JOE: Welcome to FJM TV. I'm Joe Jordan. I'm here with two
amazing people. Yes, two amazing people. Gina Thompson, my wife,
Kris Jordan. And I am blessed because I have two amazing
people to come to you today and just share from God's Word. We
hope and we pray that it's a blessing to you today because
it's not really what we say that matters. It's just all that God
says that matters. That's what really matters. And so we're
going to talk about God's Word. We're going to talk about the
Apostle Paul. We're going to talk about a lot of things in
our life, but it's all because of God and what He is doing,
what He has done and what He continues to do and what He
wants to do for you. But maybe you don't know much about Fred
Jordan Missions and FJM TV. FJM TV has been around for 73 years,
since 1951, but we also have some numbers
that are really impressive, and that is
Fred Jordan Missions has been in Los
Angeles on the same corner, the same street, the same building,
Fifth and Towne on Skid Row since 1944.
GINA: And what a beautiful, beautiful, just testimony of the
faithfulness of Fred Jordan Mission and now
you're carrying it on and doing an amazing job.
JOE: And I have right and left arms
and all amazing people helping.
GINA: A wonderful team you you call team Jesus
JOE: We do, I call it team Jesus. We're small but mighty.
GINA: Yes. And you always say if you do a little something and I
do a little something, and together we're doing great
things and we want all of you to come on, get on board with us,
and you just can go to fjm.org and all the information's there,
how you can volunteer and how you can pray for us and how you
can get involved in the events that are coming up this year.
And as we all know that every day the need is great every day
at Fred Jordan Mission. And we're being able to feed and
clothe, and this time of year, it's so cold. And so to give out
warm jackets and blankets and socks and beanies and all of
that is just a blessing. However, we need your financial
support now more than ever. So go to FJM if
it's on your heart and give today.
JOE: And as my dad called them, his forgotten people because
they weren't forgotten to him and they weren't forgotten by
God at all. But sometimes society
GINA: I know, but when we- no matter if we're on Skid Row or
we're here or wherever, you're in a mansion, and it's like when
you're going through a hard situation, I mean, how many
times have you said God, are you still there? We feel forgotten.
JOE: Absolutely. GINA: When we're hurting, when
we're in horrible situations that are
just overwhelming, we can feel forgotten.
JOE: We can, and you might feel forgotten today, and we just
want to be an encouragement to you from God's Word, from our
lives to you and experience and just all that God's taken us
through. One thing I know the Bible talks about that the joy
of the Lord is our strength. So in those times when you feel
forgotten in those times where you just feel like there's just
no hope, no way out, how do you have what we're going to talk
about today, a joy filled life, a joy filled life, and how can
you have it? Well, if you have the joy of the Lord as your
strength, you can have a joy filled life. We're talking about
a lot of the book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul,
and it's just amazing how he had a joy filled life and how did he
have a joy-filled life? First Paul in writing Philippians a
great Apostle. He was imprisoned when he wrote this. He was
locked up, chained up, bound up, and they threw away the key.
They did not like Paul in those days. And while he was in
prison, while he was suffering, he had such a great attitude, I
believe in my heart because the joy of the Lord, who he was in
Jesus and who Jesus was in him, took him through all those
situations. Why did he have that joy? Why did he have that
outlook? Why did he have that attitude in the midst of those
difficult situations? Because he knew who he was and he knew who
Jesus was and what Jesus did in his life and his heart. To me,
that's amazing that the Apostle Paul, that he was in prison, he
went and just gave it all to Jesus and all of the troubles he
went through, he still found a way of writing about joy and
peace and contentment. And it just reminds me how important it
is, the biblical truths of God's Word and what he wrote, the
biblical truths of Jesus, the ultimate example of love and
grace and compassion and how if we look to God's Word and His
truths, we can be strengthened and have a joy filled life. The
significance of Paul doing what he did in prison for all of us,
I just kind of am curious about that. What do you think about
the Apostle Paul suffering through it all and yet what he
wrote to encourage you, Gina Thompson today? Do you read it?
His suffering is your joy. What an amazing thing.
GINA: I love this so much because it just shows us that no
matter what situation we're in, okay, we might not be in prison,
but we're imprisoned in certain situations in our lives. We can
be in a situation that looks so dark and horrible that there's
no way out, but God shows us through Paul and Philippians how
the joy of the Lord is his strength. He wrote those amazing
scriptures while in prison while being persecuted, while feeling
like there is no way out. And God did make a way out for him
and he believed it. And so therefore that shows me that no
matter what situation I am in, that I can put my trust, I can
put my confidence in God, in His Word, what He says. And once I
start to do that, that's where the joy starts overflowing.
That's where the joy comes in, the peace of mind, the safe and
secure feelings, knowing that no matter this situation looks
bleak, looks like a prison if you
will, but God's with me through it
every step of the way. JOE: Absolutely.
GINA: That gives me encouragement.
JOE: Absolutely. KRIS: And I was even going
to say too, I mean Paul was imprisoned in the
latter part of his life, but when you look at
what happened to Paul before he was in prison, I mean that guy
faced some life and death situations, not just once, but
repeatedly. And yet the things that he writes in scripture and
his attitude, it just mind blowing that house because as
humans, we go through tough times and we want to play the
victim. Woe was me. Look what happened to me. I can't believe
that happened to me. And yet, here's Paul who's facing death,
imprisonment, shipwreck a night and a day out in the open ocean.
All of these things happening to him and his attitude. When I
look at the Apostle Paul, the one thing that just is glaring
to me is, he had his eyes on the prize. He was all about Jesus.
He was all about seeing people come to know Jesus so that they
could have eternal life. And no matter what happened to him,
he's like a horse with blinders on just doing the will of God,
doing what God's called him to do, no matter how much it cost
him, he was just so in love with Jesus. And so in
love with people, I mean, that man
was just amazing. GINA: He really did.
JOE: But he wasn't always that way, huh?
KRIS: No. Oh my Goodness. JOE: Oh man. There's some
stories. You know the story of the Damascus Road and all
of that. There was some stories that he wasn't-
GINA: Again, another parable, right?
JOE: Yes. He wasn't always nice to Christians. He didn't always
like Christians. There was a point, he definitely didn't love
Christians. But what an amazing, amazing life. As we look at
Paul, and I just want to encourage you, no matter what
life and what situations you're going through, if you know Jesus
and you take Paul's perspective on he kept his eyes on Jesus, he
kept his eyes on the truth. And remember what the Bible says,
it's very clear, it's a promise from God. The truth will set you
free. And Paul knew no matter what he was imprisoned in,
whether it was a situation, a storm, a trial or actual prison,
he knew that the truth would set him free. Jesus had already set
him free in his heart, his soul, his spirit, his mind. And so we
see that he was able to have joy in the midst of
it all because of that. We'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.
(Music)
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.
(Music)
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.
JOE: Well, welcome back. We've been talking about Paul, the
Apostle Paul, and it's amazing how he had joy in the midst of
the storms, joy in the midst of the battle. And sometimes I just
wonder, Paul, your joy filled life is just beyond even
imagination that he could do that. But then I think of my
life and you guys think of your life and think of your life if
you know Jesus. There's those situations and those times where
there's no joy involved in it, there's no happiness involved in
it, it's just a bad time in life. But when you sit back and
you read God's Word and you really look at who you are
ultimately in Him and who God is in Jesus ultimately is in you,
it brings such a peace and a calm to that time that you're
in. If you're locked away in some prison, whether it's in
your mind or your heart or relationship, or actually in
prison, you can always find joy in just knowing that you are
Jesus'. And that brings such great peace to me that the King
of Kings and the Lord of Lords is our salvation, is our
freedom, is the one to set us free from it all. And as I said
a little bit earlier, the truth, God, His Word and who He is, is
what sets us free. And I'm so grateful that we're set free
because we've received Him. Today if you're struggling and
you're locked up and in prison in some way, it doesn't even
have to be in prison because you stole something, you lied,
cheated, stole, but you could be in prison just in a situation in
your life or a relationship or just in your mind. Sometimes the
enemy just wants to lie to us. But Paul was filled with an
attitude of gratefulness and gratitude of who Jesus was. He
was so in love with Jesus. And I just know that when we're in
God's Word and we're so in love with Jesus, it's kind of hard to
whine and complain. So with that in mind, Jesus being our
example, Paul being a great example in the Word of God, of
how to have joy in the middle of all of this. What do you think
the significance is of Paul's joy in prison to all of those
who are viewing? How can that situation
help someone who's in prison somehow?
KRIS: I think we talked about it earlier. When I look at the
Apostle Paul and what he was facing, I mean, he was
imprisoned, and that's not a fun situation. That's not what
somebody grows up and is like, Hey, I want to be a prisoner,
whatever inmate. But Paul kept his eyes on the big picture. And
I think that's so important for us because we all go through
difficult times. Maybe we're not imprisoned, but like you were
saying, maybe it's imprison in our mind or our heart or we're
in a relationship, whatever, and it's not easy. But if we keep
our eyes on the big picture, happiness and joy are two
different things. Happiness is based on circumstances. We're
happy when things are going good. We're unhappy when things
are going bad, but joy is constant. The joy of the Lord is
our strength, the joy of our salvation. I knew for me, that's
what keeps me going. It's remembering that this too shall
pass. This is temporary, but what's coming is eternal and
nobody can take that away from me.
JOE: How do you keep joy in the midst of the battle yourself?
KRIS: Lots of prayer. Encouragement. I mean, being
real with people. If I'm having a rough day, I'm going to,
usually I come to you and I pour out my heart and you're there to
encourage me and to offer me something from the Word or pray
for me or just help me stay encouraged. Because I'd like to
think that we can all just stay on the mountaintop, but that's
just not reality. But yeah, so just getting encouragement from
people getting prayer. Yeah, praying, going to God's Word and
just letting God speak to me and just-
JOE: Absolutely. And we're praying for you today that Jesus
will bless you and keep you and guard your mind and your heart,
your soul and your spirit from whatever is trying to imprison
you, hurt you, harm you, or just beat you up just a little bit.
It doesn't have to be this, I'm imprisoned by something. I need
some big set free. Maybe that's true, but maybe you're just a
little discouraged, a little bit just bummed out. It's just not a
great day. We want to encourage you. I want to encourage you.
All of us want to encourage you. Just trust Jesus because He
loves you, and He'll be there in the midst of
the battles. Gina, what's your thoughts on that?
GINA: Well, two things. Paul was in prison and he didn't keep his
eyes on his circumstances, on his surroundings, but he kept on
God and he also had a compassion and a heart for others. So
sometimes when we get overwhelmed and we feel
imprisoned in a situation, yes, we've got to keep our eyes on
Jesus, but also get our eyes on others. How can we be an
encouragement to those others who are going through a
situation? And I think there's something beautiful in that
moment where that happens, where that takes place, where we look
at our situation, we give it to God.
Now, how can we help those around us?
JOE: So true. GINA: And also your point about
happiness and joy are two complete different
things. Happiness the world can give and
take away, but joy is constant and it cannot be taken away.
JOE: Absolutely. GINA: And when we're grounded
in God's Word and His love and love for others.
JOE: And if you think about it, here's Paul, the great Apostle
that loved Jesus so much, yet he was in, I mean, it's not like
prison today. Three squares a day. You get your meals, you get
your stuff, you get your exercise, whatever. I've never
been in prison, but I've known enough people that have been and
talked to them and ministered to them. And I just know that
prison today, it is not a good place. It's not a fun place.
It's terrible. But prison 2000 years ago, totally different.
Today, they would probably call it a country club compared to
back then. And yet Paul, in the midst of it all, like you said,
he found the joy of the Lord, his constant. But it's amazing
because everything that he wrote was to encourage the people
then, the church, the body of Christ. He was their greatest
cheerleader. He was there rooting for them and saying, I'm
here. I can do this. You can do it. And it just amazes me. It
reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures, Philippians 4:13, "I
can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." If today
you need strength, the joy of the Lord is your strength. But
also remember, you can do all things through Christ who gives
you strength, but you have to look to Him. And just some last
thoughts before we close today. How important is it to rely on
God's Word and His promises versus
the situation that brings us down?
KRIS: Well, you know me, I'm a Word girl, and I think that I
tell women this a lot because as women, we tend to rely on our
feelings, and we sort of let that dictate our attitude and
our outlook. And I always say, don't base things on how you're
feeling. Go to God's Word because also the enemy will come
in and lie and tell us this or tell us that. I'm like, no, go
back to God's Word. See what God says. And so the Word of God's
living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword and it's
life, especially to us as believers. And so I say, go to
God's Word. Stand on the truths of
God's Word. He will give you strength.
JOE: Yeah, absolutely. GINA: I love that. I love that
you say, many people think our feelings dictate
our actions, but it's our thoughts. Then how,
guard your mind, guard your thoughts. Guard what you're
letting in and then out with Word and then out through an
emotion. So let's get it prioritized, right? Think God's
thoughts, say God's Words and let your emotions and feelings
then flow from that and let your actions be
that of strength, stability, calm, trusting,
JOE: Absolutely. KRIS: Filter all that stuff
through, what is God saying? Is it true? Is that what God says
or not? And if it's not... GINA: Amen.
KRIS: Okay, I'm going to stand on what God says.
GINA: That's right. JOE: Absolutely. Because the
truth will set you free. Don't let your
circumstances, don't let what you're going through
today, tomorrow, or ever dictate who you are. Also, don't let
your past failures or mistakes, heartache or imprisonments
dictate your future. You're chosen by God, handpicked to be
His child. He created you, but we have to build that
relationship with Jesus, and there's only one way. By saying
yes to Him, we don't have to do anything except say, yes, God
did it all when He sent His one and only son Jesus to die for
us, that if we would believe and receive, repent of our sins,
turn from our way to His, we can be saved. So all you have to do
is trust what Jesus did on the cross. Paul did. And even though
he was in prison, in the worst situation, he had
joy filled life. You can have one too.
Trust Jesus today, we'll be right back
(Music)
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. 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.
(Music)
JOE: Well, as we close today, I just want to thank you for
allowing us to come into your home, to your iPhone, to your
iPad, your computer, just to share God's love, some of His
truths, His grace, His mercy. It's there for you and it's
there for those on Skid Row that we work with every day. For 80
years now, we've been serving Jesus by serving others. I've
ask that you would think about, that you would pray about how
you can be involved in volunteering, in praying for us,
which we need a lot of because we're on the front lines in the
homeless capital of the nation, Los Angeles Skid Row, and also
financially give. It's because of your support, your prayers,
and you standing with us as partners that we're able to do
what we do. Sustain what has been sustained for 80 years,
declaring and demonstrating God's love. We really can't do
it without you, but with you, we will continue to see lives
changed, people broken out of prison, and I'm not talking
about a physical prison in LA, but the prisons that hold them,
whether it's drugs, or alcohol, or mental illness, or not having
a job, not having a home, or just not having any hope, help
us provide hope today. Go to fjm.org. Go to our social media
@fjmissions, but get involved and we can make eternal
differences that will last for eternity. 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: [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, hope 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.
(Music)
ANNOUNCER: The preceding program was sponsored by generous
friends and partners of Fred Jordan Missions.