JOE: Welcome to Fred Jordan Mission. I'm Joe Jordan. Happy
Easter. Yes, Easter. If you can't tell by the shirt, then I
just want you to know, look at the calendar. Today is Easter,
and what a day it is. A great day. And we're going to talk
about that great day, how it all started, why it started, and why
we celebrate Easter in just a minute. I'm going to share with
you about something that's amazing. It's a gift. It's a
gift from God, and it's a gift for you and for me. But before
we start, I just wanted to welcome you to the program.
Thank you for watching and viewing. We're in our 80th year
here at Fred Jordan missions of serving the poor, the needy, the
homeless, the helpless, the hopeless with the hope of Jesus,
and what greater day to celebrate than today on Easter
Sunday. So again, welcome. As I had some thoughts about Easter
and started looking at God's Word I wanted to share with you
today some thoughts that I had, some thoughts from God's word
and something that I pray that will encourage you and bless you
and help you. I know that it's changed my life forever and so
many millions and millions of others who have looked to that
gift that God gave us all when He gave us Jesus. Easter's a
time when Christians celebrate, they celebrate the resurrection
of Jesus Christ. Yes, the resurrection. That is when Jesus
came out of the tomb, out of the grave and He was alive. You say,
wait a minute. Well, didn't there have to be something
before the resurrection? Yes, on Good Friday, which we just
celebrated a few days ago. It's when Jesus died. But then three
days later, the Bible tells us He was resurrected. God raised
him from the dead and He is alive today and He's at the
right hand of God, the Father. The Bible tells us that Jesus
died on the cross on that Good Friday. He was buried in the
tomb, and then the third day He rose, and that's why we
celebrate Easter, the celebration of Jesus's
resurrection. Well, you say, well, why is that so important?
And today is so important and why we celebrate Easter is so
important, especially to all of us as Christians who believe
what Jesus did on the cross, and it was all done out of love.
Today, on Easter Sunday as we celebrate this great story, this
resurrection story, this redemption story, we know from
the Bible that we were born on this earth because God loved us,
because He created us, and the Bible says in Genesis, in His
image and in His likeness. But we also know that from the very
beginning, the first two, Adam and Eve, they sinned and they
fell short. They disobeyed God. And when sin came in the world,
it brought a separation between us and God. You see, when we
have a perfect and holy and righteous God, who is just
spotless, has no blemish, it's hard to have a relationship with
the children he made that are sinful and wicked. And so there
was a divide, and because of that divide, because of our sin,
we have a broken relationship with God. But God had a plan and
that's why we celebrate Easter, that great plan to bring us back
together, the resurrection of Jesus that brings us from death
to life if we trust in Him, and we're going to talk about that
some today. It's because of Jesus and what He did on the
cross and how He rose from the dead, that blood that was shed,
it gives us a second chance, a chance to know God, a chance to
honor God. And really I look at it like this, because we all
need one. I know I did. We need a second chance. I'll tell you,
it was not too long ago when I thought about when I gave my
heart to Jesus and how bad my life was. I grew up in a
Christian home. I grew up with great Christian parents, Fred
and Willie Jordan, who literally met the needs of the homeless,
the poor, and the needy around the world. They blessed and
shared the gospel, the resurrection story with
literally tens of millions of people, fed tens of millions of
people, and we still do feed hundreds of thousands of people
every single year at Fred Jordan Mission. Even in our 80th year,
we're still growing strong, declaring and demonstrating the
love of Jesus. But, you know, even though I grew up in a
Christian home, even though I knew the truth, the truth only
sets you free if you allow it to. The truth only sets you free
if you receive it, if you believe, and you give your heart
and life to Jesus. And I didn't do that for many years and I was
far from God. I needed a second chance, and I remember running
and partying and doing all those things that I shouldn't be
doing. I knew it was wrong, and yet there was still a tug in my
heart. There was still a little voice in my ear. There was still
a comfort that I had knowing that there's a God out there
that's still after me looking for me, and He wants to have
that relationship with me. And yet I lived in so much guilt and
shame because I knew I didn't deserve a second chance. I knew
that the Bible said that my righteousness was that of filthy
rag, so why should I get a second chance? I always knew God
loved me, but I wondered how God could love me when I was not
loving Him, when I was doing what I wanted to do, and I
wasn't caring about what God wanted me to do or what God had
for me. But that's where that second chance comes in, and
Jesus came to this earth and gave us a chance to have a
relationship, to have a second chance, and it was paid for when
Jesus died on the cross. Why is it so important to celebrate
Easter? For Christians, Easter revolves around the death and
the resurrection of Jesus, but also because Jesus died for our
sins, because He rose from the dead three days later,
Christianity and Christian life, Christian doctrine, Christian
beliefs are all wrapped around that truth. You see, without
Jesus, we wouldn't have a chance for eternal life, second
chances. We wouldn't have a chance to know God. We wouldn't
have forgiveness of our sins. But because of what Jesus did on
the cross by dying and being buried and then resurrecting, we
have a chance, a second chance, a chance to know Him and to
honor God and have a chance for eternal life if we believe and
receive. You know, Easter for Christians from the very
beginning was basically the center of their faith. It is our
identity in Christ. Yes, Christians believe in the birth
of Jesus, and it's so important. I loved a few months ago when we
celebrated the birth of Jesus. And it's so key, Jesus, baby
Jesus being born in that manger. He was born in such a humble
way, in a stable, in a barn, in a feeding trough basically that
animals would eat out of. It's not like He came as a warrior
and just took over the world and showed everybody, this is who I
am. No, He came and such a humble way. He grew up to show
us the way. He grew up healing people and caring for people and
loving people, healing people, and showing God's love to us,
all of us who lived on the earth. And so we celebrate
Jesus, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but we also celebrate the
death of Jesus, because without the death, there wouldn't be a
chance for life. There wouldn't be a chance to have second
chances. If you look in the scriptures, it shows in the
gospels, in two gospels, it shows the birth of Jesus, but in
all four gospels, all four of 'em, we see the story of the
death and resurrection of Jesus. That's how many times it's
mentioned. That's how important it is that all the gospels,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all tell us the story of Jesus
dying on the cross. And if we look at Hebrews 12, I just love
this passage of scripture that I want to share with you right
now. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and the
perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, He
endured the cross scorning at shame and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such
opposition from sinful man so that you may not grow weary and
lose heart. You see, God loves you. He loves me so much, and He
gives us an opportunity to have second chances. And this Easter,
I pray that you'll consider what God has done for you. And if you
already know Him, that you'll look at Easter different than
you ever have before because of what God has done for us by
giving us Jesus. Stay tuned. We'll be right back.
ANNOUNCER: Jesus once said, what you do for the least of these
you do for me. With your generous support, Fred Jordan
Mission has been fulfilling this calling for over 80 years by
feeding hungry people here on Skid Row. Together we made a
difference. Together, we have given hope to those less
fortunate, and together we have demonstrated the love of Jesus
to those in need. We deeply appreciate your support and
we ask that you please continue to give to this life-changing
mission. Go online to give at fjm.org. Whatever the amount,
great or small, your donation is greatly appreciated.
ANNOUNCER: Join the conversation by connecting with us on social
media. We are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more.
Visit us at social.fjm.org.
JOE: Well, welcome back. We're celebrating Easter today, Easter
Sunday and how important it is. And it's so good to know that
there's a God in heaven that loves you and loves me enough to
send and sacrifice His son Jesus. See, Jesus was up in
heaven, perfect son of God, and God said, I want to bring a
bridge and bridge that gap from my perfection and the sinfulness
of man, and the way I'm going to do it and bridge that gap is by
sending Jesus to sacrifice His life, and He did on that Good
Friday, what a great Friday it was. He died on the cross. He
was put to death so that He would die for the sins of the
world, for all of us, for you, and for me to give us a second
chance. And then on the third day after He was in that tomb,
in that grave, God rose Him from the dead. That resurrection
power. Think about it. If God can raise Jesus from the dead
after three days, and Jesus died on the cross for your sins and
for mine, all we have to do, the Bible says, is believe and
receive in that free gift. Believe in our hearts that God
raised them from the dead, that God loves us, that God died on
the cross for our sins, and we can be saved. We can have
eternal hope and eternal life, a relationship with Him. How
amazing that second chance is. And I remember getting that
second chance when I gave Jesus my whole heart, my whole soul
and everything about me and just said, here, Lord, I'm yours. I
love you. Thank you for what you did for me. Come into my heart.
Forgive me of my sins. Be my Lord and Savior. And now for
almost 37 years, I've been walking with God, having a
relationship with Him, a personal one, an intimate one
where God speaks to my heart, where Jesus is always with me no
matter what I go through. And that's so amazing to know that
our creator loves us that much. There's many Christians who
celebrate Easter and they remember the death, the burial
and the resurrection of Jesus. But for many Christians, it's
just another day. It's a holiday. It's a time off. Kids
away from school, spring break or Easter break. It's just
another day. Not that it's not important, but for many it's a
holiday. It's when it's Easter egg hunts and Easter baskets.
And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying any of that's wrong. In
fact, here on Skid Row at Fred Jordan Missions, we gave
wonderful big bulging Easter baskets to all the kids for
Easter this year. What a blessing it was, and also a home
cooked meal to celebrate Easter with all of the men, the women,
the children, and the families that live on the streets of Skid
Row and surrounding areas because that's what we do. We
demonstrate God's love and there's nothing wrong with that.
I believe if Jesus were here today, which He is with us and
through us, He would be feeding the poor and the homeless on
Skid Row also, caring for those poor and needy families, giving
them food boxes. And yeah, I think Jesus would have no
problem with blessing the little children with an extra gift. But
the one thing I know Jesus would do is He would share His love.
He would share His redemption story. He would share about the
resurrection that He walked through, His life that He gave
up for you and me, and that's what we did first. I was able to
preach the gospel and share the good news, the Easter story, the
Easter message with all of those children and families and all of
those men and women who don't have hope most days, who just
live in such poverty and such suffering and such helpless and
hopelessness. But Jesus is the hope of the world, and so we
demonstrated God's love, but we declared God's love first and
it's amazing. But if we look at it the way that the Bible tells
us, then we can't look at Easter any other way than to say Easter
is probably the most important day of the whole year, the day
when we got a chance to have a relationship with our Father,
God in heaven, because of what Jesus did on the cross. You see,
it's so amazing to me. I hope it's amazing to you that the
Bible says, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We
were in our worst state. We were sinning against God, selfish and
just all about me, me, me, me, and yet God knew that the only
way to have a relationship would be if He gave the perfect
sacrifice, and so He gave us Jesus, His one and only son, and
Jesus went to that cross and died for our sins. It brings
hope. Easter brings hope. Every time we think of this story, it
brings forgiveness of sins because of the blood of Jesus
that was shed for us and that resurrection power, it opened
the way for us to have a relationship with God, our
creator, because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
Sometimes in this society, in this modern age we live, you
know, we're bombarded with all this stuff about Christmas and
Easter and it's about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. And
I'm not here to criticize, I'm not here to critique that, but
I'm here to just tell you that Christmas is about baby Jesus
being born so that He could grow up one day and celebrate Easter
because of what He did on the cross by dying for our sins.
Always keep in mind, always look to God's word and just know that
Christmas and Easter is the thing, is the way that we have a
relationship with God, forgiveness of our sins, and we
have eternal life in heaven because of Jesus coming to this
earth and then dying for our sins. My hope and prayer for you
this Easter is that you realize the importance, the meaning of
Jesus dying on the cross for your sins, shedding His blood
and then raising from the dead three days later. It is that
resurrection power that brings us from death to life. I love
Romans chapter 1, verse 16, and it says this, as Paul wrote
this, I'm not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power
of God for salvation for everyone who believes. Everyone
who believes. First to the Jew, then to the Gentiles. For in the
gospel, a righteousness comes from God and it's revealed.
Righteousness that is by faith from the first to the last, just
as it is written, the righteous will live by faith. Do you have
faith in Jesus today? I know I put my faith and my trust in
Jesus, but you know what's so amazing? God even gives us the
faith to believe. In Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8, it says
this, for by grace you have been saved through faith and not of
yourselves. It's a gift from God, not of works, least any man
should boast. You don't have to work for it. You don't have to
earn it. It's a free gift. Isn't that so amazing? It's a free
gift from God. God gives us the faith to believe, and it's a
free gift that He gave when He gave us Jesus. In Roman, Paul
talks about being not ashamed of the gospel, but the power of
salvation for everyone who believes. It's by faith,
believing in Him and trusting in Him that we can have eternal
life, forgiveness of sins, and it all starts by just saying
yes. As we look at the last part of this message, I don't know
about you, but I just am so grateful that Jesus gave me a
chance to know Him and gave me a chance to have salvation. And in
Romans 10:9, it says this, and this is what brought me to Jesus
finally, that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is
Lord and believe in your heart that God raised them from the
dead, you will be saved. Salvation is as close as your
mouth and your heart. It's not complicated. It's not hard. If
you believe in your heart and say with your mouth that Jesus
Christ is Lord and risen from the dead, you can be saved.
Today, if you don't know Jesus, all you have to do is say,
Jesus, I'm a sinner. I need a savior. I thank you that you
died on the cross and rose from the dead. Come into my heart. Be
my Lord and savior. Help me to walk with you every day. Help me
to know you, honor you and follow you. Thank you Jesus for
dying. This Easter, if you prayed that prayer, then you're
saved. You have eternal life, forgiveness of sins. If you
already know him, then today and every day, think about Easter,
how special it is, because without Easter, we wouldn't have
a second chance.
JOE: Here at Fred Jordan missions, every day we see all,
all types of people. I remember as a kid, my father, Fred and my
mom, Willie, teaching me a song about Jesus loves the little
children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, we are
all precious in God's sight. I still know that song. I taught
it to my children, and that's exactly what we see here at
Fred Jordan. Mission every day. Red and yellow, black and white.
Every single person that you could think of from children
all the way to seniors are here on the streets living in LA, and
they come to our doors to be loved on, to be shared with that
Jesus loves you and Jesus saves. We hand out water, we hand out
drinks, we hand out snacks. We preach the gospel. We have hot
meals, we do special events, but if you want to know who comes
through our doors, it's all of us. There's no certain person.
There's no certain look. But like I said in that song, red
and yellow, black and white, we're all precious in God's
sight, that's who we see here every day at Fred
Jordan Mission. People from all around this country that end up
on these streets can come through our door and we will
serve them as we declare and demonstrate the love of Jesus
to those in need.
JOE: Welcome back. My prayer for you is this. Let this Easter
Sunday renew your faith, strengthen your spirit, and fill
your heart with joy because what Jesus did for you and for me. I
know that's what we share every day on Skid Row, and it's
because of you and partners like you. I was once asked, hey, do
you get state and federal and local money and government
money? No, we don't. For 80 years we've been supported.
We've carried on the torch and the calling and the legacy that
God gave my father by feeding and caring for the poor and the
homeless, the needy and the hopeless and the helpless with
the love of Jesus because of friends and partners like you.
It's ones like you that stand with us. When you do a good
thing and I do a good thing and someone else does a good thing,
together we do extraordinary things; reaching people for
Jesus, feeding and caring for the poor, and showing and
demonstrating the love of Jesus, and that's because of you. Thank
you so much for all you do. Keep us in your prayers and whatever
you can do, whether you give $5 or $25 or $50, just know
this, God takes it all. He puts it all together, and then He
uses us at Fred Jordan mission to reach the least of these.
Happy Easter.
ANNOUNCER: Jesus once said, what you do for the least of these,
you do for me. With your generous support, Fred Jordan
Mission has been fulfilling this calling for over 80 years by
feeding hungry people here on Skid Row. Together we made a
difference. Together, we have given hope to those less
fortunate, and together we have demonstrated the love of Jesus
to those in need. We deeply appreciate your support and we
ask that you please continue to give to this life-changing
mission. Go online to give at fjm.org. Whatever the amount,
great or small, your donation is greatly appreciated.
ANNOUNCER: Join the conversation by connecting with us on social
media. We are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more.
Visit us at social.fjm.org
FEMALE: (Singing) When the night comes and there's no one, and
you feel hopeless and abandoned, just take my hand and lift your
eyes. Change is coming, hope has arrived. We will overcome this
sorrow. We will see the dawn tomorrow. We will soldier on
down this road as we reach for hope, reach for hope.
ANNOUNCER: Please, will you join us in feeding hungry children
and their families by phoning today, 844-FJM-FOOD or donating
online, fjm.org. That's fjm.org, or mail your check to Fred
Jordan Mission, PO Box 12345, Covina, California 91722.
Please, will you help?
FEMALE: (Singing) Reach for hope.
ANNOUNCER: The proceeding program was sponsored by
generous friends and partners of Fred Jordan Missions.