S1: God is not trying to change your outcome. He's trying
S1: to change your outlook because he knows if he change
S1: your outlook, he can then change your outcome. See? Because
S1: if you're filled with fret, you can't be filled with faith.
S1: You can't be fretful and faithful at the same time.
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James
S2: Ford Jr, senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago.
S2: I'm Steve Hillard. Glad you're with us as we continue
S2: a message how to stay together when your world is
S2: falling apart. And pastor, honestly, there may be things that
S2: people are going through even today where it feels like
S2: their world is absolutely falling apart. Um, whether, you know,
S2: that's maybe a medical condition or a relationship that's breaking apart,
S2: whatever that may be, they are absolutely rocked. And they
S2: are fretful. In fact, they're so fretful they're having a
S2: hard time getting their eyes off that problem, whatever that
S2: thing is. They say, I want to have that faith,
S2: but I'm struggling to do so right now. You have
S2: a word of encouragement for them today.
S1: Well, uh, the word of encouragement never changes. Uh, what
S1: deals with fret faith? How do you get faith? So
S1: then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word
S1: of God. You need a word from the Lord on
S1: that particular situation, where you have the opportunity to let
S1: the word override what you're going through. And, you know,
S1: fret and faith are like oil and water. Uh, they
S1: can't coexist. And so Hebrews 11 six says, for without
S1: faith it is impossible to please him, for he that
S1: cometh to God must believe two things that he is,
S1: and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
S1: seek him. And what I like about that verse is,
S1: it doesn't say, you even have to find him. It
S1: just says you have to be seeking him and know
S1: that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him.
S1: And so now, rather than allowing my problem to run
S1: after me, I do a reverse and I run after God,
S1: and God will take care of my problem. The first
S1: thing he wants to do is he wants to give
S1: me inner tranquility in the midst of outer turbulence. Remember
S1: what he said to the disciples, the boat was in
S1: the water and they were fearing drowning. And Jesus said,
S1: fear not. 365 fear not. So I didn't count them,
S1: but I heard Doctor David Jeremiah say, there are 365
S1: fear nots in the Bible. Why did he tell them?
S1: Fear not before he calmed the sea. See, he had
S1: to calm the storm on the inside of them before
S1: he calmed the storm on the outside. Why? Because if
S1: he only calmed the storm on the outside, the situation
S1: is gone. But I'm still living it. Yeah. And how
S1: many people have gone through that, Steve? The issue is over.
S1: But you're still suffering from that issue because you don't
S1: have the calmness of heart, the tranquility of heart that
S1: you need in order to have the peace of God
S1: that passeth all understanding.
S2: Well, I think you're talking to a lot of people
S2: who are really identifying with what you're sharing today. So
S2: let's continue this in the book of Philippians. We're in
S2: chapter four looking at verses six and seven as we
S2: continue the message, how to stay together when your world
S2: is falling apart. Here's Pastor Ford.
S1: Now, anytime God commands us, you know what that means.
S1: Bad news. That means we can. That means we can.
S1: So then notice the first part. You stop worrying. I'll
S1: give you peace. So the converse is true. You don't
S1: stop worrying. You can't have my peace. Now, I don't
S1: understand it. Because, God, you know, you command me to
S1: do something. I don't think I can do it. Look,
S1: if I command you to do it, you can do it.
S1: because in the command is inherent, the power to be
S1: able to pull off what I'm commanding you to do.
S1: The power is in the word that's given, and we
S1: talk about it all the time. What's my favorite illustration?
S1: Come on, tell me, Jerry curl juice. Because if you
S1: had a Jerry curl, it wouldn't a Jerry curl till
S1: you put in the activator juice. And so what God
S1: says is you got to take my word. His word
S1: is powerful. Sharper than any two edged sword. Well, how
S1: come it ain't doing you any good? Because you ain't
S1: activated with your faith. Because your faith activates it. Like
S1: Jerry curl juice activated your Jerry curl. And you always
S1: know when you activated your faith. Because you'll leave residue
S1: wherever you are. Hope you got a leather couch. And
S1: so here's my question why start here now? Now. How
S1: many Bible students do I have in here? Because if
S1: you're a Bible school, you'll say, wait, wait wait wait
S1: wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait. He says,
S1: don't worry. Then pray. How come he didn't say pray
S1: and then don't worry. Doesn't that make sense? Pray? If
S1: I pray, then, then I won't worry. But he says
S1: don't worry and then pray. Oh yeah, I see it.
S1: You ever notice that? Most of the time Jesus talked
S1: to his disciples when they have a problem, the first
S1: thing he said is, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid.
S1: Matthew 14. Uh, they're out on the water, and the water, uh,
S1: is doing the nay, nay, boom, boom, boom, boom, breaking
S1: it down. Bring it back up. Boom, boom. Yeah, it's
S1: doing the nay, nay. And these are fishermen. They've been
S1: on this water a long time. Peter, James and Peter
S1: and and Andrew and they're upset. And Jesus come walking
S1: on the water and and they say it's Casper the
S1: Friendly Ghost. He says, no, it's me. Do not be afraid.
S1: In verse 27. Then verse 32 says, he shut the
S1: wind up. Now why didn't he shut the wind up
S1: so that they wouldn't be afraid? Here it is. And
S1: you know it very well, don't you, that Jesus lets
S1: us know. The reason he's telling us this first is
S1: because he has to calm the storm that's on the
S1: inside of us before he calms the storm that's on
S1: the outside of us. Because if he calms the storm,
S1: that's on the outside of us and leaves the storm
S1: that's on the inside of us, that even when he
S1: calms the storm on the outside of us, the storm
S1: on the inside of us is still in us. Here
S1: it is, here it is, here it is. Here it is.
S1: Jesus got to deal with that emotion because you can
S1: be out of the storm, but the storm won't be
S1: out of you. Some of you know it. The thing
S1: that you stressing about and and messed up over happened
S1: years ago. Come The storm is still in you. The
S1: person who did it may be dead, but the storm
S1: is still in you. You still ain't forgiven, daddy. You
S1: still haven't forgiven mama. You haven't forgiven that individual because
S1: the storm is still in you. I heard a person
S1: talking about the fact that, uh, there was a guy
S1: in North Carolina or South Carolina. Uh, he went swimming.
S1: He came back home, and, uh, he died. The coroner
S1: said he drowned. They called it a dry drowning because
S1: when he was there, he swallowed some water in the
S1: pool that didn't go into his lungs until he he
S1: he went to sleep and he drowned. And he wasn't
S1: in the pool. He was out of it, but it
S1: wasn't out of him. Whole lot of people like that.
S1: Whole lot of people. So this text says, listen, stop worrying,
S1: then go to prayer. Why? So that when we go
S1: to God, we go as a victor and not a victim.
S1: That you and I realize that you can't be faithful
S1: and fretful at the same time. That that there are
S1: some people who understand God does not respond to your need.
S1: God responds to your faith. And you going all tore
S1: up from the floor up talking about God. And he says, okay,
S1: everybody got needs. Let me see your faith now. You
S1: don't believe it. I hate to get the Bible in this.
S1: Hebrews 11 six, for without faith it is impossible to
S1: please him, for he that cometh to him must believe
S1: that he is, and that he is a rewarder of
S1: them that diligently seek him. See, you ain't even got
S1: to find him. All you gotta do be looking for him. Yeah,
S1: and what is that? Faith. Verse one. Faith is the
S1: substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen.
S1: It is beyond the five senses. We walk by faith,
S1: not by sight. Say, what are you talking about? Let
S1: me see if I can get you to understand it.
S1: My mama was a sure enough cook. She could put
S1: her foot in it. Her boots, her shoes, everything. And, uh,
S1: you know, mama made everything from scratch. I never saw
S1: her with a measuring cup, a teaspoon thing. Mama, just.
S1: Mama just said, give me a pinch of this. Pinch
S1: of that. She did this, that and that. She just
S1: took a couple cups of this. Cup of that. Mama,
S1: what's the recipe? I don't know, I just do it.
S1: I ain't had bread pudding like mama since mama died.
S1: Because everybody talk to us of how you make bread pudding.
S1: They say, well, you knead bread. I say, look at that.
S1: You start off wrong. You don't need bread. I remember
S1: the first time I found out, uh, this bread had molded.
S1: So I got ready to throw it out. Mama said,
S1: don't you throw that out. Uh, I said, what you
S1: going to do with that? I'm gonna make bread pudding.
S1: I don't want none of it. That green stuff all
S1: over it. Look. Look here. My mama took that moldy
S1: bread and made some bread pudding, boy, that'll make you
S1: want to slap her. Of course, I wasn't raised that way. Yeah.
S1: Look what she did. She took something that everybody else
S1: throws away, and she mixed it together and made it
S1: something that was edifying. I'm telling you, if my mama
S1: can do it. What do you think God is talking about?
S1: Don't be anxious for anything. But in everything with prayer
S1: and supplication, let your request be made. In other words,
S1: what God says is this. He says, listen, I'm able
S1: to do it. Let me tell you what. Let me
S1: tell you what we do. And so eight pair of
S1: eyes would be looking around, uh, because mama would be
S1: cooking pound cake, and she mixed it up, and she
S1: put the batter in, and, uh, we'd be waiting on
S1: the bowl. And so we wait on the bowl, and
S1: we knew we better not fight, because she's right there.
S1: And she. She made 3 or 4, uh, cake pans
S1: of of pound cake. She put them in the oven.
S1: Then we get the bowl, we be licking the bowl.
S1: It'd be all over our face, all over everywhere. I
S1: remember since I was the oldest, I used to go
S1: to my brother. I said, uh, he said, man, leave
S1: mine alone. That's for me to get, not you. And
S1: we lick that thing clean. But let me tell you something.
S1: Faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence
S1: of things not seen. See, the batter was the substance.
S1: The batter was the evidence of that not seen. We
S1: then switched our view from the bowl to the oven.
S1: Now the batter was good. All over our face, all
S1: over our hand. But the best was yet to come.
S3: Yeah, yeah.
S1: That's it. That's what I came to tell you. The
S1: best is yet to come. That we won about 500
S1: souls last year. But the best is yet to come.
S1: We fed over 7500 folk last year, but the best
S1: is yet to come. And so we minister to people.
S1: We witness the people we gave, we sacrificed. But the
S1: best is yet to come, because faith is the substance
S1: of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
S1: The things we haven't seen are what we did last year.
S1: Can I make it plain? Say, make it plain. That
S1: was the batter. That was the batter.
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James
S2: Ford Jr. A message how to stay together when your
S2: world is falling apart. And we'll continue this teaching in
S2: just a moment. Now, maybe you've been listening to Treasure
S2: Truth for a while now, and something that Pastor Ford
S2: has said has raised a question. Or you have a
S2: question about what it means to live a faithful Christian
S2: life in this world. Well, you can always ask your question.
S2: You can send a note through our website. Just come
S2: to Treasure Truth radio.org. Click on the contact link. You
S2: can ask your question. Maybe we'll answer that in a
S2: future broadcast, or you can just give us some feedback. Again,
S2: come to our website, npr.org and click on the contact link.
S2: We'll make sure that Pastor Ford does hear from you.
S2: Let's get back to the message once again. Here is
S2: Pastor Ford.
S1: Now look what God is doing. Be anxious for nothing. Wait.
S1: Have you noticed yet, my Bible scholars, that God hasn't
S1: said anything about answering any prayer? Well, then, what's he
S1: trying to do? Glad you asked. You ask intelligent questions.
S1: God is not trying to change your outcome. He's trying
S1: to change your outlook because he knows if he change
S1: your outlook, he can then change your outcome. See? Because
S1: if you're filled with fret, you can't be filled with faith.
S1: You can't be fretful and faithful at the same time.
S1: It's like oil and water. Jesus said it in Matthew
S1: chapter six. He said, don't worry. Three times he said
S1: the same word. Marina. Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry.
S1: In Matthew six, beginning at 19 all the way to 33.
S1: And you know what he did? He gave some reasons
S1: why you shouldn't worry. I'm just going to drop em.
S1: I'm not going to push em. I just want you
S1: to hear it. In Matthew six, you can find these
S1: in Matthew 619 through 33. Here's the reasons. Number one,
S1: he says, don't worry, because it shows a preoccupation with
S1: material things that divides your spiritual focus 19 through 24.
S1: Then secondly, he says it violates the explicit command of God,
S1: like this one where he says, don't worry, that's verse 25.
S1: He says, life is more than just physical needs. That's
S1: why you shouldn't worry. Then he says, fourthly, you are
S1: valuable in God's eyes. Don't worry. Then he says, fifthly,
S1: God will faithfully provide what you need. Don't worry. Then
S1: he says, sixthly if you worry, it demonstrates a lack
S1: of faith in God. Seventh, he said, it reveals a
S1: pagan mentality toward life. Uh, no spiritual comprehension. Uh, then
S1: he says, uh, number eight, you're bringing tomorrow's troubles into today, then?
S1: Number nine, it demonstrates a need for your recommitment to God.
S1: And then he says, number ten. Don't worry. Because why?
S1: You worry about tomorrow when it ain't promised to you. Mm.
S1: And so, listen, if you want Christ's peace to supersede
S1: all your problems, listen to how Peter put it. Cast
S1: all your cares upon him because he cares for you.
S1: Cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you.
S1: With the word cast mean, the word cast is a
S1: powerful word. I wish I had something up here, because
S1: what I would do is I would just. I would
S1: just sit down, almost. I just plop it, I plop it,
S1: then I ask Pastor Green to come up and say,
S1: plop it down to let's stand up. Let's plop it
S1: down together. Uh, then then I, then I'd ask, uh,
S1: Dick to come on over and I say, come on,
S1: Deacon Merriweather, plop it down. And then we all three
S1: plop it down, plop it down, plop it down. It's
S1: going to hold us. You want to know why? That's
S1: what it was designed to do. Cast all your cares
S1: on him because he cared for his. Here's the next one.
S1: Here's the next one. The requirements. You must exercise. The
S1: requirements you must exercise. You notice what he says. He
S1: says be anxious for nothing. But in everything, with prayer
S1: and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known
S1: unto God. Now let's go back to Peter. See if
S1: I can get you to understand this text. When Peter
S1: was in prison, what happened? He was asleep, but he
S1: got liberated. How did he get liberated? The angel fetched
S1: Peter out of prison, but prayer fetched the angel. Now
S1: he had to do some things. There are requirements that
S1: had to be met. What were the requirements? You look
S1: at the text in acts 12. I ain't got time
S1: to go there. But here's what. Here's what the angel said.
S1: Angel said, wake up. And then Peter had to look up.
S1: Then the angel said, get up, dress up, hurry up.
S1: He had to do what was necessary to be liberated.
S1: His deliverance was there. He had to act on it.
S1: I think some of you need to do the same thing.
S1: Wake up, look up, get up, dress up and hurry up.
S1: That's what he did. And and and listen. He does
S1: it all the time. I, I had somebody that we're
S1: going to do something for me. And I said, praise
S1: the Lord. And they they had some requirements. They said,
S1: before I even do this, you got to take care
S1: of everything that's involved. You got to make ministry conducive
S1: for my success. I said, I don't got a problem
S1: with that. So we sat down and I said, what
S1: does it take to make you successful? And all of
S1: it made sense. And so I had Sister Goza put
S1: it in the document and she put it in the document.
S1: He said, okay, I'm not going to start until you
S1: give me the document. And so I had my secretary
S1: send the document. He called me up. He said, look,
S1: I can't do this. You ain't send me the document.
S1: I said, oh, man, you didn't get it, did you?
S1: Look in your spam. Yeah, I looked in my spam.
S1: I said, okay, okay, well, let me call my call
S1: my secretary. You didn't send the document. I told you
S1: over a week ago. I sent the document over a
S1: week ago, the same day you told me to send it. Well,
S1: he said he didn't get it. Well, I can show
S1: you where I sent it. Okay. Did you get the document? No. Okay.
S1: Send it to him again. Send it to him again
S1: a week later. I still didn't get the document. What
S1: do you mean you don't get the document? You send
S1: the document. I send the document. He doesn't get it.
S1: So he says, you know what? I can't start this.
S1: The first of the year. I said, I understand, I understand.
S1: I said, tell me your email address again. And he
S1: gave me his email address. He had texted me and
S1: I saved it because I wanted to show it to him.
S1: He had texted me and in instead of an m.
S1: Now get this. I had what was what he wanted
S1: and what was necessary and what he asked for three
S1: weeks before he needed it and sent it to him
S1: before he needed it. But he didn't get it. Not
S1: because I messed up, but because he messed up. I'm
S1: submitting to you that maybe you'll go through this year
S1: and not get anything you ask God for because you
S1: didn't meet the requirements. You say they're required. Yes, there
S1: are requirements. Let me give you a couple examples. Uh,
S1: John 911 A blind man wants to be healed. Jesus
S1: spits on the ground, makes a mud pie, puts it
S1: on the eye. Some of y'all would have never been
S1: healed because as soon as y'all heard him spit. Uh
S1: uh uh uh. What are you doing with that? He
S1: making he making a mud pie. Wait, wait. We put
S1: it on my eyes. No, no, no. Yeah. And a
S1: lot of you miss your miracle because it didn't come
S1: like you want it to come. Mhm. And so what happens.
S1: He says go to the pool of Siloam. Here's my question.
S1: Did he have to do something. What. Go to the
S1: Pool of Siloam. Okay. What about. What about Bartimaeus. He's
S1: blind and he hollers out Jesus, thou son of David!
S1: Help me! And they said, shut up, the haters. And
S1: then Jesus said, tell them to come to me. And
S1: then blind Bartimaeus comes to Jesus. Now, here's my question.
S1: He could have said, is he crazy? I'm the one
S1: that's blind. He ought to be coming to me. Now, remember,
S1: was there a crowd around? Jesus. You think they parted
S1: like the Red sea and let that man through? No.
S1: That man had to plow his way through the crowd
S1: to come to Jesus. He was blind. And the Bible
S1: says he threw away his blanket. Now you think it's
S1: just a warm receiving blanket? No, because in that day
S1: you had to have a blanket that told what your
S1: what your infirmity was. So, uh, just say hypothetically, he
S1: had a blue blanket because blind people had to get
S1: permission to beg and their blankets were blue, so everybody
S1: knew they could see you far off. You were blind
S1: or you were crippled or you were this he threw
S1: it away, understanding that it took blind faith to believe
S1: that Jesus Christ would make that blanket unnecessary. Mm. What
S1: about Luke 1714? Ten lepers. Jesus said, go show yourself
S1: to the priest. Here's what gets me. It says as
S1: they went, they didn't even get there. They just turned
S1: to go in the direction that Jesus wanted them to go.
S1: and they were healed.
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford. A message
S2: called How to stay together when Your World is Falling Apart. Really?
S2: A message from Philippians chapter four today. And we're going
S2: to continue this teaching next time. But maybe you already
S2: know that you can't be listening to the radio. For
S2: our next broadcast, you can always hear Pastor Ford's teaching
S2: each and every day by coming to our website. It's
S2: Treasure Truth radio.org. You can download MP3. You can stream
S2: the program through your computer or mobile device, or you
S2: can order copies of this broadcast on CD. Again, you'll
S2: find those links at Treasure Truth radio.org. A couple other
S2: ways that you can listen. Well. One would be to
S2: podcast this program. Another download the Moody Radio app. Both
S2: the podcast and the app are free, and it really
S2: makes it convenient for you to listen whenever it fits
S2: your schedule. And if you have the app, not only
S2: can you listen to this Bible teaching program, but other
S2: programs produced by Moody Radio or music streaming stations. You
S2: can find a link to download the app when you
S2: come to Treasure Truth Radio.com. Look for the bar on
S2: the homepage that says Stay Connected. In addition to a
S2: link to the app, we'll also link you to our
S2: Facebook page, our Twitter feed, and a lot more. And
S2: if you've not been to the website recently, I do
S2: hope you'll stop by there. You can check out the
S2: books that Pastor Ford has written, see the different titles
S2: available as a paperback or in an e-book format by
S2: clicking on the link that says Books by Pastor Ford.
S2: There's that and a lot more when you come to
S2: treasure Truth Radio. Well, I want to thank you for
S2: listening today. Hope you make it a point to tune
S2: in for our next broadcast as we continue this study
S2: from Philippians chapter four. Thanks also to our producer, Amy Rios,
S2: for our Bible teacher, Pastor Ford, I'm Steve Hiller. Treasure
S2: truth is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of
S2: Moody Bible Institute.