Here's what we do. We let the little things keep us from the everything that God has for us. See, when it comes to what God wants to do, you've got to understand God's will. You're either on the way or in the way.
Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, junior senior pastor of Christ Bible Church in Chicago. I'm Steve Hiller, and glad you're with us. And, pastor, you point out an important truth. Sometimes, as we think we've discerned the will of God and the promise that is ours to claim and to take. We run into little obstacles, little roadblocks, things that keep us from doing or taking
what we truly believe God has for us. And for some, that may be just enough of a discouragement to quit pursuing that promise of God. How do we know if a roadblock is legitimate. God saying no. Or just a little bump in the road to strengthen our faith.
Usually that has to be revealed to us, and there's not a carte blanche answer. Take, for example, first Corinthians 16 nine, where Paul said, A great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries. So Paul saw the opportunity in the opposition, and he began to go forward. He changed his plans and everything so that he could accommodate what God was doing. But it came through opposition. The seven sons of Skiva and Demetrius,
the silversmith. He saw those as opportunities to promote the gospel, because they were coming against the Lord Jesus Christ and His good news. And so it just depends on what God is doing in your life. However, All opposition is determined to be utilized by Satan to discourage us. He loves to discourage, to divide, and we ought to be aware of that.
So when we do face opposition, expect it. Number two, it may simply mean we just need to change our tactics a little bit, like Paul did sometimes.
And I think, you know, we can't let it discourage us because, see, it's either God allowed or God authorized. And if God authorized it, there's a perfect will. You know, anthropomorphically speaking that just means to attribute to God human characteristics for the purpose of comprehension. And so he allows us to go through this opposition. Why? So that he can make us better. The devil is trying to make us bitter. God is trying to make us better. And
I see it that way. So whatever comes my way, I belong to the Lord.
Yeah. And as you said a moment ago, we can look at opposition as opportunity. So that's one of the lessons that we'll see in today's message. If you can join us in the book of Joshua, chapter one as we continue takers. Here's Pastor Ford.
You know, it's amazing to me that some people are chained to their past. There's some things that are very painful. I know in your past, but at some point the past got to be in the past. And God. Moses represents the past the way we used to do it and all that. No, no. We got to prepare for the future. Amen. Now, I don't know about you, but I've been doing it for the last ten years saying, listen, I'm preparing to pass the baton that, you know, for
the future. Because the future church doesn't look like anything that it looks like now. We've got to get ready for the future. Then he said, in spite of problems, he said this, Jordan, what is he saying? He's saying, okay, now I need you to look at this. Jordan. God is pointing out the Jordan to Joshua. Why? Because that's what he has to cross. Well, what's going on there? The Jordan is over swelling its banks, so God is pointing to the problem that has the possibility for progress
to the promised land. Why would you point the problem out? Because some people see a problem in every opportunity, and some people see an opportunity in every problem. Joshua, I want you to look at it. It's running over its banks. But I want you to know it cannot stop you from your promise. Get over it. Get over it now. Respond to God's plan. Now. Now get this, get this, get this. We talk about this. He's showing him the Jordan, but he never tells him what he's going to do
to get him over it. You know what? You know why. You know why? Because it takes faith to believe the promise apart from understanding how he going to do it. And that's the problem with us. We want to know, well, how are you going to do it? When are you going to work? How is this going to work? And God says, what did I tell you to do? Just get to steppin, that's all. Get to steppin. And once we get to steppin. We're walking by faith. God says okay, now,
now you're here. Watch what I do. Boom. Yeah, that's what he does all the time. And here's our problem. We never get to steppin. God, I'm waiting on you. I'm waiting on you. But I'm waiting on you. But I'm waiting on you. But I'm waiting on you. Why are you waiting on me, God. Because I will not do what you can do. I will only do what you can't do. So once you do everything you can do and you get to the end of your rope,
let go! I'll catch you. I'll provide. That's it. And so let me give you some principles I didn't give you last week. Here's what you need to do. Here's what you need to do. Start today. Start now. Start today. I say I want to write some more books. And God has given me favor with a woman who has worked for 20 years for Urban Ministries, the top senior editor at Urban Ministries, and now she's helping me with
my book. She takes my sermon DVDs and writes them out, and she she did me a book in two weeks for two weeks, two weeks. I've had it six weeks doing the redacting to it, you know, and she called me up. She said it only took me two weeks to put everything together. What's taking you so long? And then my wife said, my wife said, honey, you ain't doing this right. You know what you need to do? What? She asked me this question. What are you doing every
day that is determining what you'll be tomorrow? You say you want to be a prolific author. Put some of the stuff that you've had in more books. But if you ain't writing. So she told me, she said, okay, here's what I want you to do. Go on in that office right now. So you're talking to a woman. I'm talking to you. Go in that office right now and for the next two hours, work on that book. I said, don't be telling me what to do. And I went in my office and I worked on that
book for two hours. Amen. And she told me now every day, because that is a investment on your future. So every day, two hours about what are you going to have at the end of a week, 14 hours of writing, what are you going to have at two weeks, 28 hours, and on and on and before you know it? But if you do that now to the end of the year, you may have five books, baby. Start now, start now, start now. And the second thing you ought to do see the opportunity in the opposition. That's what
he's telling him. This Jordan. Thirdly, quit running from problems that should be fixed and can be fixed by you as a pastor. I'm just going to give Buck naked here because maybe if I get buck naked, y'all will join me now. Not literally, but figuratively. That is what I had to learn as a pastor and still struggle with is correcting people who need to be corrected. Yeah. Amen. Now, I know none of you have a problem with that, but correcting people who should be corrected. And you, God,
will you fix it? God? Say, I ain't going to fix it. You fix it. Tell them they're wrong. Tell them they shouldn't talk to people like that. Tell them they shouldn't. Do people like that. Why? You walk by and see them fussing with each other? You, the pastor, used the crook or the staff. I say what? Hit em with it. He said no. He used the crook to pull the sheep apart when they were fighting each other. Amen. Number four quit making excuses and start making adjustments. Jesus
died for our sins, not for our excuses. And excuses are like noses. Everybody has one. Here you are. Cater to your strengths and guard your weaknesses. What do you mean cater to your strengths? Why are you wasting all this time on something? That's my weakness. That I gotta work on my weakness? No, you work on your strength. You put the bulk of your time, your talent and your energy and what you're good at, what you're strong at, what you're gifted for. And guess what? Your gift will
make room for you. And then finally. Come on, say it with me. Carpe diem. Who knows what it means? Stand up and holler it out. What does it mean? Seize the day. That is that when the opportunity comes, you got to lock on to that opportunity. When the door is open. Remember, we saw God said, I give you an open door and they wouldn't go. And God closed it. Take the opportunity when the opportunity is given.
I look back, hindsight's always 20 over 20, bro. Richie and I can see the things we could have had, you know, we could have had here had I seized the opportunity. Uh, that apartment right there, we could have got that for $35,000. Uh, this one across the street here where this alley is. We could have bought that for $45,000 and had the alley annex and closed. So it would have been a cul de sac coming in the alley. That would have been our property over there
in that 40 flat. We had an opportunity to buy that for 125,000. And it wasn't that we didn't have the money, it was we didn't have the vision. And I look at it today and say, what would we have done had we gotten that 40 flat and then fixed it up with all the things that are available to give us money, to fix it up, to put our people in there according to their income and have a Christian community in that building. And then, you know,
Muhammad Ali bought it for $65,000. 40 flat building, $65,000. Seize the moment. So he says, respond to the plan. Let's look at the next one. Then we're going to go on home. That's all I'm going to do at one point. Notice, he says, what's the first qualification? Respond to God's plan. See, God has a plan. And the reason your marriage is messed up because you didn't follow the plan. The reason why your children messed up. Because you didn't follow the plan. The reason why are you
still working for somebody? You don't have your own business. You didn't follow the plan. Then notice. Secondly, rest in God's promises, verses three and four. Let me read them to you. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses, from the wilderness, and this Lebanon unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, unto the great sea, toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. Here God gives
them a promise. He marks it out. He gives them the property boundaries of the promised land. And do you know the tragedy that that Israel never possessed all the land? There's only one king who ever possessed all the land that God said they should should possess. And it wasn't David and it wasn't Solomon. And when I went to Israel, I won a serving a sterling silver locket. And the guy who led us, our our guide, Hillel, has been doing it for 44 years. And he said, nobody has
ever answered that question for him. It's a sorry dog won't wag his own tail. And he said. He said, okay, so tell me, the king, I said, Jeroboam, he said, which one? I said, Jeroboam the second. He said, nobody has answered that in 44 years. He said, you're the first one to ever answer that. I said, well, praise the Lord. And I didn't tell him that. That had been a part of my devotional time. I'm studying the kings of Israel. It didn't matter. My wife wearing that necklace. Yeah.
With a with a manner which is. Which is, uh, the widow's mite. Amen. Original. You know. Yeah. Original. Done in excavation. Yeah, yeah, because I answered the question. Here it is. Rest in God's promises. Here's what we do. We let the little things keep us from the everything that God has for us. See, when it comes to what God wants to do, you gotta understand God's will. You're either on the way or in the way.
Well, that's a good question to be asking ourselves, isn't it? Are we on the way or are we in the way? You're listening to a message entitled takers as we look at Joshua chapter one. And if you joined us a little late, you can always come to the website and listen to each and every program there. You can download MP3's or you can even order copies on CD. Our website address is Treasure Truth radio.org. We'd also love to
connect with you on social media. You can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, even listen to the program directly through Facebook. Again, you'll find those links at our website. Treasure Truth radio.org. Back to the message. Here's Pastor Ford.
Now notice the promises. First of all, notice that it's a past promise. Notice what it says. It says every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon. That's future. Because they're not in the land yet. But I'm telling you, you walk on the land, walk on it. Because where you walk on it, that's what you will get. Then he says, I have given unto you. As I said unto Moses, he ties it to a generational promise, I promise, Moses, and I have promised Abraham, and I
have promised Isaac, and I have promised Jacob. And so I'm passing it down. It's a past promise. It's like, let me tell you about your not yet, right now, so that you will not let your right now stop you from your. Not yet. Because if I tell you you're not yet, and even though you're going through trouble in your right now, the promise that I gave you about your not yet will cancel out the problem that you have in your right now. So if you understand
that right now you have the not yet. Then you'll act like it. You you'll say, I don't care. Come the proverbial hell or high water, I'm going to possess my God given possessions. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Listen, listen, listen. Say it with me. The power to perform is in the promise, proclaimed the promise. Alright, let me give you an example. Remember the man who was paralyzed for 38 years? Yes. He was laying on a pallet, paralyzed, could speak, but
couldn't move, couldn't move his hands. And Jesus came to him and said, rise, be a taker. Pick up your pallet and walk. Now wait a minute. How are you going to tell a paralyzed man? Rise. He's been paralyzed 38 years. Rise. Be a taker. Take up your pallet and walk. Because the power to perform is in the promise proclaimed. It's inherent in the word that he's given to us. Our faith activates the power. Now, we ain't got to go through that. We always talk about Jheri curls.
You had to have the activator. And faith is the activator that activates the Word of God. So what did he do? He he rose became a taker. Now, here's here's what I would have done if I'd been laying on that pallet for 38 years. I don't want anything to do with that pallet, am I? Am I right about it? Sister? Wife? Yeah. Look, look, I just had this thing. I'm sick of it. I hadn't had the new model. And, you know, I don't want this thing anymore. So. Jesus,
why do you tell me to take it? Because everybody knows that for 38 years, the pallet been carrying you. Now I want you to show them that when you get a promise from God, you now carry what was carrying you. You got victory over what had you conquered. You pick up your pallet so everybody can see that you're more than a conqueror through him that loves you.
That when you got a promise from God, it doesn't matter what your circumstances are, because now God gives you sovereignty over your circumstances so that now he doesn't always change the circumstances, the palate, but he always changes you. So you're able to pick up that palate, pick it up. Come on, tell somebody. Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up, pick up that palate. Get up off of it. Pick it up now. Now I want you
to notice something. Because when you look at this thing, it's really powerful because he says, here's what I want you to do. I want you to believe the promise. I say it all the time, but let me say it again. Don't put a question mark where God has put a period. Don't do that. No, don't put a question mark where God has put a period. It is, it is. There's three tenses of the promise here because it's a past promise that's given in the reticent about
his future. Now, here's what you do. It's a past promise. But here's what you gotta do. You gotta personalize it. You gotta personalize it. What's he telling them to do? Claim this promise for yourself, Joshua and the children of Israel. I've given it to you. Now all you have to do is claim it. See, the first generation didn't believe it. And so let me show you. Let me show you my grandson. Uh, my my next to my youngest grandson. His name is Jaden Ford. Uh, now, Jaden is a
young scholar. Every year he gets 10 or 12 awards and have been getting them since he's been at Dixon School in pre-K. He's in fourth grade now. Every year he gets these awards. Well, this year, here's what happened. Uh, three years in a row, he won student of the year. And that's from pre-K to sixth grade. Student of the year. And, this year they said, okay, we're going to award our trophy for student of the year. Now the student of the year gets special things. They get. They got a
he got a the the reader thing. Where's the reader thing? Kindle fire, Kindle Fire. He got a Kindle Fire and he, and he got the opportunity to bring his family and they ate with the principal. Now he's done that three years in a row. So they got up and they said, okay, we're going to announce the student of the year. And before the teacher could announce it, the whole student body
said Jayden Ford. And she said, that's right, Jayden Ford. Now, he has never been late or missed a day of school from pre-K, and he gets that award for never missing class and never being late every year. So this is what happened last week. My son got a flat tire and so he was on his way to school and his dad got a flat tire. He went into the trunk and the spare was flat. Jayden's in the back. He starts crying. Oh, dad, I'm going to be late. I'm never been late. You're going to make me late.
I knew I should have rode to school with mom. I told you we should leave early in case anything happened. Then we could get on the bus. So my son said. He said, you know, I've been sharing with my children how God just changed me, turned me around. And now I have this job. My son worked for the railroad. He said, I have this job and I'm so blessed. And so I told him, you know how when you give God what he wants, he gives you what you want, and until you give God what he wants, he's not
giving you what you want. So he said he wanted my life, but I didn't want to give it to him. And I tried everything in my own power, my own way to make it. I never made it. But as soon as I turned my life over to him, he opened up doors I never could see and look where I am now. And so Jayden said, but how is that going to help me get to school on time. And my son said, do you believe in Jesus Christ? Yes I do, daddy. Uh, don't you believe that he
could get you on school on time? You believe that? Yes, sir, I believe it. But I'm riding with you and not with Jesus. And, uh, he's very practical. He's very practical, Pastor Betsy. He's very practical. And so he said he said he said, well, then do you know how to pray? And he said, yes, I know how to pray. He said, well, pray and ask him because this is something that is good and he will do it for you. But we're
going to be late. You're on a flat tire. And uh, he said, well, are you going to believe God or what? And so Jaden prayed, Lord, you know, I've never been late. And now because I chose to go with my daddy and not my mommy, I'm going to be late. Please help us get to school on time. My son said he He hit the gas and that and that tire hit the rim, and the tire came off and the rim was rolling. And then the rim started sparking and
the car starts smoking. And he stopped. The car grabbed his son and they ran the rest of the way. He said as the last child was going in, Jaden went in, joined in the back, got in his room, sat in his chair and the bell rang and the bell rang and he showed him. All you had to do was personalise it. And he was telling me about his thanksgiving prayer, and that he talked about it all day in school. Jesus got me here on time. Jesus got me here on time. Jesus got. I prayed and
Jesus got me here on time. Jesus. And so my son had me cracking up. If you don't know my youngest son, all the four men got a little sense of humor. I don't know where they get it from, but they all got it. And so and so I said, what did you do, son? He said, I said, Lord Jesus, you're a real worker. You've been willed to me. Because where there's a will, there's a way.
Yeah. Wonder where that sense of humor comes from, right. You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford. A message entitled takers from Joshua chapter one. And we're going to continue this next time in the broadcast. If you want to make sure you don't miss it, come to the website. Right now it's Treasure Truth radio.org. You can sign up for the podcast or you can download the Moody Radio app. We'll link you to it when you come to Treasure
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