Treasured Truth

Pastor Ford will remind us today that sometimes the solution to our problem is in our problem.  In other words, our deficiency—which is apparent to us in our problem—may be the provision for the sufficiency that God wants to provide for us, but we sometimes cannot easily see the truth about our situation.

As we begin to take a fresh look at Psalm 23, Pastor Ford will explain how that despite the fact that it may be the most well-known Psalm from the Bible, it may also be the least understood.  We’ll begin to explore the metaphors and the word pictures in this beloved passage of scripture and learn more about the Lord, Who is our Shepherd.

As we continue to consider how to see purpose in our problems and pain, Pastor Ford will explain the various kinds of suffering we can encounter.  One of those is remedial suffering, and God uses it much like a potter uses a heat to cure his clay.  So, it’s during those times when God uses suffering to burn character into us that cannot be changed, to burn compromise out of our life, and to burn off the carnality from our behavior, which helps us to resemble Christ and not the world.

God has sent us the trials we are experiencing in our lives, and He wants us to see them in the way that He sees them.  And that’s because He’s shaping us to make us into something that we currently are not. And why is He doing that?   Because in the current shape we’re in, God won’t give us what He ultimately does want to give us, when we have eventually been conformed to His will.

There’s power in the name of Jesus.  So much so, that when we focus on Him and on magnifying His name, our perspective changes.  And the smaller the problems in our lives will actually become, in light of His glory.

When we consider the purpose in our problems and pain, we need to realize that it’s not how much of Jesus we have, but it’s how much of us that Jesus has. We need to ask ourselves, do we really trust Him in our time of trouble?

As we continue our study in the book of James, Pastor Ford will ask us to consider this question—even though we’re going through something right now, are we more committed to Jesus’ purpose than we are to getting out of our pain?

Sometimes, when we’re taking care of God’s business and serving in ministry, we are hesitant to acknowledge the gifts of other people in our midst.  We see them as an intrusion against our own ministry, instead of an infusion of help from God. And instead of seeing them as a threat, Pastor Ford will encourage us to begin to discover the gifts of others, help them develop their gifts and deploy them into service for God’s glory.

You may be going through a tremendous struggle right now, but as we begin to look at how there is purpose in our problems and pain, Pastor Ford will encourage us to not waste our sorrows. Instead, we should embrace them, realizing that God is up to something and is working in our lives.

How can we know if we are mature believers in Christ? When His purpose is more important to us than our pain. Some people won’t get involved in ministry because they know that they’re going to get hurt. But Pastor Ford will explain today that we all must ask ourselves, is Calvary more important than our own personal comfort?