S1: We focus in on what's happening now. God focuses in
S1: on what happened back then. Why? Because God takes us
S1: back so we can see history to comprehend our destiny.
S1: Because what he told us about what shall be. He
S1: made the promise in history about our destiny.
S2: This is treasure truth with pastor and author James Ford Jr,
S2: senior pastor of Christ Bible Church in Chicago. I'm Steve Heller.
S2: Glad that you're with us as we continue a message.
S2: Have no fear. God is here. And pastor, as you
S2: pointed out, God so often may focus in on what
S2: happened back then. But what is that back then that
S2: you were talking about?
S3: Well, it's what God has done in the past. So
S3: in the text that we're going to study, he goes
S3: back and tells Israel, you've been in trouble before. Yeah.
S3: And so, I mean, you've lost a job before. you've
S3: been sick, before you've had problems in your marriage, before
S3: your children have acted up before, and so on and
S3: on it goes. And what he wants us to realise.
S3: If I did it for you back then, I can
S3: do it for you now. And so anything that God
S3: has done, God can do anything that God can do,
S3: God will do. All we have to do is know
S3: that he wants to do it for us. And then
S3: we stand on what God has said. And so I
S3: know I've been without job. I've been, you know, we've
S3: had problems in our marriage and all that. And man
S3: Lord has just worked things out. And so you, you
S3: learn to trust him based on what he's already done.
S2: So you're looking back and saying God proved faithful then
S2: I'm not going to doubt him now.
S3: Oh yeah. Well, scriptures even pointed out here's what here's
S3: what the scriptures say. How then shall he freely give
S3: us all things who have given unto us his son.
S3: So it's an argument from the lesser to the greater.
S3: You know, this little thing that you're asking for is
S3: not as great as my son. So if I gave
S3: you the best of heaven, then what's the rest of it?
S3: And I think, you know, we look back. He saved
S3: our souls from eternal damnation. What could be worse than that? Nothing.
S2: Yeah.
S3: To burn in hell for all of eternity. Now we
S3: need something here in the temporal that's going to fade away.
S3: You see, argument.
S2: And very logical. Makes a lot of sense when we're
S2: able to slow down and think about that rationally and
S2: be reminded of that truth. But sometimes, while we're looking
S2: back and seeing, okay, God was faithful there, I still
S2: have this overwhelming mountain that I'm looking towards. I've got
S2: to walk through this pain somehow. What would you say
S2: to the person who finds himself in that spot today
S2: who says, man, I know God did some cool things
S2: for me back then, and I think he's going to
S2: do something for me in the future. But man, I
S2: don't see how he's going to do this. How do
S2: I wait in that?
S3: Well, I hate to get the Bible in this, but
S3: now a word from our sponsor. Trust in the Lord
S3: with all your heart. Lean not to your own understanding.
S3: In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct
S3: your path. Proverbs three five and six. Say no more.
S3: Enough has been said.
S2: Well, with that, let's open our Bibles to Isaiah chapter
S2: 43 as we continue a message. Have no fear. God
S2: is here. Here is Pastor Ford.
S1: He says, listen, Israel is.
S3: Moaning and.
S1: Groaning because they're in the storm. He's making them walk.
S1: And he says, let me tell you something in four chapters.
S1: Fear not, fear not, fear not. Fear not fear. What is.
S3: Seven? God's number for perfection or completion. He said it
S3: seven times so that you will know. I don't care
S3: what your fear is. Don't be scared. Don't be scared.
S3: He's saying I'm not a fair weather friend. I'm a
S3: friend that sticks closer than a brother. This passage is pregnant.
S3: You know I'm a teacher. Let me just drop it.
S3: I ain't going to push it, as my friend Romeo
S3: would say. Historically, it refers to God's deliverance from Egypt. Literally,
S3: it refers to the Babylonian captivity. Deliverance. Prophetically, it refers
S3: to the Great Tribulation, when God fulfills all the rest
S3: of the promises that he made to Israel. Ultimately, it
S3: focuses on the deliverance of Jesus Christ as our kinsman Redeemer. Typically,
S3: it points to the church, and principally and practically it's
S3: a great passage for dealing with our fears. So in
S3: Isaiah 40 he says, listen, you have foes, you have fears,
S3: you have fights. So he's telling us this that your
S3: storms are going to take on three entities. People, passions
S3: and problems. And then seven times. Fear not, fear not.
S3: God says, you know what fear is? What is it?
S3: False evidence appearing real. That's what fear is. As a
S3: matter of fact, the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior
S3: said it this way when he was asked, why do
S3: you keep going out? Aren't you afraid somebody's going to
S3: kill you? He said, ultimately, I think I will. Uh,
S3: be be martyred. But he said this. He said fear
S3: knocked at the door. Faith answered. Nobody was there. Oh,
S3: I love that. Yeah. Fear knocked at the door, faith answered.
S3: Wasn't nobody there? And so we need to know that
S3: we don't need to be afraid. Now there are seven
S3: reasons and seven verses. Here they are. Verse one. He says,
S3: you don't need to be afraid because you're the property
S3: of God. Uh, verse two, you don't need to be
S3: afraid because of the protection from God. Uh, you don't
S3: need to be afraid. Verse three, because of the person
S3: of God, you don't need to be afraid. Verse four,
S3: because of the passion or the love of God. Verse five.
S3: You don't need to be afraid because of the presence
S3: of God. Verse six, you don't need to be afraid
S3: because of the promises of God. In verse seven. You
S3: don't need to be afraid because of the purposes of God.
S3: Notice what he says. First of all, verse one. Let
S3: me tell you why you don't have to be scared
S3: because you're my property. Now. Now get this, this text.
S3: Now notice what God does. God goes back to the
S3: beginning and he takes them from the present to the past. Now,
S3: this is unusual. Now we just studied the passage where,
S3: remember when Peter fell and he said to him in
S3: verse 30 of Luke 22, he said, you're going to
S3: sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Then
S3: verse 31, you're going to deny me. Now why did
S3: he tell him that he was going to sit on
S3: the throne before he told him he was going to
S3: deny him, because God didn't want him to focus in
S3: on what is he wanted him to focus in on.
S3: What shall be he saying? Here's what shall be. Let
S3: me tell you that first you're going to sit on thrones.
S3: Now here's what it is you're going to deny me. Now,
S3: why do that? Because if I tell you what you
S3: shall be, then you understand that what is shall not
S3: cancel out what shall be, so that you won't focus
S3: in on what is. You'll walk through it. You'll. You'll
S3: endure it because you want to get to what shall be.
S3: And so that's what we need to do. But this
S3: is different. He's telling them go back and see what was.
S3: Now let me show you what is. Now, whenever you
S3: get in a place where you gotta walk through, you
S3: gotta look back and see what was. So you'll be
S3: able to deal with what is. You say, pastor, I
S3: still don't understand it. Okay, then let me come and
S3: get you. Because I went to public school too. We
S3: focus in on what's happening now. God, focus in on
S3: what happened back then. Why? Because God takes us back
S3: so we can see history to comprehend our destiny. Because
S3: what he told us about what shall be. He made
S3: the promise in history about our destiny. Let me say
S3: it another way. Let me say it another way, that
S3: God takes us back to history so he can share
S3: his eternal purpose and counsel for our destiny. Okay, let's
S3: take three vignettes I'm going to show you. Turn to
S3: Mark four. Mark 435. Mark 435. Now they're in a storm.
S3: And we remember this storm. We studied it before. And
S3: in verse 35, what's he say at the end of
S3: the verse? Somebody say it out real loud. Read it
S3: nice and loud. What's what's what? Jesus say what's read letters.
S3: Let us pass over unto the other side. Then what
S3: do they say at the end of verse 38? What
S3: do they say at the end of verse 38? Master
S3: cares thou not that we perish? Wait a minute, wait
S3: a minute. Jesus told them in the past, now they're
S3: in the present storm. What did they forget? What Jesus
S3: told them? What did he tell them? Let us go
S3: unto the other side. He didn't say, let's go in
S3: the middle of the Sea of Galilee and drown. No,
S3: he said, my divine purpose and decree is that we
S3: are going to the other side. Two things they are
S3: informed and they are involved. And Jesus is there. He
S3: said he didn't say let you. He said, let us.
S3: We're all going to make it over to the other side.
S3: But you see what happened in the storm. They got
S3: all upset. They forgot about what was, and they were
S3: focusing in on what is. And Jesus was asleep on
S3: the boat because he said what was right. Amen. Amen.
S3: You say, you say, well, what what are you trying
S3: to get to Pastor Ford? Would you get to it? Okay.
S3: I will, I will after these other two vignettes, write
S3: down Matthew 1532. In Matthew 1532, there are 4000 people
S3: who need to be fed. And uh, Jesus said, uh, hey,
S3: you guys feed em. And they said, where are we
S3: going to get food for all these people? Now, what happened?
S3: One chapter before. About two weeks earlier, Jesus took a
S3: little boy's Happy Meal. Lunch. He took some sardines and
S3: Ritz crackers and fed 5000 men, not counting the women
S3: and children. So most theologians say 14 to 20,000 people
S3: with some crackers and some sardines. And what did he
S3: say to them? Don't you remember? Wait a minute. He
S3: didn't get it. This is only 4000. I fed 5000.
S3: And the problem is, you didn't go back and see
S3: what was so that you could know. I could deal
S3: with what is.
S2: Did you follow all that? Don't worry. We'll get back
S2: to this teaching in just a moment. You're listening to
S2: Treasure Truth in a message called have no fear. God
S2: is here. And if you miss any of the broadcasts
S2: in this short little series, come to our website, listen online,
S2: or stop by Treasure Truth Radio. You can stream the
S2: program through your computer or mobile device. You can download
S2: the MP3 for free, or you can order a copy
S2: of this program on CD. Again our website, treasure truth Radio.
S2: Back to the message. Here's Pastor Ford.
S3: It's okay. I'm coming to get you now. I'm coming
S3: to get you now. Oh, no. No, I'm gonna give
S3: you another vignette. It's David. It's David. David comes. He's
S3: got to be about 17, but he's under 20. We
S3: know that. He comes up and a Goliath just came out. Alright.
S3: It's on like neck bones. Who who who want to
S3: deal with me? Nine foot seven. The armor that he
S3: carries weighs £135. The armor. And he says, alright, it's
S3: on like neck bone. Who want to take me on? All, all,
S3: all soldiers are are are afraid. Saul's hiding in officer's club.
S3: And David says, who is this uncircumcised Philistine? Now, let
S3: me just say this. This ain't even on my notes.
S3: They start hating on Ignoring him. And I said to myself,
S3: why are they hating on him? Let me tell you why.
S3: They were hating on him because he was attempting to
S3: do what they were afraid to do. Alright. And there
S3: are some people, Pastor Greene, who they don't want you
S3: to do it because they couldn't do it. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
S3: So the best way they can feel good about themselves
S3: is to hold you back from what you said. You
S3: could do that. They said they can do that. They
S3: didn't do. And so they were saying he too big
S3: to hit. And David said he too big to miss.
S3: That's right. And what what did he do? He went back.
S3: He said I'm just a shepherd boy. But let me
S3: tell y'all something. Uh, I remember when a lion had
S3: a lamb in his mouth. I grabbed him by the beard,
S3: killed him, and took that lamb. That was God's power
S3: that did that. He said, then a bear came up
S3: on me and grabbed one. I took a club and
S3: beat him to death. So God, he's saying, he's saying,
S3: he's saying. Your problem is you're looking at your problem.
S3: You need to look at your God. You need to
S3: understand that your God is bigger than your problem. Why
S3: are you trying to figure it out? God doesn't already
S3: worked it out. Why don't we let God do it? Oh,
S3: you know what? You know it. You know it. You're
S3: talking about, uh. I'm without a job. Didn't he get
S3: you that job? Then what makes you think he can't
S3: get you another job? Yeah, yeah. Come on, come on.
S3: All the sisters say my last man wasn't my last man.
S3: All the brothers say my last woman was my last woman.
S3: Now everybody that's married should have kept their mouth shut
S3: like Brother Dave did. Yeah, but you get what I'm saying. Now,
S3: notice what he does. He based it on relationship. In
S3: other words, God got you one. He healed your body
S3: before he could do it. Now. God got you a
S3: house before he can get you another one after the foreclosure.
S3: God got you a job. He can get you another job.
S3: He can get you another boo. He can get you
S3: another whatever. That's his whole point. Look back where I
S3: brought you. You were nothing. I made you something so
S3: that you can make me your everything. That's what he's saying.
S3: So notice what he says. It's based on relationship I
S3: created you, formed you, redeemed you. You are mine. Now
S3: get this. Let me talk about these three words real quick.
S3: Just real quick. He says I created you. That's the
S3: word bara. It is when he created creation. It's called
S3: ex nihilo. Creation. Say ex nihilo. Now you know some Latin.
S3: It means out of nothing. So God says I created
S3: you who were nothing and made you into something. Now
S3: I should be your everything. Then he says, I formed
S3: you now. Now, Brother Dave, get up and turn around
S3: and show everybody that Hebrew word form one of my
S3: favorite words in all of Hebrew. Come on. What's that
S3: word mean? Yeah, it says that he saw the man. Boom!
S3: Put us together. Bam bam bam bam. But it says
S3: he saw the woman. It literally means to shape with
S3: a specific purpose in mind. He looking at at at
S3: Adam that he's put in divine anasthesia. And he says,
S3: here's what he says. Literally the the fort ize it.
S3: Contemporize it. Uh, translation I'm going to hook this brother up. Yeah. Amen. Amen. Amen. Yes, sir. Now, now,
S3: here's why I did that. Okay. Get this. Do you
S3: know what that means? He's telling them everything that happened
S3: to you. God allowed it for a purpose. Alright, now
S3: wait a minute. Wait a minute. You. You're. Rape! Murder.
S3: I didn't say he did it because he didn't do it.
S3: The devil did it. Yeah. No, no no, God does
S3: not do evil. James 113. But he does allow it. Why?
S3: Because he's sovereign. So everything that happens, God allowed it.
S3: He has a purpose. And we need to go through
S3: the pain trying to find the purpose. Why God? Or
S3: what are you trying to do in this situation? Now
S3: get this. Let me. Let me show you real quick.
S3: Use myself as an example. I have two boys. They
S3: got nine kids, and both of my boys take care
S3: of their children. And, uh, I began to say, okay, God. What?
S3: What's the outcome of this thing? because one of the
S3: things that that I really grew very belligerent about is
S3: that I didn't have a dad. In hindsight, I, I,
S3: I share some of that stuff with you. Uh, you
S3: know how I beat up a guy who had his
S3: father at the parent teacher meeting and and don't know why?
S3: And then later on, I realize it's because his dad
S3: was always there for him, and I didn't have one.
S3: And I was jealous of the fact that he had
S3: a father, and I didn't. And, uh, I began to say, okay,
S3: look at what God did. Because I didn't have a father,
S3: because I didn't have a father. I got saved because
S3: my oldest son became the catalyst to my salvation. When
S3: my wife said to me, okay, what about Jay? And
S3: I had said I'd never abandon my children. Now, here
S3: I was, getting ready to do the same thing to
S3: my son that my dad did to me, and God
S3: used it to bring me under conviction and to bring
S3: us to Jesus Christ, both on the same night.
S4: Wow. Amen. Amen.
S3: And then I raised my boys, and I was with them.
S3: And and she she didn't have to go to school.
S3: I went to school, and she didn't have to do any.
S3: I did, I did, I did, I did it and
S3: I was telling my boys, I said, you know what?
S3: I really admire you as fathers. You guys are good fathers. And, uh,
S3: my youngest baby boy, y'all know it. It ain't no
S3: secret he got four baby mama. And then he finally
S3: got his life together and said, I'm going to marry
S3: the one I love. But all through coming up, even
S3: when he didn't have a job, he borrowed money to
S3: make sure his children were taken care of. And I
S3: said to him, I said, I said, I admire you
S3: because you went to school, you went to. And he
S3: wrote me a letter that brought me to tears. Every
S3: time I read it, it reduces me to tears. And
S3: he just basically said, dad, you always telling me I'm
S3: such a wonderful father. He said, dad, the bottom line
S3: is the reason I'm a wonderful father and the reason
S3: I went to school with all of my children because
S3: you came to school for us. The reason why I
S3: do what I do is because of the example that
S3: you set as a father, and then he would always
S3: put a caveat. He said he said dad and and
S3: always both of them have said to me, and it
S3: always just I, I am asking God, make me as
S3: much man as my father. And I go back and
S3: I have to say, in the midst of everything, I
S3: give thanks. I hated the fact that I didn't have
S3: a father. I wanted a father so bad that every
S3: man that would show me attention, I would cling to
S3: him like he was my father. And they would say.
S5: Would you leave me alone?
S3: And now I realize that the lack of a father
S3: spurred me on to salvation and to be a good father.
S3: And now I see my children loving their children like
S3: I love them.
S4: Yeah.
S3: I don't know what you're going through. I don't know
S3: who this is for. I just came to tell you.
S3: All things work together for good to those who love
S3: the Lord and those who are the called according to it.
S3: You going through it right now? You don't think that
S3: God is with you, but God hasn't abandoned you because
S3: even when you don't walk faithful with him, he says,
S3: yet I remain faithful. I will never leave you nor
S3: forsake you. Lord, I'm with you always, even until the
S3: end of the age. Thank God, thank God, thank God.
S3: Thank God. For somebody who loves me with an ever
S3: telling them I'm with you. I'm there with you I
S3: formed you. Now I know what you're thinking. Why does
S3: he use Jacob in Israel? It's very simple. Jacob is
S3: his old name. Israel is his new name. Jacob is
S3: his name. Under justification. He needs to be saved. But
S3: how many know? Just being saved is not it? You
S3: gotta surrender. And so Israel is the name of surrender.
S3: So remember what happened? Uh, he wrestled with God all night,
S3: and and everybody thought, hey, you walking with a limp?
S3: And he's saying, no, that's not my limp. That's my pimp.
S3: It's the battle that you want to lose. Yeah, it's
S3: the battle where he broke my stubborn will and I
S3: submitted to him. And so this just means the transition
S3: has been made. Now, I'm not perfect, but the transition
S3: has been made. I've moved from justification to sanctification. And
S3: so this pimp is a symbol of the fact I
S3: wrestled with God and lost. He broke my will like
S3: he broke my limb. And he gave me a limp
S3: so that I would always remember that God is in control.
S2: So it's your reminder that God is in control. Do
S2: you have one? We'd love to hear about that. You
S2: can simply fill out the contact form when you come
S2: to our website, Treasure Truth Radio. Well, Pastor Ford has
S2: called today's message have no fear. God is here and
S2: you can listen to this broadcast again or order a
S2: copy on CD. When you come to treasure Truth Radio. Well, pastor,
S2: you're back in the studio for a moment with me here. And, uh,
S2: one of the things that we often will mention on
S2: this program is we need listeners financial help so that
S2: we can continue to bring the Bible teaching that listeners
S2: can on being there. Because as God's Word goes out,
S2: we know it doesn't return void. People are being encouraged
S2: and people are growing through what they hear. And frankly,
S2: we need help.
S3: Yes, we do. And you know, the good thing about
S3: listening to Moody Radio is you're going to get consistent
S3: Bible teaching. You're going to get expository messages that are
S3: rightly divided. The Bible tells us that we are to study,
S3: to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth
S3: not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
S3: The words rightly divided, is one word in the Greek,
S3: and it literally means to cut on the line. And
S3: so we're cutting on the line. What a tremendous way
S3: to grow. Well, I need to grow. Sure. And you
S3: know what? Not only am I on the Moody Network,
S3: I listen to the Moody Network. I love Chuck Swindoll
S3: and David Jeremiah and Michael Rolnick and the land and
S3: the book. I mean, I'm able to grow because these
S3: men can teach me the Word of God.
S2: Yeah, you can help us share that as you give
S2: a gift to Moody Radio and Treasure truth. Do that
S2: when you come to treasure Truth radio.org and click on
S2: the donate button. Well, thanks to our producers, Amy Rios
S2: and Ryan McConaughey for Pastor Ford. I'm Steve Hiller. Treasure
S2: truth is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of
S2: Moody Bible Institute.