And I see it happen all the time. Folk just trying. I gotta make a way, I gotta make it. Listen, let me tell you something. And let me tell everybody. If Jesus has a plan for you, he's going to make sure you fail. As you try to make your own way. You're going to fail every time because he's got a prescribed course.
Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. I'm Steve Hiller. Glad you're with us. As we continue a message called The Inner Me Enemy. We've been in James chapter one, and today we're going to be taking a look at one of the struggles that I think many of us face. We have this idea of where we want our life to go. We say, I want this, I want to accomplish that. I want to attain this
certain thing. And then we go off in our own power to try and make that happen. And it sounds like, pastor, you're saying if you're only following your own plan, uh, don't be surprised if you run into some roadblocks.
You're going to run into roadblocks. Big ones, God sized roadblocks because God has a purpose and a plan. You know, in the model prayer, we're studying that now at Christ Bible Church. Yeah. Uh, in the model prayer, he said, Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In other words, what is the responsibility of those of us on earth connected to the Lord Jesus Christ when we pray and when we serve?
And it is God, what is it that you have decreed in heaven that we're to execute on the earth? That's not just corporately. That has to do with our personal lives as well. Uh, that I'll give you a classic example, Steve. Um, whenever I was praying about being trained, uh, for the pastorate, I got accepted in three schools, of which Moody was one. I came to Moody on a very spiritual reason. It was the only one that was tuition free.
Yes.
But that was in God's design. Yeah, because once I got here as a second semester freshman, the church that I've been pastoring for the last 36 years opened up. And I've been there ever since. So I matriculated here at Moody and, uh, was pastoring simultaneously as a student. And God has done some miraculous things in my life. But that wasn't my plan. Yeah. Go ahead. Say, what was your plan?
What was your plan?
My plan was to matriculate at Moody and then leave and go to Dallas so that I could go to Dallas Theological Seminary. And if that had happened, then maybe I would have been Tony Evans then. But that was my plan. Yeah. And then to go back to Pittsburgh and the pastor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. So that was my plan. Yeah, but the thing about it is, I had wisdom enough to submit my plans to God. I didn't say, my kingdom come. Thy will be done. I said, thy kingdom come,
thy will be done. And God showed me. LED me. Yeah. And showed me where he wanted me to be. And of course, I know this is where he wanted me to be. All the things that have transpired, even being on Moody Radio all these years. Sure is, because I've been in the great city of Chicago. Amen.
Well, we could spend more time unpacking that story, but we need to get to today's message. We're in James chapter one. So, uh, grab a Bible, join us there as we continue. The enemy. Enemy. Here is Pastor Ford.
Now, here's what happens. Let me put it into context, because remember what the context is. This is not devoid or separate. This is not a separate pericope. This is in the pericope of talking about how we deal with our sinful tendencies. Paragraph pericope. You know, I gotta let you know. I went to seminary. I told you that. So? So what does God do? Everything that he does is so. God so loved the world. See the measure of it? You know, it's like. It's like he just didn't love
the world. He so loved the world. I mean, you know, when you put that adjective in there, it expands, uh, whatever, uh, the noun or the pronoun is, you know, it's like you come home and, uh, you know, I remember coming home and saying stuff like, you know, uh, she say, clean your room, do this, do that. I'm so tired. And and my mother would say, if tired were the prerequisite for anything being done, you'd never eat. As a
matter of fact, you wouldn't have been born. So. So we put in in there he's saying, listen, the measure of the gifts, the kind of gift that he gives. It is. So now why does he do that in the context? Let me tell you why he does that in the context, because he wants you to understand that anything you could get through your sinful tendencies, God has something better. Yeah, even because the whole the whole section
is in the context of trials. So he's saying, listen, everything that God does is good, even when it's bad to us. Come on. That's right. Even when it's bad to us. Now here's the point. If you take what God does not want you to have, God withholds what he does want you to have. When you give God what he wants, God gives you what you want. Okay, let me give you an example. Aiken. In the Old Testament, God said, when you go into Jericho, let me tell
you something. Everything is under the ban. Under the ban, it's anathema. It belongs to me. I want it all burned. Don't keep anything. None of the jewelry, none of the clothes, none of the people. Wipe out everybody. Except where you see that scarlet cord coming down off of that wall from Rahab's crib? The scarlet thread of redemption. A symbol of the blood of Jesus Christ. That the only people who were saved in Jericho were saved by the red. No, I like that. And so he said, if you don't
have that out there, you're going to die. You know, death Angel passed over every house that had the blood. Anyway, let me go on and say it. So? So then Aiken saw the Babylonian garments, and he took them into his tent and hid them in his tent. He took what God did not want him to have. Anybody know the outcome? Maybe that's why his name was Aiken. Because they took him out and stoned him. And then they stoned his family. People say, why did they stone his family?
That wasn't right. Well, if he hid it in the tent, that means the whole family knew it. And so God said, I want them all punished. Now get this. He took what God did not want him to have. And what did he miss? What God wanted him to have. See, that's called a firstfruits. Jericho was the first fruits. The first fruits always go to God. Honor the Lord with the firstfruits of all thy substance and thy increase. That is the money you found on the ground. That $100.
Should you tithe off of this? Or you should or break God off a piece? How about that? So what happened when they go to I, they go to I and they get whipped. Now they say it's a small city, so we don't need to take Lottie, Dottie, everybody, let's just send 30,000 men up. And the. I whooped them like they stole something. Joshua goes back and begins to pray. And God says anytime to pray, it's time to get up and find out where the sin is in the camp.
So they found out where the sin is. Here's my point. If he just would have waited. Because when they took I, who knows what God said split everything else among yourselves. All he had to do was just wait. But see the sinful tendency for materialism hitting. And he said, okay, I could get this my way. I don't need to do it God's way, and I'm going to do this. And nobody knows. God knows. And so now, because you took what God did not want you to have, you do not get what God wants you to have. And
I see it happen all the time. Folk just trying. I gotta make a way, I gotta make. Listen, let me tell you something. And let me tell everybody. If Jesus has a plan for you, he's going to make sure you fail. As you try to make your own way. You're going to fail every time because he's got a prescribed course and your money is tied up to your master. Wow. It's tied up to his purpose. And he ain't going to let you prosper without him. Cuz then you feel you don't need him. And so he gotta let you
get out there, and he let you go. And he lets you fail. And you're supposed to say, you know what? I've been trying to do this my way. Let me see how God wants me to do it. But some of you don't. You keep doing it. You keep doing it. I gotta do this. I gotta do that. I gotta get this. It's gotta do that. I gotta do this. Go ahead. You know it's a Doctor Phil moment. How's that working for you? Ain't working. How many times does it take for you to see you're failing? Because your
motivation is wrong. Our motivation should be to glorify him. Why do you work hard on a job so that people can say, wow, that person works hard. And every time you ask them, they say, because I work for Jesus and not for the job. And so the Bible says, uh, Deuteronomy 610 through 15 he says, look. And here it is. Taking the devil's bait is an indication of one thing. You have forgotten the goodness of God. Psalm 7811 he said,
you forgot. I gave you this land and everything in it, and I've defeated the people because the battle is the Lord's and you forgot. And remember what is one of the things he told them? Don't get in the land and forget who put you there. That's what kills me. Why do I have to cajole people and tell them you need to come to Bible study. You need to come to worship because they don't have enough Jesus in them. That's why they've forgotten. You are not your own. You've
been bought with a price. What do we gotta tell somebody? Say something for Jesus. Now, if you've been wondrously saved, you'll want to. That's what we're talking about this morning. Paul said in Galatians 614, God forbid that I should boast or glory in anything. Saved the Lord Jesus Christ and his cross. Paul said, you want to know what turns me on? Talking about Jesus and the cross of Christ. Man that's it. Psalm 106 13 through 21. He says
the same thing. Second Samuel 12, seven and eight he tells David, you forgot that I put a king's anointing on a kid, and for 13 years I protected you and put you on the throne. And now this is how you treat me. You're going to kill one of your mighty men, sleep with his wife, impregnate her. You forgot how good I've been to you. Now notice the motive of the gifts. He tells us the measure of the gift. Notice the motive of the gifts. Teleoceras, our
old friend. What does it mean? It means to accomplish that which you are created to do. Here it is. He says the gifts are perfect. The gifts are powerful. In other words, the first point talks about what he gives, and the second talks about why he gives it. So what does he give? Good gifts. Why does he give it? Because they're perfect. What do you mean? I have designer trials. They're designed for Pastor James for junior. Why? Because there's too much Ford in Ford and not enough Lord in Ford.
So he allows those things that will get the Ford out of Ford and put more Lord into Ford. See, that's why I'm glad my name rhymes with Lord.
He's got a little benefit there, and a lot of us, doesn't he? You're listening to Pastor Ford. A message entitled The Enemy. Enemy. Look at James chapter one in today's broadcast. And we're going to get back to this teaching in just one moment. I know as we are talking about the doctrine of sin, you may have some questions that come to mind. You can always ask your question of Pastor Ford. Simply come to our website. It's Treasure Truth
radio.org and click on the contact link there. You can ask that question, we might answer that in a future broadcast. You can also let us know where you're listening and why you're listening. It's always so encouraging to hear how God is using this program in the lives of those who find us. Again, our website address is Treasure Truth Radio. Org and click on the contact link. Once again, here's Pastor Ford.
And so that's it. So trials are given their gifts. Didn't he tell Paul that he said Paul said there was a throne, a messenger of Satan to buffet me. The word given is the word grace. There was a illness. Grace to me. The source is God. The agent is the devil. But God allowed it to happen because all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, those who are called according to his purpose. And God
allowed that to happen. Because, my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be complete and entire, lacking nothing. So it's complete. There's nothing lacking. It's designed to bring us to the place where we will fulfill the purpose of God in our lives. What Satan offers. It may look better at first glance, but it's only
designed to throw you off your square. Mm. I love this. Why is it when you pray for a tree, God gives you an acorn? When you pray for a tree, God gives you an acorn. Anybody know why? Ask me why. So that you can both grow at the same time. So you can both grow at the same time? Yes. In other words, get get this now. I'm praying for something. Lord, I want this, I want that, and instead of giving me what I want in full blown maturity, he gives me a seed. Why? Because as it grows, I learn
to trust him. I learn to depend upon him. I begin to look to him in the things that I said earlier. He say, what are you talking about? When I said that it guides our footsteps. It grows our faith. It governs our focus. It guides our future. So then it guides our footsteps. It leads us to Christ. It grows our faith. We learn of Christ. It governs our focus. We look to Christ. It guides our future. We love Christ more. And so let me finish this up. Let
me finish this up. And remember God said, I have found a man. Wait a minute. Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait. He told David. How old was David? He was about what? 17. I have found the man. Is he a man? No. He can't even go to war. Because in Israel. How old did you have to be to go to war? 20. I have found the man. God. Why do you call a boy a man? Because I'm not calling him according to what he is now. I'm
calling him what I'm about to make him. In the 13 years as he experiences my good and perfect gifts. So the very man whose place he's going to take. I'm going to give him an opportunity. What's the opportunity? God. Two times. I'm going to give him the chance to kill him and get the throne by killing my anointed. And he refuses to do it. They said, hey, Saul in the cave. David went in there, cut off a piece of his robe. You see what I'm saying? He
could have had the kingdom nine years earlier. How many of us would have said, well, God said, I'm going to be king, or he out of here now. Jack. Oh, yeah. No, that's not what he did, because he understood that God has a time frame and that that time frame. God is setting other things up so that whenever he gives you what that good and perfect gift is, it's the right time for it. Wow. It's the right time for it. Mm.
And so then notice what it says. It talks about, uh, last of all, the manner of the gifts it cometh down. Let me just say this, and then I gotta stop. It's a present participle. That means the words ought to be ending in i-n-g. In other words, keeps on coming down. He doesn't give occasionally. He gives constantly. Wow. Yeah. What do you mean, pastor? He gives. It keeps coming down. Well, well,
how come I don't see it? Well, sometimes I don't see it because I don't recognize the goodness of God that I got up this morning, and I put my own clothes on, and I fed my own self, and I walked out on my own power, and I could see. And I have all of my faculties. That's the goodness of God. The clock woke me up this morning. No, it did not go to the cemetery. Let the clock ring and see how many people get up. Nobody's getting up. But the goodness of the Lord is that he's faithful.
And that the the sun came up when it was supposed to. And it's going down when it's supposed to. That the air that I'm breathing, I just take it for granted. That's why the Bible says, let everything that have breath praise take the breath test. Do you understand that even the fact that we can breathe. If you knew that the earth was two centimeters closer to the sun. We burn up two centimeters away from the sun. We would freeze It's the goodness of God. I share with
my family and some of you know it. You were here. Uh, I lost ten family members, immediate family members in two years and did all of their homegoing and funeral services. And people were saying, how can you do it? How can you do it? Because I focus in on who's left, not on who's lost, because I focus in on the fact that even though God has chosen to take my son in 1999, I still have two left. That's how I do as a pastor. You know, it used to be when people leave, it break my heart. I said,
why they leave? I mean, what happened? Hey. You know. Hey, man. Okay. They're gone. It gives me more time to to minister to the people who are still here. You know, people come, people go. Hey. Alright. If that's what God is leading you to do, I ain't tripping, you know? Yeah. Okay. So, so so what does he do in verse 16? He looks ahead and he says, see the judgment of sin. Then verse 17, look around and see how God has
been good to you. Verse 18, look inside and see how you have been born from above, and you possess the divine nature. So then I can't get to it right now. Finish it. Lord willing, next week. But. But what's he going to talk about? Begot you again by the word of truth. Now he's hooking it together and he's saying, listen, you have been born again. Christ lives in you. Now what do you have to do? You got to feed your spiritual man. You've got to feed
your spiritual woman. You've got to this. This is supposed to be the icing on the cake every day, getting into the Word of God every day, fellowshipping with the Lord every day, meeting with him, fellowshipping with him. Because what you're tuned into, you're turned into.
That's Tweetable right there, isn't it? What you are tuned into. You are turned into. You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford. A message called the Inner Me enemy. I look at James chapter one in today's broadcast. Well, we've already had a number of broadcasts in the short series, and if you've missed any of those, you can always
come to our website and catch up. Simply stop by Treasure Truth Radio and there through your computer or mobile device, you can stream the program, you can download MP3's, or you can order copies of this broadcast on CD. Just simply stop by Treasure Truth radio.org. Well, if you ever want to find out more about Pastor Ford or you know you're going to be in the Chicago area and you'd like to hear him speak live, you can get all the information you need by coming to our website
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