Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And so what does faith do? Give you insight into foresight. Like it's hindsight. In other words, he's going to let you know what your future is going to be.
You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford Jr, senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. I'm Steve Hiller. Glad you're with us today as we begin a message entitled Faith for Your Future. And, pastor, I know a lot of people who heard what they just heard say, oh cool, God is going to give me insight into what's coming ahead. How is he going to do that, though? I want to know what my future's going to be. How do I get God to tell me that?
Well, the best way is through prayer and the word of God. So, you know, I always quote the venerable scholar Doctor Warren Wiersbe. He said it. Everybody uses it doesn't give him credit for it, but he said it first. When I opened the Bible, God opens his mouth. And when I closed the Bible, God closes his mouth. That's a powerful, powerful statement. That's tweetable. You gotta tweet it right now. You ought to get on put it on Facebook, Instagram. That's a great quote. And so God speaks to us
through his word. And so we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who sensitizes us to the Holy Scriptures to turn us into a holy servant. We have the mind of Christ. We need to feed it, program that computer the mind of Christ, and it gives us perception. And that perception then is turned into footsteps. It's Proverbs chapter three five and six. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct
your path. Here it is real quick. The word direct has a primary, secondary and tertiary meaning primary. We hear it all the time. He will guide you. Yeah, but the secondary and the tertiary, meaning we very rarely hear secondary meaning, removing obstacles. So he says, I'm guiding you. There's an obstacle in the way. When there's an obstacle, stop. Don't try to move it yourself. God says I will move the obstacle. And in the tertiary, meaning is to
get one to their desired goal. So that's a powerful promise. And so I can be confident of this very thing that he who has begun a good work in me shall perform it until the day of Christ. I'm confident you have to walk by faith. Sure, you have to do it.
Yeah. And so I'm thinking of the person listening today who says, okay, uh, I think God has this for me. Whether that's a future spouse, maybe a certain job. Uh, you know, whatever that thing may be, maybe they've had trouble having kids. And, you know, I believe God is going to give me a kid. How do you know when God is saying no or no? It's going to be a long time.
And he will speak to us through those same meetings.
Those same meetings.
Okay. Yeah. Through prayer, through the Word of God. See, see, God speaks to us in so many different ways, the circumstances of life. He can do it supernaturally. If you're married, he'll speak through your spouse. He'll speak through saints and circumstances. And so God speaks in various ways. But how do I get to know his voice? Anybody ever call you and you talk to them and then you say, uh, but who is this?
Yeah.
You see, if you're accustomed to communing with God, you'll be able to distinguish his voice.
Yeah, well, good reminder that we need to get into his word. So let's do that right now. Philippians chapter one. As we begin a message, faith for your future, here's Pastor Ford.
Uh, little Joey was excited about going fishing with his dad, and, uh, he had gone plenty of times before, but he never caught anything. And, uh, being a Christian young man, he decided, well, this time I'm going to pray, and I know I'm going to catch fish because God will answer prayer. And so that night, he they could hear him all over the house as he was talking to God and asking God to allow him to catch some fish when Him
and his dad went fishing in the morning. And so they got up early in the morning, and to his chagrin, it was raining. I mean, it was raining buckets. It was a downpour. And his father heard him say, God, I'm disappointed in you. I wanted to go fishing and you let it rain. I asked for sunshine and you let it rain. His father said, come on, son, we're going anyway. And he said, dad, in all this rain, he said, we're going to starve rock. It's not going
to be raining when we get there. And sure enough, as they went, the rain was subsiding. By the time they got there. The rain was over. Young man took his rod, threw it into the water and boom, hit a fish. And the fish was that big? Well, no, it was that big. No, it was that big. Anybody ever go fishing before? Yeah, it was that big. And not only did he catch fish, he caught a bunch of fish. And he was saying, dad, I don't understand. And his dad said, son, I heard what you said
to the Lord. And what you didn't realize was this. That he did answer your prayer because the downpour of rain was so heavy, it was knocking bugs out of the sky. And when the bugs landed on the face of the water, the fish who were normally down deep, come up to eat the bugs and they're able to see your worms, and it's a better deal for them. And that's why you caught all those fish. He was embarrassed, like some of us need to be when it rains
on our parade. And he said, and his father heard him saying, Jesus, forgive me for being grumpy because I couldn't see far enough ahead to know what would happen after the rain. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Little Johnny's not the only one with that problem, because I came to talk to some people. It's raining right now. It's raining. It's raining. It's raining. Right? Y'all don't even recognize the song. I know you didn't recognize it. Uh, it's raining right now,
and you're wondering. God, what in the world are you doing? I'm praying for sunshine, and it's not happening. I'm praying for a job. I'm praying for a boo. I'm praying for healing. And all I'm getting is all this downpour of rain. And God sent me to tell you today that you gotta look beyond the storm to see what's going to happen after the rain stops. Yeah, yeah. Paul said the Philippians had it just like little Joey. They were looking at the problem the wrong way. Now you
know the content of the context of this. You know what this book is all about. This book is all about Paul being where prison Paul's in the joint, and it's not three hots and a cot. As a matter of fact, if you were in prison back then, if your family didn't provide for you, you would starve to death. Boy, if that happened today. Lord have mercy. And so he didn't commit a misdemeanor or a felony. Uh, he. I told you before, he didn't miss a child support payment.
He wasn't in there for violating his order of protection. It wasn't for pushing crack. It was for preaching Christ. Alright. Paul literally went to jail for being a Christian. I gotta ask that age old question. If you were put in jail for being a believer, would there be enough evidence to convict you at the trial? Yes. Most of us would hear Johnnie Cochran saying, if it doesn't fit, you must acquit. Yeah, it don't fit. Yeah, it don't fit because you don't read your Bible, not even a verse.
A day to keep the devil away. It doesn't fit. Yeah. You don't pray. You. I know you don't come to prayer meeting. A man don't come to Bible study. Don't serve, don't tithe. Yes. If it doesn't fit, you must acquit. I know you heard the story about the lady who was falsely arrested. And she was upset at the officer. When he came, he said, ma'am, I'm so sorry I arrested you, and. And I just didn't know. I just
didn't know. I'm sorry for the mistake. He said. I saw you flipping the finger at the guy behind you, and you were calling him everything but a child of God. Then I looked at your car and I saw the Choose Life license plate holder. The vanity plates that said Jesus is number one. I saw the chrome plated fish emblem. I saw ww d on the left bumper. And follow me to Sunday school on the right bumper. And I just assumed you had stolen that car. So Paul's in prison,
and it's the first Roman imprisonment. And the Philippian saints are sad about it, but Paul is glad about it. It's called the Epistle of Joy. 18 times in four chapters. Joy, joy, joy, joy, joy. And so we see him in all of the chapters. You remember this in chapter one. He's rejoicing in the service of Christ. Chapter two he's rejoicing in the selflessness of Christ. In chapter three, he's rejoicing in the sufferings of Christ. And in chapter four he's rejoicing in the
sufficiency of Christ. And so Paul is the apostle of joy. I'm in the middle of it. I'm in the middle of it, but in the middle of it I'm raising my hand. In the middle of it. I'm doing my dance in the middle of it. I'm saying hallelujah. In the middle of it. I'm praising God because I'm just in the middle of it. And so what happens? You know, now Paul's not he's not saying, you know, just act as if nothing ever happened. No, he's not saying that we are to be sober minded, but to many of
us are sober faced. Alright. Well, I haven't seen, uh, Elder Strader more joy at a funeral service than I've seen in some worship services. Yeah. I mean, you you ever see him? Uh, they they blow up like a bullfrog. Look, like they got something in their mouth, and it's nasty, and they can't spit it out. They just hold it. No, this is the epistle of joy. Paul is christocentric, and we ought to be, too. Everything ought to be about Jesus. You get a raise at the job. Thank you. Jesus.
You see a fool. Lord Jesus, don't let that fool come around me. Yeah. You meet somebody who piques your interest. Lord, please let them be saved, sanctified and heterosexual. Because nowadays you can't tell. You look at them and and and I have done it. You know, I've made some big mistakes as a pastor. Let me tell you my first one. Uh, sister and we're in the old sanctuary. Didn't see a little more than a hundred people. And, uh, it was just a just a blessing to get a visitor. And, uh,
this sister came. She was visiting, and I said to her, I said, thank you for visiting with us today. By the way, how many months pregnant are you? Never saw her again because she said, I ain't pregnant. Yeah, yeah. Big mistake, big mistake. And I'll tell you another one I made, uh, when I said, uh oh, introduce me to your sister. That ain't my sister. That's my mama. Yeah, well, you know. Hey, what can I say?
You're listening to Treasure Truth with a guy who apparently will put his foot in his mouth. That's pastor and author James Ford Jr. A message called Faith for Your Future. Really? A look at Philippians chapter one today. If you ever miss a broadcast, you can always catch up when you come to our website. Treasure Truth Radio org stream programs, download mp3's, or even order copies of this broadcast on CD. Again, that's at Treasure Truth radio. Org. Once again, here is Pastor Ford.
See, you say you love Jesus, but let me remind you that Satan doesn't care if you have Jesus on your lips as long as you got hell on your mind. Mhm. And so Paul was addicted to Jesus. He was a Jesus addict. So the Philippian saints are heartbroken about Paul's incarceration, and they're acting like little Johnny, help me preach this. Look at your neighbor and say, neighbor, neighbor. How you
see the problem may be the problem. Yeah. How you see the problem may be because here what Paul is teaching. Get this. If you don't get anything else, he's saying, my problem is my platform. He said it's not an accident. It's an appointment that you're looking at me and you think I'm on trial, but it's actually a trust and that it's not misery. I'm doing ministry. And so his
perspective about what he's going through is different. In other words, Paul says, everybody in here ought to view your circumstances as a call, that you ought to view your opposition as an opportunity, that you ought to view your pain as a platform for what, pastor for glad you asked. You ask intelligent questions. You view your circumstances as a call to preach Christ. You view your opposition as an opportunity to pioneer Christ, and you view your pain as
a platform to prioritize Christ. Paul is saying, listen, I don't have control over my circumstances, but I do have control over the cause that my circumstances are about. Alright, let me say that again. I don't have control over my circumstances, but I do have a cause in my circumstances. Man, I'm so glad for Jimmy. Not just singing, but, uh, I shared it this morning. He said, uh, I gotta tell you, like Paul Harvey, let me give you the
rest of the story. He gave me the whole story. Uh, Oscar De La Hoya, they call him the Golden boy. Used to be a great boxer. Now, uh, he's a promoter now. But anyway, he was on the freeway, and he was driving in the fast lane, and all of a sudden, the wheels on his Mercedes Benz locked up. And when the wheels of his Mercedes Benz locked up, he got hit from behind. And so he pulled over to the side and he always carried his cell phone,
but he didn't have it. And so there was a payphone, and he went to the payphone, only to hear crash. An 18 Wheeler had ran over his Mercedes Benz, and when he was sharing it, he started talking about the fact that here I thought wheels locked up, hit in the back, don't have my cell phone, but if I had any of those things, I would have been in my vehicle and I would have been run over. See how you see the problem sometimes is the problem, and you need to understand that God wants to do the
same in your life. As a matter of fact, Jimmy told me that after that he didn't drive himself anymore. He gets chauffeured around. Mhm. That's pretty good stuff. And so you need trust for your trials in the present. But you need faith for your future. Why. There's three reasons in this text. Here's what I'm going to give you I'm going to drop them. I'm not going to push them. He says in verse 19. You need faith for your future. Reason number one faith for your future.
How do you get it? You need enlightenment by Christ's purpose for your life. Secondly, you need to be emboldened by Christ's people's prayers to your life. And then thirdly, and finally, he says, you get to be empowered by Christ's provision in your life. So he says, it's all about faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And so what is my definition? Here? It is. Faith gives you what? Come on, say it with me. Insight into foresight. Like a science.
Like what does faith do? Give you insight into foresight. Like what does faith do? Give you insight into foresight like it's hindsight. In other words, he's going to let you know what your future is going to be. And so let's look at what Paul says. Reason number one. He says, here's here's how you get faith for the future. You have to be enlightened by Christ's purpose for your life. Listen to what he says, for I know that this
shall turn to my salvation. Now I need to tell you the word know is from the Greek word oida say oida. It literally means to know comprehensively. It means to know without a shadow of a doubt. It means full, accurate knowledge. So then Paul says, I'm in prison, but I will be set free. That prison is not prison, because whom the son sets free is free indeed. So I may be locked up, but I'm not locked out of Jesus Christ. See? Paul expected to be free. Let
me read verse 26 to you. That you're rejoicing. There it is again. I want you to have joy. Wait a minute. Joy. Now may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. See what he said? I'm coming again. I'm not in here to stay. I'm just passing through. And so you need to understand it. Let me bottom line it for you. Because I know you see, I thought you said you're going to. Bottom line, I am. Here's what Paul is
saying where I am is not where I'm going. Therefore, since I know that where I am will not affect where I'm going, where I am will not stop me from where I'm going. So what I'm going through now cannot hinder me from getting to where God is going to take me. Let me say it this way. Too many people let their history mess up their destiny. Mm. See, some of you, your past is too active in your present, and it's hindering your future. Y'all ain't going to pray
with me, okay? I really gotta get. I gotta get plain for some of you. See? Uh, you with Little Willie? Physically. But you still with Pookie emotionally? You ain't been with Pookie in two years, but you tore up from the floor up. Got your mind all messed up emotionally. You know what I'm talking about. You're with Shaquita, but you're making her pay for what Bianca did to you. Oh, y'all ain't going to pray with me up in here. You got hurt at the old church, and now you
sitting back won't tithe or serve in the new church. Mhm. Mhm. Yeah. See, the old boss was nasty. Now you won't give the new boss a chance. Mhm. Paul was saying my pain is a platform to my purpose. Hey listen don't let the devil put a period where God has put a comma. Because I tell you I've seen it so many times when the devil says the end. God says to be continued. Okay, let me, let me, let me show you some. Let me show you something. Let me show you something. Turn
to Luke. Turn to Luke. Turn to Luke. Luke. Chapter 22. Let me show you something here. This thing. This thing rocks me every time I look at it. Luke 22. Listen to what it says in Luke 22, verse 31. Listen to this. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brothers. And he said, Lord, I am ready to
go with thee, both into prison and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before thou shalt thrice deny that thou knoweth me. Now you know what's going on here. We talked about it Wednesday night, that that we talked about. We're talking about something else. And we said, Peter is an example of people who deny what they will do. Uh, in other words, Peter was serious. Peter didn't know that betrayal was in him. And he even told Jesus, uh,
you don't know what you're talking about. So what is this? Peter's failure. He failed him. He's going to abandon him. He's going to deny Christ. But wait a minute. Look at verse 3029 and I appoint unto you a kingdom as to my father, as my father hath appointed to me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. What did Jesus just tell the disciples? Was Peter included in this? Okay, now get this. Here it is,
verse 31. You're going to fail me. Verse 30. Let me tell you your future. I'm going to tell you your future before I tell you your failure. Why, Jesus? Because your failure is what is. Your future is what shall be. So I'm going to tell you what shall be before what is. So that whenever what is happened, you won't focus in on what is. You'll focus on what shall be, that your failure will not stop you, that your failure will not cause you to say, I know he can't use me anymore. I done messed up
too many times I messed. No, no, get yourself up, pick yourself up and start walking. Jesus is able to restore you. He's able to give you another chance. What are you talking about? Second chance? No. We are way beyond that. Yes.
Pastor and author James Ford Jr, directing us to keep our eyes on the promises that we have in Christ. Our message is called faith for your future. And you're listening to Treasure Truth. You know, when we realize that God has given us so many chances and continues to work with us even after we mess up time and time again, the only appropriate response is to share the good news with others. But as anyone who's tried this knows,
sharing the gospel isn't always easy. You know some people will be open to the message, but many will be skeptical and raise objections. And it's important for us to know how to answer those with biblical truth. In the book. Had a Witness to anyone. Ari Torrey provides Bible verses for almost any occasion to equip and strengthen you to
share the gospel. Doctor Torrey was an evangelist and a Bible teacher who traveled the world at the turn of the last century, and over the years he collected scripture passages that were helpful in sharing the gospel. The result is a practical book and we want you to have a copy. It's called How to Witness to Anyone. Request your copy when you give a gift of any amount to treasure truth. Call us at 888644 7660 or go online to Treasure Truth Radio.com. It's your financial support that
makes this ministry possible. So thanks in advance for your generous donation. Again, our number is 888 644 7660. And our website is Treasure Truth Radio. I'm Steve Hiller, our producer is Amy Rios. Join us again tomorrow as we continue this message of faith for your future. That's here on Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford. A production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.