JOE: Welcome to FJM TV. I'm Joe Jordan. Excited to be here with
you today. You know Fred Jordan Mission is in a really special
time. A special year. Yes, 2024. Well, what's so special about
it, Joe? Well, let me tell you, what's special about it, Fred
Jordan Mission started and its work began in 1944. Yes, 1944 is
when my father came all the way to California, to Los Angeles
and then to Skid Row, to minister to the lost, to the
hobos, to the winos, to those that had lost their way, those
who didn't know Jesus, those who had no hope, those who were
homeless, helpless and hurting. And now in 2024, it's our 80th
year of serving God by serving others. So that's an exciting
thing. That is not just a number 80, although 80 years is
incredible, but now in its 80th year, we continue to meet the
needs of more and more and more and more and more people as the
needs continue to grow. I'm sure you who are viewing, our
partners, even if you're new today, watching have seen the
needs wherever you are growing more and more and more, for
those who really have nothing, who are hurting, who are
struggling, those who live on the streets, those who live in
neighborhoods all over America now really are not doing too
well. And if we're not here and if we don't show the love of
Jesus and care for the lost, have a burden and a heart for
the lost, have a passion for the lost, the lost will continue to
hurt and not only hurt, but they'll be lost without Jesus.
That's even worse than missing a meal, that's even worse than
sleeping a night outside in the cold. You see, without Jesus in
our lives, we're lost for eternity. The Bible tells us
that because of our sin and our separation from God, we're lost.
We're lost in our sin and our flesh and only through a
relationship with Jesus that God provided out of his love for us
can we know him and can we have that personal relationship which
forgives us of our sins if we believe in him, which gives us
eternal life, eternal hope and purpose. You know I don't know
about you, but I don't want anybody on this earth to perish
and go to hell. The enemy, the devil, of course, he's out to
seek, kill, and destroy. The Bible says every one of us, he's
out to us and drag us away. He is out to entice us with
different things that will lure us away from God. He's out to
really destroy our lives because he knows in the end, he lost the
war. Jesus conquered hell, death and the grave, the Bible says,
and Jesus is the king of kings and Lord of lords, but the enemy
is not going to go down without a fight. And he really wants to
take as many of us, as many as those who live on Skid, Row out
with him to suffer the consequences of their sin by
going to hell and being separated from God. But God
loves us all so much. We know it from his Word. We know it from
just the simplest of scriptures, and I say it all the time, but
John 3:16 is the key to it all. For God so loved the world that
he gave as one and only son, that whoever would believe in
him would not perish but have everlasting life. It's key to
the whole story of being a Christian. It's key to the whole
Bible from the beginning to the end. It's right in the middle
and it tells us of a God in heaven that loves us, that
created us and his image and likeness so that we could know
him, but because of sin, it separated us. And since that
separation of Adam and Eve in the Garden at the very
beginning, the first two people on earth, when they were
separated from God because of their sin and their rebellion,
there was no relationship. But again, God loved us so much that
he sent Jesus to die for us, that if we would believe and
receive him, we could be saved. That's what we share every day
at Fred Jordan Mission. That's what I want to share with you
always. How much God loves you, how much he cares for you. And
it doesn't matter if you're lost or not, he wants to seek and
save all of the lost, but it's our choice. It's our decision.
Today I wanted to just share with you something called Love
the Lost. Do you love the Lost? I know for a long time growing
up, I watched my parents, Fred and Willie Jordan, love the
lost, care for the lost, serve the lost, comfort the lost,
encourage the lost to follow Jesus. And I thought that was so
important, and I thought it was so awesome that my parents cared
so much for the least of these as my dad would call 'em the
forgotten people of this world, those who were down and out, who
were strung out on drugs or alcohol, those who were lost
with other problems, whether it be mental problems or financial
problems. You see people end up on Skid Row and on the streets
for many different reasons. There's many different stories,
but one thing I learned through it all in those stories and the
stories of men and women and children, there are broken
hearts, there are broken goals, there are broken dreams. There
are shattered lives for many different reasons, but Jesus
loves the lost. And so watching my parents love the Lost. Again,
it was so awesome, but it wasn't always my passion. It wasn't
always my heart because I had a selfish nature too. I had the
flesh that I live in and had to fight through. And as I grew up,
I wanted to do what I wanted to do. I wanted to play sports. I
wanted to be great at it. I wanted to you know hang out with
the guys that were cool and you know wanted to date all the
girls that were pretty and just kind of wanted to be selfish,
just being real with you. But what I learned is that when you
follow your way and your path and you don't think of others,
when you follow your way and your path and don't follow
Jesus, it's pretty empty. It's pretty lonely and it's not very
fulfilling. And so as I continue to grow up and go to college and
I just really started feeling like wow, God loved me so much.
He's never given up on me. He's never let me go. He's never quit
knocking. He's never quit tugging on my heart to follow
him. He's always been in pursuit of me. Wow, he really loves me
and he died for me and I should love him back. I should give him
my life. And I did. And when I did that, I received a calling
too and a real purpose in my life to follow him, to love him,
but then to share his love and the gospel message, the message
of salvation, how to reconcile with God through what He did on
the cross when he sent Jesus to die for us. I learned about the
lost more and more every day I walked with God and I learned
that God's heart is for all of us and it's for the lost, loving
the lost over and over and over as I look at the Bible, it shows
us God's love for us, people, and we're all lost until we're
found in Him. You know as Jesus shed his blood for the
forgiveness of our sins. It reminds me that that red blood
that was poured out. Red blood poured out of Jesus, it was
poured out of his life, out of his body on the cross as He died
for you and me because he loved us. It kind of reminds me a
little bit of the heart I see every time I go to the
cardiologist and I get a checkup to make sure I'm okay. You see
the heart in that hospital picture. It's red. And I think
about Jesus and the red blood that he shed for us because he
loved us. I think of love. I think of red. I think of the
heart, and we know that because of God's love for us, his heart
for us, that's why he sent Jesus to die for us. And that red
blood that was shed on the cross shows such a deep and such a
passionate love for us. It shows us that Jesus loved us enough
and God loved us enough that he would sacrifice his son for us,
the lost. How much should we love the lost? How much more
should we love the lost because Jesus loved us first. That's
what I'm going to share with you today, and as Christians, I
think it's so important to not only have a passion and a desire
to follow Jesus, but also a passion and desire for those who
are lost around us. In John 15:13, it says this, in God's
word, greater love has no one than this. Then he laid down
one's life for his friends, and that's what Jesus did. Jesus
laid down his life for all of us. And even though Jesus is
king of kings and Lord of lords in this passage, he doesn't call
us servants. He calls us friends. What a comfort, what an
honor, what an awesome feeling and a reassurance to know that
we have been called a friend of God. It goes on to say in verse
14, you are my friends. If you do what I command you, no longer
do I call you servants for a servant does not know what his
master is doing, but I have called you friends for all
things that I have heard from my father. I have made known to
you. You did not choose me, but I chose you. It's so great to
know that we're not servants, called servants. Yes, we are to
be servants of Jesus and to go share our faith and share with
the lost and care for the lost and feed the hungry and the poor
and the needy and care for the orphans and childrens. Yes, we
are to be servants. But Jesus didn't call us a servant here
because once we know him, we are called His friend. We are his
family bought by his blood. And I love how it says, you did not
choose me, but I chose you because Jesus loved us so much
and gave his life up for us. He tells us that we should be
obedient to all that he calls us to. In Romans 5:8 it says, but
God demonstrated his own love for us that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. He died for you. He died for me. He
died for all that were lost and for us as Christians, those who
are watching today and viewing that are Christians, how much
more because he loved us first and saved us from our sins and
gave us hope and eternal life? How much more should we want to
love the lost and share our faith and share the gospel
message with those who are lost so they don't
go to hell. Because Jesus saved us. We should
want to see the lost saved also. Stay with us.
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: Love the lost. That's what I've been sharing with you and
as believers who have trusted in Jesus for our salvation, been
forgiven for our sins, our love for the lost, our love in
sharing our faith in the gospel should be a priority, and that's
what I just want to continue to share with you today. If you
don't know Jesus, just keep watching. Just keep listening
because God loves you. He loves you so much. He died for you on
the cross. He shed his blood, that red blood that can just
always remind us that it was done out of love and sacrifice
for you and me so we wouldn't have to go to hell. While we
were yet sinners, the Bible said, and we talked about it
earlier, Christ died for us. We don't have to be fixed. We don't
have to be right. We don't have to be clean. We don't have to be
sober. We don't have to be right-minded. We can come as we
are, and Jesus says, in the Word, come as you are because he
wants to be the one that cleans us up, that fixes us, that saves
us, that forgives us, and it's so great to know that. And so
because he loves us as Christians, shouldn't we want to
love the lost? Shouldn't we want to care for the lost? And help
the lost know Jesus? Because we know the consequences of sin is
death. We know that if we don't have a relationship with Jesus,
we will go to hell one day. And so as believers, as ones who do
trust in Jesus and we have forgiveness of our sins and we
are going to heaven, we have that hope, that eternal hope.
Shouldn't we want to just share that with the lost around us,
whether it's family members, loved ones, friends, I don't
know about you, but I've asked God for years and he continues
to give me a heart and a passion for the lost, even for you, our
viewers. You know I don't do this just to hear myself talk. I
do it because God's called me to, because God wants to reach
all of us. He reached me, and now I want to reach you with his
message of love and forgiveness. He's not here to condemn you,
condemn me. No, he's here to save us. And for you who are
watching that maybe are away from God, I've been there
before, many times in my life, walked away from God, tried to
hide from God, but always knew the truth, and I know this the
truth is what sets us free. So if today you're away from God,
let Jesus, his truth, the Word of God, the gospel, the message
of the cross set you free and get you back on track because of
God's love and God's grace. The smallest things we do, the
smallest actions that people see in us can actually get them
curious about our faith or what's different about us. It
can actually draw them to us when they see Jesus in us, and
because of that, a door can open, God can help give us an
opportunity to share our faith, share what he's done in our
lives with those who are lost. It's so important for us to see
the lost the way God sees the lost. You know many times I hear
from people say, wow, Joe, I can't believe it. Or, Hey,
pastor, I can't believe it. Why would you want to work with
people who are just homeless and like they smell and they haven't
showered in weeks or months and they haven't put on fresh
clothes and that's how you want to spend your life? Yes,
absolutely, because they need Jesus, just like you and me need
Jesus. You know the lost that live on Skid Row, the lost that
are homeless, the lost that are helpless, the lost that are
hurting. They're all just lost people. That I've said to you a
thousand times, they're someone's son or daughter.
They're someone's grandparents, someone's mom or dad. They're
someone's child, and we need to share God's love with them. We
need to love the lost enough as Christians to care about their
life, to care about their future, to care about their
eternity. It's not about just feeding someone for a day.
Clothing someone for a moment, wrapping a blanket around
someone cold. That all matters. That's why Fred Jordan Missions
and we at Fred Jordan Missions demonstrate God's love to
demonstrate those things, those areas in which we can help
alleviate some of the pain and suffering of those who live on
Skid Row and on the streets. But we need to declare also by
sharing the gospel message. You know if you hold back from
sharing your testimony, the gospel message that saved you
with the lost, then they're going to still be lost. But the
sad thing is, is for the lost, if they don't find Jesus,
they're going to hell. For you and me who have found Jesus, we
have eternal life that's been promised to us. Shouldn't we
want to share that eternal life, that hope that we have with
others? You know some people say to me, well, pastor or well Joe,
I don't know enough about the Bible. I'm not a pastor. I am
scared to be rejected. I don't know how to share. Here's five
things that you can do to care for the lost and to love the
lost in our world. Pray for the lost. Every day pray for those
who are lost in this world, that God would draw them to him. Pray
that you would have an opportunity in your life to
reach someone who's lost, to share your faith, to share your
testimony. You don't have to know all the scriptures. You
don't have to be a Bible scholar or theologian. You don't have to
be on TV and share the gospel. Just share your faith, what
God's done for you, because that can't be argued with. Show the
lost you care for them. Care for those who are in need, who are
lost and hurting and never give up on a lost person. I'll tell
you, if my parents ever gave up on me, it would've been a sad
day, but they never did. They never forgot about me. They
always prayed for me. You know again, you don't have to be a
pastor, a theologian to lead people to Jesus. Just share your
story and as followers of Jesus Christ, if we don't love the
lost and share with the lost, the message of hope from Jesus,
as I always say, if not now, when? If not us, who? Share your
faith, and if you don't know Jesus today and you're viewing,
all you have to do is believe and receive. Jesus, I'm a
sinner. Come into my heart. Be my savior. Be my Lord. I accept
you. Thank you for dying on the cross my sins, and you'll be
saved. If today you're viewing for the very first time. We're
so grateful. At Fred Jordan Mission, our 80th year, we
continue to declare and demonstrate the love of Jesus,
but we need you. You know it's been here for so long, 80 years.
We have so many who have supported this work, literally
for 80 years, but if you think about it, and they've been
supporting for 70, 80, 60 years, that means they're all going to
be with Jesus now. And a lot of our donors we see that are
passing on and going to be with Jesus because that's how old the
ministry is, and that's how old some of our donors are. So we
need you, new viewers, new friends, new partners who will
stand with us financially, that will support us, that will come
and volunteer because as there's more and more need every day
coming to our doors, we need more and more help. As some of
the old pass on and go to be with Jesus ask God if he'll call
you to help us carry on the work that's been going for 80
years, because together we could do great things in
serving the lost, loving the lost, and caring for the
lost with the love of Jesus. God bless you.
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,
great or small, 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: As we always try to do at Fred Jordan Mission, we try to
declare and demonstrate the love of Jesus to those in need who
are helpless and homeless and hopeless with the hope of Jesus.
And it's because of you, we couldn't do it without you. Our
partners, our friends. You know if you're in a place today that
you can help those in need, those who have nothing, those
that are destitute, those who live on the concrete streets of
LA. If you can help us to reach them, to feed them, to clothe
them, to care for them, please, we need you because with you, we
can do more in lifting up the name of Jesus and seeing souls
come into the kingdom and blessed. 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) 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 preceding program was sponsored by generous
friends and partners of Fred Jordan Missions.