WEBVTT - Stepping Up to a Clean Heart -Part 1 0:00:00.590 --> 0:00:03.860 Today on Bold steps, Mark Jobe explains why we need 0:00:03.860 --> 0:00:05.750 to be checking our hearts. 0:00:06.140 --> 0:00:10.490 If there is something in your heart that is good, 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:14.510 it flows into all of your life. If there's something 0:00:14.510 --> 0:00:19.759 in your heart that's polluted, it also flows into all 0:00:19.760 --> 0:00:24.169 of your life. Notice that the writer of Proverbs says, 0:00:24.170 --> 0:00:26.840 guard your heart. 0:00:38.659 --> 0:00:41.960 Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is the 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:44.750 senior pastor at New Life Community Church in Chicago and 0:00:44.750 --> 0:00:49.100 president of Moody Bible Institute. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Jesus tells 0:00:49.100 --> 0:00:51.140 us that it's not what goes into your body that 0:00:51.140 --> 0:00:53.630 causes problems, but what comes out of your mouth from 0:00:53.630 --> 0:00:56.060 your heart that can get us into trouble. It's a 0:00:56.060 --> 0:00:59.540 bold statement and the topic of today's message. Our series 0:00:59.570 --> 0:01:02.370 is titled Step Up, living higher, and you can join 0:01:02.370 --> 0:01:05.250 us by turning in your Bible to Hebrews chapter 12. 0:01:05.280 --> 0:01:09.030 Marcus titled this message stepping up to a Clean Heart. 0:01:11.130 --> 0:01:16.080 In the movie dances with Wolves, Kevin Costner plays the 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:23.310 character of a dejected cowboy, and in some of the 0:01:23.310 --> 0:01:29.190 opening scenes of dances with Wolves, this cowboy goes to 0:01:29.220 --> 0:01:34.980 a spring of water. He's thirsty, he's parched. But when 0:01:34.980 --> 0:01:38.250 he gets that spring of water, he realizes that he 0:01:38.250 --> 0:01:42.300 can't take a drink because there's a carcass of a buffalo, 0:01:43.260 --> 0:01:48.180 a rotting carcass in the middle of that spring. And 0:01:48.180 --> 0:01:50.760 before he can drink, he has to take that carcass 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:53.760 of the buffalo out, make sure that the water is 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:57.420 clean so that he can take advantage of the water 0:01:57.420 --> 0:02:04.730 that's there. One of the tactics of warfare in the 0:02:04.730 --> 0:02:09.049 old days was to pollute the wells and the springs 0:02:09.050 --> 0:02:14.810 of the enemy. Some of the ancient armies would take 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:19.369 animals that had died of diseases, and they had dropped 0:02:19.370 --> 0:02:23.030 them in the well waters, or drop them in the 0:02:23.030 --> 0:02:27.079 springs where the water where a river would start. And 0:02:27.080 --> 0:02:32.600 so when the opposing armies came to give water to 0:02:32.630 --> 0:02:36.260 their horses or came to drink themselves, they would become 0:02:36.290 --> 0:02:43.460 poisoned by the water because there was a carcass or 0:02:43.490 --> 0:02:51.530 a dead animal inserted into that well. The Bible says 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:57.950 in Proverbs chapter four verse 23, keep your heart with 0:02:57.950 --> 0:03:03.390 all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life. 0:03:04.590 --> 0:03:11.100 Another version says, guard your heart above all else, for 0:03:11.130 --> 0:03:17.490 it determines the course of your life. What is in 0:03:17.490 --> 0:03:23.640 our heart determines the course of our life. What the 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:26.460 writer of Proverbs is doing is giving us the image. 0:03:26.460 --> 0:03:32.250 And he's saying that your heart is like a spring 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:38.370 of water. It's constantly producing life and everything in your life. 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:43.710 Your relationships, your attitudes, your mindset, your success and your 0:03:43.710 --> 0:03:49.110 destiny are affected by that which is in your heart. 0:03:50.580 --> 0:03:54.960 If there is something in your heart that is good, 0:03:54.990 --> 0:03:58.980 it flows into all of your life. If there's something 0:03:58.980 --> 0:04:04.250 in your heart that's Polluted. It also flows into all 0:04:04.250 --> 0:04:08.660 of your life. Notice that the writer of Proverbs says, 0:04:08.660 --> 0:04:15.230 guard your heart. We only guard things that are important 0:04:15.230 --> 0:04:21.680 and valuable in our house. Thursday evening is trash day. 0:04:22.730 --> 0:04:28.219 It's my son Josiah's responsibility to take out the trash, 0:04:28.250 --> 0:04:30.830 to put it in front of the house, and to 0:04:30.860 --> 0:04:34.280 get it ready for the garbage man the next morning. 0:04:35.060 --> 0:04:40.730 He doesn't like that responsibility. He claims we mass produce garbage. 0:04:43.250 --> 0:04:47.479 But we take out the garbage on Thursday night. Never 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:50.120 once in all these years of taking garbage out and 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:53.750 putting it in front of our house, have I ever 0:04:53.750 --> 0:04:59.330 stayed up at night looking out the window, guarding my garbage? Never. 0:05:00.510 --> 0:05:03.539 I've never given my son a baseball bat and said, 0:05:03.540 --> 0:05:05.850 you know, I want you to spend all night sleeping 0:05:05.850 --> 0:05:10.469 next to our garbage to make sure no one takes it. No, 0:05:10.589 --> 0:05:15.510 I don't care about our garbage. It's garbage. You don't 0:05:15.510 --> 0:05:19.380 guard that, which is not important. Right. You only watch 0:05:19.380 --> 0:05:21.989 over that which is important. So? So when we put 0:05:21.990 --> 0:05:24.420 out the garbage at night. During the night, someone wants 0:05:24.420 --> 0:05:26.159 to take it. Go ahead, take it. Just don't make 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:30.480 a mess. It's garbage. I don't watch my garbage. However, 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:34.140 Thursday night comes and my daughter doesn't come in at 0:05:34.140 --> 0:05:38.190 time of curfew time. I'm looking through the window, waiting 0:05:38.190 --> 0:05:41.550 for her to her to show up. Is she arrived yet? 0:05:41.580 --> 0:05:44.520 What's going on? And sending her a text. Why? Because 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:47.340 she's important to me, not the garbage. That is not important. 0:05:47.339 --> 0:05:50.400 You guard what you feel is important in your life. 0:05:50.430 --> 0:05:54.060 How many of you dads know what I'm talking about? Alright, well, 0:05:54.060 --> 0:05:58.470 in the same way the writer of Proverbs is saying, 0:05:58.470 --> 0:06:02.510 your heart needs to be guarded. You need to watch 0:06:02.510 --> 0:06:07.490 over your heart with all diligence, because what happens to 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:12.589 your heart will happen to your life. What you allow 0:06:12.589 --> 0:06:18.710 around your heart will affect every single area of your life. 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:23.090 You say, well, pastor, how do I know what's in 0:06:23.089 --> 0:06:26.660 my heart? How do I know if there's a carcass 0:06:26.690 --> 0:06:31.550 in my heart or something contaminating my heart? Well, Jesus 0:06:31.550 --> 0:06:35.900 said in Matthew chapter 15, verse 18, but the things 0:06:35.900 --> 0:06:39.530 that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart 0:06:39.529 --> 0:06:43.760 and defile a person. What Jesus said is, if you 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:47.210 want to know what's in your heart, ask yourself what's 0:06:47.210 --> 0:06:51.049 coming out of your mouth. Because eventually whatever's in your 0:06:51.050 --> 0:06:53.570 heart is going to come out of your mouth. Oh, 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:55.820 you may be able to hide it for some time. 0:06:56.060 --> 0:06:58.760 You may be able to guard your mouth for a while, 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:02.100 but it's just a matter of time before whatever's in 0:07:02.100 --> 0:07:04.529 your heart is going to start spilling out of your mouth. 0:07:04.529 --> 0:07:08.730 Because out of the King, James says, out of the 0:07:08.730 --> 0:07:14.940 abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. I travel a lot, 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:19.920 speaking in different places and sometimes in different countries. And 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:26.490 so I sit on the plane near strangers. And I 0:07:26.490 --> 0:07:29.670 always when I sit down, I always ask myself if 0:07:29.670 --> 0:07:31.590 someone is to my right or to my left. I 0:07:31.590 --> 0:07:35.160 wonder what they're about. And so I usually try to 0:07:35.190 --> 0:07:38.490 engage in conversation and give me about 15 to 20 minutes. 0:07:38.490 --> 0:07:41.970 And I usually can tell what that person is about, 0:07:41.970 --> 0:07:46.470 because after a little bit of conversation, whatever they're into 0:07:46.500 --> 0:07:51.330 is going to start coming out of their mouth. Some 0:07:51.330 --> 0:07:54.330 people are into education and some people are into sports, 0:07:54.330 --> 0:07:57.840 and some people are into fun, and some people whatever's there. 0:07:57.870 --> 0:08:00.710 If someone is angry at the world in 20 minutes, 0:08:00.710 --> 0:08:03.260 they'll start ranting and raving about the world and the 0:08:03.260 --> 0:08:07.010 system and politics and how unjust things are. It comes 0:08:07.010 --> 0:08:09.860 out because out of the abundance of the heart, the 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:14.840 mouth starts to speak. I usually don't like to tell 0:08:14.840 --> 0:08:20.270 them I'm a pastor right up front. Because if I 0:08:20.270 --> 0:08:21.710 tell them I'm a pastor and then they try to 0:08:21.740 --> 0:08:25.130 clean everything up before they they it comes out. So 0:08:25.130 --> 0:08:29.210 I like to get the unedited version. Then about a 0:08:29.210 --> 0:08:31.640 half hour into the conversation, when they find out I'm 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:34.400 a pastor, they start thinking, oh, what did I say? 0:08:34.700 --> 0:08:37.189 They start trying to clean up everything they said and 0:08:37.190 --> 0:08:41.689 excuse their French and so forth. That's how usually it happens. 0:08:41.809 --> 0:08:46.610 But out of your heart, your mouth speaks. Listen, if 0:08:46.610 --> 0:08:52.400 you have bitterness in your heart, resentment in your soul, 0:08:52.550 --> 0:08:55.250 it's just a matter of time that it starts to 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:59.090 come out of your mouth. It will erupt out of 0:08:59.090 --> 0:09:04.470 your mouth and unexpected times. Why? Because it's in your heart. 0:09:05.220 --> 0:09:09.510 And so Jesus tells us that it's not what goes 0:09:09.510 --> 0:09:13.439 into our mouth that really defiles us. It's what comes 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:15.510 out of our mouth that defiles us. It's the words 0:09:15.510 --> 0:09:17.250 that come out of our mouth. I like what one 0:09:17.250 --> 0:09:20.400 person said. They said, what is in the well of 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:23.520 the heart will come up out of the bucket of 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:27.030 the mouth. Whatever is in your heart, you're going to 0:09:27.059 --> 0:09:29.010 pull out of the bucket of your mouth and it's 0:09:29.010 --> 0:09:36.090 going to show up that way. Chuck Swindoll says it 0:09:36.090 --> 0:09:40.860 this way. How important is the heart? It is there. 0:09:40.860 --> 0:09:45.390 That character is formed. It alone holds the secret of 0:09:45.390 --> 0:09:51.090 true success. Its treasures are priceless. But they can be stolen. 0:09:51.420 --> 0:09:53.100 So I want you to turn in your Bibles to 0:09:53.130 --> 0:09:55.080 Hebrews chapter 12. And I'm going to talk to you 0:09:55.080 --> 0:10:01.280 today about how to do a heart audit, how to look, 0:10:01.309 --> 0:10:04.699 how to look in your heart and make sure that 0:10:04.700 --> 0:10:08.570 there's nothing there that shouldn't be there. I have a 0:10:08.570 --> 0:10:12.890 feeling that some of you have been living years. Some 0:10:12.890 --> 0:10:19.040 of you months, some of you decades, with certain carcasses 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:24.230 in your heart that have been polluting your life, and 0:10:24.230 --> 0:10:27.770 you're not even aware of it. And I think today 0:10:27.770 --> 0:10:30.920 God wants to speak to some of your hearts about 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:35.420 cleaning the debris around the spring of your life so 0:10:35.420 --> 0:10:39.979 that clean, fresh, pure life can come out of your 0:10:39.980 --> 0:10:47.240 heart instead of that which is contaminated. Hebrews chapter 12, 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:53.960 verses 12 through 17. It says, therefore strengthen your feeble 0:10:53.960 --> 0:11:00.140 arms and weak knees. Make level the paths of your feet, 0:11:00.390 --> 0:11:03.929 so that the lame may not be disabled but rather healed. 0:11:04.020 --> 0:11:08.880 Make every effort to live in peace with all men 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:13.080 and to be holy. Without holiness, no one will see 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:15.990 the Lord. See to it that no one misses the 0:11:15.990 --> 0:11:19.920 grace of God, and that no bitter root grows up 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:26.429 to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one 0:11:26.429 --> 0:11:30.870 is sexually immoral or godless like Esau, who for a 0:11:30.870 --> 0:11:36.540 single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterwards, 0:11:36.540 --> 0:11:39.870 as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, 0:11:39.870 --> 0:11:43.710 he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, 0:11:43.740 --> 0:11:49.230 though he sought the blessing with tears. So in Hebrews 0:11:49.230 --> 0:11:55.050 chapter 12, the writer of the Hebrews tells us how 0:11:55.050 --> 0:11:58.200 to keep our heart clean, how to do a heart check. 0:12:03.740 --> 0:12:06.650 You're listening to Bold Steps. The Bible teaching of Mark 0:12:06.650 --> 0:12:09.949 job will continue today's message right after a quick break. 0:12:09.980 --> 0:12:12.200 If you haven't been to our website yet, we really 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:14.300 encourage you to visit and see all the faith building 0:12:14.300 --> 0:12:18.080 resources and opportunities and sermon series we have available. Just 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:20.540 go to Bold Steps. Org and be sure to catch 0:12:20.570 --> 0:12:22.790 up on any message you might have missed on the radio. 0:12:22.820 --> 0:12:25.940 You can even have these daily lessons downloaded automatically to 0:12:25.940 --> 0:12:28.670 your phone or mobile device by subscribing to the Bold 0:12:28.670 --> 0:12:32.000 Steps podcast. Open up your podcast app and search for 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:35.420 bold steps with doctor Mark Jobe. And if you'd like 0:12:35.420 --> 0:12:37.849 to get even more connected and perhaps tell us about 0:12:37.850 --> 0:12:40.490 your testimony and how Bold Steps has played a part 0:12:40.490 --> 0:12:42.980 in your spiritual growth, we'd love to hear from you. 0:12:43.010 --> 0:12:45.710 You can send us a message online at Bold Steps. 0:12:45.950 --> 0:12:48.110 Org or you can give us a call with your 0:12:48.140 --> 0:12:50.660 own voice and leave your message on a recorded line 0:12:50.660 --> 0:13:01.110 by dialing 312329 2011. That's (312) 329-2011. Now let's continue our 0:13:01.110 --> 0:13:03.900 lesson about stepping up to a clean heart. Here again 0:13:03.900 --> 0:13:05.010 is Mark Jobe. 0:13:11.010 --> 0:13:15.030 I just prayed for a brother at an early service 0:13:15.030 --> 0:13:20.069 that on Tuesday is having open heart surgery. Thank God 0:13:20.070 --> 0:13:25.080 that they caught the fact that his arteries were clogged 0:13:25.290 --> 0:13:31.080 in time and avoided a major disaster. And I believe 0:13:31.110 --> 0:13:35.100 for some of you, this service today could be a 0:13:35.100 --> 0:13:40.860 diagnostic that's identifying clogged arteries in your heart that could 0:13:40.860 --> 0:13:46.170 avoid a major disaster. If you choose to clean the 0:13:46.170 --> 0:13:49.830 debris out of your heart, your spiritual heart, so that 0:13:49.830 --> 0:13:56.309 the life life of God can flow strongly and powerfully. 0:13:56.880 --> 0:13:58.470 So how to take care of your heart? I'm going 0:13:58.500 --> 0:14:00.410 to give you five quick things of how to take 0:14:00.410 --> 0:14:03.950 care of your heart and to be able to clean 0:14:03.950 --> 0:14:09.199 up anything that may not need to be there. Number one, 0:14:09.860 --> 0:14:14.900 strengthen your grip on the things that really matter. Notice 0:14:14.900 --> 0:14:19.790 what it says in verse 12. Therefore, strengthen your feeble 0:14:19.790 --> 0:14:30.830 arms and weak knees. Discouragement, disappointment, and disillusionment can weaken 0:14:30.830 --> 0:14:33.800 our grip on the things that really matter in life. 0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:38.750 Have you ever noticed that when you get discouraged, you 0:14:38.750 --> 0:14:44.690 feel weak? Well, I noticed that in the Olympics, especially 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:49.280 on the beam where the gymnasts would perform these acrobatics. 0:14:49.310 --> 0:14:52.400 Did you notice that when a gymnast makes a mistake 0:14:52.430 --> 0:14:55.670 at the beginning of the routine, then suddenly it seems 0:14:55.670 --> 0:15:02.320 like they'll make more mistakes because they're discouraged. That which 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:06.400 is strong becomes weak. Their confidence dissipates. Why? They've made 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:10.030 a mistake. And because they make a mistake, they become discouraged. 0:15:10.030 --> 0:15:14.410 And when you become discouraged, you start getting weak. When 0:15:14.410 --> 0:15:21.040 you're encouraged, you become strong. When you're discouraged, you become weak. 0:15:21.310 --> 0:15:24.280 One of the greatest tactics of the enemy is to 0:15:24.310 --> 0:15:28.300 discourage us somehow in our life. So those things that 0:15:28.300 --> 0:15:34.000 we are holding on to that we know are good, right? True, virtuous, 0:15:34.030 --> 0:15:39.490 we start losing our grip. He uses the illustration of 0:15:40.030 --> 0:15:44.560 feeble hands and weak knees. Oh, I've seen it over 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:47.320 and over. I've seen someone that was going really strong 0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:53.500 and doing really well, and somehow they become discouraged. Maybe 0:15:53.500 --> 0:15:57.370 they get disappointed in someone that was supposed to help 0:15:57.370 --> 0:16:00.410 them and didn't help them. Or maybe they feel like 0:16:00.410 --> 0:16:03.260 they called to God for an answer to prayer that 0:16:03.260 --> 0:16:09.050 didn't come. Or maybe they have tried to really change 0:16:09.050 --> 0:16:12.170 their ways, but keep struggling, and then they become discouraged. 0:16:12.170 --> 0:16:16.400 And instead of hanging on tight, they start loosening their grip. 0:16:17.480 --> 0:16:19.610 Instead of holding on tight to what they know, they 0:16:19.610 --> 0:16:23.480 need to hold on to those habits. Maybe someone committed 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:25.340 at the beginning of the year. I'm going to spend 0:16:25.340 --> 0:16:28.760 some time with God every morning before I start the day. 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.640 But you come discouraged and instead of hanging on tight, 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:35.300 you start loosening the grip. Maybe you determine at the 0:16:35.300 --> 0:16:39.350 beginning of the year, I'm not going to allow some 0:16:39.350 --> 0:16:42.320 of the friendships I've had in the past to influence 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:44.990 my life in a negative way and take me down. 0:16:44.990 --> 0:16:48.380 And you were strong in the beginning, resisting their influence, 0:16:48.380 --> 0:16:53.360 but you got discouraged. And so now you're allowing them 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:56.930 to influence your life again and take you in a 0:16:56.930 --> 0:17:04.740 spiral downward. The writer of the Hebrews says, strengthen your grip, 0:17:05.310 --> 0:17:09.659 strengthen your knees. It's not time to let go of 0:17:09.660 --> 0:17:13.139 the things you need to hang on to. It's time 0:17:13.140 --> 0:17:17.220 to grip them stronger. It's time to hold on stronger, 0:17:17.250 --> 0:17:21.330 not to let go. God has given you some. Some 0:17:21.330 --> 0:17:24.180 of you visions and dreams as to what he's called 0:17:24.180 --> 0:17:25.590 you to do. Some of you are in the midst 0:17:25.590 --> 0:17:29.940 of education, and you know that you need to pursue 0:17:29.940 --> 0:17:33.570 that degree, because that degree opens up doors to your calling. 0:17:33.570 --> 0:17:38.940 But boy, does it get long and hard and expensive. 0:17:40.980 --> 0:17:43.919 So some of you begin to weaken the grip, thinking, wow, 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:46.530 it's a lot. It's hard, I don't know, can I 0:17:46.530 --> 0:17:49.730 do this? Maybe I'll take a semester off or 2 0:17:49.730 --> 0:17:53.070 or 3 and maybe God is saying, I gave you 0:17:53.070 --> 0:17:56.550 a vision. I gave you a dream. Now pursue it. 0:18:02.420 --> 0:18:07.850 It tells us in this passage is strengthen your feeble 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:17.090 arms and strengthen your weak knees. Number two, I'm talking 0:18:17.090 --> 0:18:19.040 about how to strengthen our heart and get it in 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:21.290 the right place, how to take care of our heart, 0:18:22.310 --> 0:18:27.020 take care of the hurts and injuries quickly before they 0:18:27.020 --> 0:18:33.500 become disabling. Notice what it says in verse 13. Make 0:18:33.500 --> 0:18:37.669 level paths for your feet so that the lame may 0:18:37.670 --> 0:18:42.080 not be disabled, but rather healed. Now notice he's using 0:18:42.080 --> 0:18:48.290 spiritual language but talking about our body. And he says, 0:18:48.410 --> 0:18:53.720 make straight paths for your feet so that those that 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:56.870 are lame or those that are injured may not become 0:18:56.900 --> 0:19:00.730 disabled but healed. How many of you know that you 0:19:00.730 --> 0:19:04.570 can allow an injury to become worse, and eventually it 0:19:04.570 --> 0:19:08.470 can disable you? When I was young, I broke quite 0:19:08.470 --> 0:19:15.369 a few bones. I broke my arm. I broke bones 0:19:15.369 --> 0:19:19.180 in my hand. I had stitches in my head, stitches 0:19:19.180 --> 0:19:24.850 in my ear. I broke my arm, falling off a 0:19:24.850 --> 0:19:29.380 tree and cracked. Snapped both bones in my arm so 0:19:29.380 --> 0:19:34.899 my arm looked like this. We went to the hospital. 0:19:35.290 --> 0:19:39.040 The doctor reset the bones in my arm. Put a cast. 0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:42.430 In those days they used to use plaster, plastered up 0:19:42.430 --> 0:19:44.620 my arm, and he said, you need to take care 0:19:44.619 --> 0:19:47.890 of that until your arm heals. But that was pretty active, 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:50.770 young man. And I was probably about nine years old. 0:19:50.770 --> 0:19:54.010 And about a week later I was off on a 0:19:54.010 --> 0:19:58.119 bicycle with a friend, and we actually fell off a 0:19:58.119 --> 0:20:03.230 bridge with our bicycle and I rebroke the cast cracked 0:20:03.230 --> 0:20:06.260 it into again and he broke his leg, cracked his tooth, 0:20:06.260 --> 0:20:08.869 and so I had to show up to the same 0:20:08.869 --> 0:20:12.230 doctor a week and a half later with a broken 0:20:12.230 --> 0:20:16.580 arm again, and he said, young man, I will have 0:20:16.580 --> 0:20:19.310 to cut your arm open and put a pin in there. 0:20:19.340 --> 0:20:23.090 This arm could be disabled unless you take care of it. 0:20:23.090 --> 0:20:27.739 This arm has to heal. It's happened to some of you, 0:20:27.770 --> 0:20:31.369 hasn't it, that you sprang your leg or something happens 0:20:31.369 --> 0:20:33.320 and you don't take care of it. You keep walking 0:20:33.320 --> 0:20:35.240 on it and walking on it and walking on it. 0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:38.900 And finally it becomes so bad that you become disabled. 0:20:38.930 --> 0:20:42.139 I had a friend of mine, played football for many 0:20:42.140 --> 0:20:45.320 years and and messed up his knees and his knees 0:20:45.350 --> 0:20:48.109 got worse and worse and worse so he could barely walk. 0:20:48.109 --> 0:20:51.500 He had to. He had to walk with. With a walker, 0:20:51.500 --> 0:20:54.470 with a crutch because his knees got so bad and 0:20:54.470 --> 0:20:58.070 they had to operate. And what, what is telling us 0:20:58.070 --> 0:21:02.820 in this passage is that life is full of inevitable hurts. 0:21:02.820 --> 0:21:06.480 You and I will be hurt by people in our life. 0:21:06.960 --> 0:21:11.430 Life hurts sometimes, period. You can't make it through life 0:21:11.430 --> 0:21:15.179 without getting hurt. Someone's going to bump you. Someone's going 0:21:15.210 --> 0:21:18.840 to disappoint you. Someone's going to hurt you because they 0:21:18.840 --> 0:21:21.600 didn't follow through on their commitment, or because you thought 0:21:21.600 --> 0:21:24.000 they were loyal to you, and then they turned their 0:21:24.000 --> 0:21:26.520 back on you, or you thought they were a friend 0:21:26.520 --> 0:21:29.550 and they talked about you behind your back, or you 0:21:29.580 --> 0:21:31.889 thought they were going to show up and really back 0:21:31.920 --> 0:21:33.869 you in your time of need, and they weren't there 0:21:33.869 --> 0:21:36.899 when you needed them. And so life is full of hurts. 0:21:36.900 --> 0:21:39.689 It may be your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, 0:21:39.690 --> 0:21:43.050 your friend, your aunt, your cousin, your. And when they 0:21:43.050 --> 0:21:47.490 disappoint you, you become hurt. I have seen more people 0:21:47.520 --> 0:21:52.109 tube out spiritually because they didn't take care of their injuries, 0:21:52.109 --> 0:21:57.330 their heart injuries than almost any other reason. I've seen 0:21:57.330 --> 0:22:03.770 people fall away. Make sure that when you get injured, 0:22:03.800 --> 0:22:07.910 you take care of that injury so that it doesn't 0:22:07.940 --> 0:22:16.490 turn in to disability, but instead you become healed. Whatever 0:22:16.490 --> 0:22:22.490 happens in your heart, if it's undealt with will show 0:22:22.490 --> 0:22:26.449 up in your life. If you allow a seed of 0:22:26.450 --> 0:22:29.899 resentment or bitterness to get into your heart and you 0:22:29.900 --> 0:22:34.850 don't deal with it and heal it, it may start 0:22:34.850 --> 0:22:38.810 because someone hurts you and you nurse that hurt, that 0:22:38.840 --> 0:22:42.020 hurt you rehearse that. You tell other people about it. 0:22:42.050 --> 0:22:45.920 It's turned into a disability, and now you find yourself 0:22:45.920 --> 0:22:49.490 paralyzed at the side of the road wondering what happened. 0:22:49.490 --> 0:22:53.060 It all happened because you got hurt and you didn't 0:22:53.060 --> 0:22:56.330 properly deal with the hurt of your heart. 0:23:02.790 --> 0:23:06.480 You're listening to Bold Steps, the Bible teaching of Mark job. 0:23:06.510 --> 0:23:09.540 Today's message is called stepping up to a Clean Heart. 0:23:09.540 --> 0:23:11.909 And you can hear part two of this message tomorrow. 0:23:11.910 --> 0:23:15.270 So please keep listening. In the meantime, we encourage you 0:23:15.270 --> 0:23:17.340 to visit our website and check out all the special 0:23:17.340 --> 0:23:21.899 resources and opportunities we have available. Go to Bold Steps. Org. 0:23:21.990 --> 0:23:24.480 One resource we really encourage you to check out is 0:23:24.480 --> 0:23:27.780 this month's exclusive Bold Steps gift, a very special book 0:23:27.780 --> 0:23:30.480 that speaks to the times we're living in. Are you 0:23:30.480 --> 0:23:33.780 feeling the impact of massive cultural and social changes all 0:23:33.780 --> 0:23:37.020 around us? Many Christians are wondering how to maintain a 0:23:37.020 --> 0:23:40.859 steady faith in such unstable times. If that's you, you'll 0:23:40.859 --> 0:23:42.900 want to get your hands on this book titled A 0:23:42.930 --> 0:23:46.740 Non-anxious presence. Through the book, Mark Sayers helps us see 0:23:46.740 --> 0:23:50.430 our current moment through God's eyes rather than being paralyzed 0:23:50.430 --> 0:23:53.970 by uncertainty. You'll learn how times of disruption can actually 0:23:53.970 --> 0:23:58.260 become catalysts for a spiritual breakthrough. The truth is, God 0:23:58.290 --> 0:24:00.920 often does his most significant work in seasons that feel 0:24:00.920 --> 0:24:05.690 most unsettling. Right now, he's opening unprecedented doors for Kingdom 0:24:05.690 --> 0:24:09.770 Impact in your community. Don't let anxiety about change hold 0:24:09.770 --> 0:24:13.160 you back. Discover how to recognize and participate in what 0:24:13.190 --> 0:24:17.480 God is doing by requesting a non-anxious presence. We'll send 0:24:17.480 --> 0:24:19.850 you a copy today with your gift of any amount 0:24:19.880 --> 0:24:24.770 to support bold steps. Just call 800. D.L. Moody again. 0:24:24.800 --> 0:24:31.370 That's (800) 356-6639. Or donate online and request the book when 0:24:31.369 --> 0:24:34.520 you go to bold steps. Org. If it's easier, you 0:24:34.520 --> 0:24:37.820 can send your donation in the mail at bold steps. 0:24:37.820 --> 0:24:44.090 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. 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And did you 0:25:15.450 --> 0:25:17.820 know you can also find videos of Marx teachings and 0:25:17.820 --> 0:25:20.760 even more bold steps content on our brand new Bold 0:25:20.760 --> 0:25:24.150 Steps app. Whatever your interest, you'll find both long and 0:25:24.150 --> 0:25:27.480 short form videos that speak to relevant topics and issues 0:25:27.480 --> 0:25:30.300 in your daily life. Just open up your favorite app 0:25:30.300 --> 0:25:34.080 store today and download the Bold Steps app for free. 0:25:34.380 --> 0:25:36.660 I'm Wayne Shepherd signing off, but be sure to join 0:25:36.660 --> 0:25:39.209 us tomorrow for part two of our message on stepping 0:25:39.210 --> 0:25:43.109 up to a clean heart. That's Friday on Bold Steps 0:25:43.109 --> 0:25:48.240 with Mark Jones. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, 0:25:48.270 --> 0:25:50.730 a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.