WEBVTT - Fighting the Battles That Matter 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:04.160 Choosing how to handle our battles from a spiritual perspective. 0:00:04.200 --> 0:00:07.160 That's today's topic on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:11.080 One of the greatest areas that will derail you is 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:14.840 not guarding your heart, opening up crevices and cracks in 0:00:15.000 --> 0:00:19.360 your life that are allowed to go unchecked as they grow. 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:24.440 It will be a fierce battle and I just want 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:27.280 to encourage you this is a battle worth fighting. 0:00:40.560 --> 0:00:44.040 And welcome to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe. Mark 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:46.919 is president of Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:50.680 New Life Community Church in Chicago. And I'm Wayne Shepherd. Well, 0:00:50.680 --> 0:00:53.080 life is full of different battles, and while some are 0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:57.080 worth fighting for, there are others that are better avoided. So, Mark, 0:00:57.080 --> 0:00:59.520 when it comes to knowing the difference, where do we start? 0:00:59.920 --> 0:01:03.400 Yeah, there they are battles that we have to fight 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:07.640 whether we want to or not. And in this message 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:11.880 written by Paul to his young apprentice, Timothy, he talks 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:16.640 about fighting the battle for purity, peace and people. And 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:20.279 by the way, Wayne, I actually preached this message in 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:26.360 chapel to an auditorium full of college students. And tomorrow 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:31.240 we are celebrating the graduation of this class. 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:32.360 Saying goodbye to some of those. 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:35.200 Students. Yes. And so I wish I could bring all 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:37.800 of our listeners to be at the graduation. As you 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:41.120 see these students that for four years have prepared for 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:45.640 their mission. And they'll be launched out to youth pastors 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:50.880 and pastors and missionaries and counselors and teachers, non-for-profit leaders, 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:54.000 and all kinds of different experiences in life. And so 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:58.520 please pray for us tomorrow as we celebrate this year's graduation. 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:01.490 Very special day at Moody Bible Institute. Well, let's go 0:02:01.530 --> 0:02:04.690 ahead and begin today's study fighting the battles that matter. 0:02:04.690 --> 0:02:05.730 Here's Mark Jobe. 0:02:07.010 --> 0:02:08.850 I think there's a lot of battles that you're going 0:02:08.889 --> 0:02:12.610 to fight, a lot of battles that you'll be sucked into, 0:02:13.410 --> 0:02:16.690 some of them that you choose. Some of them that 0:02:16.690 --> 0:02:19.970 people expect you to fight, some of them that you 0:02:19.970 --> 0:02:23.050 find yourselves in the middle that you maybe don't want 0:02:23.090 --> 0:02:29.730 to fight. I think of Paul's words to Timothy. He's 0:02:29.730 --> 0:02:34.690 raising a young man that knows he has a call 0:02:34.690 --> 0:02:40.530 upon his life. He's a bit timid. His father was 0:02:40.530 --> 0:02:45.169 more than likely not a believer Greek. His mother had 0:02:45.169 --> 0:02:51.250 strong faith. His grandmother had strong faith. Paul really has 0:02:51.250 --> 0:02:55.490 invested a lot into young Timothy. He sees in Timothy 0:02:55.490 --> 0:03:03.290 what Timothy does not see in himself. Some scholars speculate that. 0:03:06.169 --> 0:03:11.889 Possibly Timothy's father was either absent or not super supportive 0:03:12.970 --> 0:03:17.690 of his Christianity, and it feels to me like Paul 0:03:17.690 --> 0:03:23.730 takes on a bit of this surrogate father relationship with Timothy. 0:03:24.370 --> 0:03:27.050 He treats him like a son, speaks to him like 0:03:27.050 --> 0:03:33.609 a son, and he's launching Timothy. He's recruited Timothy believes 0:03:33.610 --> 0:03:38.610 in Timothy, and he's preparing him really to face a 0:03:38.650 --> 0:03:44.250 very turbulent, chaotic world. This is not one in which 0:03:44.250 --> 0:03:48.410 Timothy will be praised often, or it will be easy. 0:03:48.930 --> 0:03:54.050 He's preparing him to fight to battle. This was a 0:03:54.170 --> 0:03:58.770 turbulent time in the first century. People were being martyred, 0:03:59.090 --> 0:04:06.100 put in prison. in heresies were rampant, a disregard for Christians. 0:04:06.100 --> 0:04:11.820 It was not easy to lead. First and second Timothy 0:04:11.860 --> 0:04:19.900 is really about. Spirit empowered. God chose what should be 0:04:19.900 --> 0:04:26.460 in Scripture and these two books, more than any other 0:04:26.460 --> 0:04:29.500 books in the Bible, I think, speak to the formation 0:04:30.060 --> 0:04:34.900 of young leaders. In first Timothy chapter six, verse 12, 0:04:35.580 --> 0:04:41.620 Paul says, fight the good fight of faith. And although 0:04:41.620 --> 0:04:45.660 in Second Timothy he doesn't refer as much to fighting, 0:04:46.580 --> 0:04:49.340 I think he's continuing the theme of what to battle. 0:04:50.540 --> 0:04:55.420 This happens to be actually the last book that the 0:04:55.420 --> 0:05:02.020 Apostle Paul would write. Uh, you know that Paul wrote 0:05:02.020 --> 0:05:06.860 about 14 books of the Bible. Many people believe that 0:05:06.860 --> 0:05:10.900 shortly after writing this book, Paul was killed. So it's 0:05:10.900 --> 0:05:19.339 his final book, the final chapter, the final phrases to 0:05:19.980 --> 0:05:23.179 this young man that is going to carry on that, 0:05:23.180 --> 0:05:29.900 that he's passing the baton onto. And in this section 0:05:29.900 --> 0:05:36.180 of Second Timothy, chapter two, he challenges Timothy to fight 0:05:36.700 --> 0:05:42.580 three important battles. And I want to summarize them for 0:05:42.580 --> 0:05:46.380 you this morning, because I think they're the battles that, yeah, 0:05:46.380 --> 0:05:50.539 we're still fighting. And these words are still important to us. 0:05:52.180 --> 0:05:55.900 The first I would define as the battle for purity. 0:05:57.180 --> 0:06:02.710 The battle for purity. Paul says to Timothy, flee the 0:06:02.710 --> 0:06:09.510 evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, 0:06:09.990 --> 0:06:13.030 along with those who call on the name of the 0:06:13.029 --> 0:06:17.470 Lord out of a pure heart. You know there are 0:06:17.470 --> 0:06:21.950 certain battles that you fight. You stand your ground, you 0:06:21.950 --> 0:06:27.070 stay and you fight. There's others that you run from. 0:06:28.350 --> 0:06:32.110 You just run. You fight when you know I can 0:06:32.110 --> 0:06:36.309 win this battle. You run. When you realize I can't 0:06:36.310 --> 0:06:40.950 win this battle, I better get out of here. I 0:06:40.950 --> 0:06:43.470 was mentoring a young man a few years back, and 0:06:43.470 --> 0:06:46.710 he was really struggling with this whole area of lust 0:06:46.710 --> 0:06:52.030 and dating and women, and he had a propensity before 0:06:52.029 --> 0:06:56.710 he came to Christ to end up at parties in 0:06:56.710 --> 0:07:00.350 someone's bed. And so he was just saying, he was 0:07:00.470 --> 0:07:02.350 just saying, hey, pastor, I don't know. This is a 0:07:02.350 --> 0:07:06.430 tough battle, you know? So when I'm there at the 0:07:06.430 --> 0:07:10.750 party and you know, there's a dance and I'm dancing, 0:07:10.750 --> 0:07:14.670 and this, I just don't feel like I know how 0:07:14.670 --> 0:07:18.070 to fight this battle and resist because I cave in 0:07:18.070 --> 0:07:20.830 every time, and then I beat myself up. I just 0:07:20.830 --> 0:07:25.510 want to know, how can I fight? I said, well, 0:07:25.550 --> 0:07:30.430 first of all, you're at a party. Dancing with the 0:07:30.430 --> 0:07:35.430 girl that's not a believer. And when you feel that temptation, 0:07:35.430 --> 0:07:38.270 I just want to say, here's the strategy I'm going 0:07:38.310 --> 0:07:51.550 to give you. Run. Just run. Let me tell you, 0:07:51.550 --> 0:07:55.830 there are certain things that you need to assume I'm weak. 0:07:56.790 --> 0:07:59.390 And listen. Listen to me very well. If you have 0:07:59.390 --> 0:08:03.520 struggled in the area of sexual temptation, which I don't 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:08.160 know anybody in their early 20s. That doesn't. But if 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:10.720 you struggle in the area of sexual temptation, struggle in 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:14.040 the area of giving, in struggle, in the area of pornography, 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:18.400 of crossing lines and dating, of not being able to 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:22.560 maintain standards of purity, if you struggle in those areas, 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:26.960 you need to assume I am weak, I am desperately weak, 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:30.480 and so I don't tempt myself with weakness. I don't 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:33.559 assume that I'm strong. I don't put on a mentality. 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:36.560 I'm just going to resist. I'm going to avoid places. 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:39.719 I'm going to run out of, places I'm going to. Yes, 0:08:40.480 --> 0:08:43.960 do the cowardly thing in some people's minds, and I'm 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:47.520 just going to run out because really, it's the brave thing. 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:53.000 And the Apostle Paul is telling Timothy, flee, run! Evil 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:56.560 desires of youth. He doesn't define it, but it's defined 0:08:56.559 --> 0:09:00.960 in other places. Purity. Sexual purity is not the only 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:06.360 special pressure. And by the way, Timothy wasn't that young. 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:11.320 He was in his 30s, probably at this time, late 30s. 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:16.800 But he's telling them to run and pursue righteousness. And 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:21.040 he emphasizes that of a pure heart. First Corinthians chapter six, 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:24.120 verse 18 says, flee sexual immorality. Every sin a person 0:09:24.120 --> 0:09:27.439 commits outside of his body, but the immoral person commits 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:30.640 sins against his own body. Let me tell you, I 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:35.400 just want I want to emphasize this because I care 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:38.120 about your calling. I care about your future. I care 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:42.440 about your ministry. One of the greatest areas that will 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:48.920 derail you is not guarding your heart, opening up crevices 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:53.560 and cracks in your life that are allowed to go 0:09:53.559 --> 0:10:00.810 unchecked as they grow and eventually sabotage your marriage, your ministry, 0:10:00.809 --> 0:10:04.530 your purity, your life. You're going to have to battle 0:10:04.530 --> 0:10:09.090 intentionally in this area for purity. It will be a 0:10:09.210 --> 0:10:14.530 fierce battle. And I just want to encourage you, this 0:10:14.530 --> 0:10:21.330 is a battle worth fighting. I've been a pastor for 0:10:21.330 --> 0:10:27.090 a long time. And I've had to, unfortunately, walk through. 0:10:30.450 --> 0:10:37.730 Too many times, the brokenness of infidelity in people that 0:10:37.730 --> 0:10:46.890 I would never expect it to. Many times. And I 0:10:46.890 --> 0:10:49.730 thought to myself, so many of these stories, if they 0:10:49.730 --> 0:10:54.650 would have addressed these issues ten years ago, 15 years ago, 0:10:54.650 --> 0:10:57.370 if they would have battled, addressed them, gone to the 0:10:57.370 --> 0:11:04.569 hard places, many of these sad stories could have been avoided. 0:11:10.130 --> 0:11:12.890 You're listening to Bold Steps with Marc Job. We'll continue 0:11:12.929 --> 0:11:15.730 today's message in a moment. Marc, there's something I've been 0:11:15.730 --> 0:11:17.650 noticing lately that I think many of our listeners are 0:11:17.650 --> 0:11:20.890 thinking about, with so many voices competing for our attention. 0:11:21.050 --> 0:11:25.050 There's social media news cycles, workplace demands. It's easy to 0:11:25.090 --> 0:11:27.690 lose sight of what matters eternally. And I find myself 0:11:27.690 --> 0:11:30.689 wondering how many Christians today are investing their best resources 0:11:31.050 --> 0:11:32.890 in things that won't ultimately last. 0:11:33.090 --> 0:11:35.970 You know, Wayne, I remember when my youngest son was 0:11:35.970 --> 0:11:39.570 playing football in high school. It was a big game 0:11:39.809 --> 0:11:42.250 and I went there. I was cheering him on, and 0:11:42.250 --> 0:11:43.969 I got a phone call and I thought, well, let 0:11:43.970 --> 0:11:45.850 me pick up this phone call just for a moment. 0:11:45.850 --> 0:11:48.370 So I went down and I got on the phone call, 0:11:48.570 --> 0:11:51.809 and it was right at that time that my son, 0:11:52.130 --> 0:11:57.290 he intercepted a pass. And afterwards he said, dad, did 0:11:57.290 --> 0:11:59.610 you see that? And I had to say I missed 0:11:59.610 --> 0:12:03.260 the moment I was distracted by something, and in the end, 0:12:03.260 --> 0:12:06.620 it wasn't an urgent phone call. Listen, right now, there's 0:12:06.620 --> 0:12:10.980 a lot of distraction. The political environment in our country, 0:12:10.980 --> 0:12:16.220 there's a drama every day. There's a lot that's happening internationally. 0:12:16.380 --> 0:12:21.220 There's wars, there's natural disasters. It feels like we are 0:12:21.260 --> 0:12:24.900 just sucked into it. But I want to say, don't 0:12:24.900 --> 0:12:29.540 miss the moment. I believe that we are seeing more 0:12:29.540 --> 0:12:33.140 people come to Christ at this season of time, especially 0:12:33.140 --> 0:12:36.180 under the age of 35, than I have ever seen 0:12:36.179 --> 0:12:40.180 in our lifetime. It's happening in Africa and Europe. It's 0:12:40.179 --> 0:12:43.699 happening in the United States of America. We have bold steps, 0:12:44.100 --> 0:12:48.700 are committed to not get distracted, but to make sure 0:12:48.700 --> 0:12:51.620 that we are proclaiming the gospel of Jesus at a 0:12:51.620 --> 0:12:55.220 time of uncertainty so that people can come to know 0:12:55.220 --> 0:12:59.260 him in this window of opportunity that we have. So 0:12:59.500 --> 0:13:02.620 we want to encourage you. Pray. Don't miss the moment. 0:13:02.660 --> 0:13:05.140 Such an important word, Mark. Thank you. And if you 0:13:05.140 --> 0:13:07.260 would like to become part of this eternal work today 0:13:07.260 --> 0:13:10.140 by visiting us, you can do that at Bold steps.org 0:13:10.179 --> 0:13:13.780 and make a gift or call us at 800 Moody. 0:13:14.020 --> 0:13:19.060 That's (800) 356-6639. And when you do, we'll send you a 0:13:19.059 --> 0:13:21.260 special gift as a way of saying thanks for partnering 0:13:21.260 --> 0:13:25.220 with us and sharing God's truth that will last eternally. 0:13:25.380 --> 0:13:27.700 More on that later. But let's get back to today's 0:13:27.700 --> 0:13:30.220 message now. Fighting the battles that matter. 0:13:35.420 --> 0:13:39.380 The other battle worth fighting that Timothy talks about is 0:13:39.940 --> 0:13:42.900 fight the battle for peace. Notice what he says in 0:13:42.900 --> 0:13:46.580 verse 23, don't have anything to do with foolish and 0:13:46.580 --> 0:13:54.179 stupid arguments, because you know that they produce quarrels, and 0:13:54.179 --> 0:13:58.420 the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but must be 0:13:58.420 --> 0:14:03.589 kind to everyone able to teach and not resentful. The 0:14:03.590 --> 0:14:05.830 greatest challenge that you're going to face if you go 0:14:05.830 --> 0:14:08.670 to the mission field. The greatest challenge you're going to 0:14:08.670 --> 0:14:11.470 face if you work at a church setting. The greatest 0:14:11.470 --> 0:14:13.190 challenge that you're going to face if you go to 0:14:13.230 --> 0:14:16.030 a not for profit. And the greatest challenge that you'll 0:14:16.030 --> 0:14:20.990 face if you work at Moody Bible Institute is the 0:14:20.990 --> 0:14:26.990 relational component of ministry. It's not the world. It's not 0:14:26.990 --> 0:14:32.830 the outsiders. It's not the antagonist. It's your teammates. It's 0:14:32.830 --> 0:14:36.350 the people around you. It's a team that's supposed to 0:14:36.350 --> 0:14:39.510 be fighting with you that you're supposed to be going 0:14:39.550 --> 0:14:45.190 to battle with. It's the jealousy, the resentment, the arguments, 0:14:45.190 --> 0:14:53.110 the pride, the undealt with, uh, hurt. The avoidance of 0:14:53.150 --> 0:14:59.710 talking through hard, tough issues. It's those issues that derail 0:14:59.710 --> 0:15:02.840 so many people. I was talking to someone that was 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:05.880 in charge of a missions organization, and I said, tell 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:08.760 me about why people go off the field, he said, 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:11.720 we have a major problem. People go for four years 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:14.120 and then they bail out and come back to America. 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:18.000 We've put all this training, all this energy, all this fundraising, 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.440 all this work, and then they come back. I said, why? 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:22.640 Because the mission feels too hard. He said, no, because 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:28.080 they can't get along with their team members. It's the reality. 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:30.200 Just because we're Christians doesn't mean we know how to 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:36.360 navigate healthy relationships. Just because we love Jesus doesn't mean 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:40.120 we know how to deal with resentment. Talk through hard issues, 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:47.640 show kindness, not argue about stupid things. How many of 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:54.680 you think back seniors four years of. Moody. And you think, man, 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:59.000 I had some stupid arguments that I was really intense 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:02.160 on winning, but it had nothing to do with truth. 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:05.920 It had more to do with pride and winning an argument. 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:09.000 There are certain arguments you don't even need to be 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:11.920 involved in. There are certain things you just need to 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:15.560 walk away from. And the Apostle Paul is telling Timothy, 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.280 don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments. 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:21.040 There's all kinds. You could spend a lot of time 0:16:21.040 --> 0:16:23.600 arguing with, a lot of people, debating a lot of 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:26.880 things that ultimately really do very little to advance the 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:31.320 kingdom or help anybody else out, because you know that 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:35.320 they simply produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:40.360 be quarrelsome. But he's saying these arguments cause you to 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:42.920 treat people in a different way. And he says, I 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:44.600 want you to be kind to everyone. I want you 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:46.320 to be able to teach. And I don't want you 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:50.440 to have resentments because it's easy as you go about 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:53.480 ministry and working with people and people that you're supposed 0:16:53.480 --> 0:16:57.960 to be with, to allow baggage to accumulate in your 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:01.280 soul and the very team that you're supposed to be 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:04.879 a part of gets sabotaged by the toxicity of the 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:09.119 relationships that are there. So guard it. Battle it, learn 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:12.880 to have conversations. Avoid arguments that you don't even need 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:16.439 to be engaged in, and guard the unity of the 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:22.960 relationships that you have. Proverbs 20 verse three says, it's 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:28.080 it is to one's honor to avoid strife. But every 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:35.480 fool is quick to quarrel. He's not talking about avoidance. 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:41.800 I think that so many times that's the problem. But 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:50.080 conversations with humility, important conversations that really matter, with humility, 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:57.479 with kindness, with a teachable spirit, not with resentment. This 0:17:57.480 --> 0:18:02.130 word kind is also translated gentle unto all men. It's 0:18:02.130 --> 0:18:07.170 the idea of patience patient in bearing with someone's wrongs. 0:18:08.850 --> 0:18:11.530 It's that whole idea of, hey, I want you to. 0:18:11.770 --> 0:18:16.770 I want you to listen, understand? People show patience, give grace, 0:18:17.130 --> 0:18:23.530 work with people. It's a battle that's worth fighting. And 0:18:23.530 --> 0:18:26.210 then the apostle Paul says in verse 25, the third 0:18:26.290 --> 0:18:30.850 battle he lists is fight the battle for people. He 0:18:30.850 --> 0:18:35.570 says in verse 25, opponents must be gently instructed in 0:18:35.570 --> 0:18:38.410 the hope that God will grant them repentance, leading to 0:18:38.450 --> 0:18:41.490 a knowledge of the of the truth, and that they 0:18:41.490 --> 0:18:44.530 will come to their senses and escape from the trap 0:18:44.530 --> 0:18:47.250 of the devil, who has taken them captive to do 0:18:47.290 --> 0:18:50.810 his will. He's saying, hey, there's people out there that 0:18:50.810 --> 0:18:55.129 don't know God. There's people out there that are confused 0:18:55.130 --> 0:18:59.090 and they're they're far. They're opponents. We look at them 0:18:59.090 --> 0:19:05.820 as opponents of the gospel. Fight for them. These opponents 0:19:05.820 --> 0:19:09.260 that have been captured or trapped by the devil to 0:19:09.300 --> 0:19:14.900 do his will. People are worth fighting for. People are 0:19:14.900 --> 0:19:22.540 worth pursuing. People matter to God. Pursue them with love 0:19:22.540 --> 0:19:26.859 and gentleness. And he uses words like gently. You know, 0:19:26.900 --> 0:19:29.739 one of the problems I face as I try to 0:19:29.780 --> 0:19:37.139 engage with my unchurched, disconnected, non-religious neighbors is that they 0:19:37.140 --> 0:19:43.700 view oftentimes the church or evangelicals or people that are Christian. 0:19:43.900 --> 0:19:49.780 They view them as combative and angry. And as I 0:19:49.780 --> 0:19:53.939 try to talk to my neighbors, they have a oftentimes 0:19:53.980 --> 0:20:05.100 a stereotype of of Christians that they're combative, angry, judgmental, unapproachable, 0:20:05.700 --> 0:20:11.020 and can't talk. Always like this. And it may be 0:20:11.020 --> 0:20:17.500 a stereotype, doesn't represent all of Christianity, but unfortunately represents 0:20:17.820 --> 0:20:25.780 too much of Christianity. And the Apostle Paul is telling Timothy, Hey, Timothy, I. 0:20:25.900 --> 0:20:29.380 There's a gentleness that needs to be there. There's a 0:20:29.380 --> 0:20:33.060 hope that God will grant repentance. There's a compassion that 0:20:33.060 --> 0:20:36.060 you have as you engage in people that even our 0:20:36.060 --> 0:20:39.580 opponents to you, people that are trapped by the devil, 0:20:39.580 --> 0:20:43.020 people that are blind and they barely know what they're 0:20:43.020 --> 0:20:47.420 doing because they're so broken. And I want you to 0:20:47.460 --> 0:20:49.860 approach them with a gentleness as you reach out to 0:20:49.859 --> 0:20:54.100 them and love them, and help them come to their senses. 0:20:56.380 --> 0:21:01.699 The battle is fierce. Some of you are graduating and 0:21:01.700 --> 0:21:05.940 going straight to places of ministry. It'll be harder than 0:21:05.940 --> 0:21:11.140 what you expect. You will be disappointed by people that 0:21:11.140 --> 0:21:15.940 you work with. You will question your call at times. 0:21:18.740 --> 0:21:21.899 But I want you to know that the grace of 0:21:21.900 --> 0:21:27.100 our Lord Jesus Christ, his incredible favor and mercy, and 0:21:27.100 --> 0:21:31.940 calling upon your life. The love of God, the patience 0:21:31.940 --> 0:21:33.939 of God, the conviction of God, the power of the 0:21:33.940 --> 0:21:37.780 Holy Spirit is there to sustain. 0:21:44.740 --> 0:21:47.619 Such a good message, Mark. Thank you. Would you pray 0:21:47.619 --> 0:21:50.740 for those listening to this lesson today? All of us 0:21:50.740 --> 0:21:52.500 who are listening, who want to step up and fight 0:21:52.500 --> 0:21:54.100 the way God has called us to. 0:21:54.340 --> 0:21:57.220 Absolutely. So there may be some of you right now 0:21:57.220 --> 0:22:01.070 that are in a fierce battle for purity or maybe 0:22:01.070 --> 0:22:04.550 for peace. Or maybe you're in the midst of conflict 0:22:04.550 --> 0:22:08.270 with other people. And I believe that God wants you 0:22:08.270 --> 0:22:11.990 to fight this battle because it affects your destiny and 0:22:11.990 --> 0:22:15.910 your testimony. Father, I pray right now for that. Yeah, 0:22:15.910 --> 0:22:21.389 I pray for that person right now that is struggling 0:22:21.390 --> 0:22:28.230 because they are living with their girlfriend or boyfriend and God. 0:22:28.230 --> 0:22:30.909 They are realizing that their bodies are the temple of 0:22:30.910 --> 0:22:34.550 the Holy Spirit. And you're calling them. You're calling them 0:22:34.670 --> 0:22:37.670 to acknowledge that their bodies are the temple and you're 0:22:37.670 --> 0:22:39.950 calling to live a different way. So I pray that 0:22:39.950 --> 0:22:43.590 you would give the conviction to either move out or 0:22:43.590 --> 0:22:46.990 to get married. Lord. I pray, Lord Jesus, for those 0:22:46.990 --> 0:22:50.110 that are in a battle of contention, that they would 0:22:50.109 --> 0:22:53.470 not see people as their enemy, but they would understand 0:22:53.470 --> 0:22:56.030 that people are broken and hurting. Father, and I pray 0:22:56.030 --> 0:23:00.710 that you would bring peace into places that are battle 0:23:00.750 --> 0:23:04.870 fronts right now. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for those that 0:23:04.869 --> 0:23:08.350 are saying I will fight the battles that are worth fighting. 0:23:08.350 --> 0:23:12.310 Give them strength and integrity in Jesus name. Amen. 0:23:12.350 --> 0:23:15.109 Amen. We have a resource. Mark is called more than 0:23:15.109 --> 0:23:17.830 a label discovering who you are in Christ. It's, I think, 0:23:17.869 --> 0:23:20.510 is a great follow up to the message we just heard. 0:23:20.510 --> 0:23:24.430 It really is, and it's fairly new. It just came out. 0:23:24.430 --> 0:23:27.350 It's a 15 day devotional based on some of the 0:23:27.350 --> 0:23:31.950 messages that I've preached, but with questions afterwards, just all 0:23:31.950 --> 0:23:35.709 focused on ripping those labels off that have been placed 0:23:35.710 --> 0:23:39.670 on you and discovering who you really are in Christ. 0:23:39.670 --> 0:23:41.790 And you can request a copy for yourself or a 0:23:41.790 --> 0:23:45.869 friend who may need this reminder. It's available at bird-stamps.org 0:23:45.910 --> 0:23:49.189 under the resource tab. That's Mark Jobe on Bold Steps 0:23:49.190 --> 0:23:52.430 with a message titled Fighting the Battles that Matter. And 0:23:52.430 --> 0:23:54.350 if you want to revisit any part of today's lesson, 0:23:54.390 --> 0:23:57.550 be sure to listen online at Bold steps.org. And while 0:23:57.550 --> 0:23:59.760 you're on our page, be sure to check out our 0:23:59.760 --> 0:24:03.359 bold Step gift, because in today's world, our daughters are 0:24:03.359 --> 0:24:06.880 bombarded with messages that don't align with God's truth. That's 0:24:06.880 --> 0:24:09.720 why Dana Gres's book Lies Girls Believe is such a 0:24:09.720 --> 0:24:14.200 timely resource. Addressing 20 common lies at girls ages 7 0:24:14.200 --> 0:24:18.240 to 12. Believe this colorful, engaging book equips young girls 0:24:18.240 --> 0:24:21.399 to identify the lies that come against them and replace 0:24:21.400 --> 0:24:25.240 them with biblical truth. Request this essential, bold step gift 0:24:25.240 --> 0:24:27.680 to help the special girls in your life build an 0:24:27.680 --> 0:24:30.800 unshakable foundation of faith. We'll send you a copy when 0:24:30.800 --> 0:24:34.199 you give any amount to support bold steps for an 0:24:34.240 --> 0:24:38.760 online donation, just go to Bold Steps org and you 0:24:38.760 --> 0:24:42.520 can also call us and give over the phone at 800. D.L. Moody. 0:24:42.800 --> 0:24:48.080 That's (800) 356-6639. Or send your gift in the mail by 0:24:48.080 --> 0:24:53.000 addressing your envelope to bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, 0:24:53.040 --> 0:24:57.359 Illinois 606 ten. And before we close, here's something you 0:24:57.359 --> 0:25:00.679 won't want to miss on Saturday or Sunday. Bold steps 0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:03.760 goes weekend. Tune in to the weekend edition of Bold 0:25:03.760 --> 0:25:07.720 Steps for more powerful insights, inspiration, and life changing truths 0:25:07.720 --> 0:25:10.679 that carry you throughout the weekend. It's the perfect way 0:25:10.680 --> 0:25:12.560 to keep your focus on God as you head into 0:25:12.560 --> 0:25:15.240 the week ahead. To find out exactly when and how 0:25:15.240 --> 0:25:18.080 to listen to Bold Steps Weekend, just visit our website 0:25:18.080 --> 0:25:22.000 at Bold Steps under the programs tab. And trust me, 0:25:22.000 --> 0:25:25.000 you won't want to miss a single moment of this. Well, 0:25:25.000 --> 0:25:27.119 I'm Wayne Shepherd inviting you to join us again Monday 0:25:27.119 --> 0:25:31.120 when Mark begins a message titled, what do you smell like? No, 0:25:31.119 --> 0:25:34.359 we're not talking about deodorant or perfume. Instead, it's a 0:25:34.359 --> 0:25:37.840 unique study in what Scripture says about our spiritual aroma. 0:25:38.240 --> 0:25:41.000 Don't miss the start of our next series called Bold Living, 0:25:41.000 --> 0:25:45.879 coming up Monday on Bold Steps with Mark John. Bold 0:25:45.880 --> 0:25:48.840 steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of 0:25:48.840 --> 0:25:50.359 Moody Bible Institute.