S1: Today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, we're discovering how
S1: to make decisions with the Holy Spirit.
S2: If your personal life is out of the will of God,
S2: then chances are you'll make a lot of bad decisions
S2: about the big things in life. But if your personal
S2: life is walking in the will of God, then you
S2: will naturally begin to make the right decisions about the
S2: bigger things in life. Hello? Is anybody listening?
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is founding
S1: pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago. I'm Wayne Sheppard. Well,
S1: life is full of tough decisions. Sometimes we come to
S1: a crossroad and we find ourselves stuck with uncertainty, wondering
S1: which way to go. But as believers, we know that
S1: we should always be seeking first the will of God.
S1: The question is, how do we know what his will
S1: really is? How do we find certainty that the decision
S1: we're making is the decision God wants us to make? Well,
S1: that's the question we're exploring today as we continue. A
S1: message from pastor Mark Jobe. It's titled Under the Influence.
S2: How do I Know God's will? I want to give
S2: you a quick insight into the will of God. I
S2: know God's will for your life. You say, pastor, you
S2: do I? Absolutely. I want to give you this morning
S2: God's will for your life. If you came in this
S2: place saying, I want to know God's will, then I'm
S2: going to give you the first step in understanding God's
S2: will for your life. Are you ready? It tells us
S2: in this passage, therefore do not be foolish. Foolish is
S2: the opposite of wise, spiritually speaking. Don't be foolish, be wise,
S2: but understand what the will of the Lord is. Don't
S2: be foolish. Understand God's will. The apostle Paul is saying,
S2: I want you to understand God's will for your life.
S2: Don't be foolish, don't pass it by. Understand God's will.
S2: And then he says this don't get drunk with wine,
S2: but instead be full of the spirit. Can I tell
S2: you this morning what God's will is for your life?
S2: God's will for your life today is that you be
S2: filled with the spirit. You say, well, pastor, I don't
S2: want to know about that. I want to know about
S2: buying a house. Here's the thing. If you get in
S2: the will of God personally, then you will find yourself
S2: in the middle of the will of God in your
S2: big decisions in life. Are you tracking with me? See,
S2: if I start stepping into the will of God and
S2: the things that I know, then then the things that
S2: I don't know, I will end up stepping into the
S2: right decisions at the right time because I'm filled with
S2: the spirit and I'm saying, God, I want everything that
S2: you want. I put my life in submission to you.
S2: I live in your will now, so that therefore, in
S2: the big decisions of who I marry, where I go,
S2: what school I go to, I start falling into your
S2: will because personally, I'm living in your will. If your
S2: personal life is out of the will of God, then
S2: chances are you'll make a lot of bad decisions about
S2: the big things in life. But if your personal life
S2: is walking in the will of God, then you will
S2: naturally begin to make the right decisions about the bigger
S2: things in life. Hello? Is anybody listening? Some of you
S2: should be asking yourself this question. AM I walking in
S2: the will of God now? AM I living in the
S2: will of God now with my life? Because if I am,
S2: I'll start making the right decisions in the bigger areas
S2: of life. And it says, This is God's will, that
S2: you be filled with the spirit. This is not for missionaries, pastors.
S2: This is not for people that are going to go
S2: and this is this is God's will for everybody. This
S2: is God's will for the factory worker. This is God's
S2: will for the data input person downtown, for the university student.
S2: This is God's will for the stay at home mother
S2: who's taking care of her household. This is God's will
S2: for the teacher that's teaching at a public school. This
S2: is God's will for every person that is a follower
S2: of Jesus Christ. His will is that you be filled
S2: with the spirit. Listen to me well. If you are
S2: not filled with the spirit, you are not living in
S2: the will of God. God wants you to be filled
S2: so that you're in the center of his will. Now.
S2: What happens when you get filled with the spirit? Well,
S2: here's what happens. It says, therefore do not be foolish,
S2: but understand what God's will is. Don't get drunk with wine. Instead,
S2: be filled with the spirit. And when you get filled
S2: with the spirit, there's several things that are evidence that
S2: you are filled with the spirit. You want to know.
S2: You say, well, I want to know if I'm filled.
S2: I want to know how I know I'm filled with
S2: the spirit. How do I know if I'm filled with
S2: the spirit or not? Well, let me tell you some
S2: of the characteristics of being filled with the spirit. Number one.
S2: The filling of the spirit will stir within you an
S2: urge to praise God and worship God more. Notice what
S2: it says. Instead, be filled with the spirit. Speak to
S2: one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Sing
S2: and make music in your heart to the Lord. What
S2: happens when you get filled with the spirit is that
S2: you want to begin to worship and praise God. The
S2: desire to exalt his name, the desire to honor him
S2: and lift him up. It starts swelling up within you.
S2: I want to worship God. When you're not filled with
S2: the spirit, it's all about you. It's all about what
S2: you can do. It's all about your life. It's all
S2: about your name. It's all about your reputation. It's all
S2: about your progress. It's all about you. God bless me.
S2: God help me. God heal me. God make me happy.
S2: God answer my prayer. And God does that. It's okay
S2: to pray to God about those things, but listen, the
S2: Christian life is not about you. It's about God and
S2: His honor and his glory. And when you're filled with
S2: the spirit, you start realizing this is not man centered.
S2: This is not theological humanism. This is a theocentric, a
S2: God centric Christianity where our life and our Christianity revolves
S2: around wanting, wanting to give God the honor and the
S2: glory and the praise because our heart wants to worship him.
S2: He is high and lifted up, he is exalted, and
S2: we want to worship him and make sure that we
S2: exalt his name. And it's about Him and His glory,
S2: not about us and our comfort. And I'm not talking
S2: about just coming to worship service and praising. How many
S2: of you know it's fairly easy in a worship service
S2: to praise God. The music's going. Hands are waving. You know,
S2: people are worshiping God. It's pretty easy, pretty easy normally.
S2: But it's when you go home that it's harder. The
S2: husband has a nasty attitude. You go to work and
S2: the boss is demanding. The traffic is bad, the pay
S2: is low. But you need to be filled with the
S2: spirit means that your heart wants to praise. Now, I'm
S2: not saying you go around singing all the time. Now
S2: some of you can. But what I like about this,
S2: it says singing and making melody in your heart. Some
S2: of you do better just singing in your heart. You
S2: know you're not really a singer. So it doesn't mean
S2: you worship you. You join the worship team. It doesn't
S2: mean if you're filled with the spirit, you got to
S2: join the worship team. Uh, some of you, you know,
S2: the Bible says, make a joyful noise. And some of
S2: us are a little out of tune in our singing,
S2: and we don't know how to sing. So we make noise.
S2: We make a joyful noise. How many of you know
S2: what I'm talking about? That's why they kick me off
S2: the worship team. They said, pastor, you make a lot
S2: of joyful noises. Um, so but but but it's the
S2: idea of having a happiness in our heart that worships God.
S2: This idea that we're connected with God, that we want
S2: to praise him. A church that's full of the spirit.
S2: We don't come on Sunday mornings just to sing a
S2: medley of songs. We come to worship the living God.
S2: There's something about our heart that that is, that is
S2: touched and revived about worshiping. We want to touch heaven.
S2: We want to bring God glory. We want to make
S2: sure Jesus is lifted up. We enjoy the glory of
S2: God and the presence of God. We want to make
S2: sure that his name is exalted, that he is high
S2: above any other name. And there's something inside of us
S2: that wants to give honor and glory to God who
S2: saved us, changed us, delivered us, healed us, washed us.
S2: There's something about it that makes us want to love
S2: God and exalt the name of the Lord. That's why
S2: you'll never run into a spirit filled church. That's not
S2: a worshiping church. Spirit filled churches, people that are full
S2: of God. They're worshiping churches. They love to worship God.
S2: They want to worship God. They enjoy the Joy, the
S2: worship of God. That's part of who they are. That's
S2: part of what it means to be full of the spirit.
S2: But it doesn't end there. He says, speak to one
S2: another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and
S2: make music in your heart to the Lord. Verse 20.
S2: Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in
S2: the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only does
S2: it make us a worshiping people, a people that likes
S2: to lift up the name of God. But when you
S2: know you're filled with the spirit, when you start getting
S2: an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving towards God, this is
S2: what it says, always giving thanks to God the Father
S2: for everything, everything, everything. Hey, that doesn't give a lot
S2: of wiggle room, does it? That means you give thanks
S2: and the good and the bad. Sometimes your Thanksgiving is
S2: a sacrifice. How about it? Have you ever had to
S2: give God a sacrifice of praise? I mean, there's times
S2: when it's. Hey, it's easy, man. Something just happened. It's
S2: a good news. Yeah. Thank God. God, you are good.
S2: Other times, it's. I'm. I'm going to force myself to
S2: thank God right now because I really don't feel like it.
S1: You're listening to the Bible teaching of Mark Jobe here
S1: on Bold Steps. We're pausing today's message just to remind
S1: you that we're always happy to hear from listeners like
S1: you about your own journey of faith and how God
S1: is using this program to make a difference in your life.
S1: Just like the message we got from Mindy in Reno
S1: who said, pastor Mark, thank you for your great work
S1: with the Lord. You give me inspiration every time I
S1: listen to you. Stay on the path the Lord has
S1: me on. Thank you and God bless you. Well, thank
S1: you for sharing that, Mindy, and to share your story
S1: with Mark and the Bold Steps team. Feel free to
S1: reach out to us anytime through our website, bold steps.org.
S1: Now let's push into the final half of our message
S1: under the Influence. Here's Mark Jobe once again.
S2: You see, there's something about Thanksgiving. Let me tell you,
S2: the Bible says that people that are full of the
S2: spirit give thanks to God for everything through Jesus Christ.
S2: If right now you're a critical discontent, unhappy, always looking
S2: for the bad type of person, I'm going to tell
S2: you you're not filled with the spirit. Filled with the spirit.
S2: People become positive people because they look for things to
S2: thank God for. Part of walking in the spirit is
S2: we become grateful. Hey Lord, my car door may be
S2: a little rusty, but thank God my wheels still turn. Hey,
S2: there may be a little in my room, but thank
S2: God I have a roof. I might not be paid
S2: as much as I want to be paid, but thank
S2: God I got food on my table. Thank you, Lord Jesus,
S2: that you are good. You see, there's something about being
S2: filled with the spirit that looks for opportunities to thank God.
S2: It's part of the nature of God, part of the
S2: part of the, uh, driving of the Holy Spirit. He
S2: drives you to give thanks. He looks for reason, to
S2: give thanks. One of the first signs of carnality are
S2: when we stop giving thanks, when we start murmuring and complaining,
S2: when we stop looking for the good, when we stop
S2: being positive because faith makes us positive, it causes us
S2: to say, thank you Lord. I am grateful and humble
S2: before you. Amen. So. It's a sacrifice of praise. I,
S2: the people that I know that are most full of
S2: the spirit are people that are just humble and thankful
S2: for things in life. Just just this, this steady thankfulness
S2: to God. That trial hits him and it's like they
S2: get up and I still thank God that I'm standing.
S2: Thank God for his goodness. Just this deep seated thankfulness
S2: to God. The third thing. So not only does it
S2: cause us to want to praise God. The third thing,
S2: the second thing it does is it causes our attitude
S2: to have an attitude of thanksgiving begins to flow out
S2: of us where we begin to thank God. And then
S2: the other thing that we see is verse 21. It says,
S2: submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. And
S2: then from verse 22 to 2033, it talks about family, relationships,
S2: husbands and wives. Listen, when you're filled with the spirit,
S2: the Spirit of God begins to alter and it begins
S2: to affect the way we relate to other people in
S2: our lives. It begins to affect the way we walk
S2: in harmony with other people. We make things right. We
S2: ask for forgiveness. We settle things with other people. We're
S2: peacemakers with other people. We're not prideful and conflictive, but
S2: we try to make things right. It causes us to
S2: begin to look at other people and their needs and
S2: be sensitive to other people. That's part of what it
S2: means to walk in the spirit. Hey, I'm glad you
S2: went to the altar and I'm glad someone prayed for you.
S2: And you got so full of the spirit that you say, whoa, man,
S2: someone was praying for me. My hands started shaking. I
S2: felt a tingling all down my back. My legs started
S2: moving like this. Man, I was filled with the spirit. Hey,
S2: I'm saying that's okay, but if you get up and
S2: go to your wife and start hollering at her, criticizing her,
S2: kicking the kids around, cussing, hey you, that Philip that
S2: was just tingling down your spine that wasn't filled with
S2: the spirit. Because filled with the spirit alters the way
S2: you live. It's the control of the Spirit of God
S2: on our lives. It's integrated Christianity. It affects us. It
S2: overcomes us, but it empowers us to begin to affect
S2: our relationships as well. Filled with the spirit causes the
S2: Spirit of Christ inside of us to live and begin
S2: to emerge. Listen, I want to live my days filled
S2: with the spirit. And here's the thing. The moment you
S2: come to Christ, you have the spirit inside of you.
S2: But how many of you know you can have the
S2: spirit and not be filled with the spirit? It's one
S2: thing to have the spirit, it's another thing to be
S2: filled with the spirit. And if you're a believer in
S2: Jesus Christ, you cannot be a believer in Christ without
S2: having the Spirit of God inside of you. But you
S2: can walk around not filled with the spirit. If you're
S2: not filled with the spirit, you're filled with yourself. And
S2: that's called carnality. So as you walk down the Christian life,
S2: sometimes you walk in the flesh and sometimes you walk
S2: in the spirit. Can you tell when you're walking in
S2: the flesh and walking in the spirit? Can you tell
S2: I can in my life. Some of you this morning
S2: getting ready for church. You walked into this auditorium in
S2: the flesh. You know, Sundays is tough for families sometimes,
S2: isn't it? You know, you've been knocking on the door
S2: of your bathroom because your 13 year old daughter's been
S2: in there working on her hair for 55 minutes, and you're. Honey,
S2: how straight can you get your hair? And then you
S2: get to about ready. And your other son, he's not ready.
S2: He forgets something. You get to the car, but he's
S2: crabby and whining, and by the time you get to church,
S2: you walk in here and the whole family's in the flesh.
S2: They're just all fleshly. Sunday mornings can be tough, you know,
S2: because think about it. When is the only time that
S2: as a family, especially if you have small kids, that
S2: everybody gets ready at the same time and everybody goes
S2: to the same place. Normally you're sending your kids off
S2: to school and you don't all have to come together.
S2: But Sunday morning, everybody has to be there on time.
S2: It's in the morning, everybody has to get ready. So
S2: sometimes we're not used to it and it gets really fleshly.
S2: Some of you have to sit through the first ten
S2: minutes just getting the flesh out of you. Everybody singing
S2: and praise and you're like, oh, it takes you about
S2: a half hour. That's why we have longer worship, because
S2: we know some of you. That takes you a half
S2: hour to finally get out of the flesh and start
S2: to get in the spirit just a little bit. And
S2: hopefully by the time we're in the message, you got
S2: a lot of flesh out of your system, and you're
S2: starting to go in the spirit and releasing some of that.
S2: But you know what? We can go the first half
S2: of the day in the spirit and the last half
S2: of the day in the flesh. We flip in and
S2: out of walking in the spirit. You can walk in
S2: the flesh and walk in the spirit. Something can trigger
S2: something and set you in the flesh. Does that happen
S2: to you? You get a phone call, something happens at work,
S2: and suddenly you're in the flesh. Don't get in my way.
S2: I'm going to do this, and I'm going to tell
S2: you that just in the morning you were oh, Jesus
S2: is so good. Praise God for this. And I went
S2: to church and pastor Mark said this and that in
S2: the afternoon. It's like, you better not get in my
S2: way because I'm going to tell them this and they're
S2: going to, they're going to hear me know better and wait,
S2: what happened? We got a little Jekyll and Hyde going
S2: on here. We got a little flesh and spirit going
S2: on here. What? I tell you what happened? You got
S2: knocked out of the spirit and knocked into the flesh
S2: real quickly. And so now you're not operating under the
S2: fullness of the spirit. You're operating under the fullness of you,
S2: and you're not doing the will of God when you're
S2: operating under you. Now we go back to what it
S2: means to be filled with the spirit. Here's what the
S2: Bible says. Be continuously filled with the spirit. Now you
S2: ask me, how do I get filled with the spirit?
S2: Let me give you one clear way. You pray and
S2: you yield. God, fill me with your spirit. I really
S2: need it. And I yield to you, God. And if
S2: there's anything in my life that's an obstruction to be
S2: filled with the spirit, I want to deal with it.
S2: When you start finding yourself going into the flesh, you
S2: need to pause and say, God, I'm in the flesh
S2: right now. Fill me with your spirit once again. Fill me, Lord.
S2: And you know what the spirit does? The spirit comes.
S2: There's three things that characterize the spirit power, love, and
S2: a sound mind, power, love, and a sound mind. God
S2: has not given you a spirit of timidity, but of power, love,
S2: and of a sound mind. So my challenge to you
S2: today as as as I wrap up this message, my
S2: challenge to you is this. I want to challenge you
S2: that over this next week that you determine in your heart, God,
S2: I want to stay filled with the spirit when I
S2: go to work. If I find myself in the flesh,
S2: I'm going to pause and say, fill me, Lord, with
S2: your spirit I yield once again. Fill me, Lord, with
S2: your Holy Spirit. Just take a moment and just ask
S2: for the filling of your spirit. If you need to.
S2: Take a little time to begin to thank God. Begin
S2: to praise God. If there's anything you need to fix
S2: with other people, start fixing it because the very thing,
S2: the very, the very evidence of being filled with the
S2: spirit is the very thing that keeps us filled with
S2: the spirit as well. If you start getting into negativity
S2: and complaining, then you start getting out of filling the
S2: filling of the spirit. If you stop praising, then you
S2: stop getting filled with the spirit. If you have anger, hatred,
S2: jealousy towards someone, you start getting filled with the spirit.
S2: You keep in praise, you keep in thanksgiving, you keep
S2: things well and you keep asking, fill me with the spirit, God.
S2: And I believe that it can revolutionize your life. Fill
S2: me with the spirit. Some of us have a tough
S2: time because we're not walking in the spirit. Most of
S2: the time. We go in and out of being filled
S2: with the spirit. My challenge is to start living filled
S2: with the Spirit of God. Amen. So there you've heard
S2: the challenge. Be filled with the spirit. And in case
S2: you're thinking that this is just some powerful moment at
S2: a retreat or a conference, the challenge is be filled
S2: with the spirit every day. So I want to pause
S2: right now. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you
S2: cannot be a believer without the Holy Spirit inside of you.
S2: He's the agent of regeneration. But you can be a
S2: believer and not be walking in the fullness of the spirit.
S2: So father, I pray right now for that listener that
S2: knows that they're walking more in the flesh than in
S2: the fullness of the spirit. I pray in Jesus name
S2: that right now, God, by your power, they would be
S2: an infilling of your spirit. As we yield to your
S2: lordship and sovereignty today, and ask that you would fill
S2: us with love, power, and a sound mind, that you
S2: would fill us with that spirit that causes us to say, ABBA, Father,
S2: that you would fill us with that spirit that causes
S2: us to love people in ways that we would not
S2: be able to love them on our own. Fill us
S2: right now. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.
S1: Yes, Amen. You can hear more Bible based messages from
S1: our current series Under the Influence, when you visit us
S1: online at bold steps.org, or if you'd like to listen
S1: to another series from our growing archive. Be sure to
S1: subscribe to the Bold Steps podcast. You'll find us on
S1: your favorite podcast platform when you search for Bold Steps
S1: with doctor Mark Jobe. And while you're there, we'd love
S1: for you to leave us a review or comment. Your
S1: feedback helps others discover the program and encourages us as
S1: we continue sharing God's Word. And before we sign off,
S1: I want to remind you of the unique resource we're
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S1: Lee was once an investigative journalist and a committed skeptic
S1: who set out to disprove the Christian faith. But he
S1: discovered instead not only changed his life, it gave him
S1: eight carefully researched answers to the toughest objections to Christianity,
S1: from the problem of suffering and the existence of evil,
S1: to the question of hell, to the bold claim that
S1: Jesus is the only way to God. Lee takes every
S1: hard question seriously and follows the evidence wherever it leads.
S1: This is a resource that will strengthen your own convictions
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S1: Wayne Sheppard. That's our program for today. Be listening tomorrow
S1: for our next message and how to spot the difference
S1: between true and false spirituality. It's Tuesday here on Bold
S1: Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of
S1: Moody Radio, a Ministry of Moody Bible Institute.