Treasured Truth

There’s an example of a person who was caught in sin, that we can read about in 1 Corinthians 5.  Because the church "delivered him unto Satan" (according to the scriptures) for “the destruction of the flesh,” he repented.  But guess what—then they wouldn’t forgive him and let him back into the fellowship of the church! So, today we’ll see how Paul rebuked that church for their unforgiveness.

Continuing our look at sins that should be dealt with by the church, Pastor Ford defines for us what a “busybody” is.  According to him, that’s a person who is “always up in somebody else’s video, trying to find out what flavor their Kool-Aid is.”  He says that person is in the category of seven things that God hates. What does God hate?  The person who sows discord among the brethren—or in other words, the people of the church.  

As we begin this study in Galatians 6, we’ll look at the subject of church discipline.  And today we’ll consider how matters of private sin or offense, go public too often. So, when we have something against a brother or sister, that’s where it ought to stay.  We ought not spread cancer in the church, going to others who have nothing to do with whatever it is that we have a problem with.

Pastor Ford explains that God seeks us to worship Him.  He wants sincere worship from us.  Why?  Because He not only wants us to be redeemed by Him, and a resource for Him to use, He also wants us to be rejoicing in Him through our worship.

Today, Pastor Ford shares a story about how God wanted to remove fear from his life.  And God knew the way to do it was to put him in a situation where he had no help but the Lord Himself.  And, because Pastor Ford has been able to look back on that situation, he’ll explain how, from that day forward, he’s never been scared.

In Psalm 23 we read, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I’ll fear no evil.”  How could David say this, when his enemies wanted to kill him?  Because he knew that God was with always with him.  And just like David, we can overcome our fears by knowing and trusting that God is always with us, so we don’t ever have to be scared.

When you know Who God is and you don’t just “talk” about Who God is, but you also “walk” Who God is, then you’re in a good position to overcome any fears you may face.  That’s because when you’re rightly focused on Him, then you never lose sight of Who God is and what God is able to do.

Ministry can be very hard some times.  And the very people we try to minister to, often are the people who hurt us the most!  But Pastor Ford explains today that we need to decide that there’s no opposition—even from the ones that we’re trying to minister to—that will make us stop doing what God has called us to do.

When we serve God through ministry—whether vocationally or voluntarily—there are many challenges we can face.  But when we realize that serving God is a privilege, then that brings everything together and helps us face those challenges effectively. Considering how God chooses to use people like us to grow His kingdom, despite our shortcomings, is a humbling realization and makes us understand even moreso what an awesome God He is!

Pastor Ford describes the three choices we have—Jesus is either Lord, liar or lunatic.  We have to make a choice, because just as He asked Peter, Jesus also asks us, “Who do you say that I am?”