WEBVTT - Treasured Truth Weekend—The Perfect Storm, Part 4 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:04.240 He will do whatever it takes to us to make 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:07.160 it happen in us. Whatever God is trying to teach 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:10.520 you and you ain't learned it. Get ready because the 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:15.200 ride ain't over yet. The rough ride is not over yet. 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:24.919 Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, 0:00:24.920 --> 0:00:27.800 junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:29.920 I'm Steve Hillard. Glad that you're with us as we 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:33.720 continue a message called The Perfect Storm. It's taken from 0:00:33.720 --> 0:00:36.639 acts chapter 27, and I think some of us can 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:40.080 relate to what we just heard. We have recognized the 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:43.239 fact that God allowed a storm into our life. We 0:00:43.240 --> 0:00:45.240 can look back in hindsight and see, yep, he did 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:49.479 that because he ultimately wanted me to learn this about him. 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:52.120 And so the next time a storm comes along, you 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:55.000 begin to say, alright, God, I want you to show 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:57.160 me what you have for me in this storm because 0:00:57.160 --> 0:00:59.800 I want it to be as short as possible. Show 0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:01.760 me what I'm supposed to learn in the midst of 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:05.039 this storm, because I want it to be over with. 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:08.880 But very often God doesn't allow the storms to work 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:12.000 in that way. Well, he might choose to do that, 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:16.600 or he might be trying to teach us patience and perseverance. 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:19.440 And so he lets that storm go on around us. 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:22.880 He might really be trying to teach us dependence. And 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:25.920 if that storm was cut too short, we wouldn't ultimately 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:30.319 be learning to really depend upon him. Or we may 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:32.840 think that we have it all figured out. This is 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:35.240 what God was trying to teach me in the midst 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:38.479 of that storm. But ultimately, that's not what God was 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:42.000 trying to teach you. And the storm isn't over yet. 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:45.480 Because of that, I think the best we can do 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:48.680 is to continue to look to Christ, to spend time 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:51.720 pursuing him, to be in Scripture, to be yielded to 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:54.520 what he would have us do and to teach us 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:57.960 and to stay there. And in hindsight, you'll be able 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:01.600 to look back and say the storm was over as 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:05.720 such in such a time, and in that God taught 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:08.680 me this. Very often when we're in the middle of 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:11.720 that storm, we don't see it. We can't recognize it, 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:14.639 we can't predict it, and we don't know exactly what 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:18.240 God is doing. So we're just called to be yielded 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:21.200 and surrendered to him in the midst of that storm, 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:24.799 to hold on because that rough ride isn't over yet. 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:28.880 He's going to decide when it's over. What we're going 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:31.840 to wrap up this message, the perfect storm on today's broadcast. 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:33.920 So if you can one more time, open your Bible 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:38.359 to Acts chapter 27 as we continue the teaching, here 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:39.400 is Pastor Ford. 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:45.240 Even when the storm is your fault and you're in 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:48.560 sin now, you don't believe me, do you? Look at 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:51.280 judges chapter 14. I'm going to show you something. Judges 0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:53.680 chapter 14. We talk about him all the time. We 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:58.000 need to leave him alone. Samson. He man with a 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:03.790 she weakness. Yeah, yeah. Women were not his problem. He 0:03:03.790 --> 0:03:08.669 was his problem. Yeah. So what happened? Now watch this. Remember, 0:03:08.669 --> 0:03:12.550 he goes down to Timnath and saw a woman in 0:03:12.550 --> 0:03:16.309 timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. But his father 0:03:16.470 --> 0:03:21.070 and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord. 0:03:21.110 --> 0:03:24.630 Let me get this. God knew this man's proclivity. He 0:03:24.630 --> 0:03:27.470 knows all of ours too, don't he? And everybody has 0:03:27.470 --> 0:03:30.950 a proclivity, don't we? What's a proclivity? Every one of 0:03:30.950 --> 0:03:37.790 us has a sin that we're fond of. How do 0:03:37.790 --> 0:03:40.869 I fight what I like? Yeah. Every one of us 0:03:40.870 --> 0:03:44.830 have one. Yeah. And so what happens that he didn't 0:03:44.830 --> 0:03:47.470 know that this was of the Lord? In other words, 0:03:47.470 --> 0:03:50.790 God chose him not just because of who his parents 0:03:50.790 --> 0:03:53.710 were and that God knew. I'm going to use this 0:03:53.710 --> 0:03:59.510 man's sin to accomplish my purpose. Now the storm is 0:03:59.510 --> 0:04:02.870 his sin. Then he got a haircut and the devil's 0:04:02.870 --> 0:04:06.510 barber shop. And then what happened? Listen. Listen to this. 0:04:06.830 --> 0:04:08.750 But his father and his mother knew not that it 0:04:08.750 --> 0:04:12.310 was of the Lord. That he sought an occasion against 0:04:12.310 --> 0:04:15.510 the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion 0:04:15.510 --> 0:04:17.870 over Israel. Do you see what that verse is saying? 0:04:18.790 --> 0:04:22.390 He's responsible for his sin. But God is going to 0:04:22.390 --> 0:04:25.510 use his sin for his ultimate purpose. So this man 0:04:25.550 --> 0:04:28.470 goes through this storm, gets his hair cut and all 0:04:28.470 --> 0:04:31.670 that kind of stuff chained, read into the story that 0:04:31.670 --> 0:04:34.350 he killed more Philistines in his death than he did 0:04:34.350 --> 0:04:37.270 in his life. And then remember this he's overcome by 0:04:37.270 --> 0:04:40.670 guilt because God didn't say he had to die. He 0:04:40.670 --> 0:04:44.870 asked God to kill him. Yeah, let me die with him. 0:04:44.870 --> 0:04:48.150 So God said, sure, I'll do that. But here's the point. 0:04:48.150 --> 0:04:52.670 Here's the point what you're going through right now, you 0:04:52.670 --> 0:04:54.910 need to get on your knees, is what you need 0:04:54.910 --> 0:04:58.469 to do and see what God is trying to do 0:04:58.470 --> 0:05:02.790 in your life, and then work with him in getting 0:05:02.790 --> 0:05:08.670 that accomplished because we're all over the place. I want 0:05:08.710 --> 0:05:10.070 to try this, and I want to do this, and 0:05:10.070 --> 0:05:14.589 I want to do that. What's God say? Do. What's 0:05:14.589 --> 0:05:17.830 he say? Do. Not what your pastor says. Not what 0:05:17.830 --> 0:05:21.510 your mama, your big mama. Your daddy says uncle Willie. Bubba. 0:05:21.550 --> 0:05:26.950 Pookie nim. What is God telling you? Because you gotta 0:05:26.950 --> 0:05:30.870 connect with that and you gotta roll with that. I 0:05:30.870 --> 0:05:33.430 get this, let me bring this in. What did Paul 0:05:33.470 --> 0:05:36.390 want to do more than anything? Does anybody know what 0:05:36.390 --> 0:05:38.070 Paul wanted to do? Where did he want to go? 0:05:38.110 --> 0:05:44.909 More than anywhere else? Rome. That's his destination. Question. Did 0:05:44.910 --> 0:05:51.710 he get there? Yes. How? Chained in a slave ship. 0:05:53.070 --> 0:05:58.430 He's going in a slave slash prison ship. Now, I 0:05:58.430 --> 0:06:01.789 don't know about you, But what it says to me 0:06:01.790 --> 0:06:07.070 is this you may like the product, but you may 0:06:07.070 --> 0:06:12.790 not necessarily like the process. But we don't worry about 0:06:13.150 --> 0:06:16.230 what's happening in the process because God is going to 0:06:16.230 --> 0:06:18.150 put us through it whether we want to or not. 0:06:18.630 --> 0:06:22.750 We focus on the product. This is where I'm going. 0:06:22.910 --> 0:06:25.630 And so therefore I'm keeping my eyes on the prize. 0:06:25.670 --> 0:06:28.549 I'm not detouring because this is where God has taken me. 0:06:28.589 --> 0:06:32.270 And so Paul went to Rome. He got what he wanted. 0:06:33.430 --> 0:06:36.589 It was just a rough ride getting there. How many 0:06:36.589 --> 0:06:42.150 people know that God works that way? Why? Because of 0:06:42.150 --> 0:06:45.710 the next reason. Because of the next reason. What's the 0:06:45.710 --> 0:06:52.510 next reason? Because God sends us storms to perfect us. Now, 0:06:52.510 --> 0:06:55.830 now here. Here it is. What's going on? These guys 0:06:55.830 --> 0:06:58.029 that are on here, they're not listening to Paul. Now 0:06:58.029 --> 0:07:00.990 they're listening to Paul. Paul had shared with them. I 0:07:00.990 --> 0:07:03.109 got a word from God about what we're going to do. 0:07:03.110 --> 0:07:05.150 So Paul told them. He said, listen, let me give 0:07:05.150 --> 0:07:07.430 you some reassurance. This ship will not. Well, first he 0:07:07.430 --> 0:07:10.470 reprimanded them, you ain't listen to me. Uh. Then, uh, 0:07:10.470 --> 0:07:14.070 he gave them reassurance. An angel of God came to me. 0:07:14.070 --> 0:07:16.630 Then he gave him revelation and told me ship would 0:07:16.630 --> 0:07:19.510 be lost. But you won't. And then he talked about 0:07:19.510 --> 0:07:23.990 his reliance, I trust God. Then they turn around and say, okay, 0:07:24.230 --> 0:07:26.670 if you trust him, since you told us what you 0:07:26.670 --> 0:07:29.110 told us and it came true, then what we're going 0:07:29.150 --> 0:07:31.110 to do is we're going to believe what you just 0:07:31.110 --> 0:07:35.830 told us. See what happened to them. The word perfect. 0:07:35.830 --> 0:07:38.390 You know it already, right? What is the word perfect? 0:07:38.430 --> 0:07:41.030 It's our old friend who could holler out what it means. 0:07:41.030 --> 0:07:46.350 Come on. Real quick. What does it mean to be complete? 0:07:46.390 --> 0:07:49.630 To fulfill the purpose for which you were created? That's 0:07:49.630 --> 0:07:52.430 why you got to tap into purpose. Purpose keeps you 0:07:52.430 --> 0:07:57.590 from drifting all over the place. And so he promised 0:07:57.590 --> 0:08:01.110 them that. That God is doing a work here it 0:08:01.110 --> 0:08:05.630 is James chapter one. He says, my brethren, count it 0:08:05.630 --> 0:08:10.110 all joy when you fall into divers temptations, knowing this, 0:08:10.110 --> 0:08:14.270 that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let 0:08:14.310 --> 0:08:17.710 patience have her perfect work, that you may be complete 0:08:17.710 --> 0:08:23.350 and entire, lacking nothing. See, it's not so much of 0:08:23.350 --> 0:08:26.710 what's happening to us that we ought to focus on 0:08:27.270 --> 0:08:30.190 is what God is trying to do in us that 0:08:30.190 --> 0:08:33.590 we are to focus on. Because God is more concerned 0:08:33.590 --> 0:08:36.830 about what happens in us than what happens to us, 0:08:36.830 --> 0:08:39.790 and he'll do to us whatever it takes to make 0:08:39.790 --> 0:08:41.350 it happen in us. Wait a minute. Let me say 0:08:41.350 --> 0:08:43.670 it again because you didn't hear it. He will do 0:08:43.670 --> 0:08:48.030 whatever it takes to us to make it happen in us. 0:08:48.030 --> 0:08:50.550 Whatever God is trying to teach you and you ain't 0:08:50.550 --> 0:08:54.110 learned it, get ready because the ride ain't over yet. 0:08:54.110 --> 0:08:59.790 The rough ride is not over yet. Every time I 0:08:59.790 --> 0:09:02.620 think about it, I think about Billy Nunley, the baddest 0:09:02.620 --> 0:09:05.860 dude in Westinghouse High School. He would get high and 0:09:05.860 --> 0:09:08.020 come down the hall with his shirt off and the 0:09:08.020 --> 0:09:14.540 teachers would be hiding. I'm serious. He's rough stuff. Then 0:09:14.540 --> 0:09:18.660 I found out Billy Nunley is 20 years old in 0:09:18.660 --> 0:09:22.699 the 11th grade. He a man. No wonder he can 0:09:22.700 --> 0:09:27.340 whoop everybody. What happened to Billy? Had to do it 0:09:27.340 --> 0:09:31.420 over and over and over. And you wonder why it's 0:09:31.420 --> 0:09:34.380 over and over. Why am I going through this? Over. 0:09:34.420 --> 0:09:37.900 Because you ain't learned. That's why. And you going to 0:09:37.900 --> 0:09:41.180 keep going through it until you do learn. Because God 0:09:41.179 --> 0:09:44.420 is trying to perfect you. Remember. Remember our old friend. 0:09:45.059 --> 0:09:48.260 Remember that? Who remembers dokey Maso? Anybody? He says the 0:09:48.260 --> 0:09:51.980 trying of your faith. Trying. That's the word, dokey. What 0:09:51.980 --> 0:09:56.100 does it mean? It means to assess, to approve. It's 0:09:56.100 --> 0:09:59.420 kind of like concept cars. Like those. You see them 0:09:59.420 --> 0:10:01.900 crashing those cars? Are they trying to show us their 0:10:01.900 --> 0:10:07.140 cars don't work? No. They're trying to prove the cars 0:10:07.340 --> 0:10:11.340 are reliable by testing them before you get it. God 0:10:11.620 --> 0:10:16.059 wants to approve us to other people. Okay, I know 0:10:16.059 --> 0:10:19.220 I made it too hard. He wants people to see 0:10:19.340 --> 0:10:22.540 that when you used to cuss him out, you now 0:10:22.540 --> 0:10:28.699 bless them up. Where you ever have anybody say, how 0:10:28.740 --> 0:10:31.860 are you able to go through this when other people 0:10:31.860 --> 0:10:34.980 who go through this are tore up from the floor up? 0:10:35.300 --> 0:10:38.540 How do you handle stuff like this? We only say 0:10:38.700 --> 0:10:42.140 it's Jesus that gives us peace in the midst of 0:10:42.140 --> 0:10:45.940 our outer storm, our outer turbulence. He's trying to do 0:10:45.940 --> 0:10:50.540 something in your life. When are you going to work 0:10:50.540 --> 0:10:52.940 with him and let him see? You're not going to 0:10:52.940 --> 0:10:55.860 force you. But what he'll do is keep sending the storms. 0:10:56.220 --> 0:10:59.300 He'll keep sending the storms, and then you'll begin to 0:10:59.340 --> 0:11:02.540 like everybody else in the Bible and in all of us, 0:11:02.540 --> 0:11:05.700 you begin to say, you know what? What do you 0:11:05.700 --> 0:11:10.260 want me to do? God says, there it is. What 0:11:10.260 --> 0:11:13.780 do you say, here I am? Send me. Yeah, that's 0:11:13.780 --> 0:11:16.420 that's what he's looking for. And so he wants to 0:11:16.460 --> 0:11:19.580 protect us. Listen to Romans five three. And not only so, 0:11:19.580 --> 0:11:25.100 but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. 0:11:26.700 --> 0:11:32.740 So God change us. Hey, Peter, you're going to deny me? 0:11:33.620 --> 0:11:39.020 Why would you let him? Well, I told him, but 0:11:39.020 --> 0:11:44.180 he didn't want to listen. But what happened? Get this. 0:11:45.460 --> 0:11:51.500 Peter was one good fall away from letting God use him. 0:11:52.260 --> 0:11:58.060 That's some of y'all. You one good fall from letting 0:11:58.059 --> 0:12:04.580 God use you. Because it wasn't until he fell that 0:12:04.580 --> 0:12:09.260 he became open to the fact. Jesus says, there was 0:12:09.260 --> 0:12:13.459 something in me that I couldn't see, that I didn't 0:12:13.460 --> 0:12:16.540 have the commitment I thought I had, and he showed 0:12:16.540 --> 0:12:18.580 it to me now, I believe. 0:12:21.140 --> 0:12:24.420 You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford, a message 0:12:24.420 --> 0:12:27.780 called The Perfect Storm. Hope that you've been benefiting from 0:12:27.780 --> 0:12:30.580 Pastor Ford's teachings. If so, would you let us know? 0:12:30.620 --> 0:12:32.579 We'd love to hear from you. You can always give 0:12:32.580 --> 0:12:35.459 us your feedback on social media. Like us on Facebook 0:12:35.500 --> 0:12:37.860 and follow us on Twitter, and we'd love to interact 0:12:37.860 --> 0:12:40.260 with you that way. You can also come to our website, 0:12:40.300 --> 0:12:44.100 Church Retreat Radio org and click on the contact link. 0:12:44.140 --> 0:12:46.060 We'd love to hear from you where you listen and 0:12:46.059 --> 0:12:48.819 what difference this teaching is making in your life. Again, 0:12:48.820 --> 0:12:52.900 come to treasure truth radio.org. Here is Pastor Ford. 0:12:53.660 --> 0:12:56.020 What did he do? Remember when Jesus restored him? We 0:12:56.020 --> 0:12:58.500 talked about that too. So what did he do? He 0:12:58.500 --> 0:13:02.900 left ministry. Went back to fishing. Why? Because he was disappointed. 0:13:02.940 --> 0:13:07.420 Ministry shouldn't be this way. Ministry shouldn't be this hard. 0:13:07.620 --> 0:13:09.660 I shouldn't have to bump heads with the people I'm 0:13:09.660 --> 0:13:15.420 trying to help. And eight other disciples went with him now. Matthew, 0:13:15.420 --> 0:13:19.220 what are you doing? Going fishing. You are an IRS agent. 0:13:20.100 --> 0:13:24.700 You deal with money like Brother Bryant. You don't know 0:13:24.700 --> 0:13:28.059 nothing about no fish. Just shows you the power of leadership. 0:13:28.540 --> 0:13:32.020 That I'll go do something that I'm not even qualified 0:13:32.020 --> 0:13:36.940 to do if the right person is leading me. And 0:13:36.940 --> 0:13:40.020 so what happens now? He says children, remember that I 0:13:40.020 --> 0:13:42.900 love it. Why? Because they're adults. And he says, children, 0:13:42.900 --> 0:13:45.780 have you any meat? In other words, is what you 0:13:45.780 --> 0:13:49.340 tried to do working for you? It's a Doctor Phil moment. 0:13:49.380 --> 0:13:54.660 How's that working for you? He said we fished all night. 0:13:54.660 --> 0:13:58.220 We caught nothing. So he left Jesus in ministry to 0:13:58.260 --> 0:14:02.860 get fish. But he didn't catch any. Jesus, said Cassius 0:14:02.900 --> 0:14:08.620 net on the other side. And they caught 153 fish. 0:14:08.660 --> 0:14:13.619 Now here's what he understood. I left Jesus for fish, 0:14:14.380 --> 0:14:17.980 but I didn't get any. And now Jesus came and 0:14:17.980 --> 0:14:21.620 got me and asked me how I was working. It's 0:14:21.620 --> 0:14:26.900 not working. So now I have fish. I understand fish 0:14:26.900 --> 0:14:30.100 are not as important as Jesus. Stick with Jesus. He'll 0:14:30.100 --> 0:14:32.220 get you the fish. Keep trying to get the fish 0:14:32.220 --> 0:14:34.859 on your own and you're going to end up with nothing. 0:14:34.860 --> 0:14:37.780 We fished all night. We have nothing. We'll stick with 0:14:37.780 --> 0:14:41.300 Jesus because he knows where the fish are. Look at 0:14:41.300 --> 0:14:44.380 the proximity of the fish. They were right on the 0:14:44.380 --> 0:14:49.620 other side. Wow. Now you know that was miraculous, right? 0:14:49.660 --> 0:14:54.180 In other words, he made them appear, and they caught him. Now, Peter, 0:14:54.180 --> 0:14:56.740 I'm trying to perfect you. Oh, yes, Lord, you are. 0:14:56.820 --> 0:15:00.330 Because now I'm leaving the fish and coming to you. 0:15:00.890 --> 0:15:03.770 I left you for fish. I didn't find any. You 0:15:03.770 --> 0:15:06.170 restored me by calling me your child. I'm your child 0:15:06.170 --> 0:15:08.770 no matter what happens in my life. And so now 0:15:08.770 --> 0:15:10.650 I got all these fish. But I don't want them. 0:15:10.690 --> 0:15:12.970 Pulls off his outer coat, jumps in the water and 0:15:12.970 --> 0:15:17.650 swims to Jesus. Then when he gets to Jesus, Jesus 0:15:17.690 --> 0:15:23.650 is on the shore, got the catfish frying the spaghetti 0:15:23.690 --> 0:15:28.610 and the coleslaw and the Kool-Aid in the mason jar. 0:15:28.970 --> 0:15:35.970 It's all ready. Ready. You see that I'm leaving. Ministry 0:15:35.970 --> 0:15:39.650 is hard. I just share with them this morning the 0:15:39.650 --> 0:15:44.010 stats from pastors. Do you know that 70% of pastors 0:15:44.010 --> 0:15:49.090 in the US will retire in pure poverty? Only one 0:15:49.090 --> 0:15:53.010 out of ten will retire as a pastor of a church. 0:15:54.850 --> 0:16:02.490 1500 pastors left the ministry every month Months last year 1500. 0:16:02.530 --> 0:16:04.730 I thought it was wrong. I did it again and again. 0:16:04.730 --> 0:16:08.650 1500 per month. And you know, it's the old. It's 0:16:08.650 --> 0:16:11.050 the old. Lord, if you'll keep them humble, we'll keep 0:16:11.050 --> 0:16:13.250 them poor. Never mind, Lord, we'll do both of them. 0:16:14.650 --> 0:16:17.370 And so what happened? I leave Jesus in ministry because 0:16:17.370 --> 0:16:19.450 ministry is hard. Don't pay much and I run to 0:16:19.450 --> 0:16:22.010 get the fish. That's what I do. I'm a fisherman. 0:16:22.010 --> 0:16:24.170 And remember it says he went back to his boat. 0:16:24.170 --> 0:16:26.450 So he never did destroy his boat. He was hedging 0:16:26.450 --> 0:16:28.370 his bet. If I ever need to leave here, I'm 0:16:28.370 --> 0:16:32.170 going to save my boat. So what happened after this? 0:16:32.170 --> 0:16:34.650 He's perfected. What does he do? He leaves the boat. 0:16:35.090 --> 0:16:38.890 He becomes like Elisha, who slew his oxen. He's a farmer. 0:16:39.210 --> 0:16:42.570 He slew the cattle. Why no turning back? No turning back? 0:16:42.570 --> 0:16:45.050 Because anybody who puts their hands to the plow and 0:16:45.050 --> 0:16:47.850 turns back is not fit for the kingdom. So I 0:16:47.890 --> 0:16:51.810 leave Jesus for fish and I don't catch any. But 0:16:51.810 --> 0:16:54.530 Jesus comes and gets me and I get fish. I 0:16:54.570 --> 0:16:57.730 leave the fish for Jesus because I realize now he's 0:16:57.730 --> 0:17:00.010 more important. And when I get there, the fish that 0:17:00.010 --> 0:17:02.770 I wanted, I don't have to clean them. I don't 0:17:02.770 --> 0:17:08.010 have to cook them. Jesus has it all. Everything is ready. 0:17:09.730 --> 0:17:13.689 And it wasn't a process. It was. Whoop! There it is. 0:17:15.170 --> 0:17:18.610 I've had that happen to me so many times. I 0:17:18.770 --> 0:17:21.850 wish I could just testify how many times I've trusted 0:17:21.850 --> 0:17:25.449 God and whoop, there it is. Whoop! There it is. 0:17:25.450 --> 0:17:27.890 Every time I turn around, it's like. It's like, I'm 0:17:27.890 --> 0:17:30.169 telling you, if I don't do anything else, I learn 0:17:30.170 --> 0:17:33.450 how to walk by faith. I learned how to deal 0:17:33.450 --> 0:17:37.889 with lack and poverty and all those other things, because 0:17:37.890 --> 0:17:41.370 I know what God is able to do. I know 0:17:41.369 --> 0:17:45.010 what he can do for me. I know it, I 0:17:45.050 --> 0:17:48.890 know it, man. And it's like, wow, let me just 0:17:48.890 --> 0:17:52.850 say a couple things. Couple things ain't even on my notes. Uh, 0:17:52.850 --> 0:17:57.369 you marry people, you engage people, you dating people. You're 0:17:57.369 --> 0:18:02.810 in a situation now that's adverse. You know, you're thinking, hey, 0:18:02.810 --> 0:18:04.570 there's only one. One thing we can do. Get out 0:18:04.609 --> 0:18:10.929 of this. God is perfecting you in the midst of that. 0:18:10.930 --> 0:18:14.770 And even if he's not perfecting you for who you're with, 0:18:14.970 --> 0:18:19.010 he's perfecting you for who's coming. Because no matter how 0:18:19.010 --> 0:18:23.490 flat a pancake is, it got two sides. And so 0:18:23.490 --> 0:18:26.610 God wants to work something in you and work something 0:18:26.609 --> 0:18:30.450 out of you so that whoever, whoever la de da 0:18:30.450 --> 0:18:35.810 de everybody, you are prepared. Because remember, remember I told 0:18:35.810 --> 0:18:39.090 you about marriage. Marriage is not about finding the right person. 0:18:39.090 --> 0:18:44.169 Marriage is about being the right person. Amen. Amen. And 0:18:44.170 --> 0:18:45.850 so here's the last one. Here's the last one. Let 0:18:45.850 --> 0:18:47.850 me do it real quick. My time is gone. He 0:18:47.850 --> 0:18:50.850 gives us storms to resurrect us. Now you know the 0:18:50.850 --> 0:18:53.050 rest of the story. The rest of the story. What happens? 0:18:53.050 --> 0:18:57.650 Paul is bitten by a viper, a poisonous viper. And 0:18:57.650 --> 0:19:03.690 so they're expecting him to die. God doesn't allow the 0:19:03.690 --> 0:19:13.889 poison to take effect. See, sometimes your setback is your 0:19:13.890 --> 0:19:18.970 set up for your comeback. Really? That's what it is 0:19:19.130 --> 0:19:23.250 that God is going to raise you up again to 0:19:23.290 --> 0:19:29.369 resurrect you again. So that Paul, on his way to 0:19:29.410 --> 0:19:31.130 what he wanted to do, go to Rome and preach 0:19:31.130 --> 0:19:38.450 the gospel on this little island because God resurrects him 0:19:38.609 --> 0:19:46.610 through a storm. The whole island gets saved. Man. Hey, 0:19:46.609 --> 0:19:49.209 I don't know who I'm talking to, but. But I 0:19:49.210 --> 0:19:57.530 came to tell you tonight that. Listen, storms can be perfect. Storms, uh, 0:19:57.530 --> 0:20:03.649 that God God allows these storms. Now, let me let 0:20:03.690 --> 0:20:07.410 me say this real quick. So Matthew 14 there on 0:20:07.410 --> 0:20:12.450 the storm. Now remember, Jesus sent them into the storm. 0:20:13.210 --> 0:20:16.330 Now what is it that they got out of the 0:20:16.330 --> 0:20:19.810 storm that they didn't have before, the storm that they 0:20:19.810 --> 0:20:22.810 never would have had? Had not the storm come? Okay, okay, 0:20:22.810 --> 0:20:25.450 here it is. Here's what they learned. The power of 0:20:25.450 --> 0:20:31.969 the word. Jesus. Can I play? Come. Don't need a 0:20:31.970 --> 0:20:36.130 whole verse. One word. He walked on water, defied gravity. 0:20:36.170 --> 0:20:38.970 He did what? Jesus did. You remember what I tell you? 0:20:39.010 --> 0:20:40.570 Why did Jesus walk on the water? Holler it out, 0:20:40.570 --> 0:20:43.850 holler it out so they could know what's over their 0:20:43.850 --> 0:20:47.050 head is under their feet. And so what did he do? 0:20:47.330 --> 0:20:49.290 He gave him, through the power of the word, the 0:20:49.290 --> 0:20:53.770 ability to do what he just did. So his faith 0:20:53.770 --> 0:20:55.770 in that word. I know we say he took his 0:20:55.770 --> 0:20:58.930 eyes off. Jesus began to sink. That's not why Jesus said. 0:20:58.930 --> 0:21:01.760 Why did you doubt? You doubt the word of God? 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:03.880 He didn't say. Why did you look away? Why did 0:21:03.880 --> 0:21:06.600 you doubt? You doubted the one word that enabled you 0:21:06.600 --> 0:21:09.480 to walk on water. Come. You doubted that word. You 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:11.680 begin to sink. When you doubt the word, you sink. 0:21:11.720 --> 0:21:16.359 You get in despair. You get desperate. So they learn 0:21:16.359 --> 0:21:19.920 the power of the word. What did they learn? Persistence 0:21:19.920 --> 0:21:27.040 of prayer. Because he said, Lord, save me. A noun, 0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:31.560 a verb and a pronoun. You ain't got time for 0:21:31.560 --> 0:21:35.760 all that. O thou God that dwelleth in the. Lord 0:21:35.760 --> 0:21:40.000 save me. He learned the power of prayer and Jesus 0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:42.400 lift him up. Boom! Put him back on the water. 0:21:43.080 --> 0:21:47.080 What else do they learn? They learned about the presence 0:21:47.080 --> 0:21:52.840 of Jesus in the midst of a storm. Say, what 0:21:52.840 --> 0:21:57.160 do you mean? Remember what they said? And they were 0:21:57.160 --> 0:22:01.119 exceedingly afraid of him. Wait a minute. They were afraid 0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:03.760 of the storm. Weren't any adjectives in front of their 0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:07.040 fear of the storm? They had a greater fear of 0:22:07.040 --> 0:22:13.080 Jesus than they had of the storm. Because they learned 0:22:13.520 --> 0:22:17.800 the power of his presence, the power of his precepts, 0:22:18.040 --> 0:22:21.639 the power of prayer, and the power of the presence 0:22:21.640 --> 0:22:26.000 of Jesus Christ. And they said, what manner of man 0:22:26.040 --> 0:22:31.719 is this, that even the winds and the waves obey him? 0:22:32.000 --> 0:22:36.240 See what happens. You see what he did with them 0:22:36.760 --> 0:22:39.280 in that storm. He wants to do the same thing 0:22:39.400 --> 0:22:41.880 with you and with me. 0:22:44.480 --> 0:22:48.040 Wrapping up our message. The perfect storm. That's Pastor James 0:22:48.040 --> 0:22:51.680 Ford Jr. Here on treasure. Truth. Really? A hopeful look 0:22:51.720 --> 0:22:54.760 at acts 27 over the past number of broadcasts. And 0:22:54.760 --> 0:22:57.760 if you missed one, you can always listen online. Come 0:22:57.760 --> 0:23:01.560 to our website, treasure Truth Radio. You can stream programs, 0:23:01.560 --> 0:23:05.280 download mp3's, or order copies of the broadcast on CD. 0:23:05.320 --> 0:23:07.719 You can also listen with the Moody Radio app. If 0:23:07.720 --> 0:23:09.520 you don't have that yet, we'll link you to the 0:23:09.520 --> 0:23:13.280 app when you come to Treasure Truth Radio. Hey, real 0:23:13.280 --> 0:23:16.399 quickly before we go, treasure Truth is listener supported, and 0:23:16.400 --> 0:23:19.160 that means we need your financial support to keep this 0:23:19.160 --> 0:23:23.160 ministry going. If you're benefiting from Pastor Ford's teaching, would 0:23:23.160 --> 0:23:25.120 you let us know? And would you give a gift 0:23:25.119 --> 0:23:28.320 to support? You can come to treasure Truth Radio org. 0:23:28.359 --> 0:23:30.880 Give us your feedback by clicking on the contact link, 0:23:31.080 --> 0:23:33.359 or make your gift by clicking on the Make a 0:23:33.400 --> 0:23:38.600 Donation link that's at Treasure Truth Radio. Well, thanks for 0:23:38.600 --> 0:23:40.359 letting us know you're out there and that you're listening, 0:23:40.359 --> 0:23:43.439 for giving and for listening today. Thanks also to our producer, 0:23:43.440 --> 0:23:46.800 Amy Rios. I'm Steve Hiller. Treasure truth is a production 0:23:46.800 --> 0:23:50.560 of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.