When you understand that there's significance in your suffering, it'll turn fear into faith. It'll turn sighing into singing. It'll turn doubting into dancing. It'll turn worrying into worship. It'll turn trying into trusting. You will know what God is doing.
Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, junior senior pastor of Christ Bible Church in Chicago. I'm Steve Hillard. Glad that you've joined us today as we continue a message. Have no fear. God is here. Pastor, want to pick up on something you said a moment ago? You said when you understand that there's significance in your suffering, it will turn fear into faith. When we're in the midst of suffering, though, it can be hard to see
any significance in that because it just hurts. So how do we find significance in the midst of suffering?
Well, we have to believe, first of all, in the sovereignty of our God, that God never allows anything to happen to us. That is not going to benefit some kind of way, that it will benefit us, it will benefit him, it will benefit somebody else. We never know until he reveals it to us. But we have to have that mindset that says, I know that God is sovereign. So job one and two, the devil comes and wants to destroy him, and God puts limits on him. And
so he puts a restraining order on the devil. He puts an ankle bracelet around him and says, you can only go this far. You can only do this. That's the sovereignty of God in the midst of our suffering. And whenever we we begin to understand that, we know that what the Bible says is true. James says it this way. He says, my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations. Knowing this, there's the
understanding that the trying of your faith works. Patience. But let patience have her perfect work that you may be complete and entire, lacking nothing. See, he's saying, listen, God's not wasting anything. He's kind of like my mama was. You know, she would make chicken and peas and carrots. And then the next day, you know, the leftovers. She put some cream over them and say, mama, what's this? This is chicken classic or chicken a la king. She'd always put some kind of big name on it, you know,
and we realize it's just leftovers from yesterday. And God takes that pain, that suffering, the leftover things in our life. And he makes them supreme, Allah king. And we can go back because hindsight's 2020. We can go back and look at certain areas, things that we went through, the pain and all those things we didn't like. Right. But we'd have to admit the only reason we are where we are is because of what God allowed us to go through, and where he brought us from.
Yeah, very often it is the most painful circumstances of life where we recognize the fact that we truly do need God. That maybe we've been trying to do things in our own power, and we've got to totally turn it all over to him.
Yeah, well, what do you do when you're like Joseph? He didn't suffer for his sake. He suffered for whole nations sake, right? Yeah. So, you know, we focus on the palace when we should be focusing on the purpose. God says I sent him ahead and they hurt him. Put him in chains. But he preserved my people.
Yeah, well, as you pointed out just a few moments ago, at the beginning of this conversation, we really have to believe and trust in that sovereignty of God. And when we do, we can see the significance in that suffering. We're going to look at that a little bit further in today's message. So join us in Isaiah 43 as we continue. Have no fear. God is here. Here's pastor Ford.
Everything that happened to you. God allowed it for a purpose. Amen. Wait a minute. You. You're. Rape. Murder. I didn't say he did it because he didn't do it. The devil did it. Yeah. No, no, no, God does not do evil. James 113. But he does allow it. Why? Because he's sovereign. So everything that happens, God allowed it. He has a purpose. And we need to go through the pain trying to find the purpose. Why God? Or what are you trying to do in this situation? Now get this. Let me.
Let me show you real quick. Use myself as an example. I have two boys. They got nine kids, and both of my boys take care of their children. And, uh, I began to say, okay, God, what's the outcome of this thing? Because one of the things that that I really grew very belligerent about is that I didn't have a dad. In hindsight, I share some of that stuff with you. Uh, you know how I beat up a guy who had his father at the parent teacher meeting
and and don't know why? And then later on, I realize it's because his dad was always there for him, and I didn't have one. And I was jealous of the fact that he had a father, and I didn't. And, uh, I began to say, okay, look at what God did. Because I didn't have a father, because I didn't have a father. I got saved because my oldest son became the catalyst to my salvation. When my wife said to me, okay, what about Jay? And I had said I'd never abandon
my children. Now, here I was, getting ready to do the same thing to my son that my dad did to me, and God used it to bring me under conviction and to bring us to Jesus Christ, both on the same night.
Wow. Amen, Amen.
And then I raised my boys, and I was with them. And and she she didn't have to go to school. I went to school, and she didn't have to do any. I did, I did, I did, I did it, and I tell her, my boys, I said, you know what? I really admire you as fathers? You guys are good fathers. And, uh, my youngest baby boy, y'all know it. It ain't no secret. He he got four baby mama. And then he finally got his life together and said, I'm going to marry
the one I love. But all through coming up, even when he didn't have a job, he borrowed money to make sure his children were taken care of. And I said to him, I said, I said, I admire you because you went to school. You went to. And he wrote me a letter that brought me to tears every time I read it. It reduces me to tears. And he just basically said, dad, you always telling me I'm
such a wonderful father. He said, dad, the bottom line is the reason I'm a wonderful father and the reason I went to school with all of my children, because you came to school for us. The reason why I do what I do is because of the example that you set as a father, and then he would always put a caveat. He said he said dad. And and always both of them have said it to me and it always just I, I am asking God, make me
as much man as my father. And I go back and I have to say, in the midst of everything, I give thanks. I hated the fact that I didn't have a father. I wanted a father so bad that every man that would show me attention, I would cling to him like he was my father. And they would say.
Would you leave me alone?
And now I realize that the lack of a father spurred me on to salvation and to be a good father. And now I see my children loving their children like I love them.
Yeah.
I don't know what you're going through. I don't know who this is for. I just came to tell you. All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and those who are the called according to it. Are you going through it right now. You don't think that God is with you, but God hasn't abandoned you. Because even when you don't walk faithful with him, he says, yet I remain faithful. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Lord, I'm with you always, even until the
end of the age. Thank God, thank God, thank God. Thank God.
Amen, Amen.
For somebody who loves me with a. Never tell them I'm with you. I'm there with you I formed you. Now I know what you're thinking. Why does he use Jacob in Israel? It's very simple. Jacob is his old name. Israel is his new name. Jacob is his name. Under justification. He needs to be saved. Uh, but how many know? Just being saved, is not it? You gotta surrender. And so Israel is the name of surrender. So remember what happened? Uh, he wrestled with God all night, and and everybody thought. Hey,
you walking with a limp? And he's saying, no, that's not my limp, that's my pimp. It's the battle that you want to lose. Yeah, it's the battle where he broke my stubborn will and I submitted to him. And so this just means the transition has been made. Now, I'm not perfect, but the transition has been made. I've moved from justification to sanctification. And so this pimp is a symbol of the fact I wrestle with God and lost. He broke my will like he broke my limb. And he gave me a.
Limp.
So that I would always remember that God is in control.
Amen, amen, Amen.
Uh, and so Jacob, that's my name in salvation. Israel, that's my name in sanctification. So, Jacob, I was free from the penalty of sin. Uh, so Israel, I was free from the power of sin. Uh, so, Jacob, that took me out of sin. Uh, Israel that takes sin out of me. Uh, Jacob, I'm free from the damnation of the devil. Uh, Israel. I'm free from the domination of the devil. Uh, Jacob. He opened the door of the sheep gate. Uh, Israel. Uh, I'm able to graze
in green pastures, huh? Yeah. And then he says I redeemed you. I've redeemed you. Remember Harry Connick Jr. Anybody know him? Harry Connick Jr is the heir apparent to Frank Sinatra. And during Hurricane Katrina, he left his mansion in New York and went down to New Orleans. And when he got down there, he was being interviewed in a boat. And they said to him, they said, uh, listen, uh, we want to get this interview, blah, blah, blah, blah.
All of a sudden he saw a movement on a porch that was like a third story porch, but the other two were underwater and the roof. And he said, there's movement over there. Take that boat over there. So they said, well, we want to finish the interview. He said, take the boat over there. So the boat he was in went over there and the boat with the camera just followed him. When he got over there, there was a man who was an elderly black man who was crippled and had been there. He said, how long have
you been there? Three days. He said, I'm so weak, I can't even holler. When people go by. I just wave and hoping somebody would notice. And you notice everybody else. I've been here three days and I just said, I'm just going to die here. And so he was naked and they they put the things on the camera so
you couldn't see anything personal. And so Harry Connick Jr pulled off his coat, wrapped it around that naked black man, lift that old man up and then put him in the boat, and then took him to his trailer house, and then clothed that man and fed that man and took care of that man. I said, that's redemption. That's what God did for you and I. Jesus left the mansion of heaven. It wasn't black white, it was deity and humanity. And he came down to the vestiges of
a hurricane of sin. And he saw us dead in trespasses and sin, unable to help ourselves. So he clothed us in his righteousness. And then he lifted us up. Underneath are the everlasting arms. Then he took us into the ark of safety. And then he blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. That's our Jesus. He ought to get praise and glory in the house of the Lord.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's what he did. He took us from devastation to restoration. He says you're mine. I created you, formed you, redeemed you and called you by my name. Call somebody by his name. Say Christian. Say you. Christian you.
You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford Jr. And we're going to get back to this message in just one moment. Well, if you're ever on the go and you want to hear treasure truth, but you're not near your radio, you can always listen with the Moody Radio mobile app. It's available for the iPhone, the iPad, or your Android phone or tablet. The best part? It's free. Not only can you listen to Treasured Truth on Demand, but there are also many other moody radio
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stream programs through your computer or mobile device. You can also download mp3's or order copies of this broadcast on CD. You'll find all the info you need when you come to treasure Truth Radio. Let's get back to the message. Have no fear. God is here. Again, here's Pastor Ford.
Secondly, preservation. Let me hasten. Let me hasten preservation. Verse two. He says, don't be scared. Why? Because of the preservation of God, the protection of God. Now notice, when thou pass through the waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Notice, he says, when, not if. Notice he says, when? Not maybe. Notice. He
says when. Listen. Verse one. Uh, people may think because of verse one that salvation is a trouble exempt card. Uh, you know, it's like some, some people think that. Listen, don't believe the hype you hear about the Christian walk is all all flowers and no bees and no work and all ease. That's a lie from the pit of hell. It smells like smoke. You say? How do you know that? Because John 1633 Jesus said, in the world you shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome
the world. Because he said in James one two he says, my brethren, count all joy when you fall into divers temptation. Because Peter said in first Peter chapter one, verse seven, Beloved, don't think it's strange. The fiery trials that test you.
Hallelujah!
It's part and parcel of it. Listen, people kill me. But here's what I found. Even the song we sing. It's not right. Is it banned? Here's the song. They said. What's the song? What's the song? Pastor, here's the song. I looked at my hands and my hands looked new. And I looked at my feet. And they did too. No they didn't. My hands didn't change. I looked at my feet and they were the same old crusty, rusty, dusty feet that if I didn't put lotion on them.
See some of you light skin, people can get away without wearing lotion. Us dark people, we got to wear lotion. It show.
Up.
My wife will tell me in a minute. Put it. Put a lotion on, baby. Put lotion on. You know that that that ash gray shows up real good, don't it? Go on. Going dark.
Come on.
Yeah. So. No no no no no no no no no no no no. Listen, if you were a poor cook before, you get saved, after you get saved, you're going to be a poor saved cook. If you had an empty bank account before you got saved, when you get saved, you're going to have to be a saved person with an empty bank account. Okay, Imma leave it alone. No. Same old hands. But they didn't do the stuff that they used to do. Same old feet. But they didn't take me to the places I. Same old mouth. But
the stuff that came out of it. Then don't come out of it now. Same old body, but it don't sleep where it used to sleep. It don't do the things with the people. It used to do the things with the people it.
Did with.
Greece, man.
Let me go ahead and and tell you this and just pick it up where we leave off. But listen, I Listen to Moody all the time. And they had soldiers coming back from Desert Storm. And the testimony was this, uh, the first in battle? Who's the first in battle? Marines. Hurrah.
Hurrah!
Semper fi till we die. Amen. Marines. And so these Marines, they're going to go in first. And so, uh, the believers get together and pray, Lord, this is not just about America. This is about your glory. These individuals believe in Muhammad and all this. And we believe in Jesus. We believe we're fighting for a just cause. And, uh, please give us bright sunshine on the day of the attack. Well, the day of the attack, it had to be cancelled because it rained cats and dogs, and it rained for
three days. And these believers got together each day, and they were praying and they were saying, wait a minute. What's going on? God, we're asking you. We're doing this for your glory. And one astute believer said, well, let's wait and see what happens, because maybe he's answering our prayer and we don't know it. No, we prayed that it wouldn't rain. And it's raining cats and dogs. What? A third day it stopped raining. And here was his testimony.
I wrote it down. I said, oh, that'll preach anywhere. He said. That day it stopped raining. We came to the field, we looked across that desert and the sunlight was hitting these hundreds of thousands of objects, and gleam was coming off of them. And we realized they had mined the whole desert, that a lot of us would have lost our lives had we not had the rain.
Yeah. Good stuff. That'll.
Tell your tell, tell, tell your neighbor there's purpose in your problems. Come on. Yeah, yeah yeah yeah. Tell them there's significance in your suffering. Yeah yeah yeah yeah. You remember what happened with Joseph in the pit? He was forsaken by his family. He was abused in Potiphar's. He was falsely accused by his foes. He had accusations in the prison. He was forgotten by a friend. He was abandoned. I'd like to say it this way. He succeeded on his back.
Yeah.
That his problems were platforms to take him to the palace. Hmm. And so what did he name his children? Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh means forgetting. You know what he's saying? He's saying, uh, yeah. I went through hell, but it don't affect me because of where God brought me. Because if I hadn't have gone to the pit, there never would have been a part of her. And if I had gone to Potiphar, there had never been a prison. But if I'd never
gone to the prison, there'd never be a palace. Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth? I know you're tired. I ain't even going to get to the third one. I'm just going to go ahead. So when you understand it, well, what happens, pastor Ford? What was the other one twice blessed. How was he? Twice blessed because he saved all his people. And then he got blessed to become a prince of Egypt.
Yes.
So if you know that, what will happen? What will happen, pastor Ford, when you understand that this significance in your suffering, it will turn fear into faith. It'll turn sighing into singing. It'll turn pouting into praising. It'll turn doubting into dancing. It'll turn worrying into worship. It'll turn trying into trusting. You will know what God is doing. Hmm. Hmm. Here it is. God says I protected you. Now think about this. Who has been the most despised nation in history? The Jews. Israel.
You know what they did in 1948 became a nation. You know what they did in 1963 had a six day war where they were outnumbered as high as 30 to 40 to one, and whipped three different armies in three different directions in six days because God protects them. America is a unique entity in the history of the world. Read history. No nation ever rose to prominence as quickly as America, even though it was on the backs of slaves. No country has lasted in power as long as America,
even though it's diminishing now. You want to know why? One of the reasons is Israel was always protected by America. That's why God said, I'm gonna protect my people. Now, I know what you're thinking, but let me ask you some questions. Seeing any Philistines lately, how about Jebusites, Moabites, ammonites, Canaanites, mosquito bites, termites. We've seen the Shi'ites. You get my point. God protected them. God sustained them. God did what only God could do for them.
You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford. A message called have no fear. God is here. And I hope that as you've been listening to this broadcast today, you've been encouraged just being reminded of that truth. Well, Pastor
Ford is still hanging out in the studio with me here. And, pastor, one of the things that I know across the board at Moody Radio, we try and do and specifically on this program with our Ask Pastor Ford programs, is answer listener questions about how the Bible applies to their lives.
Amen. And, you know, it's really interesting that the word application literally means to fold together. And so what do you do? You take a piece of paper and fold it together. And the two ends represent two things. One end represents the word of God and the other end represents the lives of people. So application is when you bring the Word of God and the lives of people together, because it's God's Word that gives us the power to
be able to live the Christian life and listen. Life is complicated, but I love what the venerable scholar Doctor Warren Wiersbe said. He's with the Lord now. But he said, when I open the Bible, God opens his mouth. And when I close the Bible, God closes mouth. And I need to let you know if you're listening today, uh, the reason you listen to Moody Radio and to treasure truth is because God never opens his secrets to a Christian with a closed Bible.
Well, you can help open those secrets, open those Bibles to those who tune in to this radio program as you give. Give your gift online at Treasure Truth radio.org. Thanks for doing that. And thanks to our producers, Ryan and Amy for Pastor Ford, I'm Steve Ehler treasure truth is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.