WEBVTT - Takers, Part 8 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:04.640 Here's what we do. We let the little things keep 0:00:04.640 --> 0:00:10.730 us from the everything that God has for us. See, 0:00:10.730 --> 0:00:13.039 when it comes to what God wants to do, you've 0:00:13.070 --> 0:00:17.030 got to understand God's will. You're either on the way 0:00:17.030 --> 0:00:18.200 or in the way. 0:00:24.650 --> 0:00:27.860 Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, 0:00:27.860 --> 0:00:31.070 junior senior pastor of Christ Bible Church in Chicago. I'm 0:00:31.070 --> 0:00:33.500 Steve Hiller, and glad you're with us. And, pastor, you 0:00:33.530 --> 0:00:37.730 point out an important truth. Sometimes, as we think we've 0:00:37.729 --> 0:00:40.250 discerned the will of God and the promise that is 0:00:40.250 --> 0:00:44.540 ours to claim and to take. We run into little obstacles, 0:00:44.540 --> 0:00:48.320 little roadblocks, things that keep us from doing or taking 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:51.890 what we truly believe God has for us. And for some, 0:00:51.890 --> 0:00:54.950 that may be just enough of a discouragement to quit 0:00:54.950 --> 0:00:59.360 pursuing that promise of God. How do we know if 0:00:59.390 --> 0:01:03.900 a roadblock is legitimate. God saying no. Or just a 0:01:03.900 --> 0:01:05.760 little bump in the road to strengthen our faith. 0:01:05.790 --> 0:01:09.660 Usually that has to be revealed to us, and there's 0:01:09.660 --> 0:01:14.429 not a carte blanche answer. Take, for example, first Corinthians 0:01:14.430 --> 0:01:20.580 16 nine, where Paul said, A great door and effectual 0:01:20.580 --> 0:01:24.630 is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries. So 0:01:24.630 --> 0:01:30.240 Paul saw the opportunity in the opposition, and he began 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:34.920 to go forward. He changed his plans and everything so 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:39.060 that he could accommodate what God was doing. But it 0:01:39.060 --> 0:01:44.820 came through opposition. The seven sons of Skiva and Demetrius, 0:01:44.819 --> 0:01:49.680 the silversmith. He saw those as opportunities to promote the gospel, 0:01:49.710 --> 0:01:53.700 because they were coming against the Lord Jesus Christ and 0:01:53.700 --> 0:01:57.780 His good news. And so it just depends on what 0:01:57.810 --> 0:02:03.460 God is doing in your life. However, All opposition is 0:02:03.460 --> 0:02:08.380 determined to be utilized by Satan to discourage us. He 0:02:08.380 --> 0:02:13.240 loves to discourage, to divide, and we ought to be 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:14.200 aware of that. 0:02:14.260 --> 0:02:18.340 So when we do face opposition, expect it. Number two, 0:02:18.370 --> 0:02:20.140 it may simply mean we just need to change our 0:02:20.139 --> 0:02:23.050 tactics a little bit, like Paul did sometimes. 0:02:23.050 --> 0:02:26.380 And I think, you know, we can't let it discourage 0:02:26.380 --> 0:02:29.530 us because, see, it's either God allowed or God authorized. 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:34.480 And if God authorized it, there's a perfect will. You know, 0:02:34.510 --> 0:02:38.470 anthropomorphically speaking that just means to attribute to God human 0:02:38.470 --> 0:02:43.240 characteristics for the purpose of comprehension. And so he allows 0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:47.740 us to go through this opposition. Why? So that he 0:02:47.740 --> 0:02:49.750 can make us better. The devil is trying to make 0:02:49.750 --> 0:02:52.870 us bitter. God is trying to make us better. And 0:02:52.870 --> 0:02:56.320 I see it that way. So whatever comes my way, 0:02:56.350 --> 0:02:57.790 I belong to the Lord. 0:02:57.820 --> 0:03:00.220 Yeah. And as you said a moment ago, we can 0:03:00.220 --> 0:03:04.330 look at opposition as opportunity. So that's one of the 0:03:04.330 --> 0:03:07.240 lessons that we'll see in today's message. If you can 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:09.940 join us in the book of Joshua, chapter one as 0:03:09.940 --> 0:03:12.940 we continue takers. Here's Pastor Ford. 0:03:13.210 --> 0:03:17.470 You know, it's amazing to me that some people are 0:03:17.470 --> 0:03:21.310 chained to their past. There's some things that are very painful. 0:03:21.310 --> 0:03:24.279 I know in your past, but at some point the 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:27.369 past got to be in the past. And God. Moses 0:03:27.370 --> 0:03:29.800 represents the past the way we used to do it 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:31.600 and all that. No, no. We got to prepare for 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:34.360 the future. Amen. Now, I don't know about you, but 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:37.839 I've been doing it for the last ten years saying, listen, 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:41.740 I'm preparing to pass the baton that, you know, for 0:03:41.740 --> 0:03:45.430 the future. Because the future church doesn't look like anything 0:03:45.430 --> 0:03:49.030 that it looks like now. We've got to get ready 0:03:49.030 --> 0:03:50.890 for the future. Then he said, in spite of problems, 0:03:50.890 --> 0:03:53.590 he said this, Jordan, what is he saying? He's saying, okay, 0:03:53.590 --> 0:03:56.350 now I need you to look at this. Jordan. God 0:03:56.350 --> 0:03:59.650 is pointing out the Jordan to Joshua. Why? Because that's 0:03:59.650 --> 0:04:01.940 what he has to cross. Well, what's going on there? 0:04:01.940 --> 0:04:05.540 The Jordan is over swelling its banks, so God is 0:04:05.540 --> 0:04:11.360 pointing to the problem that has the possibility for progress 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:15.589 to the promised land. Why would you point the problem out? 0:04:15.590 --> 0:04:20.300 Because some people see a problem in every opportunity, and 0:04:20.300 --> 0:04:25.220 some people see an opportunity in every problem. Joshua, I 0:04:25.220 --> 0:04:27.350 want you to look at it. It's running over its banks. 0:04:27.350 --> 0:04:30.260 But I want you to know it cannot stop you 0:04:30.260 --> 0:04:34.280 from your promise. Get over it. Get over it now. 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:36.530 Respond to God's plan. Now. Now get this, get this, 0:04:36.529 --> 0:04:40.790 get this. We talk about this. He's showing him the Jordan, 0:04:40.790 --> 0:04:42.950 but he never tells him what he's going to do 0:04:42.950 --> 0:04:46.130 to get him over it. You know what? You know why. 0:04:46.130 --> 0:04:49.100 You know why? Because it takes faith to believe the 0:04:49.100 --> 0:04:52.940 promise apart from understanding how he going to do it. 0:04:52.970 --> 0:04:55.520 And that's the problem with us. We want to know, well, 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:56.659 how are you going to do it? When are you 0:04:56.660 --> 0:04:58.669 going to work? How is this going to work? And 0:04:58.670 --> 0:05:00.560 God says, what did I tell you to do? Just 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:04.110 get to steppin, that's all. Get to steppin. And once 0:05:04.110 --> 0:05:07.979 we get to steppin. We're walking by faith. God says okay, now, 0:05:07.980 --> 0:05:12.659 now you're here. Watch what I do. Boom. Yeah, that's 0:05:12.660 --> 0:05:16.109 what he does all the time. And here's our problem. 0:05:16.110 --> 0:05:20.280 We never get to steppin. God, I'm waiting on you. 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:22.500 I'm waiting on you. But I'm waiting on you. But 0:05:22.500 --> 0:05:24.839 I'm waiting on you. But I'm waiting on you. Why 0:05:24.870 --> 0:05:28.050 are you waiting on me, God. Because I will not 0:05:28.050 --> 0:05:31.799 do what you can do. I will only do what 0:05:31.800 --> 0:05:35.070 you can't do. So once you do everything you can 0:05:35.070 --> 0:05:37.320 do and you get to the end of your rope, 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:45.180 let go! I'll catch you. I'll provide. That's it. And 0:05:45.180 --> 0:05:46.800 so let me give you some principles I didn't give 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:49.169 you last week. Here's what you need to do. Here's 0:05:49.170 --> 0:05:54.600 what you need to do. Start today. Start now. Start today. 0:05:54.630 --> 0:05:56.250 I say I want to write some more books. And 0:05:56.250 --> 0:05:58.739 God has given me favor with a woman who has 0:05:58.740 --> 0:06:02.109 worked for 20 years for Urban Ministries, the top senior 0:06:02.110 --> 0:06:05.740 editor at Urban Ministries, and now she's helping me with 0:06:05.740 --> 0:06:09.850 my book. She takes my sermon DVDs and writes them out, 0:06:09.850 --> 0:06:11.920 and she she did me a book in two weeks 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:15.430 for two weeks, two weeks. I've had it six weeks 0:06:15.430 --> 0:06:17.980 doing the redacting to it, you know, and she called 0:06:17.980 --> 0:06:19.720 me up. She said it only took me two weeks 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:24.370 to put everything together. What's taking you so long? And 0:06:24.370 --> 0:06:26.470 then my wife said, my wife said, honey, you ain't 0:06:26.470 --> 0:06:29.260 doing this right. You know what you need to do? What? 0:06:29.290 --> 0:06:32.110 She asked me this question. What are you doing every 0:06:32.140 --> 0:06:37.750 day that is determining what you'll be tomorrow? You say 0:06:37.750 --> 0:06:39.730 you want to be a prolific author. Put some of 0:06:39.730 --> 0:06:43.239 the stuff that you've had in more books. But if 0:06:43.270 --> 0:06:46.779 you ain't writing. So she told me, she said, okay, 0:06:46.779 --> 0:06:48.250 here's what I want you to do. Go on in 0:06:48.250 --> 0:06:50.410 that office right now. So you're talking to a woman. 0:06:50.410 --> 0:06:52.630 I'm talking to you. Go in that office right now 0:06:52.900 --> 0:06:55.870 and for the next two hours, work on that book. 0:06:57.490 --> 0:07:00.310 I said, don't be telling me what to do. And 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:02.029 I went in my office and I worked on that 0:07:02.029 --> 0:07:06.380 book for two hours. Amen. And she told me now 0:07:06.380 --> 0:07:11.000 every day, because that is a investment on your future. 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:14.179 So every day, two hours about what are you going 0:07:14.210 --> 0:07:16.520 to have at the end of a week, 14 hours 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:18.380 of writing, what are you going to have at two weeks, 0:07:18.380 --> 0:07:20.960 28 hours, and on and on and before you know it? 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:22.940 But if you do that now to the end of 0:07:22.940 --> 0:07:28.670 the year, you may have five books, baby. Start now, 0:07:28.670 --> 0:07:32.030 start now, start now. And the second thing you ought 0:07:32.030 --> 0:07:36.770 to do see the opportunity in the opposition. That's what 0:07:36.770 --> 0:07:42.230 he's telling him. This Jordan. Thirdly, quit running from problems 0:07:42.230 --> 0:07:45.590 that should be fixed and can be fixed by you 0:07:45.620 --> 0:07:47.960 as a pastor. I'm just going to give Buck naked 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:50.060 here because maybe if I get buck naked, y'all will 0:07:50.060 --> 0:07:53.750 join me now. Not literally, but figuratively. That is what 0:07:53.750 --> 0:07:55.850 I had to learn as a pastor and still struggle 0:07:55.850 --> 0:08:00.900 with is correcting people who need to be corrected. Yeah. Amen. Now, 0:08:00.900 --> 0:08:03.030 I know none of you have a problem with that, 0:08:03.030 --> 0:08:06.570 but correcting people who should be corrected. And you, God, 0:08:06.570 --> 0:08:08.400 will you fix it? God? Say, I ain't going to 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:11.520 fix it. You fix it. Tell them they're wrong. Tell 0:08:11.520 --> 0:08:13.530 them they shouldn't talk to people like that. Tell them 0:08:13.530 --> 0:08:15.870 they shouldn't. Do people like that. Why? You walk by 0:08:15.870 --> 0:08:18.480 and see them fussing with each other? You, the pastor, 0:08:18.510 --> 0:08:22.410 used the crook or the staff. I say what? Hit 0:08:22.410 --> 0:08:26.610 em with it. He said no. He used the crook 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:30.480 to pull the sheep apart when they were fighting each other. Amen. 0:08:31.650 --> 0:08:38.790 Number four quit making excuses and start making adjustments. Jesus 0:08:38.790 --> 0:08:41.970 died for our sins, not for our excuses. And excuses 0:08:41.970 --> 0:08:47.310 are like noses. Everybody has one. Here you are. Cater 0:08:47.309 --> 0:08:49.770 to your strengths and guard your weaknesses. What do you 0:08:49.770 --> 0:08:52.590 mean cater to your strengths? Why are you wasting all 0:08:52.590 --> 0:08:55.920 this time on something? That's my weakness. That I gotta 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:58.620 work on my weakness? No, you work on your strength. 0:08:58.620 --> 0:09:01.170 You put the bulk of your time, your talent and 0:09:01.170 --> 0:09:04.350 your energy and what you're good at, what you're strong at, 0:09:04.380 --> 0:09:07.079 what you're gifted for. And guess what? Your gift will 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:11.820 make room for you. And then finally. Come on, say 0:09:11.820 --> 0:09:16.230 it with me. Carpe diem. Who knows what it means? 0:09:16.260 --> 0:09:18.179 Stand up and holler it out. What does it mean? 0:09:19.110 --> 0:09:23.460 Seize the day. That is that when the opportunity comes, 0:09:23.460 --> 0:09:26.370 you got to lock on to that opportunity. When the 0:09:26.370 --> 0:09:28.979 door is open. Remember, we saw God said, I give 0:09:28.980 --> 0:09:31.319 you an open door and they wouldn't go. And God 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:35.310 closed it. Take the opportunity when the opportunity is given. 0:09:35.730 --> 0:09:39.090 I look back, hindsight's always 20 over 20, bro. Richie 0:09:39.090 --> 0:09:41.040 and I can see the things we could have had, 0:09:41.070 --> 0:09:43.230 you know, we could have had here had I seized 0:09:43.230 --> 0:09:47.250 the opportunity. Uh, that apartment right there, we could have 0:09:47.250 --> 0:09:51.059 got that for $35,000. Uh, this one across the street 0:09:51.059 --> 0:09:53.520 here where this alley is. We could have bought that 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:57.390 for $45,000 and had the alley annex and closed. So 0:09:57.390 --> 0:09:59.280 it would have been a cul de sac coming in 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:01.990 the alley. That would have been our property over there 0:10:01.990 --> 0:10:04.420 in that 40 flat. We had an opportunity to buy 0:10:04.420 --> 0:10:07.570 that for 125,000. And it wasn't that we didn't have 0:10:07.570 --> 0:10:11.170 the money, it was we didn't have the vision. And 0:10:11.170 --> 0:10:13.390 I look at it today and say, what would we 0:10:13.390 --> 0:10:16.300 have done had we gotten that 40 flat and then 0:10:16.300 --> 0:10:18.490 fixed it up with all the things that are available 0:10:18.520 --> 0:10:20.530 to give us money, to fix it up, to put 0:10:20.530 --> 0:10:23.890 our people in there according to their income and have 0:10:23.890 --> 0:10:28.930 a Christian community in that building. And then, you know, 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:35.200 Muhammad Ali bought it for $65,000. 40 flat building, $65,000. 0:10:35.230 --> 0:10:37.809 Seize the moment. So he says, respond to the plan. 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:39.099 Let's look at the next one. Then we're going to 0:10:39.100 --> 0:10:40.179 go on home. That's all I'm going to do at 0:10:40.179 --> 0:10:43.150 one point. Notice, he says, what's the first qualification? Respond 0:10:43.150 --> 0:10:45.550 to God's plan. See, God has a plan. And the 0:10:45.550 --> 0:10:47.320 reason your marriage is messed up because you didn't follow 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:49.329 the plan. The reason why your children messed up. Because 0:10:49.330 --> 0:10:52.570 you didn't follow the plan. The reason why are you 0:10:52.600 --> 0:10:54.400 still working for somebody? You don't have your own business. 0:10:54.429 --> 0:11:00.069 You didn't follow the plan. Then notice. Secondly, rest in 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.450 God's promises, verses three and four. Let me read them 0:11:02.450 --> 0:11:04.850 to you. Every place that the sole of your foot 0:11:04.850 --> 0:11:07.489 shall tread upon have I given unto you, as I 0:11:07.490 --> 0:11:11.090 said unto Moses, from the wilderness, and this Lebanon unto 0:11:11.090 --> 0:11:14.360 the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of 0:11:14.360 --> 0:11:17.270 the Hittites, unto the great sea, toward the going down 0:11:17.270 --> 0:11:20.270 of the sun, shall be your coast. Here God gives 0:11:20.270 --> 0:11:23.300 them a promise. He marks it out. He gives them 0:11:23.300 --> 0:11:27.050 the property boundaries of the promised land. And do you 0:11:27.050 --> 0:11:31.610 know the tragedy that that Israel never possessed all the land? 0:11:31.640 --> 0:11:36.050 There's only one king who ever possessed all the land 0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:39.110 that God said they should should possess. And it wasn't 0:11:39.110 --> 0:11:42.140 David and it wasn't Solomon. And when I went to Israel, 0:11:42.140 --> 0:11:47.240 I won a serving a sterling silver locket. And the 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:51.020 guy who led us, our our guide, Hillel, has been 0:11:51.020 --> 0:11:54.770 doing it for 44 years. And he said, nobody has 0:11:54.770 --> 0:12:00.420 ever answered that question for him. It's a sorry dog 0:12:00.420 --> 0:12:04.380 won't wag his own tail. And he said. He said, okay, 0:12:04.380 --> 0:12:06.719 so tell me, the king, I said, Jeroboam, he said, 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:10.530 which one? I said, Jeroboam the second. He said, nobody 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:13.110 has answered that in 44 years. He said, you're the 0:12:13.110 --> 0:12:15.930 first one to ever answer that. I said, well, praise 0:12:15.929 --> 0:12:17.849 the Lord. And I didn't tell him that. That had 0:12:17.850 --> 0:12:20.610 been a part of my devotional time. I'm studying the 0:12:20.610 --> 0:12:27.120 kings of Israel. It didn't matter. My wife wearing that necklace. Yeah. 0:12:27.150 --> 0:12:30.030 With a with a manner which is. Which is, uh, 0:12:30.030 --> 0:12:35.550 the widow's mite. Amen. Original. You know. Yeah. Original. Done 0:12:35.550 --> 0:12:41.250 in excavation. Yeah, yeah, because I answered the question. Here 0:12:41.250 --> 0:12:45.990 it is. Rest in God's promises. Here's what we do. 0:12:46.230 --> 0:12:50.940 We let the little things keep us from the everything 0:12:50.940 --> 0:12:56.040 that God has for us. See, when it comes to 0:12:56.070 --> 0:12:59.490 what God wants to do, you gotta understand God's will. 0:12:59.890 --> 0:13:02.679 You're either on the way or in the way. 0:13:03.790 --> 0:13:05.980 Well, that's a good question to be asking ourselves, isn't it? 0:13:06.010 --> 0:13:09.100 Are we on the way or are we in the way? 0:13:09.220 --> 0:13:11.800 You're listening to a message entitled takers as we look 0:13:11.830 --> 0:13:14.590 at Joshua chapter one. And if you joined us a 0:13:14.590 --> 0:13:16.420 little late, you can always come to the website and 0:13:16.420 --> 0:13:18.610 listen to each and every program there. You can download 0:13:18.610 --> 0:13:22.359 MP3's or you can even order copies on CD. Our 0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:25.900 website address is Treasure Truth radio.org. We'd also love to 0:13:25.900 --> 0:13:28.630 connect with you on social media. You can follow us 0:13:28.660 --> 0:13:31.329 on Twitter, like us on Facebook, even listen to the 0:13:31.330 --> 0:13:35.110 program directly through Facebook. Again, you'll find those links at 0:13:35.110 --> 0:13:39.760 our website. Treasure Truth radio.org. Back to the message. Here's 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:40.750 Pastor Ford. 0:13:40.780 --> 0:13:43.479 Now notice the promises. First of all, notice that it's 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:46.329 a past promise. Notice what it says. It says every 0:13:46.330 --> 0:13:48.460 place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon. 0:13:48.460 --> 0:13:51.880 That's future. Because they're not in the land yet. But 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.699 I'm telling you, you walk on the land, walk on it. 0:13:54.700 --> 0:13:57.670 Because where you walk on it, that's what you will get. 0:13:57.670 --> 0:14:01.189 Then he says, I have given unto you. As I 0:14:01.190 --> 0:14:04.819 said unto Moses, he ties it to a generational promise, 0:14:04.820 --> 0:14:07.520 I promise, Moses, and I have promised Abraham, and I 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:09.920 have promised Isaac, and I have promised Jacob. And so 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:14.270 I'm passing it down. It's a past promise. It's like, 0:14:14.270 --> 0:14:19.640 let me tell you about your not yet, right now, 0:14:20.180 --> 0:14:23.210 so that you will not let your right now stop 0:14:23.210 --> 0:14:26.570 you from your. Not yet. Because if I tell you 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:29.630 you're not yet, and even though you're going through trouble 0:14:29.630 --> 0:14:32.360 in your right now, the promise that I gave you 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:35.450 about your not yet will cancel out the problem that 0:14:35.450 --> 0:14:39.050 you have in your right now. So if you understand 0:14:39.050 --> 0:14:45.140 that right now you have the not yet. Then you'll 0:14:45.140 --> 0:14:49.220 act like it. You you'll say, I don't care. Come 0:14:49.220 --> 0:14:53.030 the proverbial hell or high water, I'm going to possess 0:14:53.030 --> 0:14:59.270 my God given possessions. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Listen, listen, listen. 0:14:59.300 --> 0:15:04.130 Say it with me. The power to perform is in 0:15:04.130 --> 0:15:08.239 the promise, proclaimed the promise. Alright, let me give you 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:12.260 an example. Remember the man who was paralyzed for 38 years? Yes. 0:15:12.380 --> 0:15:16.550 He was laying on a pallet, paralyzed, could speak, but 0:15:16.550 --> 0:15:19.460 couldn't move, couldn't move his hands. And Jesus came to 0:15:19.460 --> 0:15:25.610 him and said, rise, be a taker. Pick up your 0:15:25.610 --> 0:15:28.790 pallet and walk. Now wait a minute. How are you 0:15:28.790 --> 0:15:32.540 going to tell a paralyzed man? Rise. He's been paralyzed 0:15:32.540 --> 0:15:37.040 38 years. Rise. Be a taker. Take up your pallet 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:43.790 and walk. Because the power to perform is in the 0:15:43.790 --> 0:15:48.590 promise proclaimed. It's inherent in the word that he's given 0:15:48.590 --> 0:15:53.360 to us. Our faith activates the power. Now, we ain't 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:55.700 got to go through that. We always talk about Jheri curls. 0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:59.480 You had to have the activator. And faith is the 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:02.550 activator that activates the Word of God. So what did 0:16:02.550 --> 0:16:08.010 he do? He he rose became a taker. Now, here's 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:10.800 here's what I would have done if I'd been laying 0:16:10.800 --> 0:16:12.810 on that pallet for 38 years. I don't want anything 0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:15.840 to do with that pallet, am I? Am I right 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:19.230 about it? Sister? Wife? Yeah. Look, look, I just had 0:16:19.230 --> 0:16:21.480 this thing. I'm sick of it. I hadn't had the 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:26.760 new model. And, you know, I don't want this thing anymore. So. Jesus, 0:16:26.760 --> 0:16:30.300 why do you tell me to take it? Because everybody 0:16:30.300 --> 0:16:36.030 knows that for 38 years, the pallet been carrying you. 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:40.530 Now I want you to show them that when you 0:16:40.530 --> 0:16:45.300 get a promise from God, you now carry what was 0:16:45.300 --> 0:16:50.760 carrying you. You got victory over what had you conquered. 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:54.300 You pick up your pallet so everybody can see that 0:16:54.300 --> 0:16:58.470 you're more than a conqueror through him that loves you. 0:16:58.470 --> 0:17:01.510 That when you got a promise from God, it doesn't 0:17:01.510 --> 0:17:06.580 matter what your circumstances are, because now God gives you 0:17:06.609 --> 0:17:11.470 sovereignty over your circumstances so that now he doesn't always 0:17:11.470 --> 0:17:16.060 change the circumstances, the palate, but he always changes you. 0:17:16.060 --> 0:17:19.720 So you're able to pick up that palate, pick it up. 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:22.600 Come on, tell somebody. Pick it up, pick it up, 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:28.330 pick it up, pick up that palate. Get up off 0:17:28.330 --> 0:17:31.810 of it. Pick it up now. Now I want you 0:17:31.810 --> 0:17:34.720 to notice something. Because when you look at this thing, 0:17:34.720 --> 0:17:38.770 it's really powerful because he says, here's what I want 0:17:38.770 --> 0:17:42.820 you to do. I want you to believe the promise. 0:17:43.150 --> 0:17:44.800 I say it all the time, but let me say 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:48.460 it again. Don't put a question mark where God has 0:17:48.460 --> 0:17:52.000 put a period. Don't do that. No, don't put a 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:54.490 question mark where God has put a period. It is, 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:57.490 it is. There's three tenses of the promise here because 0:17:57.490 --> 0:18:01.580 it's a past promise that's given in the reticent about 0:18:01.580 --> 0:18:04.640 his future. Now, here's what you do. It's a past promise. 0:18:04.640 --> 0:18:07.430 But here's what you gotta do. You gotta personalize it. 0:18:07.910 --> 0:18:10.940 You gotta personalize it. What's he telling them to do? 0:18:10.970 --> 0:18:17.240 Claim this promise for yourself, Joshua and the children of Israel. 0:18:17.240 --> 0:18:20.389 I've given it to you. Now all you have to 0:18:20.390 --> 0:18:24.560 do is claim it. See, the first generation didn't believe it. 0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:27.199 And so let me show you. Let me show you 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:31.430 my grandson. Uh, my my next to my youngest grandson. 0:18:31.580 --> 0:18:34.939 His name is Jaden Ford. Uh, now, Jaden is a 0:18:34.940 --> 0:18:39.740 young scholar. Every year he gets 10 or 12 awards 0:18:39.740 --> 0:18:42.800 and have been getting them since he's been at Dixon 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:46.760 School in pre-K. He's in fourth grade now. Every year 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:51.139 he gets these awards. Well, this year, here's what happened. Uh, 0:18:51.230 --> 0:18:53.840 three years in a row, he won student of the year. 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:59.180 And that's from pre-K to sixth grade. Student of the year. And, 0:18:59.550 --> 0:19:03.240 this year they said, okay, we're going to award our 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:05.460 trophy for student of the year. Now the student of 0:19:05.460 --> 0:19:08.610 the year gets special things. They get. They got a 0:19:08.850 --> 0:19:12.510 he got a the the reader thing. Where's the reader thing? 0:19:12.810 --> 0:19:17.250 Kindle fire, Kindle Fire. He got a Kindle Fire and he, 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:20.100 and he got the opportunity to bring his family and 0:19:20.100 --> 0:19:22.320 they ate with the principal. Now he's done that three 0:19:22.320 --> 0:19:24.750 years in a row. So they got up and they said, okay, 0:19:24.750 --> 0:19:27.990 we're going to announce the student of the year. And 0:19:27.990 --> 0:19:30.960 before the teacher could announce it, the whole student body 0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:38.430 said Jayden Ford. And she said, that's right, Jayden Ford. Now, 0:19:38.430 --> 0:19:41.310 he has never been late or missed a day of 0:19:41.310 --> 0:19:46.590 school from pre-K, and he gets that award for never 0:19:46.590 --> 0:19:50.490 missing class and never being late every year. So this 0:19:50.490 --> 0:19:53.970 is what happened last week. My son got a flat 0:19:53.970 --> 0:19:57.449 tire and so he was on his way to school 0:19:57.450 --> 0:20:00.820 and his dad got a flat tire. He went into 0:20:00.820 --> 0:20:04.480 the trunk and the spare was flat. Jayden's in the back. 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:08.590 He starts crying. Oh, dad, I'm going to be late. 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:11.830 I'm never been late. You're going to make me late. 0:20:11.830 --> 0:20:14.980 I knew I should have rode to school with mom. 0:20:16.150 --> 0:20:19.689 I told you we should leave early in case anything happened. 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:23.320 Then we could get on the bus. So my son said. 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:25.510 He said, you know, I've been sharing with my children 0:20:25.510 --> 0:20:28.720 how God just changed me, turned me around. And now 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:31.119 I have this job. My son worked for the railroad. 0:20:31.150 --> 0:20:33.520 He said, I have this job and I'm so blessed. 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:35.830 And so I told him, you know how when you 0:20:35.830 --> 0:20:38.740 give God what he wants, he gives you what you want, 0:20:38.770 --> 0:20:41.020 and until you give God what he wants, he's not 0:20:41.020 --> 0:20:43.030 giving you what you want. So he said he wanted 0:20:43.030 --> 0:20:44.470 my life, but I didn't want to give it to him. 0:20:44.470 --> 0:20:47.530 And I tried everything in my own power, my own 0:20:47.530 --> 0:20:49.389 way to make it. I never made it. But as 0:20:49.390 --> 0:20:51.190 soon as I turned my life over to him, he 0:20:51.190 --> 0:20:54.280 opened up doors I never could see and look where 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:57.129 I am now. And so Jayden said, but how is 0:20:57.130 --> 0:21:00.100 that going to help me get to school on time. 0:21:00.550 --> 0:21:03.369 And my son said, do you believe in Jesus Christ? 0:21:03.369 --> 0:21:07.000 Yes I do, daddy. Uh, don't you believe that he 0:21:07.000 --> 0:21:10.990 could get you on school on time? You believe that? Yes, sir, 0:21:10.990 --> 0:21:13.900 I believe it. But I'm riding with you and not 0:21:13.930 --> 0:21:18.070 with Jesus. And, uh, he's very practical. He's very practical, 0:21:18.250 --> 0:21:20.560 Pastor Betsy. He's very practical. And so he said he 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:24.430 said he said, well, then do you know how to pray? 0:21:24.430 --> 0:21:26.800 And he said, yes, I know how to pray. He said, well, 0:21:26.800 --> 0:21:30.280 pray and ask him because this is something that is 0:21:30.280 --> 0:21:33.880 good and he will do it for you. But we're 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:36.970 going to be late. You're on a flat tire. And uh, 0:21:36.970 --> 0:21:40.179 he said, well, are you going to believe God or what? 0:21:40.210 --> 0:21:45.040 And so Jaden prayed, Lord, you know, I've never been late. 0:21:45.790 --> 0:21:48.520 And now because I chose to go with my daddy 0:21:48.520 --> 0:21:53.920 and not my mommy, I'm going to be late. Please 0:21:53.920 --> 0:21:58.630 help us get to school on time. My son said 0:21:58.630 --> 0:22:01.940 he He hit the gas and that and that tire 0:22:01.970 --> 0:22:05.659 hit the rim, and the tire came off and the 0:22:05.660 --> 0:22:08.780 rim was rolling. And then the rim started sparking and 0:22:08.780 --> 0:22:12.139 the car starts smoking. And he stopped. The car grabbed 0:22:12.140 --> 0:22:14.899 his son and they ran the rest of the way. 0:22:15.050 --> 0:22:19.340 He said as the last child was going in, Jaden 0:22:19.340 --> 0:22:22.670 went in, joined in the back, got in his room, 0:22:22.670 --> 0:22:26.750 sat in his chair and the bell rang and the 0:22:26.750 --> 0:22:30.290 bell rang and he showed him. All you had to 0:22:30.290 --> 0:22:32.930 do was personalise it. And he was telling me about 0:22:32.930 --> 0:22:35.660 his thanksgiving prayer, and that he talked about it all 0:22:35.660 --> 0:22:39.080 day in school. Jesus got me here on time. Jesus 0:22:39.080 --> 0:22:42.530 got me here on time. Jesus got. I prayed and 0:22:42.530 --> 0:22:45.680 Jesus got me here on time. Jesus. And so my 0:22:45.680 --> 0:22:47.780 son had me cracking up. If you don't know my 0:22:47.780 --> 0:22:50.180 youngest son, all the four men got a little sense 0:22:50.180 --> 0:22:51.530 of humor. I don't know where they get it from, 0:22:51.530 --> 0:22:54.140 but they all got it. And so and so I said, 0:22:54.140 --> 0:22:58.490 what did you do, son? He said, I said, Lord Jesus, 0:22:58.490 --> 0:23:03.660 you're a real worker. You've been willed to me. Because 0:23:03.660 --> 0:23:05.609 where there's a will, there's a way. 0:23:08.160 --> 0:23:10.860 Yeah. Wonder where that sense of humor comes from, right. 0:23:10.890 --> 0:23:13.740 You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford. A message 0:23:13.740 --> 0:23:17.220 entitled takers from Joshua chapter one. And we're going to 0:23:17.220 --> 0:23:19.409 continue this next time in the broadcast. If you want 0:23:19.440 --> 0:23:21.600 to make sure you don't miss it, come to the website. 0:23:21.600 --> 0:23:25.530 Right now it's Treasure Truth radio.org. 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