JOE: Well, it's an exciting day here
on top of the mission roof, and I think
you can see it right behind me, but there's Jesus.
Yes, he's in my heart. And if you know him and believe in him,
he's in your heart too. But I wanted to share from this part
of the roof, you know for a lot of reasons. My dad used to share
from God's word from this rooftop. Since, oh, probably
1951, he would share God's word with you, the viewers. But here
we are. Just behind me, you see Jesus, and we got to put Jesus
there. And one of the reasons I wanted Jesus to be on this wall
behind me is because this view that I'm looking out as I'm
looking towards you, I'm looking at the great city of Los
Angeles. Sorry. But for me, the reason why I felt like Jesus
should be on that wall... I know he lives in our hearts and it's
just a mural, just a painting of Jesus, and maybe he doesn't even
look anything like it, but to me, I knew that Jesus was the
one who could save us all. He is the one that died on the cross
for us all, the word of God says. And because of that, we
can have forgiveness, we can have hope, we can have life. And
so I wanted Jesus to look over our great city. I wanted to have
Jesus on the wall looking over all of those who are homeless
and hungry and hurting. I wanted Jesus to be up here that people
could look up and see Jesus on this wall looking at them,
knowing that there's a God in heaven that loves them so much
that he sent Jesus to die for him. And so Jesus being behind
me here was just appropriate to be able to share this with you
today with. So many people ask me every day, they say, "Hey,
Joe, hey pastor, hey, can I really not sin anymore? Can I
really beat this sin that's been beating me up for so long? I've
been hooked on this for so long, or that for so long." You name
it. It could be anything from drugs or alcohol to lustful
thoughts, to lying, cheating, stealing, lying. It could be
theft, it could be so many things, because everybody has a
different sin that they struggle with. "But is there victory over
sin? Is there a way that I can get away from sin and not let
sin control me? Is there a way that I can beat those things
that grip me and hold me and keep me bound? I don't want to
do these things. I know in my heart I don't want to do these
things, but I still do them." That's what the Bible says when
it comes to the Apostle Paul, I do the things I don't want to do
and I don't do the things I do want to do. And I'm not quoting
him exactly, but that's basically what he said. And I
understand that as a human being, as a fellow human on this
earth who struggles with the flesh, that sinful nature that
we all do... And as I talk to people over and over, they don't
have to be on Skid Row, could be you viewing at home friends next
door, people I play ball with, it doesn't matter who I meet or
who I talk to, everyone has struggled with this flesh, the
man inside with the wicked heart because we're all born in the
flesh, the Bible says. And is there really victory over sin?
Is it possible to overcome those things that regularly grab us
and hold us? Is there a way to not have our minds and bodies in
submission to those things that we struggle with, that we fall
to, that we do that we know we shouldn't do? Is it possible to
have victory and do what God wants us to do and do it God's
way? Well, I'm here today to tell you, yes, absolutely there
is. Hey, we, as long as we're on this earth, even as believers in
Jesus, we may never quit sinning completely. I don't believe we
will because there'll always be something where we'll fall
short. We'll make a mistake. We'll have a bad attitude, a bad
thought. Something will always be sinful in our life. But with
Jesus in our hearts, with Jeus in our life and what he did on
the cross when he died for our sins, it is not only possible
because of what did through his son Jesus, but because Jesus
died on the cross, he purchased with his blood and his life, he
purchased everything that we ever needed to have forgiveness
of our sins. And the sacrifice on the cross is what makes it
possible to have victory over sin. Because of what he did on
the cross, we can now live with that power to have victory over
sin. You say, "Well, how does that happen, Joe? How does that
happen?" Well, let me share with you a little bit from the Bible,
from Romans 8:5, and this is what it says. "Those who live
according to the sinful nature have their mindset on what that
nature desires. But those who live in accordance to the spirit
have their mind set on things that the spirit desires. The
mind of a sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the
spirit is life and peace." So it's really up to us. Are we
going to keep our minds on things that are, as my dad and
mom used to say, in the gutter? Are we going to keep our minds
on things that are sinful? Are we going to keep our minds and
our eyes and our thoughts on things that we shouldn't be
looking at, that we shouldn't be thinking about? Are we going to
have our hearts bound by things that tear us up and tear us down
and keep us separated from God, or are we going to put our minds
on the things, like the word of God says, the things that
matter, the things that the Holy Spirit would want us to think
about, God's word, God's ways, God's promises, God's
faithfulness, and all that God has for us? His desire is for us
to follow him, and we have to make that choice. One thing I
wrote down here that I wanted to share with you is that one of
the keys to victory over sin is what we do with our minds. What
do we do with our minds? Do we fill our minds with garbage? Do
we fill our minds with stuff that the world offers and all of
the darkness that the world offers, those things that try to
draw us away from goodness and mercy and love holiness and
righteousness so that we can feed our flesh? Or do we allow
the spirit of God to control our minds and not this world and the
flesh? It's a really hard thing, believe me, as a human being,
and even Paul himself knew it, that it's not easy to do what's
right, but as followers of Jesus, it's very clear that if
we allow God to transform our minds, if we allow God to
transform us and all of us more into the image and likeness of
his son Jesus, to make us more like him, to know him more, to
love him more, and of course, to allow him to make us more like
Jesus, we can have victory over those sins in our lives. We can
have victory. Paul separates their people into two categories
here in this passage, one of them controlled by their sinful
nature and the others who follow after the Holy Spirit. I don't
know about you, but I don't want to be controlled by my nature
and my flesh because it just gets me in trouble, and it's
wicked, and it's not honoring to Jesus. It doesn't honor a God in
heaven that loves us. And so I would like every day to have my
prayer, which I try every day to pray, God, please help me be
more like Jesus. Help me to think your thoughts, to do your
will and your purpose for my life. And if every one of us
would think about what Jesus would want us to do first and do
what the word of God says and be obedient to that, then we would
be in a much better place. Stay with us.
JOE: Here at Fred Jordan Missions,
every day, we see 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.
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, as I was saying, if we
would just allow Jesus to be the one
to control us in a sense instead of the flesh controlling
us, letting Jesus have our life and control of our life, then we
would be better off. And here I am on the roof. Jesus is right
behind me overlooking the city, and it's just every time I see
this picture... Again, it's probably not representing him
with a perfect photo of Jesus. I understand that, but this
muralist that painted Jesus with his eyes of just compassion,
looking over the city of Los Angeles and all of us as Fred
Jordan Mission staff, all of the homeless and the hungry and the
helpless, the children, the families, and even looking at
all the high rises with all the million and billion dollar
companies and everything, Jesus came to die for all of us, all
of us. Not just the homeless, the hurting or the hopeless, but
all of us are hopeless without Jesus. And so it's so nice to
have Jesus on the top of this building, this ministry, looking
over the city as we pray for it every day, for Jesus to change
it. Being controlled by our flesh, being controlled by the
spirit of God, that's what we've been talking about, how to
overcome sin. For those of us who have said yes to Jesus and
what he did for us on the cross, we're in a better place. We're
in a better place to be able to say yes to Jesus and allow him
to work in our lives because we've accepted his free gift.
We've said, "Yes, I believe you died on the cross for me. Yes,
I've asked you Jesus to forgive me on my sins and all my
trespasses against you, to cleanse me white as snow, to be
my Lord and Savior," but we also have to say yes every day to
doing his will and following his plan for our lives. Each day, we
must choose to have Jesus and God is the center of our life.
The Holy Spirit that's in us as Christians, we have to ask the
Holy Spirit to guide us in everything we do. And if not,
this world has enough garbage to offer, enough stuff to offer
that it'll distract us, that it'll take our minds into places
they shouldn't be. It'll take our hearts and poison them into
where they shouldn't be, because our hearts need to be set. Our
eyes need to be set on God and his love for us and what he did
for us by giving us Jesus. We need to just always ask God to
transform our minds and our hearts into his image and his
likeness. We need to learn God's word, we need to pray, and we
need to seek him every day. And again, you don't have to pray
for an hour. You don't have to read for two or three hours a
day to really get to know God. Just start with five minutes,
just five minutes. Wake up and say, "Thank you, God, for this
day. Help me to be more like Jesus. As I read your word,
speak to me through your word." Because the word of God says
that the word of God is living and active, it'll transform and
renew our minds from what our mind used to be to a mindset
that's more like Jesus, but we have to ask him every day. And
if you need to, when you're trying to make a decision or
you're stumbling or kind of like, "Oh, what would Jesus do
here?" ask yourself this question, what would Jesus want
me to do, and how would He want me to handle this? Then ask the
Holy Spirit to guide and direct you. And more than that, when
the Holy Spirit prompts you to do something, to not do this or
not do this, or do this or do that, do it. Be obedient. I
wanted to share with you a little story about my wife Kris
and my father Fred, who went to be with Jesus a long time ago.
Fred Jordan was one of the greatest soul winners. He was
one of the greatest men who just had a heart for people that
didn't know Jesus. In fact, that's how Fred Jordan Mission,
this ministry and television program, started. In 1944, he
started the mission to help men hobos, winos, drunks come to
know Jesus because of a friend in his life when he was a kid
who died in the electric chair because he was under the
influence of alcohol, and then killed somebody. That's another
story, a long story, but that's how my dad was called to
ministry. And then after that, and he started Fred Jordan
Mission, he wanted to reach this world and reach our country, and
especially Los Angeles for Jesus. So we went on ABC radio
and ABC television. And at one point in the 50s, from 51
through the 60s, it was coast to coast. It wasn't like one
station in LA, and you buy one in Denver and one in Dallas and
one in Philadelphia. It was everywhere. And the program that
I'm on today started as not Fred Jordan Mission with Joe Jordan
or Willie Jordan. It was called Church in the Home. And he
shared from the rooftop, he shared from a studio, he shared
Jesus in God's word to help you, the viewers and others who love
Jesus to love Jesus more, or you, if you don't know Jesus, to
know Jesus because of what he did on the cross. But I remember
my wife, when I first met her, she was just my girlfriend. It
was right before my dad died and she didn't really know Jesus.
She was brought up in a great home. She was brought up knowing
who God was, went to church, but she never had that personal
relationship. She never really had that experience of accepting
Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She didn't really realize that
she was a sinner and needed a Savior until my dad took her by
the hand one night and walked her out to this little room at
the old ranch where we used to take kids and families and share
Jesus with them and do camps and retreats at and shared the
gospel of John with her. He walked her through the Bible,
through the gospel of John in a couple of hours. And at the end,
my dad led her to Jesus. My dad walked her through the sinner's
prayer where she said, "Jesus, I'm a sinner. I need a Savior.
Jesus come into my heart, my life, and be my Lord and
Savior." And it was that night like 36 years ago when she
accepted Jesus into her heart and became a Christian and was
saved. And I'll never forget because we just talked about it
the other day. My wife Kris said, "You know the thing that
impacted me most after Fred, your dad, won me to Jesus? He
told me this, 'Get in the Word of God and stay in the Word of
God because that will help your Christian walk the most. To know
God is to know His word, to be more like Jesus is to know who
Jesus was, who Jesus is and how to do and be like Jesus was.'"
And she's never forgot that up to this very day. Fred Jordan
leading my wife to Jesus is one of the greatest things ever.
It's because of that and her coming to know Jesus, I
rededicated my life that same night, and we've been serving
Jesus together ever since. And I'm so grateful to God for using
my dad to reach my wife, and I'm so grateful that he uses his
word to reach all of us. The Bible says that we've all
sinned, we've all fallen short, but it also says that we could
all be saved if we place our faith and trust in him. Is there
really victory over sin? Can you really have victory over sin? I
can tell you this, that when I continually feed my spirit and I
continually are in God's word and ask God to help me to be
more like him, I'm stronger. And the things that come at you,
whether you're watching something on TV, or whether
someone says something or someone cuts you off and you
want to get mad or angry, I can tell you I'm in such a better
place when I'm just immersed and I'm in God's word daily. I'm
praying and asking Jesus to help me be more like him. I'm asking
God's Holy Spirit in me to guide me and direct me to be more like
Jesus. And I can see that the fruit is there, but I also know
that if I just let my flesh go, I'll get an attitude and I'll
get grumpy, and I'll be snappy or short with somebody. And it's
not who I want to be, but that's the flesh. Do we let our flesh
live, or do we do what Paul says and we crucify the flesh daily
and let the spirit of God who lives in us live through us so
that people can see Jesus in us? I know I always want to try to
let Jesus be seen through my life, but sometimes I fail.
Sometimes I fall short. But I want to encourage you that all
we have to do every day, a new day, and says, "Jesus, help us.
Help us to read your word. Help us to seek your face. Help us to
follow your plan and purpose for our life and guide us every
day." Romans 12:2 says this, in closing, "Do not conform to the
pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you'll be able to test and approve what God's
will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will." Romans 12:2 shows
us how to live out God's will by changing our thoughts to God's
thoughts rather than thinking Like the world says. This world
will always bring pressure to us to be like the world, sinful and
selfish. But if we want to live our lives to honor God and our
Lord, Jesus Christ, our Savior, it requires us to change
behavior, to change thinking. And changing our thoughts is
key. Ask Jesus every day to help you change your
thinking, and he will because he's faithful.
ANNOUNCER: If you ever visit the streets
of Skid Row in Los Angeles, you will
see ragged tents, compromised easy ups, which is
someone's home. If you walk down the streets of Skid Row, you'll
pass dirty blankets or old newspapers lying on top of
broken wooden pallets, which is someone's bed. If you come to
the corner of Fifth and Towne, you will see people lined up to
join team Jesus for a hot meal in our dining room or a time of
song and worship in our chapel. What you also see at Fred Jordan
Mission is smiles and hugs and hear wonderful stories of love
and care, serving those on Skid Row for 80 years, feeding
millions of meals, caring for the saint and the sinner by
declaring the goodness of God through love and action. Please
continue to give right now while it's fresh on your heart. Pick
up your phone or your tablet, go to your computer and type
fjm.org. It is there you can give a generous gift to help us
continue what we have been doing for 80 years.
JOE: And as you're here on the roof
with me, there's helicopters going
by and Jesus is here overlooking the city and stuff.
But right below, there are thousands and thousands of
homeless men, women, and children. And it's cold in the
wintertime, and it's so hot in the summertime, and people
suffer without hope. That's why Fred Jordan Mission is here.
That's why we're here. Yes, to bless you, to minister to you,
our viewers, our partners, but also to serve those on Skid Row
and everywhere we go throughout the Coachella Valley and beyond.
We need you. If you already partnered with us, thank you so
much. But if you don't, will you stand with us? Become an impact
partner. It's like a dollar a day. And if not an impact
partner, whatever you can give, on whatever frequency you can
give, together we can do extraordinary things to reach a
lost, hurting, hopeless and helpless world, and especially
city here in Los Angeles with the love of Jesus. And every
time you think about Jesus on this wall or you see him as you
drive by, just think, Jesus is looking over the city. He's
looking at you. He's looking at me because he loves us and he
wants his best for all of us. 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 is 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 home, reach for home.
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 P.O. Box 12345, Covina,
California 91722. Please will you help?
FEMALE: Reach for home.
ANNOUNCER: The preceding program was
sponsored by generous friends and
partners of Fred Jordan Missions.