S1: Today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. We're learning how
S1: to raise up the next generation.
S2: And here's what the Bible says. When you honor, whether
S2: you're a teenager or whether you're a 20 year old,
S2: or whether you're a 13 year old. Success and longevity
S2: are the byproducts of honoring your father and your mother.
S2: What is the opposite of that? Short life and a
S2: lot of failures.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is president
S1: of Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New
S1: Life Community Church in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Over the
S1: past two days, we've been learning about authority and how
S1: parents have the power to bless their children. And today,
S1: as we move forward, Mark is going to be explaining
S1: how our willingness to train up the next generation shapes
S1: the future and their destiny. Our series is titled When
S1: you Believe Everything Changes. And if you have your Bible,
S1: turn with us to Ephesians chapter six. Mark titled this
S1: message The Power of Royal Parenting. And it starts right now.
S2: Jesus authority came through the submission to his God given authority,
S2: and because he was in submission to his authority. He
S2: had perfect authority. There was never a time where Jesus
S2: prayed for a person that was sick that he did
S2: not get healed. There was never a time where he
S2: touched a deaf man that did not receive his hearing.
S2: There's not a time where he touched a leper and
S2: the leopard wasn't clean. There's not a time when he
S2: expelled the demon that a demon didn't go. Jesus had
S2: perfect authority, but he had perfect authority because he was
S2: in perfect submission to the authority of his of his
S2: father here on earth. Therefore, because he learned perfect submission,
S2: he also had perfect authority. You will never learn to
S2: lead unless, first of all, you learn to follow. You
S2: will never have authority unless, first of all, you place
S2: yourself under authority. That's why the Bible talks so strongly
S2: about the need to obey and be under the authority
S2: of those that God has placed over us. I started
S2: pastoring this church when I was 21 years old. That's
S2: way too young. But I believe that there's some lessons
S2: God had to teach me before I started pastoring that
S2: I needed to learn about submission and authority. And unless
S2: I had learned those lessons, I don't believe I would
S2: ever have had the authority to lead. I was 21
S2: and leading and leading people that were double my age.
S2: I was counseling marriages and I wasn't even married. I
S2: was I was, you know, ministering and preaching, But, but,
S2: but part of the lessons that I had to learn
S2: was the lesson of submission being under authority. And I
S2: remember specifically in one instance where this lesson had to
S2: be taught to me very strongly and powerfully, not through
S2: my parents, but through another pastor, a church that I
S2: was at. And, um, where a pastor, I thought, asked
S2: me to do something unreasonable at the time. I my
S2: hair was sort of the hair of the day. It
S2: wasn't super long, but, you know, it was kind of
S2: a little bit long. Can you still imagine that? So
S2: me with long hair. Okay. And the pastor had asked
S2: me to teach a class, and the pastor asked me
S2: before I taught the class, he asked me to cut
S2: my hair. And I remember I was kind of ticked
S2: at it, like, you didn't ask me how my spiritual
S2: life is. You didn't ask me if I feel qualified.
S2: You didn't ask me if I was praying. You just
S2: looked at my hair and you want me to cut
S2: my hair. Inside of me, that little rebellious like, who
S2: is this guy going to tell me to change my
S2: style just because he has short hair? Dresses in a
S2: suit and tie all the time. And so I made
S2: an appointment with him. I said, I'd like to talk
S2: to you first before I cut my hair. I'd like
S2: to talk to you. And I got Ahold of his secretary.
S2: And his secretary says he'd be happy to talk to
S2: you after you cut your hair. And I was like, okay, that's.
S2: That's it. Bunch of hypocrites. Legalistic, carnal. I'm out of
S2: this place. I'm like, building my own case. I can't
S2: believe that what they're doing. I'm not going to teach
S2: that class now. I'm not going to do anything like that.
S2: I was in college at the time. I went to
S2: my dorm, told everybody there like, he told you what, man?
S2: You should leave that church. Forget that church. I'm like, yeah.
S2: Have you ever felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit?
S2: I'm building my case. I'm talking about that. And no
S2: one was there. No one was talking about. I felt
S2: this sharp conviction of the Holy Spirit simply saying submit. Submit.
S2: He's your spiritual authority right now. If he would have
S2: asked you to do something hard, you'd have done it.
S2: I felt the conviction in my Holy Spirit so much.
S2: I felt such conviction, the Holy Spirit that that day
S2: I went to some guy on the floor, another college student.
S2: I said, grab your scissors. Cut my hair. He did
S2: never grew back after that. Nah. Just kidding dad. I
S2: went back and I said, you know what? I did that,
S2: and I feel like God spoke to me at that
S2: moment about. I didn't agree with it. I thought it was, but.
S2: But God spoke to me at that moment. What God
S2: was trying to teach me is a lesson on obedience
S2: and submission. Because you can never have authority unless you
S2: learn to be under authority. Listen, listen, young men, if
S2: you're a teenager right now and you're 18 years old, listen,
S2: you will never be able to lead your household unless,
S2: first of all, you learn to submit to the leader
S2: of your household. One day you will have a family.
S2: One day you will have kids, one day you will
S2: lead a household. And you're never going to learn to lead.
S2: Unless first of all, you learn to submit. And listen.
S2: I am convinced it was shortly after that, not too
S2: long after that, a couple of years after that, I
S2: find myself, at the age of 21, pastoring a church.
S2: But I am convinced that I would never have started
S2: pastoring at that young age unless I would have. I
S2: would have proved that test or or or gone through
S2: that test of learning what it meant to submit. The
S2: Bible says that rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft.
S2: It gets into your soul and it starts eating away.
S2: To obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than
S2: the fat of rams. That's why it is the parent's
S2: responsibility to begin to teach children the power of obedience.
S2: Because ultimately, when you teach your children to obey, it
S2: will serve them in the rest of their life. They
S2: will learn to lead sooner. They will lead better. They
S2: will take authority sooner. They will begin to have influence
S2: at a greater age. If you if they don't learn now,
S2: when they become heads of households, their life will be
S2: out of control because they've never learned to be under
S2: the authority and submission of someone that's over them. Amen. Children.
S2: Obey your parents in the Lord. What does that word
S2: in the Lord mean? Ultimately, it means that when you
S2: submit to your parents, you're not submitting to them, but
S2: you're submitting to God. You cannot be rebellious toward your
S2: parents and in right relationship with God, because whatever you
S2: do to your parents, ultimately you are doing to the
S2: authority that God has set above you. You can't say, well,
S2: I don't respect my parents, I don't obey them. But
S2: me and God, man we're tight. No no no no.
S2: You're tight with something. But let me tell you, it's
S2: not the Spirit of God. It may be some other spirit,
S2: but it's not the Spirit of God. Because when you
S2: learn to you, you say, well, I've had this conversation
S2: with a lot of people. They say, well, I don't
S2: think my dad deserves my respect. I just had a
S2: conversation with someone after our first service. They said, you know,
S2: my dad was a womanizer. My dad treated my mother wrong.
S2: I don't see how I could respect my dad for
S2: what he did. Listen, I know some of you have
S2: dads or mothers that necessarily weren't the best in the world.
S2: But here's the thing when you obey them at this age,
S2: you're not obeying them because they deserve to be obeyed
S2: by their character. You're obeying them because you're trusting God
S2: to work through them, not trusting that they are worthy,
S2: but that God is worthy and has placed him in
S2: a in a position to bless you. Are you tracking
S2: with me? You say, well, pastor, I don't understand that. Well,
S2: do you remember King David? King David in the Bible
S2: God said, you will be king one day. And he
S2: put king. Saul was still king over him. And King
S2: Saul was a jealous, egocentric maniac that was looking to
S2: kill David. But David respected the authority of Saul and said,
S2: I will not touch God's anointed. I will not lift
S2: my hand. I will not kill him. God raises and
S2: puts down. And because David submitted to Saul, God raised
S2: David up at the right time to be the leader
S2: of a kingdom, because he learned to respect the position
S2: of authority that God had placed him on. The same
S2: it is in our life as well.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. A message
S1: he's titled The Power of Royal Parenting. You know, Mark,
S1: parents aren't the only ones who have the power to
S1: shape and change lives. We all can be an encouragement
S1: to others if we take the time. And that's something
S1: we're hearing from listeners.
S3: Yes we are. And by the way, we just want
S3: to say we love hearing from our listeners. Thank you
S3: for reaching out, sharing your stories, testimonies, faith questions. We
S3: read them all on a regular basis. I pray over
S3: the prayer requests that come in. Just yesterday I was
S3: doing so and so. It's encouraging to hear what's going
S3: on in your life and how God is moving through
S3: this program as well.
S1: Well, let me take a moment and share with you
S1: a letter we got in response to a recent message
S1: you gave. This listener says, before school began this fall,
S1: I was asked to do something more special than just
S1: our typical prayer for the children and their families. I
S1: knew exactly what I was going to do because God
S1: was stirring in me the importance of blessing my children.
S1: After listening to pastor Mark, just as he demonstrated blessing
S1: his children, I brought my children with me in front
S1: of the families of our church and bless my kids.
S1: I spoke to the parents and grandparents about the power
S1: of their words and the importance to bless their children
S1: and grandchildren. I was amazed by how many people were
S1: brought to tears, but how they needed that affirmation as
S1: a child but never received it. Your one message has
S1: had a ripple effect, not just in my family, but
S1: in many families now because of this one bold step.
S1: Thank you for what you are doing to create a
S1: generational impact in families so that God's love overflows into
S1: the lives of children and hopefully for years to come
S1: in their children's children.
S2: Wonderful, huh? I love that testimony. And if you're a
S2: parent out there, I just want to encourage you with
S2: the power of blessing. As this listener has said, there's
S2: something compelling about you putting your hand on the head
S2: or the shoulder of your sons or daughters and just
S2: speaking what you see in their lives. In fact, we
S2: did that recently at a chapel with all the seniors
S2: here at Moody Bible Institute that were graduating.
S1: I heard about that at.
S2: The very end. We said, I want you to come
S2: and just pray blessing over them, but also speak into
S2: what you see in their lives, what you see in them.
S2: And you know, Wayne, so many times we don't see
S2: what other people actually see in us because of insecurity, doubt, fear.
S2: And so there's a lot of power in words, of blessing.
S1: Well, thank you for sharing that bold step with us,
S1: and we'd love to hear how you have taken a
S1: bold step, and we'd love to pray for you as well.
S1: Connect with us online at Bold Steps. Org Or you
S1: can give us a call and leave your message on
S1: a recorded line. This number is (312) 329-2011. 312329 2011. And
S1: of course, you're always welcome to send us email. The
S1: address is bold steps. Again, we thank our listener for
S1: that bold step story. Now let's get back to today's
S1: message from Mark on the power of role parenting.
S2: Now, the only exception is this that ultimately you're submitting
S2: to the authority of God. So if your parent or
S2: if your boss or if your pastor, if your government
S2: leader or anybody in authority or principal at a school
S2: ever asked you to do something that is contrary to
S2: the rules and laws of God, then you can say no.
S2: If your parent asked you to lie, cheat. If they
S2: asked you to do something that is sinful, then you
S2: have the ability and the power to say no because
S2: ultimately you are submitting to God, just like Peter did.
S2: When the governing authorities say you cannot preach Jesus anymore.
S2: Peter said, who shall I obey, man or God? So ultimately,
S2: no one can ever ask you to do something immoral.
S2: No one can ever ask you to violate or do
S2: something sinful. You have the ability to say no. But
S2: on other issues, there's the issue of submission to the
S2: authority that God has given us. And then it says this. Listen,
S2: it says honor your mother and father. And by the way,
S2: he's quoting one of the Ten Commandments, because in Deuteronomy.
S2: In Deuteronomy chapter five, verse 16, it says, honor your
S2: father and mother as the Lord your God commanded you,
S2: so that you may live a long life, that it
S2: may go well with you in the land of the
S2: Lord your God has given you. Paul quotes that again,
S2: and he says, listen, SIM. Honor your father and mother,
S2: which is the first commandment, with a promise that it
S2: may go well with you and that you may enjoy
S2: a long life here on earth. There comes a time
S2: in your life where you go from obeying your parents
S2: to honoring your parents. If you're out on your own
S2: and you're 30 years old and you have your wife
S2: and you have your own children, you're financially independent and
S2: your mother comes to you and says to you, you
S2: need to obey me. Then you need to say, mom,
S2: I love you, but I don't have to obey you, mom.
S2: I honor you, but I don't have to obey you.
S2: There's a difference between honor and obedience. Honor means that
S2: you consider respectfully what they say. You weigh what they say.
S2: But there comes a point in time where you actually
S2: just honor them, but not obey them. Listen, guys. Listen up.
S2: This is important. I know some of you are mama's boys.
S2: You get in a little fight with your wife? You
S2: call up mom and Mom. Guess what? My wife's not
S2: just understanding me. I just nags me and you say, oh, mijo.
S2: I told you all along she was going to be
S2: that way. You come over to mama's house now. Let
S2: me make you a little carlito, and I'm gonna, you know,
S2: just snuggle up on the couch. You don't have to
S2: put up with that nagging wife. You just come over here. Listen, mom.
S2: He's got a family. Don't give him a couch to
S2: sleep on. Don't let him. Don't tell him he can
S2: stay at your house for a week. You make him
S2: go home and deal with his wife. Because that's his family,
S2: not that's his family. He needs to go home. He
S2: needs to go back to his wife. He needs to
S2: deal with the issues of his wife. And listen, man,
S2: you your responsibility. You have a woman in your life
S2: and your mother, you honor, but your wife is the
S2: new woman in your life, and she takes priority in
S2: your life. Because the Bible says when you marry, you leave,
S2: you cleave, and you become one. Okay. Gotta settle that
S2: right now. But you honor. And here's what the Bible says.
S2: When you honor, whether you're a teenager or whether you're
S2: 20 year old, or whether you're 13 year old, when
S2: you honor the Bible says it's the first commandment with
S2: a promise. What is the promise? There's a two fold promise,
S2: number one, that it may go well with you. In
S2: other words, that you may have success in life. And
S2: number two, that you may live a long life here
S2: on Earth. Success and longevity are the byproducts of honoring
S2: your father and your mother. Success and longevity are the
S2: byproducts of honoring your father and your mother. What is
S2: the opposite of that? Short life and a lot of failures.
S2: Failure and a short life. You say, well, pastor, I
S2: really want to live long and I want to live healthy.
S2: I'm taking all these multivitamin pills, and I'm watching my cholesterol,
S2: and I'm I'm. I'm eating. It's not butter, pastor. It's
S2: like synthetic stuff with no calories. And I'm trying to
S2: work out. I'm glad I believe in fitness. I want
S2: you to be healthy. But listen, how about honoring your
S2: mother and your father? Because that will add longevity to
S2: your life and success to your life as well. It's
S2: one of the Ten Commandments. It's one of the words
S2: in Scripture. And I don't care how old your father
S2: and mother are. You honor them. How do you honor them?
S2: You call them up, you let them know they're important.
S2: You listen to them, you say, well, all they talk
S2: about is the good old days and complain about. Hey,
S2: you listen to them and and and you honor them,
S2: and you respect them, and you talk to them, and
S2: you help them out. Why? You honor your father and
S2: your mother. You don't treat them as well. They're just
S2: old people that don't. No, no, no, they're your mother
S2: and your father. The older they get, the more respect
S2: they deserve to have from you and the grandkids and
S2: the great grandchildren. One of the worst fallacies of our
S2: nation is the degradation and devaluation of elderly people. I
S2: was impressed when I went to China how they uphold
S2: and venerate and value the elderly. We live in a
S2: society in which the elderly pretty much are set aside,
S2: as useless to society as inconveniences to everybody's life. God
S2: forgive us as an American society. The Bible talks about
S2: honoring the elderly, listening to them, valuing them. And I
S2: hope that sons and daughters, if you're in your 50s
S2: and your 50s and your parents are in their 70s,
S2: or you're in your 60s and your parents are in
S2: the 80s, I hope that you're inviting them over to eat.
S2: I hope that you're listening to them. I hope that
S2: you're going out of your way to make that sure
S2: that they're doing okay. I hope that you are giving
S2: them some honor in their life. I hope that you're
S2: giving them some dignity in their life. I hope that
S2: you're talking to them in a way that they feel
S2: valued and respected and not thrown aside or pushed aside.
S2: I hope that that's part of what you're doing as
S2: an adult child of some parents that are getting elderly
S2: because that honors God looks upon that and that pleases
S2: the heart of God, and it flows in blessing to
S2: your life, success and longevity to your life. Amen.
S1: We're learning about honor and the promise of God found
S1: in Ephesians chapter six. You're listening to the Bible teaching
S1: of Mark job, and this is Bold Steps. Well, right
S1: now we've got a special bold step gift available for
S1: our listeners. It's a book titled envy a Big problem
S1: you didn't know you had. I love that title. It's
S1: written by our guest, pastor Mike Fabares.
S2: Yeah. And by the way, many of you are familiar
S2: with pastor Mike because he's on the radio. He's written
S2: several books. He's a graduate from Moody Bible Institute and
S2: actually on the board of directors as well. And so
S2: love pastor Mike and his ministry. I was thinking about
S2: this topic of envy and how oftentimes we just don't
S2: consider ourselves envious. Pastor Mike, if you were to help
S2: someone self-diagnose whether they have envy, what would you point to?
S2: What should they be looking for?
S4: Well, I would start by saying, are there any people
S4: in your everyday world that you just find yourself erring
S4: on the side of being critical when you really shouldn't
S4: be and you think, well, why am I not happy
S4: applauding their success? Right. This is hard, but we need
S4: to look at the people that we are critical of.
S4: And if you look hard enough, you often find it's
S4: because I really envious of what they get that I
S4: don't have what they've accomplished, that I haven't been able
S4: to accomplish that, that they make so much money, so
S4: much more money than I make. There's a lot of
S4: reasons that we, um, just spring into gossip and criticism
S4: and just talking behind people's back in a negative way,
S4: and usually we can start to realize what's happened is
S4: something really between me and God. It's really not between
S4: me and them. Mhm.
S1: Pastor Mike. Our envy and jealousy interchangeable.
S4: Not really. Um, there's a kind of jealousy that's appropriate
S4: in the Bible, right? God says he's a jealous God
S4: in Exodus 34. There's a time for you right to
S4: rightly in your marriage. Be jealous if there's something threatening
S4: that relationship. But envy is always seen as something wrong
S4: in Scripture, and we're never to envy anyone. And what
S4: envy is, is taking a jealous feeling when I have
S4: no right to feel jealous. And now I start to
S4: have a a bitterness toward that person for accomplishing or
S4: achieving or securing something that I haven't been able to.
S4: And Jesus tells parables about this. You've got to be
S4: careful in your own heart to guard your heart against
S4: this kind of envy, because it is different than jealousy,
S4: because sometimes jealousy can be appropriate.
S5: That's great. So there you have it, pastor Mike.
S2: Fabrice, we would love to get this book into your hand.
S2: It's called a big problem you didn't know you had envy.
S2: Thank you, pastor Mike.
S4: Of course. Thank you.
S1: And we will send you a copy of his book
S1: when you make a donation of any amount to support
S1: bold steps. Just call us at 800 Moody. That's (800) 356-6639.
S1: Or if you like, you can give online at boldsystems.org.
S1: Or you can send your financial gift in the mail.
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S1: that's our time for today. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Join us
S1: again tomorrow when Mark concludes this message on the power
S1: of your role parenting. Mark is going to give us
S1: some practical parenting tips from the book of Ephesians, and
S1: you won't want to miss it. So be listening Friday
S1: for more bold steps with Mark Jones. Bold steps is
S1: a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.