Torrey. Now, Doctor Torrey was 0:23:03.440 --> 0:23:06.080 one of the great evangelists of the last century, and 0:23:06.080 --> 0:23:09.000 he created this book as a practical reference guide for 0:23:09.000 --> 0:23:11.960 Christians who don't always know where to turn when faced 0:23:11.960 --> 0:23:15.000 with difficult questions. So if you struggle with how to 0:23:15.000 --> 0:23:19.919 respond to skeptics, if self-righteous non-believers have you stumped, or 0:23:19.960 --> 0:23:21.679 if you're just looking for hints on how to be 0:23:21.680 --> 0:23:24.040 more effective when you share the gospel, this book is 0:23:24.040 --> 0:23:26.880 for you. Contact treasure truth with the gift of any 0:23:26.880 --> 0:23:30.760 amount and request how to Witness to Anyone by R.A. Torrey. 0:23:31.359 --> 0:23:36.320 Call us at 888644 7660 or go online to Treasure 0:23:36.320 --> 0:23:40.600 Truth Radio.com. I'm Steve Hiller. Our producer is Amy Rios, 0:23:40.600 --> 0:23:42.600 and we're going to hear more from Pastor Ford tomorrow 0:23:42.600 --> 0:23:46.280 as we continue the message. How Haters Hate, treasure, Truth 0:23:46.280 --> 0:23:49.359 is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody 0:23:49.359 --> 0:23:50.480 Bible Institute.