S1: Being equipped for the work God has called us to do.
S1: That's the topic today on Bold Steps with Mark job.
S2: Spiritual leaders help you discover the gifts and abilities that
S2: are inside of you, so that you begin to realize
S2: God can use me and I have the ability to
S2: pray and minister and reach out and do the stuff
S2: that the holy men do. Because why? Because I am holy, too.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark job. Mark is president
S1: of Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New
S1: Life Community Church in Chicago. We're going to talk about
S1: the power of God in us today. Mark, I've heard
S1: you say that you believe Christians seriously underestimate that power
S1: and provision.
S3: I really do, Wayne. And so many people are used
S3: to the concept of going to a service and having
S3: a pastor, a rabbi, a priest to sort of do
S3: the holy things. But that's not at all the picture
S3: that God gives us in Scripture.
S1: That's not biblical Christianity.
S3: It's not all of us have gifts. All of us
S3: have a calling. All of us need to roll up
S3: our sleeves and say, God, use me. So in this message,
S3: you're going to discover a little bit how God has
S3: wired you to use you.
S1: I like the title Unleashing People Power. Let's get into
S1: today's message now with Mark Jobe.
S3: And there's four principles. I've distilled it down to four principles.
S3: I want you to remember, as we talk about releasing
S3: the power of God among his people. And I want
S3: to begin reading in Ephesians chapter four, verse seven. I'm
S3: reading out of the New International Version. It says, but
S3: to each one of us. That's us. That's people that
S3: believe to each one of us, grace has been given
S3: as Christ apportioned it. Now, let me stop there. To
S3: each one of us, grace has been given. The word
S3: in the Greek for grace is Keras. I've told you
S3: this before, but it's the word that we get charisma from.
S3: It's the word we get charismatic from. Keras means a
S3: gift that God gives us, that we can't earn, we
S3: can't deserve, we can't work for. It has nothing to
S3: do with how good you are or how bad you are.
S3: It has nothing to do with how long you pray
S3: or don't pray. How much of the Bible you read
S3: or don't read, how many sins you've committed or haven't committed.
S3: It has nothing to do with the quality of your lifestyle.
S3: It has everything to do. With what? With the good
S3: pleasure of God. So what he says is to each
S3: one of us as believers, people that know Jesus Christ
S3: and have His Spirit inside of us. To each one
S3: of us a keris has been given a gift, has
S3: been given a grace has been given. Not to some.
S3: It's not one, two, three. You get it? One, two, three,
S3: you get it one, two, three, you get it. No,
S3: it's to everyone. Every single person has received this gift,
S3: these gifts. It may be one gift. It may be
S3: multiple gifts. It doesn't really explain it in this passage,
S3: but in other passages of Scripture, it does. These gifts
S3: have to do with supernatural, what we could call talents
S3: or supernatural Abilities that God gives to you, not just
S3: for you to enjoy, but for you to use for
S3: the benefit of others. It may be the gift of encouragement,
S3: or it may be the gift of faith. It may
S3: be the gift of exhortation, the gift of mercy. It
S3: may be the gift of healing. It may be the
S3: gift of word, of wisdom. It may be the gift
S3: of administration. I mean, there's a whole bunch of gifts
S3: that could be given, but they are given to you,
S3: not for yourself. They're given to you so that as
S3: you use those gifts, you actually begin to build up
S3: in power. Help the people that are around you. Your
S3: gift is a gift to this body. So he says,
S3: but to each one of us, a gift has been
S3: given as Christ apportioned it. Verse eight. Now this is
S3: a bit of a tough passage here, so stay with me.
S3: It says this is why it says now. He quotes
S3: Psalm 68 out of the Old Testament when he ascended
S3: on high. When Christ ascended on high, he led captives, prisoners.
S3: Another translation says in his train or in his entourage.
S3: So when Christ ascended on high, he led prisoners in
S3: his entourage and he gave gifts to men. Quoting Psalm 68.
S3: Now Paul knows that's kind of difficult for people to
S3: understand what he's saying. So in verse nine, he explains
S3: what he's saying. What does he ascended? What does Christ
S3: ascended mean, except that he also descended to the lower
S3: earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who
S3: ascended higher than the heavens in order to fill the
S3: whole universe. Now what is Paul saying? Paul is giving
S3: us the image of Christ as a victorious conqueror. When
S3: when a warrior goes off to war and he wins
S3: the battle, he gets to keep the spoils of the
S3: battle that he's won and he gets to take all
S3: the spoils with him. And then when he comes back
S3: to his own camp or to his own city, he
S3: distributes the spoils or the gifts that he has to
S3: those that he loves. Why? Because he's victorious. And now
S3: he can share in his victory. The image that he
S3: gives us is Jesus coming to earth victorious, being put
S3: to death, descending to the lower regions, which means he
S3: was buried, resurrecting on the third day, uh, after 40 days.
S3: The Bible says that the disciples were gathered around and
S3: Jesus levitated. Wouldn't that been fun to watch? They're there
S3: around him, and Jesus starts levitating off the earth. Slowly
S3: he's rising. Floating. He stops as the disciples stand there
S3: with their mouths open wide like, hey, Jesus, just did
S3: this balloon disappearing act on us? Now what are we
S3: supposed to do here? And as they stand there with
S3: their mouths open, an angel says to him, why do
S3: you stand there with your mouths open wide? This Jesus
S3: that has now ascended will in the same way descend
S3: when he comes again. And he left. When Jesus was
S3: in the grave, he defeated. He defeated the power of sin,
S3: the power of death, and the power of demons and
S3: powers and principalities. Because only if you have sinned can
S3: the grave keep you down. Uh, you know, theologically, you
S3: need to understand that the reason that Jesus rose from
S3: the grave is that Jesus had no sin. He was sinless.
S3: So therefore the grave could not tie him down. There
S3: was no power in death because he was sinless. So
S3: he raised on the third day, and he ascended to heaven.
S3: And he sits at the right hand of the father,
S3: placing all principalities and rulers and everything under his feet.
S3: And because he's victorious and he's conquered death and Satan
S3: and sin and disease. He's conquered all of that. He
S3: has the ability and the power to give gifts to
S3: whoever he wants to give gifts. Why? Because he is victorious. Now,
S3: I know once in a while I run into someone
S3: that says, I wish I would have lived when Jesus lived. Man,
S3: it would have been so cool just to hear Jesus,
S3: to walk beside him, see what he looks like. What
S3: did his voice sound like? It would have been so
S3: cool just to sit at the feet of Jesus and say, hey, Jesus,
S3: I got four questions. I just wondered, you know, since
S3: Adam was never born, really, since he was created, did
S3: he have a belly button or whatever question you may
S3: ask him? So you got a better one than that?
S3: And I know people that really think that they would
S3: love to have lived when Jesus was on earth. But
S3: here's the thing. It tells us in John chapter 15
S3: and 16. That the reason that Jesus left Jesus said,
S3: I must go because if I go, I will send
S3: to you. Oh, I will send to you the helper,
S3: the Paraclete, the advocate, the one that walks alongside of you,
S3: your own personal coach, as long as I am on earth. Listen,
S3: if Jesus were on earth today, you know he would
S3: have 12 apostles. And I know some of you think
S3: that he would choose you as an apostle, but okay,
S3: let's just say he didn't choose you. Then there's some crowd.
S3: Believe me, you wouldn't be palling around with Jesus. You'd
S3: be at the back of some crowd saying, Jesus over here!
S3: And he'd hard to get access to Jesus if he
S3: were physically here. So Jesus left so that you would
S3: not have to have that problem. So every believer that
S3: would come thousands upon thousands, upon thousands upon ten thousands
S3: of believers that would come after him would have direct
S3: access to him, so that now, via the Holy Spirit,
S3: the Spirit of Jesus is in every single believer 24
S3: hours a day. Coaching, empowering, guiding, giving wisdom. He's there
S3: when you go to sleep and there when you get up.
S3: He's there when you ride the El and he's there
S3: when you drive in traffic. He's there when you're at
S3: a bears game and a Bulls game, he's there when
S3: you're in the kitchen and he's there when you're in
S3: the office. He's there. He's there all of the time.
S3: It's a powerful thing to have the presence of Christ
S3: inside of you. And that's why Jesus left, so that
S3: the presence of Christ would be inside of us. And
S3: along with the presence of the Holy Spirit comes the
S3: gifts of the Holy Spirit as well.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark, Joe. We're pausing
S1: our message for just a moment to talk a little
S1: bit about our Bold Partner program. Mark.
S3: Yeah, we have a fantastic, bold partner program that helps
S3: us really get the gospel all over the world through
S3: Bible teaching. And I'm always so encouraged, Wayne, when some
S3: of our friends from Africa or different parts of the
S3: world reach out to us and let us know what
S3: God gives us.
S1: A lot of perspective, doesn't it?
S3: It really does. And we received a message from someone
S3: in Zambia that says, uh. Hello. Announcer I once was
S3: lost without Jesus. In those days, I thought I was
S3: on the right track with God not knowing that I
S3: was going astray. Many in the village discouraged me from
S3: listening to the Bold Steps program being via Latala FM radio,
S3: since it has the message right for my fellow Muslims
S3: in the village. Then when I started listening online, it
S3: changed me. My heart now is impacted simply because of
S3: the Bold Steps program. Moreover, right now I am mobilizing
S3: many to join me. I thank God for taking me
S3: out of Islam. Your listener. And then they give their name.
S3: I'm not going to read their name.
S1: But praise God for that, huh?
S3: Yes, I am so grateful that God is reaching people
S3: in villages in Africa. People that were far from God.
S3: People that were confused about who Jesus is. Taking them
S3: right into a saving relationship with Jesus, the Christ that
S3: encourages my heart so much.
S1: We're honored that you would listen to bold Steps and
S1: receive God's Word through us. You can sign up to
S1: become a bold partner online right now and be a
S1: part of this team. Whatever amount God is calling you
S1: to invest is okay with us. Just go online to
S1: Bold Steps org and become part of that, uh, that
S1: ministry to that listener in Africa and so many more.
S1: So you can become a bold partner again when you
S1: contact us. Bold steps.org or call us that number to
S1: call is 6639 and you can remember it as DL Moody.
S1: 800 DL Moody. All right. Mark is going to be
S1: laying out the second principle now when it comes to
S1: unleashing people power. So let's get back to the message.
S3: The second thing that Paul tells us to remember is
S3: not only that each of us has been given a
S3: special gift that we have not earned or deserve. But
S3: then he also goes on to tell us that we
S3: need to remember that the leadership gifts. Oh, I wish
S3: you could hear me. This is really huge that the
S3: leadership gifts are given not to do the work of ministry,
S3: but to empower or to equip the people to do
S3: the work of ministry. Okay, I'm about to show you
S3: one of the biggest lies that is affected Christianity down
S3: through centuries of existence. Notice what he says. Open your Bibles.
S3: Let's start with verse 11. It was he who gave some.
S3: He's talking about giving gifts to the body. Everybody has
S3: a gift. And now he says he's also given the
S3: gift of leaders to the church. And he lists five
S3: leadership offices or callings that he's given to the church.
S3: Some people call this the five fold ministry. He says,
S3: and he's given some to be apostles, some to be prophets,
S3: some to be evangelists, some to be pastors, and some
S3: to be teachers. Now these are callings that he gives.
S3: Each one of these callings are different. Trick question here.
S3: How many of you believe that there were only 12 apostles? Uh,
S3: since I said it's a trick question, you're not raising
S3: your hand. Okay, good. Because although many people believe that
S3: there were only 12 apostles, the reality is there's more
S3: than 12 apostles. In fact, the fellow that wrote Ephesians,
S3: the Apostle Paul, we call him what Apostle Paul now
S3: was a Paul, one of the 12 that walked with Jesus. No,
S3: Paul wasn't even around walking with Jesus when Jesus had
S3: his 12 apostles. He wasn't a part of the 12.
S3: In fact, it wasn't until Jesus was crucified, buried, rose again,
S3: ascended into heaven that Paul was even converted. He was converted.
S3: After Jesus was gone, he was on the road to
S3: Damascus and had this encounter in which he had a
S3: vision of Jesus. He fell off his horse. He was
S3: converted radically. And then he became an apostle. And so
S3: they called him the Apostle Paul. So what I want
S3: you to understand is that there's more than 12 apostles.
S3: There was more than just Paul. There were other apostles
S3: and scriptures as well. So what is an apostle? The
S3: word apostle means sent with a message. There are some
S3: leaders that are apostles that are sent with a message
S3: to start what the Apostle Paul do. After he became converted,
S3: he started churches. He would go around. He did several
S3: missionary journeys. He started churches, raised leaders, oversaw them. He
S3: grew the work, and then he appointed people to do that.
S3: That was an apostolic gift. So the apostles are sent
S3: out to start work in churches, appoint leaders, get them
S3: up and going, and they multiply churches. That's what apostles do.
S3: Then there are, he says, not only are some apostles,
S3: but then there are some that are prophets. What is
S3: a prophet? A prophet is someone that speaks, that foretells
S3: and foretells God's Word for that moment at that time.
S3: Sometimes it involves the foretelling, which means talking about future events,
S3: but sometimes it just involves, hey, this is what God
S3: is saying to us today. Now. And you know that
S3: it's a it's a word from God for us at
S3: this moment and this time that we need to hear.
S3: That's prophet. And then he says, evangelist. Evangelist is someone
S3: that proclaims the gospel and recruits people to the cause
S3: of Christ. They do it with great anointing as they
S3: proclaim the simple gospel message of Jesus. Many people come
S3: to Christ and they have the ability to communicate it simply,
S3: powerfully with anointing so that many people come to Christ.
S3: So you have apostles, prophets, evangelists. Then he says pastors
S3: or another translation is Shepherd. What does a shepherd do
S3: or a pastor do. A pastor cares for the flock.
S3: They make sure that people don't fall away. They make
S3: sure that the hurting are cared for. They protect the sheep.
S3: They watch over the sheep. If someone is straying, they
S3: make sure they bring them back. They, they they're concerned
S3: about relationships and building the community, making sure that people
S3: don't go astray. And then you have teachers. What does
S3: a teacher do? A teacher understands truth and communicates truth.
S3: They break it down. They they they communicate it in
S3: such a way that people understand sometimes complex truth in
S3: a simple way, because it's taught. So people are built
S3: up five fold Ministry. Say it with me apostles, prophets, evangelists,
S3: pastors and teachers, five fold ministry. Here's what I want
S3: you to grasp. Look at verse 12. What is the
S3: The responsibility and the job of these five fold ministries.
S3: What is it to do the work of the ministry?
S3: No no no no no. What is it? Say it
S3: out loud. To prepare God's people for the work of service.
S3: So the the responsibility of a pastor is not to
S3: do the work of God. It's to prepare people to
S3: do the work of God. The responsibility of an apostle
S3: is not just to plant churches. It's to prepare people
S3: to plant churches. The responsibility of a prophet is not
S3: just to prophesy, but to prepare people to unleash them
S3: into the prophetic. The responsibility of a teacher is not
S3: just to teach, but to teach people how to begin
S3: to teach and understand the word, to release them into
S3: that listen. The spiritual leader's job is not to do
S3: the work of the ministry. It's primarily to empower the
S3: people of God to do the work of the ministry.
S3: What spiritual leaders do is spiritual leaders help you discover
S3: the gifts and abilities that are inside of you, so
S3: that you begin to realize God can use me, and
S3: I have the ability to pray and minister and reach
S3: out and do the stuff that the holy men do.
S3: Because why? Because I am holy to.
S1: Learning to discover the gifts and abilities you have to
S1: further the kingdom. This is bold steps. You're listening to
S1: the Bible teaching of Mark Jobe, and we'll continue our
S1: lesson this time tomorrow. So join us again right here.
S1: But if you ever want to revisit a previous message
S1: from Mark or share one of these Bible teachings with
S1: a friend, just go to our website, Bold Steps on
S1: our home page. You'll also see our new bold step
S1: gift and Mark. There's very often in our lives a
S1: problem we don't know exists, but when we're made aware
S1: of it, it's something we need to deal with. It's sin,
S1: isn't it? Let's talk with pastor Mike Fabares about that.
S3: That's right. And it's called envy. We don't often talk
S3: about it. People don't like to admit they have it.
S3: But Wayne, what I've realized is that especially with this generation,
S3: there's a constant comparison, especially through social media. Think about it.
S3: They've talked about the mental health effects of anxiety, depression.
S3: But oftentimes because we're constantly comparing ourselves, young girls are
S3: looking at images of beautiful, thin models and feeling like,
S3: that's me. And what can I do? I wish I
S3: was that we call them influencers. And so I think
S3: it's had a huge effect on people's lives.
S1: Well, let's talk with pastor Mike Fabares about it. He's
S1: written a book called envy a Big Problem you didn't
S1: know you had, pastor Mike, do, do you want to
S1: react to what Mark has said?
S4: Yes. I think social media has done something for us
S4: in our generation that's had a lot of, uh, unexpected
S4: negative effects on us. One is getting a window into
S4: people's best, right? They're always posting the best night out
S4: that they've had with their spouse, or the best summer vacation,
S4: or they're looking the best in their Easter photos. And
S4: we didn't used to have that unless we were sharing
S4: photos with our best friends. But now we're sitting there
S4: voyeuristically sometimes looking at other people's lives and wondering why
S4: everyone's life is better than our own. And that is
S4: a problem, and sometimes it motivates our lives. I think
S4: of Ecclesiastes, and this is a passage that most people
S4: don't ever even come across or think about. But it says,
S4: Here's Solomon saying, I saw so much toil and skill
S4: in people's work that came from a man's envy of
S4: his neighbor. And I think to myself, sometimes we never
S4: at peace with what we have. We never enjoy what
S4: we have because we're always looking at other people on
S4: social media thinking, well, I've got to keep working till
S4: I can achieve that. And there's so many problems with
S4: that analogy in terms of how we're viewing life. It's
S4: not it's not reality. But we have to get to
S4: the place where we say, you know, this envy is
S4: stealing my contentment. It's stealing my joy. It's making me
S4: want things I don't have. Instead of really enjoying the
S4: things that God has given me. It is a thief
S4: and it will steal our contentment.
S1: Well, Mark, we're happy that the Scripture is an antidote
S1: for this issue of envy. And Mike brings that out
S1: clearly in his book, envy, which is our bold step
S1: gift right now.
S3: It really is. And so if you're really struggling with
S3: contentment and find yourself just despising what you have or
S3: unhappy with who you are, your circumstances, the root problem
S3: may just be envy. We'd love to put this book
S3: into your hands. Written by pastor Mike Fabares.
S1: Yes, we'll be happy to send you a copy when
S1: you give a gift of any amount to support bold steps.
S1: Just give us a call at 800 D.L. Moody or
S1: give online at Bold Steps. Give. You can also send
S1: your gift and request for Pastor Mike's book envy by
S1: writing to us in the mail. Simply address your letter
S1: to Bold Steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten.
S1: By the way, we'd love to hear from you and
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S1: Just log in, search for Bold Steps Radio and be
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S1: Thanks for being with us today. Be sure to join
S1: us tomorrow when Mark will talk about the final two
S1: principles for unleashing God's power and provision into the world.
S1: Our message comes from our series called When You Believe.
S1: Everything Changes and you'll hear it Wednesday on Bold Steps
S1: with Mark John. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio,
S1: a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.