JOE: Welcome to FJM TV. I'm Joe Jordan. Just happy again to be
with you today and such an honor to be able to share from God's
word and share a little bit of what God has been doing at Fred
Jordan Missions over the last several weeks and months. And
it's been just an exciting time as we declare and demonstrate
the love of Jesus to those in need, those that are hungry and
homeless, helpless and hopeless. Every day at Fred Jordan
mission, we get to share the hope of Jesus and that's what
we've been doing for 80 years. Yes, 80 years. You've probably
heard it and you'll probably hear it for the rest of this
year every week, it's our anniversary. 80 years. Isn't
that amazing? I mean, I just barely turned 60, so it's been
around 20 more years than me, and I thought, or at least my
kids say, dad, you're old. So for 80 years, Fred Jordan
missions has been serving the poor and needy and it's so
exciting. Also, our television program has been on since 1951
and it's all made possible because of friends and partners
like you. It's all made possible because of caring and loving
individuals like you who watch and view, that care about the
poor, that care about the needy. They care about the homeless
Americans that are living on our streets, that live in our
sidewalks and doorways by Fred Jordan missions on Skid Row.
And, you know, I've been asked a few times, and so I just want
you to know, in 80 years, like... We don't take and we
don't receive local, state, or federal money. We don't take
government aid at all. You see, we're all funded and we're here
because of friends and partners like you. So thank you so much
for caring enough for the poor and needy in our city, in this
community, and everywhere that we go that you're involved
because together we are doing extraordinary things, serving
Jesus by serving the poor. Today I wanted to talk to you a little
bit about love, but not just normal love, relentless love,
and you say, Joe, what's relentless love? What is
relentless love? And as I was studying for this, I want to
just share with you the definition from the dictionary.
It's defined in the dictionary as this, showing or promising,
no abatement or severity, intensity, strength or pace of
love. And when I think about that relentless love, the only
relentless love I can think of is God's love for us, God's love
for you and for me and for all that He created. He has a
relentless love. He has a love that's unstoppable, unshakable,
immovable. He's got a love that pursues us and goes after us and
never gives up on us, and it's so amazing. God's love for us is
relentless. It's unwavering, unyielding, undying, and it's
that persistent love that never gives up. It never fades away
because God is love. That's what the Bible tells us. God is love,
and it's so good to know that. And God's love for us is so
great that He even gave us the most precious gift He could ever
give. He gave Jesus His son for us so that we could have a
relationship with Him. Our sin separates us from God and God
fixed it when He sent Jesus to the earth to die in the cross
for our sins. It's such an amazing love, unwavering,
unstoppable, relentless. And because Jesus sacrificed His
life that we could have life, we have an opportunity to be
forgiven for our sins. We have an opportunity to have a
relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and that's amazing
to me, amazing to me that God loves us like that, that God
doesn't give up, He doesn't quit, He doesn't stop, but He
just loves with everything He is. We see in my favorite verse,
a verse that I was probably taught first growing up with
Fred Jordan and Willie Jordan as my mom and dad, John 3:16, still
my favorite verse, still the verse that I taught my children,
even though they're like 24 and 26 now. It's the verse that they
know by heart. It's the verse that I've taught every kid's
club kid, any kid in youth class I've ever taught. It's what I
teach at Fred Jordan mission and it's what I want to share with
you today. And I've probably shared it a million times and
I'll probably share it a million more because from Genesis, the
first book in the Bible, to Revelation, the last one, it's
right kind of in the middle, John 3:16, in the gospel of
John, it says this, for God so loved the world, that's you,
that's me, that He gave His one and His only son, that whoever
believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. That
amazes me. Every time I read it, it still amazes me. After all
these years of being in ministry and serving Jesus and knowing
Him, it amazes me that God loves us, all of the world, all of His
creation, all of the men and the women and the children that ever
came to this earth that will ever be on this earth, that are
still on this earth today. He loves us all so much that He
gave us Jesus. T. hat whoever, not just one or this chosen one
or that, but whoever believes in Him will not perish but have
everlasting life. It's amazing that His love covers a multitude
of sins the Bible talks about. It's amazing that no matter what
we do in life, when we come to that moment where we just know
we're a sinner and we need a savior, it's because of Jesus
coming to this earth, dying on the cross, shedding His blood
and then raising from the dead. That power, the resurrection
power, and that blood of Jesus covers all of our sins when we
believe and receive Him. A relentless love? Absolutely.
Why? Because God is love and He never stops pursuing us. And I
just look at that and I say, wow, if God's relentless love
means that He'll never stop pursuing our hearts, He'll never
not love us, He'll always be after us... Why is that? Because
He wants our hearts. You see, God doesn't need our money. God
doesn't need our stuff. God just wants our hearts. But you know
what's amazing about God to me is? We're not puppets and we're
not robots and He doesn't make us do things. I remember those
little puppets and stuff and there's strings on him and you
could control 'em and make their arm go up, down, make 'em smile
or not, you know? Remember some of those shows with the
ventriloquist that make the little mouth open and talk when
He wanted it to talk or she, whoever the ventriloquist was,
and they controlled when that mouth opened and closed, when
the arms went up and down. But we're not puppets. We're not
robots created by God. No, we're people, human beings that were
made in His image and in His likeness, so wonderfully made.
It's so amazing how everything works. The fingers with the
hands, with the wrist to the arm, it's amazing, amazing to
me. You're like, Joe, why do you get choked up? Well, if you
think about a God in heaven that made us in His image and
likeness after him, and how amazing we are and how we're
made, wonderfully made, how the heart pumps and the blood goes
through and all of it, how it all works, it's just beyond.
It's amazing. And He loves us and He pursues us, and all He
wants is our heart. You say, well, why does He want our
heart? Because he wants a relationship with us. You see,
He created Adam and Eve to have a relationship, and they sinned
and they broke that relationship. But again, John
3:16, God stepped in to fix that and give us an opportunity to
have that relationship restored, a restoration with God if we
would place our faith and trust in him. It's that relentless
love that pursues you, that pursues me, and it never gives
up. It never stops. And I'm so grateful because if God would've
stopped pursuing me, I would've been lost for eternity. Stay
tuned, I'll be right back.
JOE: 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. For 80 years, we've
carried on the torch and the calling and the legacy that God
gave my father because of friends and partners like you.
Together we do extraordinary things, reaching people for
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.
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. You know, I just wanted to share
with you something that's really cool that you can receive every
day, a text from Joe. Yeah, it's a text from me. It'll come in on
your iPhone or your cell phone or wherever, and it'll just be a
short little Bible verse. I mean, really short, like John
3:16, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
son, that whoever believes in him would not perish but have
everlasting life. If you just text the word Bible to
(626) 314-7703, text the word Bible to (626) 314-7703 or just
scan the QR code below, you will be able to get that every day,
Monday through Friday. And it's just really short. It just says
God loves you and then it gives a little explanation. But it's
cool because, you know, all of us need to just start with a
little encouragement. You don't have to go read the Bible for an
hour, although that's good. I'm not discouraging you from that.
Anytime you can sit down and read God's Word every day, do
it. It's so important to our health and nourishment as
Christians and believers. It builds our faith and trust. It
lets us know who God is and His character and it helps us to
become more like Jesus. But if you just want a little bit of a
Word from God and a little devotion that literally will
take you, because I read it every day that it comes to me,
Monday through Friday, literally take you 10 to 15 seconds to
read. It'll encourage you. So text the word Bible
(626) 314-7703. But as we're talking about God's word here in
John 3:16, it's the relentless love of God that just gives me
so much security. It means He'll never stop pursuing us. He'll
never stop loving us. He'll never treat us like puppets or
robots. And it's amazing because God's relentless love came after
us and gave us Jesus while we were still sinners, the Bible
says. God didn't wait for us to clean up our act to get it
together. No, He sent Jesus when we were all at our worst, and we
don't have to come to Him with clean hands and clean hearts and
clean minds. No, the Bible says, you come as you are. God will
renew your mind, the Bible says, God will strengthen you. He will
give you the grace that you need, the mercy that you need to
cover all of your sins, to forgive you and to help grow you
in a relationship with Him. And you know what? All God wants is
our heart. He's not going to take it from us and He's not
going to make us love Him, but because of what Jesus did for us
while we were sinners and rotten, and all we have to do is
say yes to Him. Why wouldn't we want to give our wholehearted
devotion and love and just everything that we are to God
and to Jesus because of what they did for us? Pursuing us,
never giving up on us. As part of God's love for us, Jesus
spent His life when He was on earth, ministering to the needs
of people, and it just shows, again, relentless love for
people. As Jesus went through His ministry, the Bible talks
about, He cared for the poor and fed those that were hungry. He
cared for the widows and the children and those that society
had cast aside. He healed the sick. He gave sight to the
blind, and Jesus is still doing that today through us, through
you at Fred Jordan Missions. Yes, we're on the streets caring
for the poor and the hungry, there for the widows and the
children, those whose society has cast aside. Jesus's life was
a message of love, and because of that great love that he
provided on the cross on gives hope, redemption and salvation,
it gives us the ability to know that what He created in us can
be used by Him for His purpose. The gifts, the qualities, the
attributes that God gave us, He can take those things and use
them for His glory if we know Him, if we place our faith and
trust in Him. It's amazing to know that we, just rotten
sinners, can have a relationship with a perfect God through
Jesus, and then Jesus can use us for His glory and his honor, and
we see it every day through our staff and volunteers at Fred
Jordan Mission. We see the homeless and the hungry, those
who are strung out on drugs and alcohol. We see those who are
broken, broken hearts, broken spirits, broken dreams, broken
lives, all transformed because of Jesus and the power that He
brings to the streets of Skid Row as he works through us and
our staff, as he works through volunteers and also through you,
our partners. You see, together, we make Fred Jordan Missions
what it is. Together we make that calling, that vision and
that purpose that God gave my father and then my mother and
now us, me, you, to care for the least of these. He makes that
all work and make eternal differences. And that to me,
again, is amazing. If we look at Matthew 11, we see this. We see
that this verse right here, and this story can relate to all of
us because all of us sometimes might doubt or have questions.
Chapter 11 says, now, it came to pass when Jesus finished
commanding His 12 disciples that He had departed from there to
teach and preach in other cities. And when John heard in
prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of its
disciples and said to Him, are you the coming one or do we look
for another? And Jesus answered and said to them, go tell John
the things which you heard and have seen. The blind see, the
lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preach to them.
You see, John, the one who was to go before Jesus to prepare
the way to let everybody know there's a savior coming, Jesus,
the Lord of lords and King of kings, he was imprisoned. And as
John sat in prison, he began to have some doubts whether Jesus
was really the Messiah. And if John's purpose was really to
prepare the way for the coming of Jesus, if it was really
Jesus, then why would he be in prison? I don't know about you,
but we've all doubted, we've all wondered, we've all questioned
about faith, about Jesus. Is it all real? But Jesus' relentless
love for John did this. Jesus told John through His disciples
that there is no doubt pointing all of the acts of healing the
blind, the lame, the deaf, curing the leopards, raising the
dead, and preaching the good news to the poor. With all of
that evidence of Jesus's identity, it was obvious to
John, yes, it is Jesus. Yes, He is the Messiah. The forgiveness
of our sins, God's work in our life every day, if you ever
question, just look at the evidence. The evidence from the
Bible and the evidence from the work that God is and has done in
your life. You know, many times, I just need to look back at how
God healed me when I was going through really tough situations,
how God delivered me when I was going through scary and fearful
times, how God built a relationship back together when
I had a broken relationship with somebody. And most of all, God
showed me His relentless love when I was a mess, partying and
acting like a fool, that He kept after me and after me and after
me. Not at a condemning way, but in a loving way with His
relentless love to show me that He loved me in spite of who I
was and what I was doing. It's God's relentless love that
brought me back to that personal relationship with Jesus. In John
14, it says this, Jesus says this, I am the way, the truth
and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.
Many ask, how do I become a Christian? And this verse tells
everything. It's through Jesus. It's through Jesus. If you've
never accepted Jesus today, all you have to do is believe and
receive, the Bible says. Confess with your mouth, confess with
your mouth that Jesus is Lord and that God raised them from
the dead, and you can be saved. Just pray a prayer. Jesus, I
believe, I believe you love me, and you've been after me for a
long time. I give you my whole heart. I give you my devotion. I
place my faith and trust in you. Thank you for giving me the
faith to believe and for saving me, forgiving me of all my sins
and being my Lord and Savior. And if you already know Jesus
today, just continue to love Him and don't let anything ever stop
you from pursuing that relentless love that God has for
you by giving all of your love and heart to Him.
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. You know, 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: Relentless love. That's what we talked about today. And
just always remember, God has a relentless love for you. If you
feel like God's after you, He is, but it's in a good way. And
you know what? On Skid Row and all around the city of Los
Angeles where we serve the poor, needy, and hopeless and
homeless, God has a pursuit after them also. God doesn't
forget about us just because we look, or our society says we're
throwaway, or we're no good or we're not worthy or worth it.
Jesus died for all of us, for sinners so that we could be
saved. Will you stand behind us if you don't already? Will you
give today? Will you pray for us? Will you come and volunteer?
Be a part. We need you. Again, we don't take any local, state
or federal money, but it's all because of a partnership with
you that we serve Jesus by serving and caring for the poor.
May the Lord Jesus bless you richly. 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. For 80 years, we've carried on the torch and the
calling and the legacy that God gave my father because of
friends and partners like you. Together we do extraordinary
things, reaching people for 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.
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. Love 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 o 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.