S1: Today on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe shows us how to
S1: stand strong in the face of persecution and adversity.
S2: Practice the habits of standing firm, of standing alone. Get
S2: grounded in your faith. Know who your God is. Know
S2: what you believe. And no matter what the culture around
S2: you says. Understand that you have a compass that's different
S2: than the culture that surrounds you.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is the
S1: senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and
S1: president of Moody Bible Institute. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Well, over
S1: the past couple of programs, we've been discussing the end times.
S1: And Mark, you often say, as believers, we should be
S1: following a different compass and going in the opposite direction
S1: of the culture around us.
S2: Yeah, Wayne, you read this passage and it stirs you
S2: up because you As you understand, times will get more difficult.
S2: And you know, we don't want you to be surprised
S2: as a believer that things will get more difficult. However,
S2: people often ask me, What is God waiting for? And
S2: we answer that question because it really is found in
S2: the patience of God. In fact, Wayne, some people may
S2: be surprised to know that I've heard that there have
S2: been more people that have come to Jesus in the
S2: last decade than in the three centuries prior to that.
S1: Isn't that encouraging?
S2: So the patience of God is there because there's a
S2: harvest happening right now.
S1: Well, let's get into today's message again. It's part three
S1: of the message titled How Close are we? Here's Mark Jobe.
S2: We live in a accelerating time of violence against Christians.
S2: Groups like ISIS, for example, have forcibly displaced hundreds of
S2: thousands of people, conducted mass executions and kidnapped, sold, enslaved,
S2: raped and forcibly converted thousands of women and children, all
S2: on the ground that these people stand in opposition to
S2: their religious dogma. We are living in a season of
S2: unprecedented persecution against Christian at a massive scale. The news
S2: does not report it often because they treat violence in
S2: the Middle East and in other countries, much like they
S2: treat murderers in some of the neighborhoods in Chicago. Oh,
S2: just another gang banger that got killed. It's a blip
S2: on the news because they just assume, well, there's a
S2: lot of violence in that area. But hey, since when
S2: did it become just another gang banger? That's a son
S2: or daughter that we love and raise and believe. It's
S2: a kid with a name. The Middle East and some
S2: of these countries in Africa and other places seem so
S2: far away that they seem so to not touch your
S2: existence and my existence. But I want to tell you something.
S2: Those men and women, those girls that have been raped,
S2: forcibly converted, those pastors that are being executed, put in jail,
S2: they are not just a victim of a undeveloped country.
S2: They are our brothers and sisters in Christ. I was
S2: in Nairobi, Africa this past summer, and Nairobi, which is
S2: a fairly peaceable country in Africa at the edges of
S2: Kenya that borders with Somalia up in that area. There
S2: were 150 college students that were executed, targeted as Christians. Ask,
S2: are you a Christian? Yes. Boom, 150 of them. And
S2: then in the city of Nairobi, there was a mall
S2: that was attacked by an extremist group targeting people that
S2: especially were non-Muslim people targeted and killed. When I went
S2: to preach in this large church in Nairobi, it was
S2: I was shocked when I went to the compound of
S2: this church because the entire church was surrounded by ten
S2: feet wall with electrical fence on the top. And I thought, wow,
S2: that's pretty extreme. When I went to the gate, I
S2: was met with armed guards with rifles. This was to
S2: enter the church compound. They searched the trunk, looked in
S2: the car to get in the church, and I thought, wow,
S2: that's pretty extreme. And they said, well, there's been a
S2: lot of bombings, a lot of killings, a lot of
S2: targeting of Christians. I went to get a coffee in
S2: the morning to the equivalent of a Starbucks. Thought it'd
S2: be a simple process, but there was a lot of
S2: Western Westerners that go there. And when I went in
S2: to go to the parking lot, there was a there
S2: was a railing to get in there. They stopped our car.
S2: Armed guards looked within our car, popped the trunk, had
S2: a mirror where they looked under our vehicle to make
S2: sure there was no bombs. This is to get my latte.
S2: I drove into the parking lot. Once I got in there,
S2: I thought it was all done with. To get into
S2: the cafe, I had to stop, put my arms up,
S2: and there was a metal detector that they searched me
S2: to make sure there was no weapons on me before
S2: I could go in, just to get a cup of coffee.
S2: The violence targeted Christians. We live in a shielded society,
S2: in a society that by and large, we are not
S2: seen what's happening in other parts of the world. But
S2: Jesus predicted that in the end times, the aggressive violence
S2: against Christians would begin to escalate. In fact, he predicted
S2: that many would be persecuted. And not only did he
S2: say that many would be persecuted, but he said that
S2: many would be hated by all nations, and that many
S2: will turn away from the faith and will betray and
S2: hate one another. Because let me tell you what happens
S2: when persecution starts up, when you have to pay a
S2: high price. Those that are truly authentic believers step up
S2: to the plate and say, I will not deny my Savior.
S2: Those that are just culturally Christians run away as quickly
S2: as they can because they don't want to pay a price.
S2: It purges the church. I don't know what would happen
S2: on Sunday morning, or how full this place would be
S2: if we knew that we had to look over our
S2: shoulders to see if a secret or the Secret Service
S2: was following us. Or if that to come to a
S2: place like this, our name may go on a list,
S2: and we may be targeted by some government agency or
S2: some radical group that would be seeking to fire us
S2: from our job or make us pay a price. Not
S2: not sure who would remain in this congregation. Well, I
S2: know there'd be some. I know there'd be some that
S2: would stay away. And I know there'd be some that
S2: says no matter what the cost, no matter what the price,
S2: I have chosen to follow Jesus. Come what may, Jesus predicted.
S2: In other words, this is not to scare you. It's
S2: to prepare you. Jesus predicted that there would be persecution.
S2: Jesus predicted that there would be falling away, that many
S2: would be deceived, that the church is no longer going
S2: to be popular, or have a main place in society,
S2: that we are going to experience an aggressiveness against the
S2: church more and more as we approach the end times.
S2: And so Jesus did not say that to scare us.
S2: He simply said it to prepare us. He said, I
S2: want you to stand firm because I know the destination.
S2: But the route to there may be tough at times.
S2: And then the last thing that Jesus says when it
S2: comes to the end times. Aren't you glad? It's only
S2: for the last thing that Jesus says is that there
S2: will be an increase in spiritual coldness. Notice what he
S2: says in verse 12 because of the increase of wickedness,
S2: the love of most will grow cold, the love of most.
S2: What kind of love is he talking about? He's talking
S2: about the normal human warmth of heart. What Jesus says
S2: is that we, as we gather closer to the end times,
S2: there'll be a coldness about society, a lack of consciousness,
S2: a violence and a cold heartedness that has not existed
S2: until this time. In fact, in another passage in Second
S2: Timothy chapter three, verse seven, it says, Mark this, it's
S2: talking about the end times. There will be terrible times
S2: in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves,
S2: lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
S2: without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited,
S2: lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Having a
S2: form of godliness but denying its power.
S1: We'll continue our message in just a moment here on
S1: Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. But first, Mark, if you'll
S1: permit me, I want to share something that's been weighing
S1: on my heart lately. I've been thinking about how throughout history,
S1: God has always raised up people who prioritized his mission,
S1: even during some very turbulent times. Whether it was the
S1: early church during persecution or believers during world wars, or
S1: missionaries and hostile territories. There have always been those who
S1: kept their focus on advancing the gospel despite everything happening
S1: around them. And we've got a lot happening around us
S1: right now.
S2: And Wayne, oftentimes it's in the midst of a lot
S2: of turbulence and turmoil that people start looking to the
S2: heavens in special ways. And I believe, like we live
S2: in a moment like that. And I just want to
S2: say that as a pastor, I've been a pastor for
S2: over 30 some years in the city of Chicago. I
S2: have never seen the openness that I've seen now.
S1: That's incredible.
S2: I'm having these conversations, especially with young people we've seen
S2: at our church. Over a thousand people come to Christ
S2: and get baptized in the last 24 months, mainly under
S2: the age of 35. Many that had no religious background
S2: and are just hungry for God. And I think the
S2: turbulence of the world has caused them to say, I
S2: need something. And many of us as believers, we're getting
S2: too distracted by what's happening and not focused enough on
S2: the gospel. And so I want to bring your attention
S2: back to the opportunities that you have around you. That's
S2: what Bold Steps is all about. Regardless of what's happening
S2: in our world, we believe that the greatest news that
S2: needs to be proclaimed is the good news that Jesus
S2: Christ is here. He's the Savior, and we do not
S2: want to miss this window of opportunity of so many
S2: people being open. So join us as we continue to boldly, passionately, powerfully,
S2: 24 hours a day through moody radio, proclaim the good
S2: news of Jesus.
S1: And at Moody, we're sending workers into that harvest, aren't we?
S2: We are. And so excited about that as well. Uh,
S2: we're sending people focused on the gospel. Bold steps, as
S2: you know, is making sure that we include a call
S2: to the gospel on a regular basis. and so excited
S2: to see people coming to Jesus.
S1: Well, you who are listening can invest your resources in
S1: sharing God's life changing truth. To make a gift, simply
S1: go online to Bold steps. Org or our phone number
S1: is 800. That's (800) 356-6639 and your partnership makes an eternal difference.
S1: We'll send you, by request, a special bold step gift
S1: as a token of our appreciation. We'll talk more about
S1: that gift later in today's message, but consider partnering with
S1: bold steps. All right, back to the message. Now on
S1: the End Times, it's titled how close are we?
S2: I don't know about you, but it feels like the
S2: stories I hear of just in Chicago, parents treating of
S2: children seems to be every other news item. There seems
S2: to be a coldness and a violence Perpetrated against children.
S2: That shocks you. That seems like it's done by psychopaths. Like,
S2: where has this gone? Why has this become epidemic? The violence,
S2: the heartlessness, the coldness. It seems like it's escalating. It
S2: seems like it's getting worse. It seems like moral consciousness
S2: is fading. And the coldness and the violence and the
S2: behavior that marks a decent civilization seems to be waning away.
S2: And the brutality of a uncivilized generation. Civilization seems to
S2: be emerging within us. Jesus predicted that that restraint that
S2: has existed on society, that consciousness that has held us,
S2: that it will be lessening its grip and that we
S2: will be seeing a coldness that begins to escalate more
S2: and more in our society. But thank God that there's
S2: good news. Some of you saying, pastor, I thought you'd
S2: never get there. Like, whoa! So let me tell you
S2: the good news. So the bad news is not to
S2: scare us. The bad news is just to prepare us.
S2: It's like when. When you're about to have a baby, you.
S2: The doctor tells you you're going to have birth pains.
S2: It's not to tell you not to have a baby.
S2: It's just to prepare you. It's going to get bad
S2: before it gets good. How many of you didn't believe
S2: how bad it was going to get? And then once
S2: you went through it like this was worse than what
S2: they told me. I think Jesus is doing that a
S2: little bit. He's telling us, but unless you live through it,
S2: you can't really fully understand it. But nothing takes away
S2: from the joy of that baby coming, and nothing will
S2: take away from the great powerful day of the coming
S2: of Jesus. Again, nothing takes away from that. It's coming.
S2: It's accelerating. And so the good news is this in
S2: verse 13 it says, but the one who stands firm
S2: unto the end, they will be saved. In other words,
S2: there's going to be many fall away. There's going to
S2: be a backlash of persecution. It's going to be hard.
S2: But I want to tell you something. There's going to
S2: be a remnant of people that do not back away
S2: from their commitment to follow Christ, that they're going to
S2: stand firm no matter what comes, and they will be saved. Yeah,
S2: those that endure to the end will be saved. Now,
S2: I want to say, without heavy persecution, it's hard enough,
S2: isn't it? Yeah. It's like, man, I'm not even experiencing persecution,
S2: but just the culture and the temptation and the pressure
S2: from people. It's hard to stand firm. Start practicing standing
S2: firm now because it's going to get harder. Get grounded
S2: now because it's going to escalate. Practice the habits of
S2: standing firm, of standing alone, of accepting the fact that
S2: you're not always going to be in the in crowd,
S2: that some will ridicule you, that you will be the
S2: odd man out sometime. Get used to it. Get okay
S2: with your own skin. Being a follower of Jesus, that's
S2: not always on the in crowd. You need to start
S2: being comfortable with that because that will only escalate. Stand firm.
S2: Get grounded in your faith. Know who your God is,
S2: know what you believe, and no matter what the culture
S2: around you says, understand that you have a compass that's
S2: different than the culture that surrounds you. Hebrews chapter three
S2: verse 14 says, for we have become partakers of Christ.
S2: If we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm
S2: until the end. And lastly, the last part of good
S2: news and I love this. Oh man, I love this.
S2: Is that the gospel of the kingdom will be preached
S2: to the whole world. Listen to what it says. Verse
S2: 14 Jesus says about the end times and the gospel.
S2: What is the gospel? Good news, the good news that says,
S2: if you call upon the name of the Lord and
S2: embrace the message of the cross and repent and invite
S2: him to be your Savior and Lord, then the power
S2: of the Holy Spirit will indwell you, and you will
S2: be transformed from the inside out by his power. Your
S2: past washed away and your future redeemed for him. That
S2: message of the gospel that has power in its simplicity
S2: to change the hardest of hearts, that gospel, the gospel
S2: of the Kingdom of God. That Jesus is coming again,
S2: that gospel will be preached to the whole world as
S2: a testimony to the nations, and then the end will come.
S2: The Bible says that every tribe, tongue, and nation will
S2: hear the gospel. That as this time gets worse, the
S2: acceleration of the gospel will become stronger. In fact, I
S2: love the fact that in revelation at the end, the
S2: last book of the Bible tells us that John, the revealer,
S2: he saw and he looked, and there before him was
S2: a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe,
S2: and people and language, standing before the throne and before
S2: the lamb. And they were wearing white robes and were
S2: holding palm branches. This is this means that when you
S2: see the end times, the people that have come to Christ,
S2: there will be people that are from the jungles of
S2: Africa and from the cities of Asia and from the
S2: tribal groups in, in, in Brazil. And there will be
S2: people that you have never heard of and can't pronounce
S2: their name. People from every tribe, tongue and language will
S2: be a part of the redeemed of the Lord. This
S2: great multitude of people that have said, Jesus is my Lord,
S2: that have been washed and cleansed by the power of
S2: the blood of the lamb. Now let me close with this.
S2: I have people all the time that say, pastor, why
S2: is God waiting? What's taking him so long? Why hasn't
S2: he come earlier? Look at the violence of the world,
S2: the bigotry and how dark this world is coming. Why
S2: doesn't God do something? Why is he letting it go?
S2: On and on and on and on. How many of
S2: you have thought that? Sometimes I know exactly why the
S2: Bible says that God is not slow, as some people
S2: would call slowness, but he is patient. Not willing that
S2: any should perish, but that all should come to the
S2: knowledge of the truth. The reason that God has not
S2: come yet. The end has not come yet, is that
S2: there are practically 7 billion people on the face of
S2: this earth, and this incredible heart of God is saying,
S2: I want as many of those 7 billion people to
S2: come and know me and bow down and experience my
S2: power and my grace before I bring the end of times.
S2: How many of you in this auditorium have come to
S2: Christ in the last ten years? Raise your hand. High, high, high.
S2: Wave it at me. All right. A whole bunch of you.
S2: of you. Let me ask you this question. How many
S2: of you are super grateful that Jesus did not end
S2: it ten years ago? Because in this decade you've come
S2: to know him, you've experienced him, you've felt the power
S2: of the Holy Spirit. You've been changed and washed and
S2: transformed because the patience of God had you in mind.
S2: Your name was on his list, and the angels and
S2: people have cried out in their desperation and persecution and said, come,
S2: Lord Jesus, come. The angels push for it. People cry
S2: out for it. But the heart of God saw you
S2: and said, I'm going to wait a little bit because
S2: they're coming. I'm drawing them. I'm pulling them. I'm asking
S2: them my Holy Spirit is drawing them. I'm going to
S2: wait just a little bit longer, because I see him
S2: and I see her and I see them, and I
S2: know that they can transform. And the blood of the
S2: lamb is going to be poured on this place. So
S2: he waits and waits and his patience. And so that
S2: is our job, to preach the gospel with greater Creative
S2: passion than we've ever experienced before, because there's a lot
S2: more people that need to hear about the coming of
S2: our Lord Jesus Christ. Come, Lord Jesus, come. But in
S2: your time, Lord.
S1: The final part of Mark job's message how close are we?
S1: God's timing is perfect in all situations and circumstances. I've
S1: been thinking a lot about Christ's return, Mark and I
S1: really appreciate this message, and I hope our listeners really
S1: understand the importance of knowing Christ in these times.
S2: Yeah, the biggest takeaway that any person listening to this
S2: message can have is you need to be personally ready.
S2: And by personally ready, I don't mean generators in your
S2: basement and storage of canned food.
S1: Spiritually ready.
S2: Spiritually ready. And that's what Scripture emphasizes. Being spiritually ready
S2: for the coming of Christ. And so I want to
S2: challenge you if you are not ready. One of the
S2: scariest things on earth is that Jesus would come tomorrow
S2: and that, well, you would be left behind, right? And
S2: there's only one way to prepare for that, and that
S2: is to understand and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. Um,
S2: it's as simple as that is that you need to
S2: understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. And if you're here
S2: and you say, I'm not sure I understand the gospel.
S2: I don't know if I truly have made a decision
S2: to follow Christ like God wants me to, according to
S2: the Bible, then I would encourage you to check out
S2: a video that I made explaining the gospel more clearly.
S2: For all those of you that need to understand it
S2: a bit more concisely, you can find that video by
S2: going to npr.org and clicking on my next step.
S1: Mark, thank you for doing that. I know how strongly
S1: you want to see people come to know the Lord,
S1: so that's a very important step. Go to my next
S1: step in faith. It's right there when you click the
S1: connect tab at bird-stamps.org. And then on our home page,
S1: be sure to request a copy of our latest bold
S1: step gift. We mentioned earlier a book called Lies Girls
S1: believe today's tween girls are navigating a complex world filled
S1: with confusing messages about identity, relationships, and faith. Dana Gres's book,
S1: Lies Girls Believe, offers a biblical roadmap through this confusion.
S1: Helping girls ages 7 to 12 identify and counter 20
S1: common lies with God's liberating truth. Beautifully designed with colorful
S1: illustrations and relatable stories, this bold step gift engages young
S1: readers while equipping them with the truth that will last
S1: a lifetime. So let us know where we can send
S1: you a copy by requesting this book. When you give
S1: a donation to Bold Steps. Just go online to Bold
S1: Steps and request lies. Girls, believe. Or call us at
S1: 800 Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. And if it's easier, you can
S1: also send your donation and request the book in the mail.
S1: Our address is bold. Steps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago,
S1: Illinois 606 ten. We'd love to connect with you beyond
S1: the radio program. Be sure to follow us on social
S1: media for more inspiration and updates. You can find Mark
S1: on YouTube for uplifting video content and connect with us
S1: on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok by searching for Bold Steps radio. Well,
S1: that's our time for today. We'll see you again tomorrow, though,
S1: when Mark addresses the question, how ready are you? That's
S1: coming up Tuesday right here on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe.
S1: Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry
S1: of Moody Bible Institute.