WEBVTT - Seeing Purpose in Your Problems and Pain, Part 8 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:04.360 They could have given up, but they stood. They stood. 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:08.399 They understood that the struggle that I'm going through is 0:00:08.400 --> 0:00:11.799 for the future. I'm going to. That the struggle is 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:14.960 a part of making me who I'm going to become. 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:24.960 Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, 0:00:24.960 --> 0:00:28.000 junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:30.080 I'm Steve Hillard. Glad you're with us today as we 0:00:30.120 --> 0:00:34.120 continue our study of James chapter one and understand why 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:36.800 it's so important to see the purpose God may have 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:40.279 for us in our problems and in our pain. I 0:00:40.280 --> 0:00:42.879 think that's one of the wonderful things about the Bible. 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:45.760 As Pastor Ford just said, they could have given up, 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.519 but they stood. Who was he talking about? Well, it's 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:51.480 the people that you read about in Scripture. I think 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:56.680 sometimes we may have this misperception that the people that 0:00:56.680 --> 0:01:00.040 are written about in the Bible are holy people. Well, 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:01.920 they are if you say that they were set apart 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:04.679 for use by God, but they were far from perfect. 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:07.360 They were flawed. They were sinners. Some of them have 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:11.839 some pretty major baggage. And Pastor Ford points that out 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:15.640 in today's message. I think that can be reassuring for us, 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:19.199 because the Bible doesn't just gloss over the messiness of life. 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:21.800 It says, hey, you've made a mess of your life. 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:24.840 So did these people that God used. And you know, 0:01:25.080 --> 0:01:27.600 that can carry forward to today. You may have made 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:30.400 a mess of your life, but if you stand and 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:33.200 if you turn to Christ, if we confess our sins, 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:36.600 if we grow in our relationship with him, it's amazing 0:01:36.600 --> 0:01:39.200 how God may still use you. I think you're going 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:41.920 to be encouraged in today's broadcast. So if you can 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:45.199 join us in James chapter one as we continue seeing 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:49.320 the purpose in your problems and pain. Here's Pastor Ford. 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:54.560 So God is shaping you. What's that capacity. Say capacity. 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.720 And then verse four, God supplies. Get it, get it. 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:00.600 Look at it. It's so well rounded. I sent this 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:02.600 to you. You got to see it the way I 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:06.200 see it. Because I'm shaping you to fill you with 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:09.760 something that's going to prepare you for where I'm taking you. 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:12.079 If you don't go through this, you will not be 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:16.280 prepared for what I prepared for you. So it's already 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:19.240 there and it's waiting on you. I just have to 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:24.559 give you capacity in order to deal with it. And God, 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:27.880 every time he shapes something, he fills it. Let me 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:30.560 borrow from a preacher I heard on TV. I ain't 0:02:30.560 --> 0:02:33.400 going to call his name. He said. God created the 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:37.480 earth with capacity. And then he filled it. Uh, God 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:41.440 created the seas with capacity. Then he filled it. God 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:45.600 created the sky with capacity. Then he filled it. God 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:49.720 created man with capacity. Then he blew into him the 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:52.400 breath of life. That was good stuff. I shout about that. 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:55.520 I said, that's good stuff. And so what God's doing 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:59.040 right now? Come on, say he's shaping me. Yeah, so 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:03.470 he can fill me so he can use me because 0:03:03.470 --> 0:03:06.590 I'm going somewhere and God's going to do something in 0:03:06.590 --> 0:03:13.829 my life. Amen. Amen. Yeah. That's what he's doing. Yeah. 0:03:14.790 --> 0:03:17.630 And so when you look at what's going on here, 0:03:17.950 --> 0:03:19.669 he wants us to know. Now, let me give all 0:03:19.669 --> 0:03:21.470 of it. Then I'll come back and just kind of 0:03:21.510 --> 0:03:23.910 review it for you. He says four things in verse 0:03:23.910 --> 0:03:26.670 three be. And four. He says, here's what God is doing. 0:03:26.710 --> 0:03:30.550 He says, he says this resultant purposes in your problems 0:03:30.550 --> 0:03:33.590 and pain. Let me clarify them for you. First of all, 0:03:33.630 --> 0:03:37.710 God is testing our faith. What's he doing? Yeah, he says, 0:03:37.710 --> 0:03:40.870 sixth of all, he's teaching us endurance. What's he doing? 0:03:42.030 --> 0:03:44.550 He said, third of all, he's taking us to maturity. 0:03:44.590 --> 0:03:49.390 What's he doing? He said, last of all, he's transporting 0:03:49.390 --> 0:03:56.070 us to our future or to our destiny. What's he doing? Yeah. 0:03:56.150 --> 0:03:58.390 So every time we look at it like God looks 0:03:58.390 --> 0:04:00.350 at it, we ought to be saying, okay, I don't 0:04:00.430 --> 0:04:02.830 like it. I don't understand what's going on. But bring 0:04:02.830 --> 0:04:05.630 it on. Bring it on. Because I know it's not 0:04:05.630 --> 0:04:07.670 going to make me bitter. It's going to make me better. 0:04:07.670 --> 0:04:11.230 I know that. Hey, hey, all things are going to 0:04:11.270 --> 0:04:13.910 work together for good to those who love the Lord 0:04:13.910 --> 0:04:16.270 and those who are the called according to it. I'm 0:04:16.270 --> 0:04:18.789 just happy, that's all. Because we go through some stuff 0:04:18.790 --> 0:04:25.990 all the time, don't we, baby? Mm. You know, in 0:04:25.990 --> 0:04:32.390 order to have a testimony, you gotta have a test. 0:04:32.630 --> 0:04:40.349 Because the first four words in testimony is test. It's 0:04:40.350 --> 0:04:44.110 amazing to me how many Christians want to be overcomers 0:04:44.110 --> 0:04:50.550 and ain't never overcame anything. Yeah. And so here it is. 0:04:50.670 --> 0:04:54.630 He says, listen, this is just a test. Now I 0:04:54.630 --> 0:04:56.830 need to get you to Bible class. So since you 0:04:56.830 --> 0:04:59.870 won't come meet me once again, I'm going to meet you. 0:04:59.870 --> 0:05:03.030 And there are five sources of tests. Let me give 0:05:03.029 --> 0:05:05.110 them to you real quick. I'm not going to push them. 0:05:05.110 --> 0:05:09.030 There's the satanic source. The devil. Oh, yeah. He will 0:05:09.029 --> 0:05:11.549 tempt us. He will test us. He's on us like 0:05:11.550 --> 0:05:14.669 white on rice. Like a duck on a June bug. 0:05:14.790 --> 0:05:19.830 Like stink on a hog. Uh, like grits on Al Green. Uh, 0:05:19.870 --> 0:05:24.549 like drugs on al heard. Yeah, uh, like a body 0:05:24.589 --> 0:05:29.070 shirt on a bishop. He's on us tight. I always 0:05:29.070 --> 0:05:33.390 like saying that every now and then. Uh, yeah. And 0:05:33.390 --> 0:05:37.270 so he's on us, and somebody said he's not bothering me. 0:05:37.270 --> 0:05:39.470 That's probably because you ain't bothering him. Because if you 0:05:39.470 --> 0:05:42.510 don't meet the devil as you walk this Christian walk, 0:05:42.510 --> 0:05:45.790 it probably means both of you are going the same direction. 0:05:46.430 --> 0:05:49.150 First Peter five eight says, be sober. Be vigilant for 0:05:49.150 --> 0:05:52.190 your adversary. The devil walketh about like a roaring lion, 0:05:52.270 --> 0:05:56.310 seeking whom he may devour. Oh, yeah, he's looking for us, 0:05:56.310 --> 0:05:59.070 and he wants us to make God look bad. Then 0:05:59.070 --> 0:06:03.030 there's the secular source. That's the world. Uh, now there 0:06:03.029 --> 0:06:06.310 are three words translated world in in the Greek New Testament. Uh, 0:06:06.550 --> 0:06:10.270 this one is cosmos, a cosmos. We get the word 0:06:10.270 --> 0:06:14.710 cosmetics from it. Now, what is the world? Get this. 0:06:14.710 --> 0:06:20.670 Every woman ought to have this definition down. Because what 0:06:20.670 --> 0:06:23.150 do you do in the morning? You put on your base, right? 0:06:23.150 --> 0:06:26.990 It ain't called base foundation. Okay, put on your foundation, 0:06:26.990 --> 0:06:33.390 then what you put on next, baby. Well, you is 0:06:33.390 --> 0:06:37.789 looking so good and you're all dolled up. I thought 0:06:37.790 --> 0:06:41.030 maybe you help a brother out this morning, but you 0:06:41.029 --> 0:06:42.869 know what I mean. It's like you went in the mirror. 0:06:42.910 --> 0:06:44.990 You begin to look, you know, and you straighten out 0:06:44.990 --> 0:06:47.030 the weave. If you have one, or you put the 0:06:47.029 --> 0:06:50.230 wig on your head, you know, and you made sure 0:06:50.230 --> 0:06:54.630 everything was arranged so that you could get those compliments. 0:06:54.630 --> 0:06:59.190 You look good this morning. What is the world? It 0:06:59.190 --> 0:07:07.230 is the arranged system that leaves God out. That's it. 0:07:07.630 --> 0:07:09.229 Of course, I don't have to make any comments about 0:07:09.230 --> 0:07:12.550 that because we know we're living in it. Third one. 0:07:12.550 --> 0:07:15.710 Third one. The self source. That's the flesh. Remember, the 0:07:15.710 --> 0:07:19.390 enemy is the enemy. The old sin nature. That's why Paul, 0:07:19.550 --> 0:07:22.350 remember in Romans six said, who shall free me from 0:07:22.350 --> 0:07:26.670 this body of death? And remember the the word picture. 0:07:26.670 --> 0:07:28.630 How many remember the word picture? Let me see your hands. 0:07:29.390 --> 0:07:30.790 I wasn't going to call on you. I just want 0:07:30.790 --> 0:07:32.950 to see if you remember the word picture. Okay. The 0:07:32.950 --> 0:07:37.270 word picture was if you committed premeditated murder, you murdered somebody. 0:07:37.270 --> 0:07:40.590 They would strap that person on your back, and you 0:07:40.590 --> 0:07:44.910 would have to carry that person until the putrification from 0:07:44.910 --> 0:07:48.830 their body went into yours. And and you became diseased 0:07:48.830 --> 0:07:53.590 and died. That was your punishment. And he says, the 0:07:53.590 --> 0:07:56.710 flesh is like that. Who shall free me from this 0:07:56.710 --> 0:08:00.350 body of death? So, so, so so the spirit says 0:08:00.390 --> 0:08:04.070 we going to Bible study Wednesday night? And the flesh said, Uh-Uh, 0:08:04.270 --> 0:08:12.670 empire coming on. We going to prayer. Uh-Uh scandal coming on. Yeah. 0:08:13.070 --> 0:08:15.670 So the flesh. Here's the fourth one. Here's the fourth one. 0:08:15.910 --> 0:08:21.350 The situational or circumstantial source? Natural cause and effect. Galatians 0:08:21.350 --> 0:08:24.230 says it this way whatsoever a man soweth, uh, God 0:08:24.230 --> 0:08:26.190 is not mocked whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he reap. 0:08:26.230 --> 0:08:29.870 In other words, there are natural consequences that are situational 0:08:29.870 --> 0:08:35.990 or circumstantial that happen. It just happen because stuff happens. 0:08:35.990 --> 0:08:39.429 But here's the one he's talking about here, the sovereign source, 0:08:39.429 --> 0:08:44.350 that God will test our faith so we can know 0:08:44.670 --> 0:08:49.390 exactly how much faith we have. See, salvation will get 0:08:49.390 --> 0:08:52.750 us into heaven, but the test is to get heaven 0:08:52.750 --> 0:08:54.870 into us. Y'all ain't going to pray with me, I 0:08:54.870 --> 0:08:58.910 said it. We studied Genesis 22 recently where God said 0:08:58.910 --> 0:09:01.140 to Abraham something none of us would ever want to 0:09:01.140 --> 0:09:05.020 hear about our children. Offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. 0:09:05.460 --> 0:09:07.260 And some of y'all saying, God wouldn't have to tell 0:09:07.260 --> 0:09:12.180 me to do that with mine. I'll volunteer. Yeah, right. Anyway, 0:09:13.220 --> 0:09:16.100 he says he says he says he. And so what's 0:09:16.100 --> 0:09:18.820 he doing? Just the one question. Here it is. Here 0:09:18.820 --> 0:09:21.020 it is. There are four, but there's only one I 0:09:21.020 --> 0:09:23.540 want to focus on. In other words, do you love 0:09:23.540 --> 0:09:26.740 me more than the pagans love their God? You say 0:09:27.100 --> 0:09:30.020 that you will follow me anywhere. You prove that. Now 0:09:30.020 --> 0:09:33.220 will you give me anything? Do you love the gift 0:09:33.220 --> 0:09:35.380 more than you love the giver? And some of us 0:09:35.380 --> 0:09:38.179 love the gift more than we love the giver. Because 0:09:38.179 --> 0:09:40.140 he gave us the house. And we can't come to 0:09:40.140 --> 0:09:42.460 church because we have to clean it. Uh, he gave 0:09:42.460 --> 0:09:44.820 us the clothes. But Sunday, the only day I got 0:09:44.820 --> 0:09:47.620 to wash my clothes. So I gotta go to work tomorrow, 0:09:47.620 --> 0:09:50.020 so I gotta have some clean clothes. Well, well, you 0:09:50.020 --> 0:09:53.939 must be pretty trifling if you don't have any clothes 0:09:53.940 --> 0:09:59.820 to wear. And you, you you. Let me, let me, 0:09:59.820 --> 0:10:02.500 let me just let it go. You know, it's like. 0:10:02.820 --> 0:10:06.460 It's like what you do go two months without washing 0:10:06.460 --> 0:10:12.820 anything and then does it take all day? No, it 0:10:12.820 --> 0:10:15.380 sure doesn't. And so do you love me? Will you 0:10:15.420 --> 0:10:19.420 serve me even when you don't like what I'm telling you? 0:10:19.460 --> 0:10:21.699 What kind of faith do you have? Is it only 0:10:21.700 --> 0:10:25.740 faith that the faith of the comfortable? What about in conflict? 0:10:25.740 --> 0:10:29.140 You still love me as much as you said you 0:10:29.140 --> 0:10:32.180 love me. When I took the job that I gave you. 0:10:32.179 --> 0:10:34.579 When I took the money that I gave you. When 0:10:34.580 --> 0:10:37.420 I took the help that I gave you. Or will 0:10:37.420 --> 0:10:42.140 you say, yes? The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away. 0:10:42.179 --> 0:10:44.220 Blessed be the name of the Lord. I'm going to 0:10:44.220 --> 0:10:47.140 bless you. I'm going to praise you in the good time, 0:10:47.140 --> 0:10:49.780 but also in the bad time, in the glad times, 0:10:49.780 --> 0:10:52.740 but also in the bad times. I am going to 0:10:52.780 --> 0:10:56.220 serve you. This is what we need. That's what we need. 0:10:59.220 --> 0:11:02.380 Well, that is exactly what we need. It can be 0:11:02.380 --> 0:11:04.540 a little tougher at times to live that out, and 0:11:04.540 --> 0:11:07.059 I think that's why listening to a teaching like this 0:11:07.059 --> 0:11:10.340 can be so encouraging, to just be reminded of the 0:11:10.340 --> 0:11:13.100 fact that God is sovereign and we can trust him 0:11:13.140 --> 0:11:15.300 not only in the good, but also in the bad. 0:11:15.300 --> 0:11:18.700 And so maybe you want to listen to this broadcast again. Well, 0:11:18.700 --> 0:11:21.020 you can always do so by coming to our website. 0:11:21.059 --> 0:11:23.699 You can download the MP3, you can stream the program 0:11:23.700 --> 0:11:29.100 or order copies on CD. Just stop by treasure. Truth. Radio.com. Again, 0:11:29.140 --> 0:11:30.300 here's Pastor Ford. 0:11:30.940 --> 0:11:33.660 In other words, Abraham, do you love me like the 0:11:33.660 --> 0:11:36.420 pagans love their God? Now, if you remember you were here, 0:11:36.420 --> 0:11:39.020 what they would do is they take their firstborn, put 0:11:39.020 --> 0:11:42.620 them in the arms of Molech, and which was a 0:11:42.620 --> 0:11:45.620 bronze statue, and they would heat those hands up and 0:11:45.620 --> 0:11:49.500 throw their firstborn into the hands of Molech as an offering. 0:11:49.500 --> 0:11:51.540 And God says, do you love me as much as 0:11:51.540 --> 0:11:54.939 the pagan love? Love their God? And Abraham said, I 0:11:54.940 --> 0:11:57.660 sure do. I'm going to do this thing. And and 0:11:57.700 --> 0:12:00.740 of course, Hebrews 11 tells us he believed God was 0:12:00.740 --> 0:12:02.179 going to raise him from the dead. But let me 0:12:02.179 --> 0:12:04.660 ask you some questions. Do you love your God as 0:12:04.660 --> 0:12:07.100 much as the pagans love their God? Because the Jehovah 0:12:07.100 --> 0:12:10.500 Witness goes out and knocks on doors and talks about 0:12:10.500 --> 0:12:15.100 their God 15 hours a week? Uh, do you love 0:12:15.100 --> 0:12:18.219 your God as much as the pagans love their God? 0:12:18.380 --> 0:12:22.859 Mormon youth give two years of their life to missionary 0:12:22.860 --> 0:12:25.820 work before they start their career. Do you love your 0:12:25.860 --> 0:12:29.300 God as much as the pagan love their god? Uh, yeah. 0:12:29.300 --> 0:12:32.500 I heard say that the Hare Krishnas remember when they 0:12:32.500 --> 0:12:34.660 used to go to airport? Their goal was to give 0:12:34.660 --> 0:12:38.860 $200 a day to their organization. Do you love your 0:12:38.900 --> 0:12:42.100 God as much as the pagans love their God? Moonies 0:12:42.100 --> 0:12:45.980 believe that marriage is sacred, and, uh, it's between a 0:12:45.980 --> 0:12:49.740 man and a woman. And you shouldn't shack before you 0:12:49.740 --> 0:12:53.059 get married. Do you love your God as much as 0:12:53.059 --> 0:12:58.180 the pagan love their god? Uh, Muslims pray five times 0:12:58.179 --> 0:13:01.339 a day. Do you love your God as much as 0:13:01.340 --> 0:13:04.579 the pagan love? Jews pray three times a day. Do 0:13:04.580 --> 0:13:07.420 you love the living God as much as they love 0:13:07.540 --> 0:13:14.860 their god? Mm. Yeah. And so sometimes what happens is 0:13:14.860 --> 0:13:18.220 that we need to understand God saying, Will you obey 0:13:18.220 --> 0:13:21.900 me when it's not easy to obey me when it's 0:13:21.900 --> 0:13:25.060 not comfortable to obey me? Now, now, I went to 0:13:25.100 --> 0:13:28.940 Walmart and got myself a piggy bank. Now, I remember 0:13:28.940 --> 0:13:31.460 in my early 20s I used to keep all my 0:13:31.460 --> 0:13:41.300 change in a purple bag. Oh, okay. I can tell 0:13:43.220 --> 0:13:47.980 who came out of the streets from who just laughed, 0:13:49.500 --> 0:13:53.220 you know. So? So some of some of them weren't. 0:13:53.260 --> 0:13:56.140 Why are they laughing? Somebody holler out what the purple 0:13:56.179 --> 0:14:05.700 bag was. Crown royal. Yeah, but I remember in 1961, 0:14:05.700 --> 0:14:07.420 I was ten years old and my mama gave me 0:14:07.420 --> 0:14:09.620 a piggy bank. Now I got this one. This is different. 0:14:09.620 --> 0:14:11.780 This one has a little thing on the bottom. You 0:14:11.780 --> 0:14:13.820 can pull it out and get the coins. But but 0:14:13.820 --> 0:14:16.140 back in the day is anybody had one like I 0:14:16.140 --> 0:14:18.580 used to have it didn't have this on the bottom. 0:14:18.580 --> 0:14:20.980 How many of you had had a remember that. It 0:14:20.980 --> 0:14:22.900 didn't have that. How would you have to get the. 0:14:22.940 --> 0:14:25.540 Because you yeah you you'd have to bust it. But 0:14:25.580 --> 0:14:28.340 see not from my family. You didn't bust it because 0:14:28.340 --> 0:14:32.260 mama paid for this. Yeah. So you don't bust nothing. 0:14:32.260 --> 0:14:35.500 Mama paid cuz then mama would whip your behind. So 0:14:35.500 --> 0:14:37.140 here's what you would do. You want to get some 0:14:37.140 --> 0:14:38.580 money out of it. What you would do is you 0:14:38.580 --> 0:14:42.340 take it, turn it upside down and you would shake 0:14:42.340 --> 0:14:46.900 it until something came out. See, you got to realize 0:14:46.900 --> 0:14:50.460 that God puts something valuable in every one of you. 0:14:50.500 --> 0:14:53.940 Everybody la dee da dee and everybody, uh, he put 0:14:53.940 --> 0:14:56.020 it in you, and it's not going to come out 0:14:56.060 --> 0:14:58.980 of you very naturally. So sometimes what God has to 0:14:58.980 --> 0:15:03.050 do is turn you upside down and shake it until 0:15:03.050 --> 0:15:07.890 it falls out. Because God knows that unless you turn 0:15:07.890 --> 0:15:11.010 them upside down and shake them, what he put in 0:15:11.010 --> 0:15:14.010 them is not going to come out of them. And therefore, 0:15:14.170 --> 0:15:17.090 what needs to come out of you to prepare you 0:15:17.090 --> 0:15:19.730 for where God is taking you won't come out. And 0:15:19.730 --> 0:15:22.690 so God takes you and shakes you, and out comes 0:15:22.970 --> 0:15:26.210 more faith. God takes you and shakes you, and out 0:15:26.210 --> 0:15:29.650 comes more power. And God takes you and shakes you, 0:15:29.650 --> 0:15:33.690 and out comes mercy and love and grace and peace 0:15:33.690 --> 0:15:37.170 and vision and you, you, yeah, it comes out of you. 0:15:37.170 --> 0:15:39.690 And you think I can't make it? And God says, 0:15:39.690 --> 0:15:41.970 oh yes you can. And it comes out of you, 0:15:41.970 --> 0:15:44.690 I can't take it. And you say, yeah, it's in. 0:15:44.730 --> 0:15:50.330 I didn't know all that was up in me. Come on, 0:15:50.370 --> 0:15:54.090 tell him. Shake me Lord. Tell something come out that 0:15:54.090 --> 0:15:58.290 you put in that I can use to move toward 0:15:58.290 --> 0:16:04.090 what you have for me. Mhm. This thing getting gooder. 0:16:06.170 --> 0:16:08.410 But then notice not just test our faith notice teach 0:16:08.410 --> 0:16:11.410 our endurance. So he says let patience. He's used the 0:16:11.410 --> 0:16:15.090 word twice now in chapter one the word patience is 0:16:15.130 --> 0:16:20.890 hupomone say hupomone. And it literally means huppah. Under Monet 0:16:20.930 --> 0:16:24.370 abide to, abide under. In chapter five, he uses the 0:16:24.370 --> 0:16:27.970 other word macro to me, say macro to me, and 0:16:27.970 --> 0:16:31.810 macro long through me or minded. Now here's what it means. 0:16:32.050 --> 0:16:35.850 He bookends it with patience. In chapter one he says 0:16:35.850 --> 0:16:40.050 you have to be patient in problems. That's hupomone. And 0:16:40.050 --> 0:16:42.690 then he says, I gotta take you to the bigger stuff. 0:16:42.890 --> 0:16:46.250 Chapter five. You gotta be patient with people. And so 0:16:46.290 --> 0:16:51.410 being patient with problems and patience with people, he says, 0:16:51.410 --> 0:16:55.210 to abide under. Why do I need to abide under? 0:16:55.210 --> 0:16:58.650 Because some things that happen to you are actually happening 0:16:58.650 --> 0:17:03.090 for you Sometimes when it looks like things are falling apart, 0:17:03.130 --> 0:17:07.570 things are really falling in place. But you must stand 0:17:07.850 --> 0:17:13.530 your ground. See, God wants you to hold out instead 0:17:13.530 --> 0:17:18.169 of giving out. You gotta stay under it. Let me, 0:17:18.170 --> 0:17:21.690 let me just quote I'd like to read after Pastor Butler. 0:17:21.690 --> 0:17:24.650 Here's what he said. The old tongue in cheek adage, 0:17:24.650 --> 0:17:27.409 I want patience and I want it now reflects the 0:17:27.410 --> 0:17:32.290 difficulty of developing patience. Patience doesn't come overnight and it 0:17:32.290 --> 0:17:37.090 doesn't come without tribulation. He's got book, chapter, verse. You 0:17:37.090 --> 0:17:39.970 know what it is. Anybody know that verse in Romans 0:17:39.970 --> 0:17:46.730 chapter six? That's right. Verse three. Tribulation worketh patience. If 0:17:46.770 --> 0:17:49.970 you've ever prayed for patience, what you said is bring 0:17:49.970 --> 0:17:53.409 me some trouble. I just I read everybody's mind just then. 0:17:53.450 --> 0:17:57.530 I ain't never praying for patience again. Never, never. Yeah, 0:17:57.530 --> 0:18:01.130 that's what you're praying for. four. And so Hebrews 12. 0:18:01.170 --> 0:18:03.810 That's a powerful patient here it says, wherefore, seeing we 0:18:03.850 --> 0:18:06.370 are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, 0:18:06.369 --> 0:18:10.170 let us run with patience the race, that's why. Because 0:18:10.210 --> 0:18:14.650 it's not a 100 yard dash. It's a 26 mile marathon. 0:18:14.810 --> 0:18:17.770 And he's saying, listen. So. So you gotta go for 0:18:17.770 --> 0:18:23.930 the long haul. Yeah. Mhm. See here's what we do. 0:18:23.930 --> 0:18:26.850 We come up with all these excuses about why we 0:18:26.850 --> 0:18:31.330 can't stay under what God is allowing or authorized for 0:18:31.330 --> 0:18:35.330 us to go through. And Romans 12 when it says, 0:18:35.330 --> 0:18:37.450 wherefore seeing we are compassed about with, you know what 0:18:37.450 --> 0:18:41.889 it's all about people who stood, people who stood their ground, 0:18:41.970 --> 0:18:47.170 who did not let any of their circumstances cause them 0:18:47.290 --> 0:18:51.130 to get out from under what God was doing. Okay, 0:18:51.130 --> 0:18:53.850 let me call the roll. Because somebody said I'm too 0:18:53.850 --> 0:18:56.689 old to serve God. You know, I'm to leave it 0:18:56.690 --> 0:19:00.410 to the young folk. I'm just too old to serve God. 0:19:00.530 --> 0:19:03.330 And Moses said, you're never too old to serve God. 0:19:03.609 --> 0:19:06.130 I didn't start my ministry till I was 80. And 0:19:06.130 --> 0:19:08.730 then I served him for 40 years and served him 0:19:08.730 --> 0:19:12.050 until I was 120. How old are you? You're never 0:19:12.050 --> 0:19:15.290 too old. Somebody talking about. Well, well, see, I'm too young. 0:19:15.410 --> 0:19:19.930 You know God can't use me. I'm just too young. And, uh, 0:19:20.010 --> 0:19:23.129 David says I was 17, uh, when the Lord used 0:19:23.130 --> 0:19:26.290 me to defeat Goliath. And Daniel says I was 16 0:19:26.290 --> 0:19:30.290 when I was taken into Babylon, and and and, uh, became, uh, 0:19:30.290 --> 0:19:33.770 a president at an early age, and, and, uh, Josiah 0:19:33.770 --> 0:19:35.890 says I was eight when I came to the throne 0:19:35.930 --> 0:19:39.570 of Israel and started revival. And Jeremiah says, I got 0:19:39.570 --> 0:19:42.209 all y'all beat. I was in my mother's womb. Hey, 0:19:42.410 --> 0:19:46.290 he called me hey in the womb. I gave him 0:19:46.290 --> 0:19:48.649 praise in the womb. I guess you could call that 0:19:48.650 --> 0:19:54.450 prenatal praise. Yeah, yeah. And so here it is. Here 0:19:54.450 --> 0:19:57.330 it is. Somebody said I can't put myself on the 0:19:57.330 --> 0:20:01.409 altar like Romans 12 one and two says, and. And 0:20:01.410 --> 0:20:06.290 Isaac says, I did. I did somebody saying, well, see, 0:20:06.330 --> 0:20:09.490 you don't have baby mama drama and baby daddy drama. 0:20:09.490 --> 0:20:14.770 And Jacob said, tell me about it. Mhm. Yeah. And, 0:20:14.770 --> 0:20:17.969 and so what's going on. I can't serve because I 0:20:17.970 --> 0:20:22.170 was a thought. Mhm. Yeah. And, and Rahab says look 0:20:22.410 --> 0:20:25.250 uh don't let that bother you girlfriend. I ran the 0:20:25.250 --> 0:20:28.090 Best Little Whorehouse in Jericho and I'm in the genealogy 0:20:28.090 --> 0:20:31.730 of Jesus Christ. Mhm. Yeah. And somebody says I was 0:20:31.730 --> 0:20:34.050 too much of a player, and David and Solomon look 0:20:34.090 --> 0:20:38.409 at each other and say wannabe. Somebody says I talk 0:20:38.410 --> 0:20:42.369 too much and I can't back up my claims. And, 0:20:42.369 --> 0:20:46.170 and Peter says, join the club. In other words, they 0:20:46.170 --> 0:20:49.970 could have given up. But they stood. They stood. They 0:20:49.970 --> 0:20:54.010 understood that the struggle that I'm going through is for 0:20:54.010 --> 0:20:57.369 the future. I'm going to, that the struggle is a 0:20:57.369 --> 0:21:00.440 part of making me who I'm going to become. 0:21:02.560 --> 0:21:05.400 You know, God is shaping each one of us according 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:09.320 to his plan. Encouraging biblical thoughts today from Pastor Ford. 0:21:09.520 --> 0:21:12.320 You're listening to treasure Truth and the fact that you're 0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:15.120 listening right now, when you could be doing something else, 0:21:15.359 --> 0:21:17.520 is a good sign that you want to know what 0:21:17.520 --> 0:21:19.760 God has in store for you. 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