JOE: Finding hope and growing in your faith. That's what I want
to share with you today. You know, it's not always easy to
find hope, especially when you find yourself in hopeless or
seemingly hopeless situations. And growing in your faith during
those times when it seems hopeless, seems like that's not
even a reality or something that can happen. But I can share with
you through personal experience is how hopeless situations are
times that we can really press into God. We can really trust
Him in those situations when there's nothing else we can
really put our trust in. Because when all hope seems lost, when
the situation seems so hopeless that there's no way out, there's
no good answer, there's no clear path through it, it's in those
times that we need Jesus the most. It's in those times, at
least for my life, that I need to trust God the most. I need to
rely on His promises. I need to rely on His Word that is true
and certain. And so finding hope and growing in your faith is
possible, and I just wanted to share some thoughts that the
Lord put on my heart today with you about it. Wanted to share
first the definition of hope during hard times. Hope is a
confident surrendered trust in God with the expectation of
fulfillment. You know, sometimes when I look at situations in my
life or have in the past that seem hopeless and just don't
seem to have any good ending at all, sometimes they don't even
seem to have an ending, and it just seems that that drama, that
heartache, that hurt, that stress, that pain, that
situation is just never ending. Have you ever been there? I'm
sure you have because we've all been through things that just
won't quit. But I can tell you that over the years, the more
I've relied on and trusted in God and placed my hope in Him in
those hopeless situations, the better they've been, the more
I've learned, and the deeper my faith has grown in those times.
You know, having faith and trust in God is difficult at times,
and especially when things are hard, hurtful, and devastating
in your life, when they're stressful and they're filled
with anxiety and fear and worry and doubt. All of that
uncertainty is just not what any of us I know like or want to
have in our life. But that's when I've learned most to go to
God, who is sure and certain, who is, one, the rock that will
never let me down. The Bible says Jesus will never leave us
or forsake us. And in fact, some of His last words that He shared
with us is something that just came to my mind. When He said to
his disciples, I will be with you to the very end of this age.
He left His Holy Spirit when He left earth and He ascended to
heaven after his resurrection. The Bible says that when we
receive and believe in Jesus for salvation, when we place our
faith and trust in Him for the forgiveness of our sins, so that
what He did on the cross, that gospel message, Jesus died on
the cross because He loves us, He shed His blood for us to wash
us white as snow, the Bible says, and if we would just
believe and receive that free gift salvation, we can be
reconciled with God, we can be reconnected with God, we can
have a right relationship with God, and no longer will our sins
separate us from God. But through Jesus and the cross, it
brings us together once again, to have fellowship with our
creator and our God. And so trusting Him in those hard and
difficult times, trusting Him in those challenging and even
physically challenging times are so key. And it just reminds me
of this new little track we have, How to Know God. And if
you don't know God today, we want to send this little Fred
Jordan Mission track to you, How to Know God and how You can
receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, how you can place your
faith in Him and trust in Him and what His Word says about all
of that. How you can be forgiven of your sins and start a new
life in Christ. If you'd like, just let us know and we would
love to send this to you. You can DM us, go on one of our
social media platforms. You can call us, you can write us if you
still do the pen and letter thing, that's great. We want to
be there for you and get that in your hands. Or if you'd like
some for your friends or family members that need to know
Christ, let us know. You can also go to our website at
fjm.org. But back to these hard and painful times. You know,
there are times in our life, and I can think about Chris in my
life and some of the things that we've had to go through, they're
even physically challenging. I mean, have you ever been in
situations, whether it's with your children, with a loved one,
with your spouse, have you ever been in situations at your job
or with your boss or, you know, those situations that actually
bring physical... physical distress to your body? I'm not
talking about just the stomach ache, you know. But some of the
situations that we face, some of the heartaches that we face,
some of the challenges that we as human beings face on this
earth, they can rip into your physical body and cause damage.
I know for me, some of the situations I've faced in life
have caused me... and I trust Jesus, I love Jesus. I put it
all in His hands, but still, your body reacts. And I know for
me, one of the reactions my body has to stress and pressure and
hard times is my blood pressure goes up, and I've had times even
where I've gotten dizzy and they relate it all back to stress.
And, you know, the one thing I learned through all of that is
that taking a pill or doing something to just make it
disappear for a moment, maybe that's okay, and maybe that
works for some, but for me, what I've learned to do is just
surrender and trust and place all my hope in a hopeless
situation in Jesus and look to Him and look to His promises in
His Word. That He is with me, that He will be with me, that He
will guide me through it because I know He loves me as his child,
as a forgiven Christian who has accepted and believed and
received Him. And so those situations, it doesn't mean that
they don't come to me or my wife. It doesn't mean that we
don't still struggle through them at times, because life is
hard for everybody, even pastors, evangelists, leaders,
ministry leaders. It's hard. And sometimes even I think the enemy
comes after us even more because we're here to share the hope of
the world, Jesus. We're here to share the love of Jesus. We give
food like you see in front of me, whether it's fresh grapes or
eggs or, you know, sweet potatoes and cantaloupe. We
don't just give rice and beans to people, but we give good and
wholesome nourishing food to all of those who come, the homeless
and the hopeless and the helpless on Skid Row, every day.
And we've done it decade after decade after decade, after
decade, after decade. And we will continue to do it as long
as the Lord sustains and keeps us here on this earth. But you
know what? I'm sure even after I'm gone, as my dad now has been
gone for three and a half decades, God will bring someone
else in to carry on His mission and His vision and His calling,
because His calling and purposes for our lives are so important.
And that's why we need to hold on to hope, hope in Jesus, and
hope in those hopeless situations, and it will
strengthen our faith and our trust in Him. The joy of knowing
that we're saved should be something that we hold onto. And
knowing that our sins are forgiven because of what Jesus
did on the cross should bring us assurance that it should bring
us confidence. Knowing that we were saved through the gospel of
Jesus Christ, knowing that I was saved through the gospel of
Jesus Christ personally, in those times of great suffering
and trials and hurt and heartache, it brings me a
confidence. It gives me hope that God will take us through
it. The Word doesn't promise that we won't go through
situations that are tough, and in fact, we see in God's Word
that whenever we face trials of many, the word of God says,
whenever we face trials of many, that Jesus will be there with us
through it all. And there is also part of that Word there
that talks about that we should consider it pure joy. And, you
know, sometimes I look at that and how do you consider those
situations joy, those hopeless situations joyful? But you know
when you know that you know that you know who you are in Jesus,
when you know that you've been saved by grace through faith in
Jesus, and you know have eternal hope, eternal life and
forgiveness of your sins, and no matter what the hopeless
situation is on this earth, that when we're not on this earth
anymore, we will be in the hands, the arms and the presence
of Jesus and God, our creator. There's such a confidence, such
an assurance, and so it doesn't matter ultimately what we go
through, but we just need to keep our hope and trust in
Jesus, and that will grow us in our faith. You know, Kris and I,
over the last 35 plus years together, we've had to deal with
situations, whether it's in our marriage, with our children,
parenting, health issues, close family relationships. I mean,
there's been times even within our, you know, not just our
nucleus of four, Brooke and Bryce and Kris and I, but, you
know, and with our loved ones and parents and siblings and
everything else where there's situations that just don't seem
like they're going to ever be fixed, ever repaired, ever come
back to a mutual loving, agreeing relationship, but, you
know, we just keep looking to Jesus, trusting Jesus and hoping
that He will intervene in the situation, seeking Him to
intervene, praying that He'll intervene and trusting Him to
intervene. And He does because He's faithful and He loves us.
It doesn't mean that the enemy doesn't try to distract us. It
doesn't mean that the enemy doesn't try to beat us down and
take that hope away, because he does. He tries to suck the life
out of us, the hope out of us, the joy out of us. But again,
the joy that I have through situations that are so painful
and so hopeless is just the joy of knowing who I am in Jesus and
He in me is. He is my Savior. He is my Lord. And if you know
Jesus today, you know that yourself, that no matter what,
no matter what happens in this life, Jesus is always with us.
Jesus will take us through this life and into eternity with Him.
And so for me, even though I don't love, I don't like, and,
you know, I dislike a lot of the situations that life brings our
way, I know that my hope is in Him, and that's where my joy
comes from. And again, I've said it a hundred times, I'll
probably say it a hundred more, the Bible is clear that the joy
of the Lord is our strength. That's what gets me through
these times, is knowing that the joy I have of who I am in Him
and where I'm going, no matter what happens to my life here on
earth, it brings me joy, it brings me strength. And knowing
that and knowing God's Word will get us through anything. So I
want to encourage you... you know, Proverbs 3 says it all,
trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own
understanding, but in all your ways, acknowledge Him and He
will. Not maybe, not He might, not hopefully. He will direct
your path. Stay tuned.
ANNOUNCER: Turkey, stuffing, gravy, green beans, and pumpkin
pie too. That's what will be served at the Fred Jordan
Mission once again this year. Will you join the Jordan family
and thousands of special guests as we give thanks at the corner
of Fifth and Towne in Los Angeles? Since 1944, this has
been a tradition every Thanksgiving for over 80 years.
We set up banquet tables and chairs and serve a hot
Thanksgiving dinner to our friends on the streets who are
alone or have nothing to eat. If your life has been blessed, then
we invite you to give thanks with us. How, you ask? A
donation is a great start. We invite you to give and help us
make this Thanksgiving memorable for those who will sit at our
Thanksgiving table. Please, be as generous as possible and do
it now while it's on your heart. You can give securely online at
fjm.org, that's fjm.org. Want to mail a gift? Then send your
check to FJM box 12345, Covina, California 91722. Or volunteer?
There's nothing greater than serving a meal, sitting,
talking, and encouraging others who are less fortunate. It truly
is better to give than receive. Go to fjm.org to learn more.
Together we are making a difference in the lives of those
who have nothing this Thanksgiving.
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: No matter what the circumstance, the situation, no
matter how bad it may be, if we just place our hope in Jesus,
place our trust in God and follow God's Word, our faith and
our trust will grow. It will increase because our hope is in
the right place. We don't place our hope in something else, in a
circumstance, in a situation, but we place our hope in our
creator, in our savior, and that's what takes us through it.
He will guide us. He will lead us. If today you're trusting
Jesus with all your heart in every situation and God's Word,
praise God, just keep doing it. But, you know, if you're not and
you're viewing today maybe for the very first time and you've
never really put your faith and your trust in Jesus, then my
encouragement to you is this. Because I did it myself. I tried
my own way. I tried my own thing. I tried to do it the way
Joe wanted to do it, but it always ended in hurt and
heartache. It always ended in devastation. It always ended in
disappointment. But I can tell you as sure as I'm sitting here
today that Jesus will never disappoint. Jesus will never let
you down, and Jesus will never leave you in a situation that's
hopeless and just run away or disappear. That's not who Jesus
is. He loves you, He loves me, and He says He will always be
with us through it all. You know, it reminds me of Romans
12:12, which is a Word I just want to share from the Bible,
that it just gives you that little bit of umph to keep
going. Romans 12:12 says, be joyful in hope, patient in
affliction, and faithful in prayer. Let's break that down
real quick. Be joyful in hope. You know, when those times are
hopeless, the Word of God says, be joyful in hope. It doesn't
talk about happiness, it doesn't be like, yes, this is my best
day. You know, that's not what it's talking about. It's that
deep inner peace and joy and don't focus on the circumstance
and situation, but be joyful in hope. And the hope that we have
and the place that we should place all of our hope is in
God's hands, is in Jesus's hands, in God's Word and
promises to take us through it. Be joyful in hope, patient in
affliction. That's one thing that was hard for me for so
long, and now, you know, as I'm getting older, I'm learning
that, you know, patience is a virtue and patience is
important, and it's not that you want to just be patient and sit
back in those times of hopelessness or heartache or
pain or, you know, distraught situations and just like, ride
it through, okay, as long as it stays there. We're just going
to, you know, go through the next 30 years without hope. No.
Have hope and place your hope in Jesus through it, trust in Jesus
through it, but be patient and trust God. Teach us what we need
to learn. Grow us in those times. Help us to increase in
faith so that we can become more like Jesus. That's my prayer for
you, that's my prayer for me, is that we ultimately, through all
of this, would become more like Jesus. The hope we have, because
we are Christians, it causes great joy. That hope brings
great joy, so we must pray not only in the hard times, not only
in the stressful times, not only going to God when we need him,
or the situation or circumstance dictates, oh, all we know to do
is cry out to God, but we need to cry out to God and praise Him
every day. Love Him every day. Trust Him every day and keep
that communication with Him every day. Ultimately, if we are
Christians and put our trust and our faith in Jesus, and our hope
rests in His hands, then we are more than conquers, the Word of
God says. We are winners, and that's what we need to remember.
Let the joy of who you are in Jesus be your strength and let
the hope of Jesus guide you through every situation. When
you feel alone, when you feel overwhelmed, when you feel
anxiety, when you feel like giving up, lost all hope, trust
Jesus, it's the safest place to be. Stay tuned.
ANNOUNCER: Turkey, stuffing, gravy, green beans, and pumpkin
pie too. That's what will be served at the Fred Jordan
Mission once again this year. Will you join the Jordan family
and thousands of special guests as we give thanks at the corner
of Fifth and Towne in Los Angeles. Since 1944, this has
been a tradition every Thanksgiving for over 80 years.
We set up banquet tables and chairs and serve a hot
Thanksgiving dinner to our friends on the streets who are
alone or have nothing to eat. If your life has been blessed, then
we invite you to give thanks with us. How, you ask? A
donation is a great start. We invite you to give and help us
make this thanksgiving memorable for those who will sit at our
Thanksgiving table. Please, be as generous as possible and do
it now while it's on your heart. You can give securely online at
fjm.org, that's fjm.org. Want to mail a gift? Then send your
check to FJM box 12345, Covina, California 91722, or volunteer.
There's nothing greater than serving a meal, sitting,
talking, and encouraging others who are less fortunate. It truly
is better to give than receive. Go to fjm.org to learn more.
Together we are making a difference in the lives of those
who have nothing this Thanksgiving.
JOE: Finding hope in hopeless situations is very difficult
sometimes. I know that on skid row every day we see people who
are hopeless. As we're going in now to this time of the season
where the holidays are coming, the cold is coming, and people
are so hopeless, we share and demonstrate God's love with
things like eggs, with bacon or ham or sausage. We serve hot
coffee almost every single day, and they love it. It gives them
something hot and warm. We have cantaloupes, look at these fresh
grapes. They just came out of the field, all donated to us.
Potatoes, rice, iced tea, so many drinks, cereal. All of this
is made possible because of friends like you, because of our
donors. You know, we couldn't share Jesus, the hope of the
world, with those in need without also demonstrating His
love. My dad used to say, son, it's not enough to just tell
people God loves you, God loves you, He has a plan for you, God
loves you, and then send them away hungry, send them away
cold, send them away thirsty. So we give them drink every day,
water every day. We give them food every day, and it's all
made possible because of you. Thank you so much if you're one
of our partners who have been partnering for a day, a week, or
80 years. And if you're not, partner with us. Come volunteer
at the Mission. Come help us serve and share the love of
Jesus with those in need. This time of the year is so hard for
the homeless. There's so much hopelessness, but with your
partnership, we will continue to declare and demonstrate the love
of Jesus. God bless you.
ANNOUNCER: FJM Mission has been giving hope to those on Skid Row
for over 80 years, and we need your help to continue declaring
and demonstrating the love of God. Donate right now online at
fjm.org or if a stamp and snail mail is more your style, then
please send your check to FJM 12345, Covina, California 91722.
Thank you.
FEMALE: 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, P.O. Box 12345, Covina, California 91722.
Please, will you help?
FEMALE: Reach for hope.
ANNOUNCER: The proceeding program was sponsored by
generous friends and partners of Fred Jordan Missions.