JOE: Welcome to FJM
TV. I'm Joe Jordan
here with Gina Thompson, my wife Kris
Jordan. And again, it's just a blessed day to be
here with you and share from God's Word. We have a great
little message today about the armor of God and how important
the armor of God is. And so before we share that with you,
we just want to welcome you to Fred Jordan Missions. Our
ministry has been sharing the love of Jesus with the poor and
the needy, the homeless, the helpless and the hopeless for 80
years this year. And we're just excited 80 years of being part
of this ministry. Not all 80 for me, only 60 of the 80. I wasn't
born, but I missed the first 20 years. But from 44 to 24, Fred
Jordan missions has been sharing God's love and God's Word, and
also FJM TV has been coming into homes and to living rooms just
like yours today. But now you might even be on your iPhone
sitting in your car. I do that a lot.
GINA: A little different from church in the home.
JOE: Different, yeah. Back the day when
Jordan Mission TV started in 1951, it
was a big black and white TV in the living room. And back
then there was only probably one TV if you were
lucky to have one in your living room. But today, now we have
iPads and everything. And so wherever you are watching today,
we're just grateful you're with us. And just know that Fred
Jordan Missions not only cares for the poor and the needy on
Skid Row and beyond, but we're here to share God's love with
you and encourage you today with God's Word. And as we talk about
the armor of God and right before we do, if somebody at
home is saying, hey, I would like to be involved, or I
can pray for you, I know that Joe, but how can I
volunteer? How can I give and be a part of
this ministry that's been here 80 years?
GINA: That's right. You just go to fjm.org, see how you can get
involved. We need volunteers. We've got Mother's Day coming
up. Yes, Mother's Day on Skid Row. We take the time to just
love on all the moms there that have been separated from their
children, and we just want to remind them that they are loved
and they're special on this Mother's Day. Go to fjm.org, see
how you can give financially and see how you can volunteer and
come alongside us and love on the Moms for Mother's Day there
on Skid Row. And also, Joe, you have a text that you give out
daily that is just a word of encouragement, a scripture. I
always like to say it's short but mighty or powerful. And you
can just text the word B-I-B-L-E to (262)314-7703, and you'll
receive a text from Joe daily, a scripture, word of
encouragement, short and sweet and powerful.
JOE: Absolutely. GINA: And I love receiving those.
JOE: And it's very short, like in 10
seconds, I read it every day because it
encourages me. It's just a little Bible verse.
GINA: Get it on your phone. JOE: Yeah, you get it on your
phone. It's a text from Joe. And then it
just gives a little application how you can apply it to
your life. And I'm encouraged by it every day. And speaking of
that, let's get into a little bit of God's Word and the armor
of God and what it means because a lot of people maybe don't know
how to go into battle and you say, wait, people watching,
we're not in a battle. Well, yes, we really are. And I'm
going to share with you a perspective maybe you've thought
about, maybe you haven't. But the Bible talks about an enemy
of our souls, Satan, the devil. I know it's a scary topic.
People are scared of just hearing about it. There's a
devil. There's Satan. Well, there is, and he is alive and
well right now, and he's out, the Bible says to seek, kill,
and destroy. Let's look at that from John 10:10, not my words,
but God's Words. And Jesus says this, the thief comes only to
steal and kill and destroy. I have that they may have life and
have it in full. So Jesus here is saying that the thief is here
to steal, kill, and destroy, but that Jesus came to just give us
life and life to the fullest, which is so important for us to
know that there is an enemy out there, he's there to take from
us. He's there to ultimately take our lives and keep our
hearts and our minds from the things of God and distract us
with all the pollution and all the stuff in this world so that
we don't find Jesus, accept that free gift of salvation, and then
we'll be without hope because in the end, God won the war. When
Jesus rose from the dead, that was it. The keys to hell, death,
and the grave, it was defeated and Satan has lost. But the
Bible says he's still prowling and he's out there and he's out
to get us. But also remember this, the Bible says God is
greater, Jesus is greater, and Jesus is here to give us life,
not to take from us. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 says this,
for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this age against spiritual hosts of wickedness in
heavenly places. I understand and I know, and for you at home,
this can sound scary, that the devil is real and he's powerful.
That's why it's so important to understand the armor of God and
that we have power against it. And just like if you were in the
army, if you were in the Navy, if you were in the Air Force,
the Marines, the Marines, they're are some bad dudes. I
have some friends that are Marines and they're the toughest
guys I know. And they go to battle and war, it's not just
taking their gun with them, but they put on the full armor, they
get their helmets so they don't get shot in the head. They put
on all of their vest and all of their gear. They are ready for
battle. That is the first thing they do is prepare for battle
with that armor. And we as Christians have and can do the
same thing, put on the full armor of God. And Paul's
encouraging us with this that we would know that no matter what
the enemy tries to throw at us, that God is greater and that we
have God's strong, awesome and mighty power at all times. The
Lord wants us to be able to stand against those strongholds,
the principalities of darkness. The Bible says that His desire
is that we would stand in those times that are evil, that we
would stand against those schemes. The Lord spoke to the
apostle Paul as he wrote this letter to the Ephesians, and the
Ephesians needed to learn one thing, to stand strong, to
believe in God's Word and God's promises. And today I'm asking
God to help all of us and help you to realize that you can
stand strong. Let us learn from this passage that if we have God
on our side and H is armor, we can get through anything. And so
ladies, why is it so important to understand that we're
in a spiritual battle here on Earth?
KRIS: Well, if we don't understand that,
we're not going to be equipped to know how to fight
it and gain victory. And so that's why
I love second, you know Paul talked about also in 2
Corinthians 10:3, he says, for though we walk in the flesh, we
do not war according to the flesh for the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, but mighty and God for pulling down
strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing
that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. And so we
can't fight spiritual war with natural weapons. We have to be,
as Paul said in Ephesians 6, strong in the Lord and in the
power of His might. And that's really the key to the armor of
God. It's not our armor, it's God's armor that we employ and
put on to fight that war because it is a war.
JOE: Yeah. And with that armor we can
get through anything. Gina, what's your
thought about that, about the importance of just
this battle that we face on earth?
GINA: Joe, you were just talking about our
warriors and our soldiers, and I saw something
the other day and it was just so visually incredible
and it was a soldier and he was going into battle and
he had all that stuff on him, the protection and the thing
they wear, and he had his gun and he's just going. And it was
just so intense. But at the same time, he's moving forward with
that armor and as he's moving forward, he had our warrior
dogs. There's a few like a German shepherd and all of that,
and he has his little pack on in his armor as well. But as the
soldier was moving forward, the dog was looking behind him,
faced backwards and the dog's moving backwards as the
soldier's moving forward. And it was incredible. And I just
thought, wow, that's just how God has equipped us with the
full armor of God. On the front is our armor. And he didn't give
us anything from behind because just like that German shepherd,
He's got our back and He's equipped us. So we move
forward with power. We don't retreat. We've got, what is
it? The sword of the spirit and the.
KRIS: Breast plate of righteousness.
GINA: Breastplate of righteousness. And we
just go in equipped fully with that full armor
of God and God's Word that we can just stand against.
The devil comes and steal, kill, and destroy.
God said, I've come to give life, give it more abundantly.
And we are more than conquerors through Christ that is in us
than he that is in the world. And with that armor every day
getting up, praying, saying, Jesus, go before me. Be with me
as I face this day. And that's just how we can do it.
JOE: Absolutely. And you know what's so
amazing is just like that dog was between his masters
and the soldier's legs, looking back, had
his back and was walking backwards as a soldier's
covering his front, the dog's watching his back. Well remember
this because it's really amazing. God's looking back,
covering your back and my back. He's got your front, he's got
your side, He's got above and He's got below. That's the
amazing thing, not to take away the story of that awesome dog,
train for battle, protecting his soldier, but God is the greatest
protector of all with the greatest armor of all, and
He's got us surrounded on all sides. If we
trust in Him, 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, rate or smile,
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 talking about
the armor of God and how God has you
on all sides if you trust Him, if you've placed your
faith and trust in Him. My encouragement to you today is if
you haven't, do it because God wants to have your back, your
front, your top, your bottom, your sides. He wants to guide
you through all of the enemies, ploys against you, all of those
tricks and all of that evil that tries to hurt us. He wants to
give you victory. It says in Ephesians 6:10, it says this,
finally be strong in the Lord and His mighty power. It's just
another promise from God. God is strong, God is mighty. God won
the war. Why not have God on your side? And we can do that by
having a right relationship with Him through Jesus who died on
the cross. As we look at these passages, we learn from the
apostle Paul how to stand strong against the devil, and we listen
to Paul, we learn from Paul, we hear him tell us to be strong in
the Lord, and that is his message to us. Be strong in the
Lord and let the Lord's strength be yours. He desires us to be
strong because God wants us to be strong. So He uses Paul the
Apostle to teach us, be strong, because I've got you, Paul. Tell
my people, tell my children, tell my followers that I've got
them too and I am strong and I can sustain them and care for
them. God's power and the Lord's power is for all people who
believe and we just have to trust in His might. In chapter
11, it goes on to talk about the armor of God. It says this, put
on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against
the tactics of the devil, for we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against rulers of darkness in this age against spiritual host
of the wickedness of heavenly places. Then it goes on in verse
13 to say this, therefore, take the whole armor of God that you
may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done
everything to stand. If you want to stand through every
circumstance situation that the enemy throws at you, you have to
put on the armor of God, trust in His Word and ask God to have
your back. Ask God to have your front. Ask God to have every
aspect of your life, but we have to surrender it to Him and He
will be there for us. As Christians, it's so important to
know that there is a battle of good and evil. It's real. And
the armor represents that defensive position that we need
to start with. Just like the army man and the Marine put on
everything, and the guy with the dog, puts on everything he gets
ready to go to battle, to help protect him. We have God, the
King of kings and Lord of lords Jesus that died on the cross for
us as the one who will protect us, but we need to put His armor
on. And as we're fighting against Satan, as we're fighting
against the enemy, he tries to destroy us. But the army of God,
the battle that he fights for us, He will always win because
God won the war against Satan already. And just as soldiers,
they put on this armor, God's armor protects us from the
enemy. Don't forget that. It equips us. It prepares us. And
through prayer, we can stand against all the attacks. We can
stand against discouragement. We can stand against that doubt
when it comes in like, oh, I don't know if I can make it
through this attack. So love, what can you share with us
about the importance of the full armor of God and
how as Christians we can wear it daily?
KRIS: Well, I think the first thing we
need to understand is that every piece of
armor serves a different purpose. It helps ward off
a different kind of attack. And so we can't just wear the
belt of truth or we can't just wear the helmet. We have to wear
the full armor of God. Just like any soldier, they go to battle.
They're fully equipped. They don't just go out with a gun.
And so when I think about David and when he went and he was
ready to fight Goliath, and so Saul is like, here, let me put
my armor on you. And he puts all of this heavy equipment and
David's like, I can't do anything with this because it
wasn't the right armor to fight the battle that David had before
him. Right? And the same thing goes with us. We fight a
spiritual enemy, the devil. And God is saying, don't fight it
with natural weapons. Don't fight it in your own strength.
Here I'm giving you the armor. This is how you're going to
defeat the enemy. And so every piece of armor is so important
because for example, okay, we're supposed to put on the belt of
truth. Well, why? What's the point of that? Because it helps
us combat the lies of the enemy. He's always saying stuff.
If you're not good enough, God doesn't love you. You're this,
you're that. And it's like, no, we wear that belt of truth
standing on what God says, as God's truth. And then you've got
the breastplate of righteousness. Well, what does
that do to help us in this battle? Well, because it keeps
us grounded in who we are in Christ. We are righteous, not
because of ourselves, but because of Him. We have His
righteousness, and so that's such a powerful piece of armor.
The shield of faith. It helps us repel fear and doubt. The sword
of the spirit really dismembers, Satan's strategies. And so the
point is there's a purpose for every piece of armor.
And if we're not equipping ourselves with that, how can
we go to battle and be victorious?
JOE: But it's amazing, because God
gave us every bit of armor we need.
GINA: We already have it. JOE: Yeah.
GINA: We already have it. JOE: As I think about that
story of little David, the little shepherd
boy, and he puts on all this stuff to fight this eight
foot, seven foot something, eight foot Goliath, the little
stone, and anyway, kills the guy. And everybody's amazed, but
he said it best, the battle is not ours. It's the Lord's. And
I'm going to let the Lord fight this battle for me. How many
times have you and me, I know we all have, but how many times
have you tried to fight the battle on your own and you just
don't win? Let Jesus be the one to fight your battles because He
knows how to win the war? What's your thought about that?
GINA: Well, we win the battles with our
faith. When we just give our trust
and confidence over to the Lord, we win because He's won.
And so putting our trust and confidence in the Lord, we win
our battles with our faith. We can't put it in anything else.
And I actually read this today and I'd like to share it. It
says, I will today, I will go the distance. I will endure the
growing pains. I will keep moving forward even if it's just
one step. And I know my resilience is deeply built
through at a, taking each small step on hard days. You know .and
being equipped with the full armor of God, putting our faith
in Jesus, winning the battle, just one small step with our
faith, on the hardest days, God's going to see us through.
JOE: Yeah, He will. He's all powerful. And so today, as we
kind of close this time with you, remember this, the power of
God in our lives as Christians is the same power that raised
Jesus from the dead. Jesus who died and was buried for those
three days, Jesus rose from the dead and now sits at the right
hand of God the Father. You see, the enemy thought He took Jesus
out. He died. He was dead for three days. And I'm sure Satan
thought I won. I won. But no, that resurrection power of God
raised Him from the dead. That is real power. The real power of
God that raised Jesus from the dead is for us today as well.1
John 4:4 says this, greater is He that is in me, than he that
is in the world. Jesus who lives in us as believers, who indwells
us, who comes into our heart, forgives us of our sins, is the
same one who rose Jesus from the dead. The Holy Spirit of God can
live in you today, but we need to trust Him. We need to obey
Him. With Jesus in our lives. We can overcome anything. And with
Jesus's armor every day, we know with God fighting
our battles. We are winners because of Jesus.
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 L.A., and they
come to our doors to be loved on, to be shared with that Jesus
loves you and Jesus saves. You w e 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: Well, welcome back again. It was
just such a blessing to be able to share
with you today, and we just love being here and trying
to encourage you with God's Word and some stories from our
personal lives. We're just real people who have struggled
through trials and storms and temptations and suffering, and
we've had to put on the armor of God every day of our life to
fight through it. And some days you forget a part of it, you
forget the shield, and all of a sudden an arrow comes from the
enemy and gets you and it doesn't feel good. But remember,
you don't have to go without the armor. You can have God's armor.
It's there for you every day. Be in God's Word, trust in His
Word, keep your faith in Him, your hope in Him, and you'll get
through anything. And that's what we share on Skid Row every
single day that we're there, sharing the love of Jesus with
those who are hurting and homeless, hopeless with broken
lives and broken dreams, we get to share Jesus. And Jesus is the
answer He conquered hell death in the grave, and He can conquer
any situation that those we serve on Skid Row face, any
situation that you at home face, but you have to trust in Him. If
you don't know Him today, just ask Him, Jesus, come into my
heart and life. Be my Lord and Savior. Save me. I trust you. I
believe what you did, and He will. And if you want to help
FJM TV continue as we have for 73 years and Fred Jordan
Missions continue as we have 80 years this year to serve God by
serving God's people, you can give today, go to fjm.org. We
need you, we can't do it without you, but with you, we will
continue to just share the love of God, to display the love
of Jesus to everyone we meet. Thank
you for being a part. God bless you.
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 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.