S1: He will do whatever it takes to us to make
S1: it happen in us. Whatever God is trying to teach
S1: you and you ain't learned it. Get ready because the
S1: ride ain't over yet. The rough ride is not over yet.
S2: Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford,
S2: junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago.
S2: I'm Steve Hillard. Glad that you're with us as we
S2: continue a message called The Perfect Storm. It's taken from
S2: acts chapter 27, and I think some of us can
S2: relate to what we just heard. We have recognized the
S2: fact that God allowed a storm into our life. We
S2: can look back in hindsight and see, yep, he did
S2: that because he ultimately wanted me to learn this about him.
S2: And so the next time a storm comes along, you
S2: begin to say, alright, God, I want you to show
S2: me what you have for me in this storm because
S2: I want it to be as short as possible. Show
S2: me what I'm supposed to learn in the midst of
S2: this storm, because I want it to be over with.
S2: But very often God doesn't allow the storms to work
S2: in that way. Well, he might choose to do that,
S2: or he might be trying to teach us patience and perseverance.
S2: And so he lets that storm go on around us.
S2: He might really be trying to teach us dependence. And
S2: if that storm was cut too short, we wouldn't ultimately
S2: be learning to really depend upon him. Or we may
S2: think that we have it all figured out. This is
S2: what God was trying to teach me in the midst
S2: of that storm. But ultimately, that's not what God was
S2: trying to teach you. And the storm isn't over yet.
S2: Because of that, I think the best we can do
S2: is to continue to look to Christ, to spend time
S2: pursuing him, to be in Scripture, to be yielded to
S2: what he would have us do and to teach us
S2: and to stay there. And in hindsight, you'll be able
S2: to look back and say the storm was over as
S2: such in such a time, and in that God taught
S2: me this. Very often when we're in the middle of
S2: that storm, we don't see it. We can't recognize it,
S2: we can't predict it, and we don't know exactly what
S2: God is doing. So we're just called to be yielded
S2: and surrendered to him in the midst of that storm,
S2: to hold on because that rough ride isn't over yet.
S2: He's going to decide when it's over. What we're going
S2: to wrap up this message, the perfect storm on today's broadcast.
S2: So if you can one more time, open your Bible
S2: to Acts chapter 27 as we continue the teaching, here
S2: is Pastor Ford.
S1: Even when the storm is your fault and you're in
S1: sin now, you don't believe me, do you? Look at
S1: judges chapter 14. I'm going to show you something. Judges
S1: chapter 14. We talk about him all the time. We
S1: need to leave him alone. Samson. He man with a
S1: she weakness. Yeah, yeah. Women were not his problem. He
S1: was his problem. Yeah. So what happened? Now watch this. Remember,
S1: he goes down to Timnath and saw a woman in
S1: timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. But his father
S1: and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord.
S1: Let me get this. God knew this man's proclivity. He
S1: knows all of ours too, don't he? And everybody has
S1: a proclivity, don't we? What's a proclivity? Every one of
S1: us has a sin that we're fond of. How do
S1: I fight what I like? Yeah. Every one of us
S1: have one. Yeah. And so what happens that he didn't
S1: know that this was of the Lord? In other words,
S1: God chose him not just because of who his parents
S1: were and that God knew. I'm going to use this
S1: man's sin to accomplish my purpose. Now the storm is
S1: his sin. Then he got a haircut and the devil's
S1: barber shop. And then what happened? Listen. Listen to this.
S1: But his father and his mother knew not that it
S1: was of the Lord. That he sought an occasion against
S1: the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion
S1: over Israel. Do you see what that verse is saying?
S1: He's responsible for his sin. But God is going to
S1: use his sin for his ultimate purpose. So this man
S1: goes through this storm, gets his hair cut and all
S1: that kind of stuff chained, read into the story that
S1: he killed more Philistines in his death than he did
S1: in his life. And then remember this he's overcome by
S1: guilt because God didn't say he had to die. He
S1: asked God to kill him. Yeah, let me die with him.
S1: So God said, sure, I'll do that. But here's the point.
S1: Here's the point what you're going through right now, you
S1: need to get on your knees, is what you need
S1: to do and see what God is trying to do
S1: in your life, and then work with him in getting
S1: that accomplished because we're all over the place. I want
S1: to try this, and I want to do this, and
S1: I want to do that. What's God say? Do. What's
S1: he say? Do. Not what your pastor says. Not what
S1: your mama, your big mama. Your daddy says uncle Willie. Bubba.
S1: Pookie nim. What is God telling you? Because you gotta
S1: connect with that and you gotta roll with that. I
S1: get this, let me bring this in. What did Paul
S1: want to do more than anything? Does anybody know what
S1: Paul wanted to do? Where did he want to go?
S1: More than anywhere else? Rome. That's his destination. Question. Did
S1: he get there? Yes. How? Chained in a slave ship.
S1: He's going in a slave slash prison ship. Now, I
S1: don't know about you, But what it says to me
S1: is this you may like the product, but you may
S1: not necessarily like the process. But we don't worry about
S1: what's happening in the process because God is going to
S1: put us through it whether we want to or not.
S1: We focus on the product. This is where I'm going.
S1: And so therefore I'm keeping my eyes on the prize.
S1: I'm not detouring because this is where God has taken me.
S1: And so Paul went to Rome. He got what he wanted.
S1: It was just a rough ride getting there. How many
S1: people know that God works that way? Why? Because of
S1: the next reason. Because of the next reason. What's the
S1: next reason? Because God sends us storms to perfect us. Now,
S1: now here. Here it is. What's going on? These guys
S1: that are on here, they're not listening to Paul. Now
S1: they're listening to Paul. Paul had shared with them. I
S1: got a word from God about what we're going to do.
S1: So Paul told them. He said, listen, let me give
S1: you some reassurance. This ship will not. Well, first he
S1: reprimanded them, you ain't listen to me. Uh. Then, uh,
S1: he gave them reassurance. An angel of God came to me.
S1: Then he gave him revelation and told me ship would
S1: be lost. But you won't. And then he talked about
S1: his reliance, I trust God. Then they turn around and say, okay,
S1: if you trust him, since you told us what you
S1: told us and it came true, then what we're going
S1: to do is we're going to believe what you just
S1: told us. See what happened to them. The word perfect.
S1: You know it already, right? What is the word perfect?
S1: It's our old friend who could holler out what it means.
S1: Come on. Real quick. What does it mean to be complete?
S1: To fulfill the purpose for which you were created? That's
S1: why you got to tap into purpose. Purpose keeps you
S1: from drifting all over the place. And so he promised
S1: them that. That God is doing a work here it
S1: is James chapter one. He says, my brethren, count it
S1: all joy when you fall into divers temptations, knowing this,
S1: that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let
S1: patience have her perfect work, that you may be complete
S1: and entire, lacking nothing. See, it's not so much of
S1: what's happening to us that we ought to focus on
S1: is what God is trying to do in us that
S1: we are to focus on. Because God is more concerned
S1: about what happens in us than what happens to us,
S1: and he'll do to us whatever it takes to make
S1: it happen in us. Wait a minute. Let me say
S1: it again because you didn't hear it. He will do
S1: whatever it takes to us to make it happen in us.
S1: Whatever God is trying to teach you and you ain't
S1: learned it, get ready because the ride ain't over yet.
S1: The rough ride is not over yet. Every time I
S1: think about it, I think about Billy Nunley, the baddest
S1: dude in Westinghouse High School. He would get high and
S1: come down the hall with his shirt off and the
S1: teachers would be hiding. I'm serious. He's rough stuff. Then
S1: I found out Billy Nunley is 20 years old in
S1: the 11th grade. He a man. No wonder he can
S1: whoop everybody. What happened to Billy? Had to do it
S1: over and over and over. And you wonder why it's
S1: over and over. Why am I going through this? Over.
S1: Because you ain't learned. That's why. And you going to
S1: keep going through it until you do learn. Because God
S1: is trying to perfect you. Remember. Remember our old friend.
S1: Remember that? Who remembers dokey Maso? Anybody? He says the
S1: trying of your faith. Trying. That's the word, dokey. What
S1: does it mean? It means to assess, to approve. It's
S1: kind of like concept cars. Like those. You see them
S1: crashing those cars? Are they trying to show us their
S1: cars don't work? No. They're trying to prove the cars
S1: are reliable by testing them before you get it. God
S1: wants to approve us to other people. Okay, I know
S1: I made it too hard. He wants people to see
S1: that when you used to cuss him out, you now
S1: bless them up. Where you ever have anybody say, how
S1: are you able to go through this when other people
S1: who go through this are tore up from the floor up?
S1: How do you handle stuff like this? We only say
S1: it's Jesus that gives us peace in the midst of
S1: our outer storm, our outer turbulence. He's trying to do
S1: something in your life. When are you going to work
S1: with him and let him see? You're not going to
S1: force you. But what he'll do is keep sending the storms.
S1: He'll keep sending the storms, and then you'll begin to
S1: like everybody else in the Bible and in all of us,
S1: you begin to say, you know what? What do you
S1: want me to do? God says, there it is. What
S1: do you say, here I am? Send me. Yeah, that's
S1: that's what he's looking for. And so he wants to
S1: protect us. Listen to Romans five three. And not only so,
S1: but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience.
S1: So God change us. Hey, Peter, you're going to deny me?
S1: Why would you let him? Well, I told him, but
S1: he didn't want to listen. But what happened? Get this.
S1: Peter was one good fall away from letting God use him.
S1: That's some of y'all. You one good fall from letting
S1: God use you. Because it wasn't until he fell that
S1: he became open to the fact. Jesus says, there was
S1: something in me that I couldn't see, that I didn't
S1: have the commitment I thought I had, and he showed
S1: it to me now, I believe.
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford, a message
S2: called The Perfect Storm. Hope that you've been benefiting from
S2: Pastor Ford's teachings. If so, would you let us know?
S2: We'd love to hear from you. You can always give
S2: us your feedback on social media. Like us on Facebook
S2: and follow us on Twitter, and we'd love to interact
S2: with you that way. You can also come to our website,
S2: Church Retreat Radio org and click on the contact link.
S2: We'd love to hear from you where you listen and
S2: what difference this teaching is making in your life. Again,
S2: come to treasure truth radio.org. Here is Pastor Ford.
S1: What did he do? Remember when Jesus restored him? We
S1: talked about that too. So what did he do? He
S1: left ministry. Went back to fishing. Why? Because he was disappointed.
S1: Ministry shouldn't be this way. Ministry shouldn't be this hard.
S1: I shouldn't have to bump heads with the people I'm
S1: trying to help. And eight other disciples went with him now. Matthew,
S1: what are you doing? Going fishing. You are an IRS agent.
S1: You deal with money like Brother Bryant. You don't know
S1: nothing about no fish. Just shows you the power of leadership.
S1: That I'll go do something that I'm not even qualified
S1: to do if the right person is leading me. And
S1: so what happens now? He says children, remember that I
S1: love it. Why? Because they're adults. And he says, children,
S1: have you any meat? In other words, is what you
S1: tried to do working for you? It's a Doctor Phil moment.
S1: How's that working for you? He said we fished all night.
S1: We caught nothing. So he left Jesus in ministry to
S1: get fish. But he didn't catch any. Jesus, said Cassius
S1: net on the other side. And they caught 153 fish.
S1: Now here's what he understood. I left Jesus for fish,
S1: but I didn't get any. And now Jesus came and
S1: got me and asked me how I was working. It's
S1: not working. So now I have fish. I understand fish
S1: are not as important as Jesus. Stick with Jesus. He'll
S1: get you the fish. Keep trying to get the fish
S1: on your own and you're going to end up with nothing.
S1: We fished all night. We have nothing. We'll stick with
S1: Jesus because he knows where the fish are. Look at
S1: the proximity of the fish. They were right on the
S1: other side. Wow. Now you know that was miraculous, right?
S1: In other words, he made them appear, and they caught him. Now, Peter,
S1: I'm trying to perfect you. Oh, yes, Lord, you are.
S1: Because now I'm leaving the fish and coming to you.
S1: I left you for fish. I didn't find any. You
S1: restored me by calling me your child. I'm your child
S1: no matter what happens in my life. And so now
S1: I got all these fish. But I don't want them.
S1: Pulls off his outer coat, jumps in the water and
S1: swims to Jesus. Then when he gets to Jesus, Jesus
S1: is on the shore, got the catfish frying the spaghetti
S1: and the coleslaw and the Kool-Aid in the mason jar.
S1: It's all ready. Ready. You see that I'm leaving. Ministry
S1: is hard. I just share with them this morning the
S1: stats from pastors. Do you know that 70% of pastors
S1: in the US will retire in pure poverty? Only one
S1: out of ten will retire as a pastor of a church.
S1: 1500 pastors left the ministry every month Months last year 1500.
S1: I thought it was wrong. I did it again and again.
S1: 1500 per month. And you know, it's the old. It's
S1: the old. Lord, if you'll keep them humble, we'll keep
S1: them poor. Never mind, Lord, we'll do both of them.
S1: And so what happened? I leave Jesus in ministry because
S1: ministry is hard. Don't pay much and I run to
S1: get the fish. That's what I do. I'm a fisherman.
S1: And remember it says he went back to his boat.
S1: So he never did destroy his boat. He was hedging
S1: his bet. If I ever need to leave here, I'm
S1: going to save my boat. So what happened after this?
S1: He's perfected. What does he do? He leaves the boat.
S1: He becomes like Elisha, who slew his oxen. He's a farmer.
S1: He slew the cattle. Why no turning back? No turning back?
S1: Because anybody who puts their hands to the plow and
S1: turns back is not fit for the kingdom. So I
S1: leave Jesus for fish and I don't catch any. But
S1: Jesus comes and gets me and I get fish. I
S1: leave the fish for Jesus because I realize now he's
S1: more important. And when I get there, the fish that
S1: I wanted, I don't have to clean them. I don't
S1: have to cook them. Jesus has it all. Everything is ready.
S1: And it wasn't a process. It was. Whoop! There it is.
S1: I've had that happen to me so many times. I
S1: wish I could just testify how many times I've trusted
S1: God and whoop, there it is. Whoop! There it is.
S1: Every time I turn around, it's like. It's like, I'm
S1: telling you, if I don't do anything else, I learn
S1: how to walk by faith. I learned how to deal
S1: with lack and poverty and all those other things, because
S1: I know what God is able to do. I know
S1: what he can do for me. I know it, I
S1: know it, man. And it's like, wow, let me just
S1: say a couple things. Couple things ain't even on my notes. Uh,
S1: you marry people, you engage people, you dating people. You're
S1: in a situation now that's adverse. You know, you're thinking, hey,
S1: there's only one. One thing we can do. Get out
S1: of this. God is perfecting you in the midst of that.
S1: And even if he's not perfecting you for who you're with,
S1: he's perfecting you for who's coming. Because no matter how
S1: flat a pancake is, it got two sides. And so
S1: God wants to work something in you and work something
S1: out of you so that whoever, whoever la de da
S1: de everybody, you are prepared. Because remember, remember I told
S1: you about marriage. Marriage is not about finding the right person.
S1: Marriage is about being the right person. Amen. Amen. And
S1: so here's the last one. Here's the last one. Let
S1: me do it real quick. My time is gone. He
S1: gives us storms to resurrect us. Now you know the
S1: rest of the story. The rest of the story. What happens?
S1: Paul is bitten by a viper, a poisonous viper. And
S1: so they're expecting him to die. God doesn't allow the
S1: poison to take effect. See, sometimes your setback is your
S1: set up for your comeback. Really? That's what it is
S1: that God is going to raise you up again to
S1: resurrect you again. So that Paul, on his way to
S1: what he wanted to do, go to Rome and preach
S1: the gospel on this little island because God resurrects him
S1: through a storm. The whole island gets saved. Man. Hey,
S1: I don't know who I'm talking to, but. But I
S1: came to tell you tonight that. Listen, storms can be perfect. Storms, uh,
S1: that God God allows these storms. Now, let me let
S1: me say this real quick. So Matthew 14 there on
S1: the storm. Now remember, Jesus sent them into the storm.
S1: Now what is it that they got out of the
S1: storm that they didn't have before, the storm that they
S1: never would have had? Had not the storm come? Okay, okay,
S1: here it is. Here's what they learned. The power of
S1: the word. Jesus. Can I play? Come. Don't need a
S1: whole verse. One word. He walked on water, defied gravity.
S1: He did what? Jesus did. You remember what I tell you?
S1: Why did Jesus walk on the water? Holler it out,
S1: holler it out so they could know what's over their
S1: head is under their feet. And so what did he do?
S1: He gave him, through the power of the word, the
S1: ability to do what he just did. So his faith
S1: in that word. I know we say he took his
S1: eyes off. Jesus began to sink. That's not why Jesus said.
S1: Why did you doubt? You doubt the word of God?
S1: He didn't say. Why did you look away? Why did
S1: you doubt? You doubted the one word that enabled you
S1: to walk on water. Come. You doubted that word. You
S1: begin to sink. When you doubt the word, you sink.
S1: You get in despair. You get desperate. So they learn
S1: the power of the word. What did they learn? Persistence
S1: of prayer. Because he said, Lord, save me. A noun,
S1: a verb and a pronoun. You ain't got time for
S1: all that. O thou God that dwelleth in the. Lord
S1: save me. He learned the power of prayer and Jesus
S1: lift him up. Boom! Put him back on the water.
S1: What else do they learn? They learned about the presence
S1: of Jesus in the midst of a storm. Say, what
S1: do you mean? Remember what they said? And they were
S1: exceedingly afraid of him. Wait a minute. They were afraid
S1: of the storm. Weren't any adjectives in front of their
S1: fear of the storm? They had a greater fear of
S1: Jesus than they had of the storm. Because they learned
S1: the power of his presence, the power of his precepts,
S1: the power of prayer, and the power of the presence
S1: of Jesus Christ. And they said, what manner of man
S1: is this, that even the winds and the waves obey him?
S1: See what happens. You see what he did with them
S1: in that storm. He wants to do the same thing
S1: with you and with me.
S2: Wrapping up our message. The perfect storm. That's Pastor James
S2: Ford Jr. Here on treasure. Truth. Really? A hopeful look
S2: at acts 27 over the past number of broadcasts. And
S2: if you missed one, you can always listen online. Come
S2: to our website, treasure Truth Radio. You can stream programs,
S2: download mp3's, or order copies of the broadcast on CD.
S2: You can also listen with the Moody Radio app. If
S2: you don't have that yet, we'll link you to the
S2: app when you come to Treasure Truth Radio. Hey, real
S2: quickly before we go, treasure Truth is listener supported, and
S2: that means we need your financial support to keep this
S2: ministry going. If you're benefiting from Pastor Ford's teaching, would
S2: you let us know? And would you give a gift
S2: to support? You can come to treasure Truth Radio org.
S2: Give us your feedback by clicking on the contact link,
S2: or make your gift by clicking on the Make a
S2: Donation link that's at Treasure Truth Radio. Well, thanks for
S2: letting us know you're out there and that you're listening,
S2: for giving and for listening today. Thanks also to our producer,
S2: Amy Rios. I'm Steve Hiller. Treasure truth is a production
S2: of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.