S1: Discovering the power at work in you. That's today's topic
S1: on bold steps with Mark job.
S2: Christ wants to fill your life and say your life
S2: is mine. I'm comfortable here. I affect how you talk
S2: and how you walk, and who you marry, and how
S2: you date and how you think of life. I want
S2: to filter every part of your life. Why? Because I
S2: am God in your life.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, president of Moody
S1: Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New Life Community
S1: Church in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Well, today we're going
S1: to be taking a look at the most powerful force
S1: in the universe. And Mark, the amazing thing is we
S1: have access to this power.
S3: We do, Wayne. And it's not nuclear power.
S1: No. It's greater.
S3: It is greater than that. Much greater. This is the
S3: power of the Holy Spirit. And we're going to be
S3: looking at a prayer that the Apostle Paul prayed for
S3: the Ephesian believers. It's one of my favorite prayers in Scripture.
S3: I pray it sometimes for my life. I pray it
S3: over people's lives as well. But he asks in this
S3: prayer that they may be strengthened with the power of
S3: the Holy Spirit in the inner being.
S1: Yeah, if you're in a place where you can't open
S1: your Bible, I hope you'll look at the words in
S1: Ephesians chapter three. Here is Mark comes with today's message
S1: the power at work in you.
S2: On August 6th, 1945.
S3: At precisely 8:15 a.m. in the morning, a uranium bomb
S3: exploded over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Within seconds, the
S3: entire city lay in ruins. 70,000 people were dead and
S3: another 70,000 people were seriously injured. That one bomb had
S3: exploded with a force that's greater than 20,000 tons of TNT.
S3: Now that is power. At the time that that bomb exploded,
S3: scientists thought they had discovered a force that could not
S3: be equaled. Yet, since that, we've actually discovered forces that
S3: are more powerful, that make that force seem like kids play.
S3: We've discovered nuclear energy. The nuclear bombs today have much
S3: greater power than even the atomic bomb had in those days.
S3: And when we think of power, TNT, of dynamite, we
S3: think of these devastating explosions. But yet that same power
S3: that can be used to explode a city or devastate
S3: a city is the same kind of power that can
S3: be used to produce electricity and make a city run
S3: and raise bridges and power up skyscrapers and provide the
S3: energy that gives the heating and schools. It's the same power.
S3: It's just one is a channeled power and another is
S3: an unchanneled power. Explosive power. Today, I want to talk
S3: to you about a power that's even greater than nuclear power.
S3: A power that is at work within us. It's the
S3: power of God. And the Apostle Paul is about to
S3: speak about the power of God in this area. And
S3: I want you to turn in your Bibles to Ephesians
S3: chapter three. I'm going to begin reading in verse 14
S3: of Ephesians chapter three, as the apostle Paul begins to
S3: pray and talk to them about what it means to
S3: have the power of God. So he says in verse 14,
S3: for this reason I kneel before the father, from whom
S3: the whole family in heaven and earth derives its name.
S3: And I pray that out of his glorious riches he
S3: may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your
S3: inner being. This is a prayer. Verses 14 through 21
S3: are a prayer, a prayer for power, a prayer that
S3: the power that's in us will be unleashed. So now
S3: notice Paul says, for this reason I kneel before the father.
S3: There's a lot of places in Scripture where people kneel.
S3: Some of you were raised in a tradition that every
S3: Sunday you knelt to pray some prayers. And there's actually
S3: a lot of places in Scripture where people knelt. The
S3: Apostle Paul knelt, Peter knelt, the prophet Daniel knelt, Ezra knelt.
S3: Solomon knelt in the dedication of the temple. When people
S3: came to Jesus, they knelt to have requests from him.
S3: If I were to ask you here, when's the last
S3: time you actually knelt in a conversation? Most of you
S3: probably haven't. It's been a long time since you knelt down, right?
S3: Maybe when you asked your fiance to marry you, you
S3: may have knelt. How many of you guys did that?
S3: You got on one knee with the ring? Okay. All right.
S3: A few of you did that. You. You know, you
S3: knelt down. It's almost. What are you saying with that?
S3: You're kind of begging. Please don't say no. Please don't.
S3: You know, that's kind of. I beg of you, say yes.
S3: You're kneeling down to say that it's it's kind of
S3: a sign of humility of, of of petitioning someone. But
S3: if we see someone kneeling, we feel like they're really
S3: humbling themselves. I heard of a guy that, uh, was
S3: went to work bragging about that he had just had
S3: a fight, and his wife ended up on her knees,
S3: and he was like, uh, his friend asked him, so
S3: she ended up underneath. Yeah, she was on her knees.
S3: You know, that's how the fight ended up. And he said, well,
S3: what was she saying? And he said, well, she was saying,
S3: come out from under the bed, you coward. Come out
S3: and finish this fight. So but usually when we're on
S3: our knees, we're requesting something. And so the Apostle Paul says,
S3: I kneel before the father. Now, there are times to kneel.
S3: And I think that we need to learn what it
S3: means to, uh, sometimes take different postures in prayer, um,
S3: folding our hands or kneeling or even being putting ourselves
S3: prostrate before God. There are signs of submission. There are
S3: signs of God. I'm really calling out to you. But
S3: you know, you don't have to kneel to be praying, right? Uh,
S3: in fact, I encourage you to learn to pray throughout
S3: your entire day. And so, please, when you're driving, don't
S3: try to put your hands together like this while you're driving.
S3: Please don't raise your hands. And even worse than that,
S3: please don't close your eyes when you're driving and say, well,
S3: I gotta close my eyes to pray. Uh, so you
S3: you there's no natural, there's no special position that you
S3: have to be in to prayer. But there's certain times
S3: where we really want to humble ourselves before God and
S3: we kneel or we throw ourselves on the floor before God.
S3: And it's a physical sign of God. I'm calling out
S3: to you in deep desperation and our posture becomes our prayer. Well,
S3: Paul is kneeling before God the Father. He says, I
S3: kneel before the father, from whom all of heaven, all
S3: of the whole family in heaven and earth derives its name.
S3: Paul is speaking about the fact that people that have
S3: gone before and died, and people that are currently living,
S3: we are all connected as a family, and we have
S3: one father, and he's the father of us all. Our
S3: spiritual father, and we're connected to them. By the way,
S3: I think this is a real important lesson. There are
S3: churches in Chicago that worship in a way that's very
S3: different from us. But if they are life giving churches
S3: and have the Spirit of God inside of them, they're
S3: part of our same family, their churches in Chicago that
S3: have for our services, Uh, you know. And, um, there
S3: are churches in Chicago that have 59.5 minute services, and
S3: the entire prayers are read. The messages are read. Uh,
S3: I preached at a church, uh, in fact, we I
S3: swapped pulpits with a pastor that actually preached here and
S3: did a great job. Uh, Dan Meyer at Christ Church
S3: of Oakbrook. I went and preached in Oakbrook, which is
S3: a very far cry from the southwest side of Chicago
S3: and but but but Christ Church of Oakbrook is more
S3: of a high church place. And so they um, at
S3: the second service, pastor Myers, he wears a robe when
S3: he preaches. And then when they read the word, they
S3: climb up to this podium and you have to read
S3: the word from the podium, and all the prayers are read,
S3: and their service is exactly an hour long. Well, that's
S3: a whole different culture than I'm used to. But here's
S3: what I know. They are part of the family of
S3: God because the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached there.
S3: There are people are coming to Christ, and so they
S3: are part of the same family of God that we
S3: are a part of. That's why I've taught you over
S3: and over that with life giving churches in Chicago. We
S3: are not in competition, but we are in cooperation. Now,
S3: not every church is a life giving church. Some churches
S3: lead people astray. Some people, some churches don't preach the truth.
S3: Some people, some churches deny Jesus. And so I don't
S3: link my arms with those churches and sing Kumbaya. I'm
S3: blessed and pray. I pray that they would get straightened
S3: out in what they're doing. But if their life giving
S3: church and they love the Lord and they follow the Bible,
S3: I bless them, I encourage them, and I see ourselves
S3: as part of the same family. Paul says, I kneel
S3: before God the Father, of whom his whole family in
S3: heaven and on earth derives its name. Verse 16 I pray.
S3: And here's the prayer that he he starts praying for
S3: these people. He says, I pray that out of his
S3: glorious riches he may. He may strengthen you with power
S3: through His Spirit in your inner being. So there's a
S3: couple of things about this prayer that we need to understand.
S3: Number one, we need to understand that he's he's praying
S3: that God would tap in to his glorious riches. Here's
S3: the thing I want you to understand about God. God
S3: is never, never in a recession. Heaven is not touched
S3: by a crashing stock market. There is no such thing
S3: as God being short on something. He is not affected
S3: by our earthly recessions. He is not limited when we
S3: are limited. He is unlimited in resources, unlimited in power,
S3: unlimited in his ability. He has glorious riches. And what
S3: Paul is saying is that God is tapping into his
S3: glorious riches. He's tapping into this incredible resource that he has,
S3: and he's taking some of this resource of his glorious riches.
S3: And he takes it and he shares it downward with us. Oh,
S3: some of you should be encouraged by that.
S1: Discovering God's power at work in your life. This is
S1: bold steps. And you're listening to pastor Mark Jobe. Today's
S1: message comes from our brand new series when you believe
S1: Everything Changes. And if you've missed any of the previous
S1: messages in this series, catch up online at Bold Steps.
S1: As Mark mentioned earlier. God has unlimited power and ability
S1: and he wants to share that with us, and we
S1: want to share it with you. Our lives were made
S1: to be in fellowship with one another. So if you'd
S1: like to connect with us and other listeners just like you,
S1: join us in our social media platforms. You'll find us
S1: on Facebook and Instagram. And every day we hear from
S1: listeners who leave comments telling us how much of a
S1: difference this program makes in their daily lives. And we
S1: recently heard from this listener who said, Mark Jobe, I
S1: simply turn on bold steps in the car whenever I can.
S1: I cannot begin to express how much the Lord has
S1: used your ministry in my life. Timely, life giving words
S1: and godly perspectives that have impacted every area of my
S1: life better than any professional counselor could ever do. Well,
S1: thanks for reaching out to us and I hope you
S1: will on Facebook and Instagram. We look forward to sharing
S1: more stories in the coming weeks. But right now, let's
S1: get back into the second half of Mark job's message.
S1: The power at work in you.
S3: And by the way, some of you are nervous about praying.
S3: You haven't learned that it's okay to pray for your finances.
S3: Do you realize that Jesus taught us to pray for
S3: our finances? The Lord's Prayer says, Our Father who art
S3: in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy
S3: will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
S3: Give us this day what? Our daily bread. What do
S3: you think that prayer is? Do you think he's praying
S3: for bagel and wheat bread? That's not what give us
S3: our day. Their daily bread is. It's. Give us today
S3: God the resources that we need today. Jesus taught us
S3: to pray for resources that we need for today. He
S3: taught us to pray that our needs would be met,
S3: that we would have the resources that we need to operate.
S3: And in other places in Scripture, he tells us to
S3: pray that we would have enough not only to supply
S3: our own needs, but enough to be able to give
S3: to others as well. So God is not. It's not
S3: God's will that you operate and live in scarcity. Now,
S3: there are times in life where you may struggle financially.
S3: The just and the unjust go through times like that.
S3: So I never want you to feel like if you
S3: are going through a rough financial time, that is because
S3: you're less spiritual or don't have faith, or because there's
S3: sin in your life. Because sometimes we go through those seasons,
S3: whether we're doing good or bad. But I do believe
S3: that the ultimate will of God in our life is
S3: not that you live a life in scarcity, but that
S3: you live a life in a place where you have
S3: not only enough to meet your own needs, but you
S3: have abundance to be able to give, and that we ultimately,
S3: as believers, not become simply recipients of other people, but
S3: that we become resource people, that we become the people
S3: that give. That we become the people that resource that
S3: we become, the people that share the people of God
S3: become those people. And so Paul says, out of God's
S3: glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power. Now there's
S3: two words that are used there strengthen and power. Both
S3: of these words in the Greek have to do with power,
S3: but they have a different meaning to them. The word
S3: strengthen means to become strong or to increase in force
S3: or capability. The word for power in the Greek is
S3: the word dunamis, where we get the word dynamite from.
S3: And that has to do with strength, force, capability. So
S3: what Paul is saying is, I pray that God, out
S3: of his glorious riches, may help you increase the power
S3: that's already present in your life. The power is there.
S3: You have power, or you have more power than what
S3: you know you have. There is a power in your life,
S3: a latent power in your life that makes nuclear power pale.
S3: It's the power of the Holy Spirit. Now notice what
S3: it says, that he may strengthen you with power. Through what?
S3: Through his spirit in your inner being. What God is
S3: trying to do is God is trying to take his
S3: power that is already inside of you view and increase
S3: that power. That power has come to your life via
S3: the Holy Spirit, capital S and the Holy Spirit is
S3: strengthening what some versions call the inner man or the
S3: spirit man. Every person here has two man, so to speak.
S3: If you're a woman, I guess two women, you have
S3: the inner man and the outer man. The outer man
S3: is your physical body. The inner man is your spiritual body.
S3: Do you realize that you can be in shape in
S3: your outer man, and way out of shape in your
S3: inner man? You can be a £400 cut in shape
S3: big linebacker in your outer man and in your inner man.
S3: You can be this little weakling of a person in
S3: your inner man. Although your outer man may look like
S3: it's strong. And on the other hand, you may be
S3: a 90 year old, frail little lady that you think
S3: if you just sneeze at her, you're going to break
S3: one of her bones? And she's, you know, in the
S3: church with her little cane, just walking really carefully. But
S3: you don't know that if you were to be able
S3: to put on some glasses and see in the spiritual realm,
S3: you just ran into a Hulk Hogan of a woman.
S3: I mean, you just ran into a champion, a powerful woman.
S3: Don't mess with her. I mean, she may be frail
S3: on the outside, but inside she is a warrior. She
S3: is powerful. Has might. So never confuse the outer man
S3: with the inner man. And what Paul is saying is,
S3: I want you to strengthen your inner man through the
S3: power of the Holy Spirit. Now, I taught you this before,
S3: but I just want to make sure you understand this,
S3: because a lot of Christians, I think, get a little confused.
S3: If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, a follower
S3: of Christ, you have the Holy Spirit inside of you.
S3: There is no such thing as a follower of Jesus
S3: Christ that does not possess the spirit. You cannot be
S3: saved without the spirit. The spirit is the agent of salvation.
S3: He is the agent of regeneration. So you can't say, well,
S3: I'm a Christian, I just don't have the spirit. No,
S3: if you're a Christian, you have the spirit. Now, you
S3: may not be walking in the power of the spirit.
S3: You may not have manifested all the gifts of the spirit,
S3: but you do have the spirit inside of you. Okay,
S3: so if you're a believer here today, you have the
S3: Holy Spirit inside of you. Now listen to what Paul says.
S3: He prays three things. Verse 17, he prays that they'd
S3: be strengthened in the power of the spirit, so that
S3: verse 17, Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
S3: If you're taking notes, write this down. Number one, they
S3: need power to embrace the life changing presence of Christ.
S1: And we'll hear the next two points on tomorrow's edition
S1: of Bold Steps. So please join us then. You're listening
S1: to Mark Jobe and a message he titled The Power
S1: at Work in You. If you joined us late. And
S1: if you'd like to hear this message again, or if
S1: you'd like to share today's message with a friend who
S1: might need to hear it, you can do that online
S1: at Bold Steps. Org. Online, you can also ask our
S1: Bible teacher, Mark Jobe, a question or request our brand
S1: new bold step gift. And Mark, let's talk about that gift.
S3: Well, you know.
S4: There's some sins that are easy to spot in our lives,
S4: but others, they're like hidden snipers taking shots at our
S4: spiritual health, and we don't even notice it. Right?
S1: That's right.
S4: Yeah. And, uh, pastor Mike.
S3: Ferraris, your book, envy, tackles one of these stealth sins.
S3: You call it actually a diabolical sin that's at the
S3: root of many of our problems. Tell me, pastor Mike,
S3: why this is so dangerous?
S5: Well, it's dangerous because it can do a lot of damage.
S5: If you think about the church, I'm not the first
S5: in church history to call it a diabolical sin. It
S5: has been a foundational sin, a cardinal sin, a, you know,
S5: a root of all kinds of other sins. And yet
S5: in our generation, I just I had never read a
S5: book on it. I had never heard a sermon on it.
S5: And I realized as I went through my ministry, I
S5: see this problem springing up with a ton of different symptoms.
S5: But the core problem is that we are envious of
S5: other people's success.
S3: The subtitle.
S5: Of.
S6: The book is A Big Problem You Didn't Know You had.
S6: And I was thinking about that. Most people that I
S6: talked to, I don't know if I've ever heard of
S6: someone say, you know, my problem is I'm envious. No
S6: one ever says that that I remember. Like, my problem
S6: is I have envy. Tell us why it's hard to self-diagnose.
S5: Well, because I think we often justify the fact that,
S5: you know, I'm just trying to move forward in life,
S5: and I'd sure like to have what he has. Or
S5: some gal saying, I'd like to look like she looks,
S5: or I'd like to have the influence that he has.
S5: And we think, okay, well, that's just part of our
S5: ambitious desire to do well in life. And we don't
S5: realize that it's starting to color the way we make decisions,
S5: how we view other people, how we talk about other
S5: people behind their backs. And it really starts to just
S5: disrupt our relationships. It can ruin a small group and
S5: it can split churches. It is really an explosive sin,
S5: and we don't often identify it like we ought to.
S1: Mike, you know, when you read scripture with this in mind,
S1: suddenly it pops up everywhere, doesn't it?
S5: Yeah. It does. Yeah. From the very beginning in Genesis,
S5: we don't get out of the first family until we
S5: see Cain rising up to kill Abel because he was
S5: envious of him all the way to the New Testament Gospels.
S5: It's interesting that Pilate immediately looks at this scene of
S5: the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees delivering Jesus over to be crucified,
S5: and he diagnoses the problem and he says, you guys
S5: are envious of this man. It really is true that
S5: it's everywhere, and it is the fountainhead of all kinds
S5: of problems in our lives.
S1: Well, let's talk more about that in the days to come.
S1: As we continue to talk with pastor Mike Fabares about
S1: his book, envy, a big problem you didn't know you
S1: had are bold step gift. Mike, thank you so much.
S1: Call us with your gift and receive a copy of
S1: this book. Call 800 835 56 6639 or give online
S1: at Bold Steps. If it's easier for you, you can
S1: also send that gift of any amount in the mail
S1: along with your book. Request to us at bold steps.
S1: 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. By the way,
S1: when you choose to give a financial gift each month,
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S1: unstuck Out of Your Cave and into your call. Plus
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S1: I'm Wayne Shepherd. That's all the time we have today.
S1: Join us again tomorrow when Mark concludes this message on
S1: the power at work in you. It's from our series.
S1: When you believe everything changes and you'll hear it Thursday
S1: right here on Bold Steps with Mark Joe. Bold steps
S1: is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody
S1: Bible Institute.