JOE: Hey, welcome to FJM TV. I'm just excited to be able to share
again with you this week from God's word. There's something
that's been on my heart that is weighing on so many people's
hearts nowadays. That's all the situations and things we face
there's- there's wars, there's rumors of wars, there's drugs
and crazy things, everywhere we look, there's discouragement and
fear and worry. There's hunger and homelessness. There are
broken relationships and marriages and families and
children astray and parents astray, and people who are sick
and ill. And there's just a lot going on in our world and I just
wanted to share with you a little bit how to overcome when
we're overcome by these situations because we are more
than overcomers, the Bible says. We are more than conquerors, the
Bible says. And I want to share some of that with you because I
know that all of us, including you, our viewers at home have
faced so many different circumstances in your life where
it just can be overwhelming. And so I wanted to share with you
from God's word today about that and how every problem you face,
every situation you face, how you can get through it and
overcome it because they are going to come and you're not
always going to be able to just hide away or sneak away from it
or avoid 'em, but there will always be something that will
try to envelop us to try to take control of our emotions and
cause us to fear and worry and doubt and all the things I share
with you. You know, often I share about overcoming, and
having victory, and we're more than conquerors, and all of that
because we face so much on this earth. We face so much in this
world and in our country, and I talk to so many people, whether
it's on Skid Row or out in the Coachella Valley with a child or
a family, whether it's a friend who may live in San Diego or
Orange County, whether it's someone I know that's visiting
from Quebec, from Canada somewhere, whether they come
from Idaho or Montana. There's so many that have all the same
situations and fears and face things that we all do right here
in California. Every day they're faced with something that can
overwhelm them and want to overcome them. But you know
what? We can be more than overcomers. We can be ones who
can overcome every situation if we're just willing to trust in
Jesus and ask him to help us through it all. Have you ever
though like the devil, the enemy, the evil one is just
trying to discourage you every day, trying to get your eyes on
him every day, trying to get you to look at a situation rather
than just looking to Jesus. I know it happens to so many and
it brings a hopeless and a helpless feeling. You know, I
was just talking to a good friend of mine recently who I
played ball with, and it's an interesting story because his
life started off pretty well. He grew up, he was a high school
standout baseball player. He went on and played in college
and then got drafted and actually played in the major
leagues. I'm not talking about single A and AA and AAA,
although that's all professional baseball, but this guy made it
to the big leagues. He made it to the big stadium. He made it
to the big game and he was very young, early twenties and seemed
to have it all. Great baseball career, great baseball player,
just a really good guy. But it was all a little too
overwhelming for him. The situation he found himself in
kind of just enveloped him, controlled him, and took over
his life. All of it just got to him and he wasn't able to handle
it at that young age. Whether it was just fame, whether it was
the fortune that he found in it, whether it was the accolades and
the praise. I don't know every emotion that he felt, but I know
that all of it together overwhelmed him and that
situation became a problem and that problem became a nightmare
for him. You know, from there, he actually lost his contract.
He didn't play pro baseball anymore. And you say why? He was
a great player and he had it all. Yes, until that situation
and where he was overcame him to the point that he got hooked on
heroin. You say, wow, how do you go from being an athlete, an
all-star, a kid from high school that goes to college and then
goes and plays? Why would you want to give up major league
baseball and the fame and the fortune and just being able to
play the game he loved, playing baseball and major league
stadiums with some of the best players in the world. Why would
you want to give that up for heroin? But in those situations
that he was in, in the problems that came with that, that he
wasn't able to handle, he was distracted by the enemy in so
many ways that it just overcame him. And for 20 years after
that, he was a heroin addict living on the streets throughout
Orange County, living on the streets where no one else really
lived except those who were either winos or hobos or some
type of an addict. Different than today because this is over
20 years ago. Yes, there were homeless still, Fred Jordan
Mission. We served the homeless every day, so many hundreds and
hundreds and hundreds every day. And there's always been, the
Bible says the poor will always be with us. There's always been
the poor, the needy, and those who have struggled with
addictions and problems. But this man who was once just a
standout ball player, then a professional baseball player was
now a heroin addict. And after 20 years of living on the
street, still one, from what I've heard of his story and his
testimony, still just one of the nicest guys you would ever meet.
He was still polite. He didn't fight. He didn't go and steal
for his addictions, but he stayed on heroin for 20 years
and he was bound by heroin and lived on the streets. But one
day Jesus reached out through an individual to share the gospel,
the message of hope that there is a God in heaven that loves
him, that there is a God in heaven that did something
greater than he had ever seen on any baseball field, anything
else in his life that ever got him high heroin and everything
else he tried, didn't fill that void in his heart, didn't fix
what he was missing, but he found Jesus one day. He heard
about the gospel message that Jesus came from heaven to earth
to give us a way to know our creator God. To give us a way to
be reconnected with our Father God because of our sin and all
that we do wrong. All the trespasses against God separated
us from God, but God loved us so much, the Bible says, that he
sent Jesus to this earth to die for us. He heard the gospel
message and it changed his life forever. It was at that time
that he gave his heart and his life to Jesus Christ. It was
that time that he said no to heroin, no to his way, no to
what he wanted, and he said yes to God. He said yes to that free
gift, which was salvation only found in Jesus and what he did
on the cross. He gave his heart and he gave his life to Jesus
that day, and he's never been the same ever since. Now for the
last 20 years, he's happily married, has a wonderful wife
who loves Jesus also and is loved and walked with Jesus her
life. And you know, his story is just inspiring to me because
he's not the only one who have lost their way, who have been
overcome by something, whether it's drugs or alcohol, whether
it's mental illness, whether it's some kind of sickness or
disease, whether it's finances, whether it's economics. It
doesn't matter what we go through on this earth. Jesus has
a way out for us and the way is following him. Jesus is the way,
the truth and the life. That's what the Bible says. And the
Bible also says that no man comes to the Father except
through Jesus. Stay tuned. We'll be back
and finish up the message on how to overcome.
ANNOUNCER: Life is busy. It's easy for the little things and
our everyday routines to get lost in the shuffle even when
everything is going good, there are still things that get
overlooked. At Fred Jordan Mission, we strive to help those
we serve on Skid Row with the little things, such as having
access to a bottle or even just a cup of clean water when
they're thirsty. How about a cup of coffee and a donut just to
get your day going or taking for granted, having shelter from the
weather hot in the summer, cold in the winter. Did you know a
high percentage of those here on Skid Row who we call homeless
are not drug addicts or alcoholics or even mentally
unstable? No. They are fellow Americans who maybe a few months
ago were paycheck to paycheck from eviction or recently laid
off from their job or just down and out on their love. Your act
of kindness through prayer, through your financial gifts
today, help those who come through our doors for socks,
toothbrush, soap, a lunchtime snack, and yes, even water. So
let this be a reminder to be thankful for the little things.
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: As I was sharing with you the victory that my friend had
after a long life and career in sports and then got hooked on
heroin for 20 years and then he found Jesus as his Lord and
Savior. You know, there's nothing better than hearing a
story like that of somebody who really hit rock bottom. There
was else to go. He was at the bottom, and yet Jesus reached
out his hand and pulled him up. You know, it just reminds me
though, and I want to share this with you, that Satan, the enemy,
he uses every tactic he can. He uses every plan and ploy that he
can come up with to distract us, to take our minds off of God, to
take our minds off of following and living the way that Jesus
wants us to. He wants to take our lives and strip them of
everything that he can in order for us to forget who we really
are in Christ Jesus. He wants to take our lives and destroy us.
The Bible says that he is here to seek, kill, and destroy us,
but the Bible also says that greater is Jesus, greater is
Jesus. And we have to always remember that. You know, the
enemy uses discouragement. He uses things that overcome us as
a weapon against us so that we'll take our eyes off of God
and His way and then get lost and start getting just
overwhelmed by what the enemy wants to devour us with and
distract us with. You know, in Matthew 14, there's a story
about Jesus, and Jesus is with his disciples. The disciples go
out on the boat, the storm, the winds, the waves come and I
mean, I guess it was a really crazy just gnarly time on the
water where they were scared. The disciples were scared. They
were afraid. Peter was one of the disciples out on the lake,
and he was there with them. And as they were out on the lake,
the Lord decided, and remember, he's God, he's Jesus, the Lord
of the universe, the savior of the world. He's there with them
and he walks out on the water as only Jesus can. This is the
story of Jesus walking on the water and he walks on the water
with the storm and the waves and the wind, and he's talking to
his disciples and he says "It is I". He was there with them and
they were terrified, the Bible says they were so scared and
they didn't believe it. They thought he was a ghost at first.
And it goes on to say this, Peter said, Lord, if it is you
tell me to come to you out on the water. And so Peter got out
of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus. Well,
here's Peter. Jesus is walking on the water, wind waves. Can
you imagine? Peter gets out of the boat, steps out and starts
to walk to Jesus. But what do you think happened as a man, as
one who was like, oh, wait a minute. I've never seen anybody
walk on water. Now Jesus is standing on the water. He told
me to come to him, but fear crept in, and doubt and worry
crept in, and wind and waves. And Peter started sinking
because his faith was just not all there at the time. And I
don't know that any of us would feel any different. I'm sure
we'd all be scared. Wind and waves we're going to drown. You
know, and is this really Jesus? Is this really God, the Savior
of the World? And the doubt and the fear and the worry came and
he started to sink. But you know what? Don't forget this part of
the story because you know what? Today you may be drowning, you
may be sinking. You may be going under in some situation, some
fear, some doubt, or some worry, just like my friend who lost it
all when he went to heroin and he hit rock bottom. But this is
what Jesus did to my friend, and this is what Jesus did for
Peter. The Bible says, when he saw the wind and the waves and
he was so scared and Peter began to sink, Jesus reached out his
hand and caught him and lifted him up. And the Bible says that
Jesus said, Peter, you of little faith, why did you doubt? But
yet, Peter was rescued by the hand of Jesus and lifted out.
And after that, the Bible talks about how the calm seas, the
wind went away and the waves dissipated were gone. And
everybody saw that great miracle. It built Peter's faith.
It built his trust. When Jesus rescued him, just like my
friend, when he was rescued from the streets of Orange County,
lifted up out of that 20 year heroin addiction that Jesus
saved him from. His faith grew and now he wears these little
bracelets and it says, God's got this. Touches my heart. He gave
me one one day and he said, Joe, I know you know this as a pastor
and you've been rescued from Jesus probably as many times as
anybody, which I have, and I'm so grateful for every time I
meet Jesus. He sticks out his hand and he lifts me up and he
saves me. Not just salvation of forgiveness of sins, but saves
me from scary situations or things that happen. He saved me
more than once on Skid Row and on the streets when crazy stuff
has gone down, he's always been there for me. And as Jesus
rescued me, as he rescued my friend from the streets of
Orange County and heroin, he rescued Peter from his fears and
his worries. He said, you of little faith, why do you doubt?
And I want to share that with you today. We don't need to
doubt. We don't need to fear, and we don't need to worry
because Jesus has our back. God's got this. God's got you,
and God's got me. Never forget that, it's so important. And
don't let the enemy use these situations, that he's a master
of, to distract us from who we are in Christ Jesus and who he
is in us. The enemy works every day and every night to take our
focus away from what we really should, and that is keeping our
eyes on Jesus. Never forget that Jesus is the way, the truth and
the life. Never forget that Jesus has had victory on the
whole thing from the beginning to end. He conquered hell, death
and the grave and Jesus is the victor. We already know that
Satan lost the war. Satan lost the war, and he is going to be
thrown into the lake of fire forever. He is going to spend
eternity, eternity in Hell. And everyone who follows that
lifestyle and that path of just saying yes to themselves and no
to Jesus, the Bible says will happen to them also. The Bible
says that the wages of sin is death. Meaning if we want to
follow our own way and do our own thing and just go that way,
God will allow that because he allows us to have free will. But
the second part of that verse, the wages of sin is death. It
says, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ, our Lord. I don't know about you, but I hold on to that
free gift that was given to me when Jesus died on the cross
every day as my hope. He's the hope for today. He's the hope
for tomorrow. He's the hope for eternity. He is the hope of the
world, Jesus. And that's who we need to keep our eyes on. Don't
let your insecurities, your doubts, your worries, overwhelm
you, but know that you can be an overcomer. Sometimes we just
need a new perspective. And that's exactly what happened
when that little shepherd boy went to give food to the army of
the Israelites. The Israelites were fighting. They were
fighting this battle, and then this giant was there. And this a
story of David and Goliath, and we don't have a lot of time to
talk about it all. But here was this nine foot guy who was going
to wipe out everybody and all of God's army, all of the
Israelites, they were afraid and they had fear. They were worried
because they were going to get slaughtered by this giant
Goliath. But yet a father sent his little shepherd boy who was
out tending the sheep, just a little ruddy little small kid,
sent him over to bring food because they needed food. Not
thinking that he would change the perspective or anything of
anybody, but he went. And then as the story goes on, he fought
Goliath and he killed Goliath because he didn't do it in his
strength. The Bible says it wasn't by his strength and his
might, but by the power of God. God is on my side, and if God is
on my side, no giant will scare me. No giant will put me in fear
and no giant will kill me. And of course, we know that David
won the battle. He brought a new perspective to that group, to
that army of the Israelites, and sometimes we just need a new
perspective. Today, I just want to give you an opportunity to
have a new perspective, to say, you know what? My sight is over
her, my view is over here, my situation is overwhelming me.
I'm overcome by this or overcome by that. But let's refocus and
just remember, that there is a God in heaven that loves you,
that there is a God in heaven that loves me, that he sent his
son Jesus Christ to this earth to die for us. And all we have
to do is believe and receive. Confess our sins, the Bible
says, and he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins
and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Again today, I
just want encourage you that no matter what you face in this
life, Jesus is with us. God is your father who loves you so
much, and instead of thinking about all that we lack, all the
situations that overcome us, all that overwhelms us. Remember who
God is and remember what Jesus did. In closing
today, let go and let God take care of
your situation and let God be your overcomer.
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's there, you can give a generous gift to help us
continue what we have been doing for 80 years.
JOE: Thanks for being with us today at FJM TV. Every day, we
serve more and more and more homeless, hungry, helpless, and
hopeless people at the mission in the Coachella Valley and
everywhere in between. Everywhere that God calls FJM to
go, Fred Jordan Mission says, yes. Every time God says, do
this or do that, we try to be obedient to that calling and be
faithful to what He wants us to do because our goal, our vision
and heart, is to declare and demonstrate to every single boy,
girl, man, and woman that we can by sharing the gospel, the
message of hope, and by demonstrating that message and
meeting people's needs. If you stand what's already so, so
grateful that you do, and if you don't, would you get involved
because with your help, we'll continue to preach the gospel
and share the love of Jesus on FJM TV, on radio and in person
at the Mission and everywhere we go. But we can't do it
without you, but with you. With you, we will help others
overcome their fears, their worries, their addictions,
their sicknesses. By sharing Jesus and letting Jesus do what
he does best, take a mess and make a miracle.
He can do it for you also. God bless you.
FEMALE: (Singing) 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, PO Box 12345,
Covina, California 91722. Please will you help?
ANNOUNCER: The proceeding program was sponsored by
generous friends and partners of Fred Jordan Missions.