S1: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face,
S1: and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in
S1: the light of his glory and grace. Show me folk
S1: who had the right response to worship, and I'll show
S1: you folk whose sinfulness dealt with itself.
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford,
S2: junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago.
S2: I'm Steve Hiller, and glad you're with us. As today
S2: we continue our message from James chapter one. It's called
S2: the Inner Me enemy and pastor. As you point out,
S2: once we really understand that we are sinners who have
S2: been saved by grace. Sounds like you're saying the natural
S2: outcome of that is for us to worship God.
S3: Oh, yes. And, uh, when we're worshiping, uh, we allow God,
S3: the Holy Spirit, uh, to put his finger on some things.
S3: And I just find in worship we have a tendency
S3: to want to be clean because we're in the presence
S3: of a holy God. I mean, that's Isaiah six, really.
S3: You know, the bottom line is what happened. Isaiah sees God.
S3: And remember, uh, he says, in the year that King
S3: Uzziah died, I also saw the Lord. Most modern translations
S3: remove the word also. It's in the Hebrew text. And
S3: the reason I like it is because it shows us
S3: that simultaneously Uzziah dying caused him to see the Lord.
S3: He had preached for five chapters. You ought to be
S3: able to see him. But no, it was Uzziah's death
S3: that brought about a clear vision, and that prompts me
S3: to say, I hope no one in our listening audience
S3: has a Uzziah that's keeping them or obscuring their vision
S3: of God. But then remember, he sees God high and
S3: lifted up his train. Just the back part of his
S3: robe fills the earth and the seraphim and the cherubim. Holy, holy, holy.
S3: That's a worship scene. And then what's his response?
S2: He's on his face.
S3: He's on his face. I'm a man of.
S2: Unclean lips.
S3: That he confesses his sin. Nobody asked him. But in
S3: the context of worship, as the fullness and beauty and
S3: glory of God is revealed, what is there left to do?
S2: Hmm. Get right with him.
S3: That's right. Yeah. And that's what he does. Yeah. Yeah.
S3: And then he volunteers.
S2: Yeah. And, uh, I think it's so encouraging for us
S2: to recognize the fact that here is this incredible prophet
S2: that God used who still had to when he saw
S2: his sinfulness confess, get before God, worship him. And for
S2: me at least, it reminds me of the fact that, yeah,
S2: I am a very flawed person. And if Isaiah needed
S2: to do that, then absolutely every single one of us
S2: will need to do that.
S3: Oh most definitely man. You know, on a consistent basis,
S3: I like what D.L. Moody said. He said they asked him,
S3: why do we have to be continually filled with the spirit?
S3: And D.L. Moody said, it's because we leak.
S2: Yeah, absolutely. Well, today we're going to be in James
S2: chapter one, so I hope you'll grab your Bible. Join
S2: us there as we continue a message entitled The Enemy, enemy.
S2: Here is Pastor Ford.
S1: So you look to God. Why do you look to God?
S1: You look ahead to see the conclusion, why he's talking
S1: about the judgment of God. Uh, he says, don't err.
S1: My beloved brethren. Don't get it twisted. Don't get it wrong. Hey, hey, you.
S1: You have to give an account to God. But then
S1: he says, look around. Verse 18. See the consistency? God
S1: is good.
S3: Focus on the goodness of God rather than your own
S3: faults and failures. And then he says, look inside. Verse 18,
S3: see the conversion. Now we've dealt with the gifts of God.
S3: Let me fill it in for those who are not here. Uh,
S3: Roman numeral one. He says, look, here's how you overcome it.
S3: The first aspect of God that helps you to overcome
S3: your sinful tendencies is the gifts of God. He talks
S3: about in verse 17, every good and every perfect gift
S3: is from above, and cometh down from the father of lights,
S3: with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. So
S3: he says three things about the gifts I can only
S3: give them to you. We already talked about them. He
S3: talks about the measure of the gifts. He talks about
S3: the motive of the gifts, and he talks about the
S3: manner of the gifts. So the measure, the motive and
S3: the manner. Let's move on. Let's finish it. The second
S3: focus we ought to have on God the Father is
S3: the glory of God, the glory of God. Listen to
S3: what he says, that every good and perfect gift is
S3: from above, and cometh down from the father of lights,
S3: with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Paul,
S3: what are you trying to tell us here? He's saying listen, listen, listen.
S3: Here's what you need to do. God wants us to
S3: worship him based on who he is. And so when
S3: we understand who he is, we understand what we need
S3: to do in response to who he is, because that's
S3: what worship is. Let me see if I can get
S3: you with me. He says two things here. You can
S3: write them down. The glory of God in His creation,
S3: the glory of God in his character. I submit to
S3: you that why he wants us to. In the words
S3: of the song, anybody remember it? It came out of
S3: hymn books. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in
S3: his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow
S3: strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Hey,
S3: show me folk who had the right response to worship,
S3: and I'll show you folk whose sinfulness dealt with itself. Okay.
S3: Let me give you a couple examples. Isaiah chapter six.
S3: In the year that King Uzziah died, I also saw
S3: the Lord high and lifted up, and his train filled
S3: the earth. And the cherubim and seraphim hollered, Holy, holy, holy.
S3: He sees a worship scene. And what does he do?
S3: Immediately he falls on his face and he worships. Now
S3: he's got the right perspective of God. When he gets
S3: the right perspective of God, he then gets the right
S3: comprehension about himself. It falls in line. In other words,
S3: the closer we come to him, he's called the father
S3: of lights. Okay, I've done this so many times. I
S3: think I've told you a couple of times, too. Uh,
S3: but this is embarrassing. Uh, I, uh, you know, dressed
S3: to the nines. I'm getting ready to head down. Moody.
S3: And I don't like to be late. I know. But anyway,
S3: I'm on my way down there and somebody cuts me
S3: off on Dan Ryan. And, you know, I think something.
S3: I don't say it. I hit the brake. Whoo! Then
S3: I looked down. I got a dark brown shoe and
S3: a black shoe because I wear Stacey's. And so I
S3: have blue, black and brown all the same style I
S3: had on a dark brown shoe and a black shoe.
S3: I had to be late because I had to turn
S3: around because I wasn't going there with it. Now here's
S3: here's the. When I was in the house getting ready
S3: to go. It was dark when I went to the garage.
S3: There was a little bit of light, uh, but not
S3: enough to make a contrast. But when I stepped out
S3: into the brightness of day. Then I saw what was
S3: wrong with me. You get it? Yeah. When we have
S3: an encounter with the true and the living God, when
S3: we see his glory, that's what he's doing. He calls
S3: him the Father of Lights. So what's he talking about?
S3: The glory of God in his creation and in his character.
S3: So he is the father of light, in whom is
S3: no variableness. Or here's what he's saying. He is incandescent
S3: and he is immutable. That is John 812. Jesus said,
S3: I'm the light of the world. So guess what? If
S3: you go into the light, you will see there is
S3: no darkness. And if you're in the darkness, you will
S3: see there is no light. Ain't that profound? It's very obvious. So.
S3: So here, now, let me show you something A lot
S3: of our worship is get oriented, not God oriented. When
S3: the praises go up, the blessings come down. Show that
S3: to me. I've been looking for it. I've been looking
S3: for it. Show it to me. You know now it
S3: may be in there because there's a whole lot in there.
S3: I don't know, but I've been looking for it because
S3: the praises ought to go up, even if the blessings
S3: don't come down. So you mean the only time you're
S3: going to praise him? The only time you're going to
S3: worship him is when the blessings come down? No. In
S3: everything give thanks. For this is the will of God
S3: in Christ Jesus concerning you. So then we ought to always, uh,
S3: praise him, give him worship. I will bless the Lord
S3: at all times, and his praise shall continually be in
S3: my mouth. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let's
S3: exalt his name together. So here's what James is doing.
S3: Let me put you in the brilliance of a God
S3: who has given you everything you need and has glory.
S3: He calls him the Father of lights. First John one five.
S3: If we walk in the light as he is in
S3: the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and
S3: the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, cleanses us from
S3: all sin. Did you get that? Wait a minute. I
S3: gotta say it slow. If we walk in the light
S3: as he is in the light, then logical connector to
S3: show sequence. All I have to do is this. And
S3: what happens then? We have fellowship one with another. Who's
S3: the one another? He's not talking about us. He's talking
S3: about with God the Father. So then. So then what happens? Then?
S3: We walk in the light as he is in the light.
S3: Then we have fellowship one with another. Why? Because the
S3: blood of Jesus Christ, his son, is cleansing us, its
S3: present tense. As I'm walking in the light, it cleanses me.
S3: So then what happens? I'm in the light. I see
S3: all my spots. I see all the blemishes. Oh, God.
S3: I've been trying to do something about this, but it's
S3: not working. Now you do it. Anybody ever go to
S3: a matinee at the show? You go in and your
S3: eyes have to adjust because there's no light. But when
S3: you come out, it blinds you because you've been in
S3: the dark so much. Maybe that's why a lot of people,
S3: when they get born again, say they saw the light.
S2: This is treasure truth with Pastor Ford. A message called
S2: the Inner Me enemy. And we're going to get back
S2: to this teaching in just one moment. If we've never
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S2: today and like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
S2: You can access our Facebook page and leave us your comments.
S2: That way, you can also listen to today's program directly
S2: on the Facebook page. And if you do like us,
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S2: and a link that will allow you to download the
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S2: just briefly want to remind you that this is a
S2: listener supported ministry and you can give your gift and
S2: support treasure Truth by coming to the website Treasure Truth radio.com.
S2: But right now, back to the message. Here's Pastor Ford.
S3: Turn to Psalm 19. Let me show you something real quick.
S3: Psalm 19. Psalm 19 gives us a threefold witness about
S3: the glory of God. So the heavens declare the glory
S3: of God. The earth shows forth his handiwork. Day unto day,
S3: utter speech, not in the night just proclaims the glory
S3: of God. This this Psalm 19 is very powerful. Let
S3: me just break it down for you, okay? Watch this
S3: in these verses. In verses one through six, he's talking
S3: about the witness in the skies in Psalm 19, verse
S3: 7 to 11. He's talking about the witness in the scriptures.
S3: In Psalm 1912 through 14, he's talking about the witness
S3: in the soul. Now get this, get this. So he says,
S3: there's a witness in the sky. It declares the glory
S3: of God. All of creation says God is grand and glorious.
S3: But then the the, the witness in the Scripture talks
S3: about the greatness of God, that God is great and
S3: then the witness and the soul talks about the grace
S3: of God. Man, this stuff is powerful. So then the
S3: witness in the sky, verses one through six. The glory
S3: of God, his infinite worlds. Then the witness in the
S3: Scripture seven through 11, the greatness of God, his infallible word.
S3: Then verses 12 through 14, witnessing the soul, the grace
S3: of God, his inexhaustible wealth. Wait a minute. That ought
S3: to do something for us. That ought to give us
S3: a motivation, that ought to give us an impetus. I
S3: want to walk with him. I want to talk with him.
S3: I want to be with him. Why? Because everything I
S3: need to overcome. Why, why, why does my flesh draw
S3: me to stuff? Because I feel that I need it. Well,
S3: when I'm with God, what do I need? App solutely nothing.
S3: In him we live and move and have our being.
S3: And apart from him we can do nothing. It just
S3: reminds me of, uh, my oldest grandson when he was
S3: a shorty, and and we were out, you know, I
S3: started dating my grandkids like, I was dating my kids.
S3: I dated my boys, and I took him out, and, uh,
S3: I said, uh, uh, where we want to go, man.
S3: He said, uh, he told me where he wanted to go.
S3: I said, how much money you have for that? He said, well,
S3: I don't have any money. I said, oh, yeah, well,
S3: where do you want to eat? And he told me
S3: where he wanted to eat. I said, how much money
S3: you have for that? He said, I don't have any money.
S3: He said, what do you want to do after that?
S3: We'll go to the show. You got any money for
S3: the show? No, I ain't got any money for the show.
S3: So how are we going to do all this? Oh,
S3: come on, Papa, quit playing. You know you got it.
S3: And if you got it, I got it. Show you right? Yeah.
S3: And so he does what he says. Listen. So, so,
S3: so remember the last time we talked about this? What
S3: did he say? See, don't forget these things. Don't forget
S3: about the goodness of God. Don't forget about the glory
S3: of God. Don't forget about the grace of God. Because
S3: if we do, it leads us to our sinful tendencies.
S3: So I share with you the passages. We didn't go
S3: over them, but Israel was our example. He kept telling Israel,
S3: when you go in the land, don't forget you're living
S3: in houses that you didn't build. Don't forget that you're
S3: eating from fruit trees that you didn't plant. Don't forget
S3: that everything you have I gave you even the victory.
S3: The battle was mine. And so what does it mean
S3: when I allow my sinful proclivities to lead me to sin?
S3: I have forgotten these three things. I've forgotten the goodness
S3: of God. I've forgotten the glory of God, and I've
S3: forgotten the grace of God. And so here now, secondly,
S3: not just in his creation, but in his character. What's
S3: he talking about? Immutability. That God is not only incandescent
S3: in his character, he is immutable in his character. What
S3: does it mean? Malachi three six. I am Yahweh, I
S3: change not. He didn't change. Now what ought that to do? See,
S3: you got to connect stuff. If he's talking about sinful
S3: tendencies and he's saying, listen, all you got to do
S3: is you gotta focus on the goodness, the glory and
S3: the grace of God. And then he says, God's immutable.
S3: He doesn't change. You can have confidence that no matter
S3: what you're going through, no matter what is drawing you
S3: to it, you can depend upon the goodness, the glory,
S3: and the grace of God. He's never going to let
S3: you down. Okay, let me jump back to chapter one
S3: real quick. Watch this. When he's talking about trials now remember,
S3: now we switch right. One through 12 talks about trials
S3: on the outside. 13 through 18 trials on the inside.
S3: So then one through 12 is talking about circumstances, 13
S3: through 18 is talking about cravings. You know when you're
S3: wanting and wanting and wanting and want. Now watch this.
S3: He's talking about trials and tribulations. My brethren, count it
S3: all joy when you fall into divers temptations, knowing this,
S3: that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let
S3: patience have her perfect work, that ye may be complete
S3: and entire, lacking nothing. What are trials to do? Teach us,
S3: teach us. What else? Train us. What else? Take us
S3: to maturity. On and on it goes. Then he says
S3: in verse five, if any man, woman, boy, a girl
S3: is anthropos any man, woman, boy, a girl lack wisdom.
S3: Let him ask of God who gives to all men
S3: liberally and upbraideth not. I know that's King James. Anybody
S3: have NIV anybody have NIV nearly inspired version. Anybody got
S3: that version? No. No. Okay. All right. Check this out.
S3: Here's what it means. That God is not going to
S3: say I'm not giving you any more wisdom because you
S3: didn't use the wisdom that I gave you before. Now
S3: that shouts me. I got goosebumps because there's a lot
S3: of things that God has granted to me. Gifted to me.
S3: Grace to me. Glory to me. And I didn't take
S3: advantage of it. Yet I can still go to him
S3: and say, you know what? I need wisdom in this situation.
S3: And he's not going to say, I'm not giving you
S3: wisdom because you didn't use the wisdom I gave you
S3: the last time. That's what he's trying to get us
S3: to see. When he says that he does not change
S3: that God. God does not change. There's no shadow of
S3: turning with him. and so he uses it. He uses
S3: the sun because the sun doesn't change. And since he
S3: cannot change, we should never doubt his love. So verse 16,
S3: let me say it again. Look ahead and see the
S3: judgment of sin. Verse 17, look around and see how
S3: good God's been. Now verse 18, look inside and see
S3: how you've been born from above and possess the divine nature.
S3: So here it is. Here's the last one. He says,
S3: the third aspect of God is not just the gifts
S3: of God, the glory of God. He says in verse 18,
S3: the grace of God. I like the way he does it.
S3: So remember he said, look ahead, see the conclusion. Remember,
S3: a temptation is an opportunity to do a good thing
S3: in a bad way. It's the devil's perversion of God's good.
S3: He's not original. He can only pervert what God has
S3: created because he can't create anything. So God said, sex
S3: within marriage is good. And the devil said had premarital
S3: and extramarital Enjoy yourself outside of the will of God.
S3: Food is good. But he says, no, don't. Don't buffet
S3: your body. Buffet your body. Yeah, sleep is good. But
S3: he says, yeah, be lazy, sleep all day. So on
S3: and on. Money is good. He says love it. So
S3: he perverts what God has done. But notice what he says.
S3: Now here it is. I gotta drop these real quick.
S3: Notice in verse 18 of his own will begot he us.
S3: That is God's plan. Notice with the word of truth.
S3: That's God's power, that we should be a kind of
S3: firstfruits of his creature. That's God's purpose. Grace has a plan.
S3: Grace has a power. Grace has a purpose.
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford and a
S2: message called The Enemy. Enemy. I hope that you've been
S2: benefiting from this teaching from Pastor Ford. And if so,
S2: we'd love to hear about that. Where do you listen?
S2: Why do you listen? And what difference does it make
S2: in your life? You can always give us your feedback
S2: by coming to our website. It's Treasure Truth Radio and
S2: click on the contact link. We recently heard from a
S2: listener in Florida who writes, Dear Pastor Ford, I'm truly
S2: enjoying and learning from the series. Until when do we part?
S2: You covered a lot of areas that I've lived through personally.
S2: I'm learning so much because God is talking to me
S2: through this ministry, and my understanding concerning biblical marriage has increased.
S2: You are the real deal, sir, and I thank you
S2: for your openness and your honesty to this listener in Miami.
S2: Thank you for writing, for letting us know that this
S2: program is making a difference in your life and in
S2: your walk with Christ and in your understanding of God's Word.
S2: What about you? If God is using this teaching ministry
S2: in your life, give us your feedback. Let us know
S2: what difference it's making. Come to our website. It's Treasure
S2: Truth radio.org and click on the contact link. Well, today's
S2: message was called the Enemy enemy. It's taken from James
S2: chapter one. And if you've missed any of the previous
S2: messages in this series, you can always come to our
S2: website and listen online. Simply come to Treasure Truth Radio org.
S2: There you can stream programs, download mp3's, or order copies
S2: of this broadcast on CD. Again, come to treasure Truth Radio. Well,
S2: thanks for listening today. Thanks also to our producers, Amy
S2: Rios and Ryan McConaughey. I'm Steve Hiller. Treasure truth is
S2: a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.