WEBVTT - Made Alive– Part 2 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:03.760 Today on Bold steps with Mark job, we're learning what 0:00:03.760 --> 0:00:07.200 it means to be made alive through God's transforming power. 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:10.200 You can resist it, but he'll keep coming back. You 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:13.000 can grieve him, but you cannot overcome him. And you 0:00:13.000 --> 0:00:15.760 will never be the same once you have the Holy 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:18.759 Spirit inside of you, because he's there to stay, there 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:22.440 to change you there, to transform you there. Sealed unto 0:00:22.440 --> 0:00:26.360 the day of redemption. It's a powerful thing to be 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:27.400 alive unto God. 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:43.720 Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark job. Mark is president 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:46.360 of Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New 0:00:46.360 --> 0:00:49.800 Life Community Church in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. As we 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:52.520 continue our brand new series on the book of Ephesians, 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:54.600 Mark is going to be diving into the topic of 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:58.320 what it means to be made alive through God's transforming power. 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:01.639 But right now, he's going to explain three characteristics of 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:05.160 those who are spiritually dead. Today's message comes from our 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:09.039 When You Believe Everything Changes series and it starts right now. 0:01:10.400 --> 0:01:13.880 Paul said, you used to be like that. You were dead. 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:17.759 And then he goes on to describe what it means 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:22.440 to be spiritually dead. He says in verse two, in 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:24.800 which you used to live when you followed the ways 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:27.880 of this world, and of the ruler of the kingdom 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:31.039 of the air, the spirit who is now at work 0:01:31.040 --> 0:01:34.959 in those who are disobedient. He gives us three characteristics 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:41.280 of spiritually dead people. Number one, when we're spiritually dead, 0:01:41.480 --> 0:01:46.560 we are spiritually unresponsive to God's Spirit, but we are 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:52.800 still influenced by other spiritual forces. He says, you used 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:56.440 to live that way when you followed the ways of 0:01:56.440 --> 0:02:02.450 the world. Your spirit was dead. Listen, You follow the 0:02:02.450 --> 0:02:05.410 ways of the world and of the ruler of the 0:02:05.410 --> 0:02:11.530 kingdom of the air. Well who's that? Well, he goes 0:02:11.530 --> 0:02:14.530 on to explain who it is. It's the spirit who 0:02:14.530 --> 0:02:17.410 is now at work in those who are disobedient. Who's 0:02:17.410 --> 0:02:22.410 it talking about? Talking about Satan. Talking about evil spirit. 0:02:23.930 --> 0:02:26.570 What he's saying is that in the spiritual world, there's 0:02:26.570 --> 0:02:31.170 good spirits and bad spirits. In the spiritual world, there's 0:02:31.210 --> 0:02:37.530 the Holy Spirit, and then there's ministering spirits. But then 0:02:37.530 --> 0:02:41.970 on the dark side, there are also fallen spirits. So 0:02:41.970 --> 0:02:45.970 there are fallen spirits as the Holy Spirit. There's ministering spirits. 0:02:45.970 --> 0:02:50.050 And then you have your own spirit. And he says, 0:02:50.490 --> 0:02:54.370 when your spirit is dead to God and your non-responsive 0:02:54.370 --> 0:02:59.370 to God, you can still be influenced by darker spiritual 0:02:59.370 --> 0:03:03.649 forces that are in this world. And when you're not 0:03:03.650 --> 0:03:07.169 alive to God, you start listening to other voices in 0:03:07.169 --> 0:03:13.609 the spiritual world. You start being influenced by other spiritual forces. 0:03:14.530 --> 0:03:18.290 And by the way, can I just clarify this? Some people, 0:03:18.290 --> 0:03:21.970 when we talk about, uh, the dark side of the 0:03:21.970 --> 0:03:29.090 spiritual world, they oftentimes believe that sort of Lucifer, Satan 0:03:29.090 --> 0:03:38.050 or the dark side is, you know, some red. Person 0:03:38.050 --> 0:03:41.690 with horns and a pitchfork and a long tail going, ah. 0:03:44.370 --> 0:03:50.010 You have a distorted picture. That's a medieval picture. If 0:03:50.010 --> 0:03:52.090 the enemy wanted to influence you in a in a 0:03:52.130 --> 0:03:55.890 wrong way, the enemy would camouflage himself as an angel 0:03:55.890 --> 0:04:03.100 of light. You don't have to worry about dark, evil images. 0:04:03.900 --> 0:04:05.780 What you have to worry about is your spirits not 0:04:05.780 --> 0:04:08.860 alive unto God. You have to worry about the impersonators 0:04:08.860 --> 0:04:14.180 of God. Oh, there's a lot of spiritual forces out there. 0:04:16.380 --> 0:04:18.580 And I'm just amazed at how many people are duped 0:04:18.580 --> 0:04:23.820 by throw Jesus a Bible and a picture of a 0:04:23.820 --> 0:04:26.380 saint in there, and you're like, well, it must be God. 0:04:29.339 --> 0:04:32.380 I've been having this back pain here. I'm going through. 0:04:32.420 --> 0:04:36.380 You know, there's a lady down in the corner. I 0:04:36.420 --> 0:04:40.660 hear she's like a healer and she cracks an eggs 0:04:40.660 --> 0:04:44.060 over you and kind of, you know, blows smoke over 0:04:44.060 --> 0:04:47.419 your face, and and and she's got a picture of 0:04:47.420 --> 0:04:49.260 Jesus over here, and she's got a picture of a 0:04:49.260 --> 0:04:51.980 saint over there, and she blows and says things over 0:04:52.020 --> 0:04:55.460 me and waves her arms over me. And it must 0:04:55.460 --> 0:04:57.980 be of God, right? I mean, she's got a Bible 0:04:57.980 --> 0:05:04.339 in the room and a picture of Jesus. this? Listen. Smoke. Pictures. 0:05:05.380 --> 0:05:10.219 Broken eggs on your belly. The curandera down the street. 0:05:10.220 --> 0:05:14.900 Let me tell you, it's not of God. Hello? That's 0:05:14.900 --> 0:05:18.700 not of God. It's not of God. I don't care 0:05:18.700 --> 0:05:21.060 how many candles she lights. I don't care how many 0:05:21.060 --> 0:05:23.980 pictures of the saints are there. I don't care how many. 0:05:24.020 --> 0:05:28.380 How it helped your cousin or your other cousin or whatever. Listen, 0:05:28.380 --> 0:05:31.860 just because someone claims to be of God, they're not 0:05:31.860 --> 0:05:34.020 of God. There's a lot of spiritual forces out there 0:05:34.020 --> 0:05:38.620 that impersonate the things of God. Anything that's true and 0:05:38.620 --> 0:05:46.100 genuine will always be imitated. Always. And so anytime you 0:05:46.100 --> 0:05:49.260 expose yourself to that kind of stuff, you're opening yourself 0:05:49.260 --> 0:05:54.620 up to weirdness in the spiritual world, and you need 0:05:54.620 --> 0:05:58.420 to stay clean of it. The second thing that he 0:05:58.420 --> 0:06:05.630 says is this. Not only are we dead to God, 0:06:05.630 --> 0:06:09.870 but open to other spiritual influences. But he tells us 0:06:09.910 --> 0:06:14.909 in verse three, all of us also lived among them 0:06:14.910 --> 0:06:19.070 at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature 0:06:19.070 --> 0:06:22.430 and following its desires and thoughts. The second thing is, 0:06:22.430 --> 0:06:26.790 when we're spiritually dead, we are driven by the cravings 0:06:26.790 --> 0:06:32.670 and the thoughts of our old nature. Listen, when God's Spirit, 0:06:33.350 --> 0:06:36.550 when your spirit is dead and God is not your influence, 0:06:36.550 --> 0:06:39.990 then what influences and drives your life will be the 0:06:39.990 --> 0:06:45.870 cravings of your fallen nature. You'll have cravings. You'll follow them. 0:06:45.870 --> 0:06:49.910 They'll influence your thoughts. They'll influence your action. You will 0:06:49.910 --> 0:06:52.630 start living what the Bible says according to the flesh. 0:06:52.630 --> 0:06:55.910 You just start doing what your flesh wants you to do. Why? 0:06:56.070 --> 0:06:59.230 Because the Spirit's not there to speak to you. So 0:06:59.230 --> 0:07:01.630 whatever the flesh tells you to do. You do it 0:07:01.990 --> 0:07:06.070 because you don't have the influence of the spirit telling 0:07:06.070 --> 0:07:08.710 you where to go, asking you where to go, so 0:07:08.710 --> 0:07:13.230 you become fleshly. The bottom line of the flesh is 0:07:13.230 --> 0:07:18.030 you satisfy whatever appetites you have whenever you want, however 0:07:18.030 --> 0:07:21.429 you want, as much as you can. Why? Because what's 0:07:21.430 --> 0:07:25.190 driving you now is the appetite of the flesh. So 0:07:25.190 --> 0:07:28.630 you lose restraint because you don't have the influence of 0:07:28.630 --> 0:07:31.750 the spirit, and you give in to the lower cravings 0:07:31.750 --> 0:07:35.270 of the flesh and start living in a fleshly way, 0:07:35.510 --> 0:07:38.390 because you do not have the influence of the power 0:07:38.390 --> 0:07:43.670 of the Spirit of God on your life. The same 0:07:43.670 --> 0:07:45.990 is true, by the way. If you're a believer, you 0:07:45.990 --> 0:07:48.590 may be here in a follower of Jesus Christ. But 0:07:48.590 --> 0:07:51.550 if you say no to God enough, and you push 0:07:51.550 --> 0:07:54.350 God enough to the side, then you will start living 0:07:54.350 --> 0:08:00.520 and acting like a carnal believer. Because you're not being 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:02.640 led by the spirit. You're being led by the flesh. 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:06.400 And Paul says, hey, when you were dead. Hey, you 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:09.280 did whatever your flesh wanted to do. So you thought 0:08:09.520 --> 0:08:13.600 it affected your thoughts and calls it the sinful nature. 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:17.600 You lived according to the sinful nature. You followed its 0:08:17.600 --> 0:08:20.280 desires and its thoughts. Whatever it drove you to do, 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:23.240 that's where you went, because you lived according to the flesh. 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:28.200 So the person that's spiritually dead, first of all, they're 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:32.760 unresponsive to God. They're open to influences of other spiritual 0:08:32.760 --> 0:08:37.120 things in their life. And they live fleshly. They give 0:08:37.120 --> 0:08:39.720 into the flesh. They eat of the flesh, they gain 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:44.160 the flesh. They satisfy their flesh. They have an appetite 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:46.400 in the flesh. They have less and less of an 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:48.440 appetite for the things of God, and more and more 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:53.240 in an appetite for the things of the flesh. And thirdly, listen. Thirdly, 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:59.720 he says, like the rest, we were by nature objects 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:04.800 of wrath to be at odds with God accumulates judgment 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:10.199 against ourselves. So because we live this way, we continue 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:14.280 to grow in sin after sin after sin. Rebelliousness after God. 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.079 We start living a life that's totally contrary to God. 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:19.559 And the Bible says we accumulate the wrath of God 0:09:19.559 --> 0:09:23.079 against us. The judgment of God begins to accumulate against 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:26.840 us because despite of your image that you may have 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:31.360 of God, you cannot violate the holiness of God and 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:34.600 expect just to get away from it, because God in 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:37.800 some way is sort of some soft teddy bear up 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:41.480 in heaven saying, oh, it's okay, don't worry, you're just human. 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:49.160 That's not God. God's a holy God. He's a loving God, 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:54.520 but a holy God. And his holiness demands justice. Are 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:58.199 you tracking with me? It's really important to understand that 0:09:58.200 --> 0:10:00.330 sometimes we have this image of God like he's some 0:10:00.690 --> 0:10:07.050 jolly Santa Claus. Ho ho ho! Are you on the 0:10:07.050 --> 0:10:12.770 naughty list? Oh, you naughty boy. Wait wait wait wait wait. 0:10:12.809 --> 0:10:16.530 Who painted that picture of God for you? That's not 0:10:16.530 --> 0:10:19.850 the God of the Bible. Oh, I know he's loving. 0:10:19.850 --> 0:10:23.330 Yes he is. I know he's merciful. Yes he is. 0:10:24.130 --> 0:10:25.930 I know he's full of grace. Yes he is. But 0:10:25.929 --> 0:10:28.730 do not forget, ever, that God is a holy God. 0:10:30.530 --> 0:10:33.410 That the angels fly around the throne of God Almighty, 0:10:33.410 --> 0:10:36.530 covering their face and covering their feet and yelling to 0:10:36.570 --> 0:10:39.770 one another, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. All 0:10:39.809 --> 0:10:43.370 the earth is full of his glory. His glory and 0:10:43.370 --> 0:10:48.250 his holiness is so powerful and so preeminent that if 0:10:48.290 --> 0:10:51.809 you were to see a revelation of God's glory, you 0:10:51.809 --> 0:10:55.410 would immediately die, because the holiness of God is so 0:10:55.410 --> 0:10:59.730 powerful and grand, and we are so fallen and sinful 0:10:59.730 --> 0:11:05.570 that God's holiness would consume us. The Bible refers to 0:11:05.610 --> 0:11:09.170 him in the Old Testament as a consuming fire. It's 0:11:09.170 --> 0:11:14.210 the holiness of God. Yet with all the holiness of God. 0:11:14.490 --> 0:11:18.089 That's why when people say to me, I just wish 0:11:18.090 --> 0:11:19.970 God were fair with me. I say, no, no, no, 0:11:19.970 --> 0:11:23.650 you don't want God to be fair. No, no, never 0:11:23.690 --> 0:11:30.050 ask that. God would be fair. You don't want God's justice. 0:11:31.010 --> 0:11:35.570 You want God's mercy. Because if God were fair, we'd 0:11:35.610 --> 0:11:41.370 be in trouble. So we pray for God's mercy. We 0:11:41.370 --> 0:11:46.170 pray for God's compassion. And I love this. So he's 0:11:46.170 --> 0:11:49.650 just described how we are when we're dead. We're walking 0:11:49.650 --> 0:11:53.450 around influenced by evil spirits given to the cravings of 0:11:53.450 --> 0:11:57.050 our own flesh under the judgment of God. Man, it 0:11:57.050 --> 0:12:00.740 paints a bleak, bleak picture. And Paul says, that's who. 0:12:00.780 --> 0:12:04.460 That's who all of us were before. But I love 0:12:04.460 --> 0:12:08.100 the transition. Oh, man, aren't you glad there's a but 0:12:08.100 --> 0:12:15.940 in there? But, but. But oh, I love this. But 0:12:17.660 --> 0:12:23.500 but signifies is a a change of direction, a contrast. 0:12:23.820 --> 0:12:30.579 Look what he says in verse four. But because of 0:12:30.580 --> 0:12:39.020 his great love. Thank you Lord. Because of his great 0:12:39.020 --> 0:12:43.780 love for us. God, who is rich in mercy. Ah, man, 0:12:43.780 --> 0:12:48.780 there's the love of God. God who is rich in mercy. 0:12:48.780 --> 0:12:54.140 There's the mercy of God. Verse five made us alive 0:12:55.620 --> 0:12:59.460 with Christ, even when we were dead in our transgressions. 0:12:59.460 --> 0:13:02.260 It is by grace that you have been saved. So 0:13:02.260 --> 0:13:05.660 it's the love of God, the grace, the mercy of God, 0:13:05.660 --> 0:13:09.580 and the grace of God I love it, the love 0:13:09.580 --> 0:13:14.939 of God, his incomparable love for us, the mercy of God. 0:13:14.940 --> 0:13:17.660 When we deserve wrath, he gives us mercy and the 0:13:17.660 --> 0:13:22.020 grace of God. This undeserved, unmerited favor of God that 0:13:22.020 --> 0:13:26.100 he grants us. It is while we were yet dead 0:13:26.100 --> 0:13:30.500 in our trespasses and sins, when we were objects of wrath, 0:13:30.700 --> 0:13:34.580 filling our own cravings, dead to God out there doing 0:13:34.580 --> 0:13:36.860 our own thing. God looked at us and he still 0:13:36.860 --> 0:13:37.620 loved us. 0:13:43.220 --> 0:13:46.420 You're listening to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe and 0:13:46.420 --> 0:13:49.059 engaging study from the book of Ephesians. And Mark, I, 0:13:49.100 --> 0:13:51.060 I love how you mentioned that we've been saved by 0:13:51.059 --> 0:13:53.980 grace through faith, and faith is what this program is 0:13:53.980 --> 0:13:55.059 all about, isn't it? 0:13:55.100 --> 0:13:59.140 It is. Everything good comes via faith. Without it, the 0:13:59.140 --> 0:14:02.030 Bible tells us we can't receive anything from God. 0:14:02.070 --> 0:14:04.429 I want to take a moment and thank our bold partners, 0:14:04.429 --> 0:14:06.709 those of you who give a gift each month to 0:14:06.750 --> 0:14:09.309 bold steps, and that means a gift of any size. 0:14:09.309 --> 0:14:11.429 Some of you can do more, some do less. But 0:14:11.429 --> 0:14:14.750 every gift really is so encouraging. I want our partners 0:14:14.750 --> 0:14:17.790 to know the results. Mark. So here's just one example. 0:14:18.070 --> 0:14:20.150 This listener writes to us and says, the message I 0:14:20.150 --> 0:14:23.390 heard today really blessed me. I'm struggling right now, and 0:14:23.390 --> 0:14:25.750 I know the Lord just spoke directly to me through 0:14:25.750 --> 0:14:28.910 brother Mark. Thank you very much. Our bold partners make 0:14:28.910 --> 0:14:29.670 that possible. 0:14:30.310 --> 0:14:32.870 And I love that. This is from Leon in Chicago. 0:14:32.870 --> 0:14:35.830 And I want to say, Leon, that's the way the 0:14:35.830 --> 0:14:40.230 Holy Spirit works. We proclaim the message. It goes out 0:14:40.230 --> 0:14:43.990 at different times in different stations and different states. But 0:14:43.990 --> 0:14:47.310 the Holy Spirit knows exactly what we need to hear 0:14:47.310 --> 0:14:49.070 and when we need to hear it. 0:14:49.070 --> 0:14:51.150 So thank you to our bold partners. You can sign 0:14:51.150 --> 0:14:54.470 up to be a partner at Bold Steps. Okay, back 0:14:54.470 --> 0:14:57.229 into today's message with bold Steps and Mark Jobe. 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:06.160 He looked at us and his love drove him to 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:09.760 reach out to us, and his mercy propelled him to 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:13.440 see us in a different way. And his grace drove 0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:18.200 him to reach out to us while we were yet sinners, 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:22.040 far from him, dead spiritually. And listen to what it says. Oh, 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:25.920 I love this. You were dead spiritually. Our spirits were dead. 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:32.240 Have you ever seen when someone is someone has died 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:37.080 and an air room? They take out the defibrillators and 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:42.080 they say, okay. Clear. Clear. Clear. Boom! All right, all right, 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:47.480 clear out. Now watch it. Boom! Okay. One more time. Boom! 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:51.680 And then the heart starts. Boom boom boom boom boom boom. 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:57.120 They've just been brought to life by the power of 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:03.480 an outside source. Spiritually. You were dead. You and I 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:10.720 were dead. Spirits were dead. Unresponsive to God and the 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:18.320 power of an outside source called the Holy Spirit. The 0:16:18.320 --> 0:16:23.480 power of an outside source was applied to our spirit. 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:27.200 And the moment that we heard the gospel, and the 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:30.880 moment that we believed by faith, and the moment that 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:34.200 we were willing to repent and believe and open up 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:38.040 our hearts and receive the message of the gospel. Then 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:42.280 suddenly that outside power came in, and that spirit that 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:45.120 was dead was boom, made alive. 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:47.320 BA boom ba boom ba boom. 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:55.840 And suddenly we were a living being. Oh, you say, pastor, 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:58.920 I just didn't feel anything different. Well, you can't feel 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:02.640 it because it's spiritual, not emotional, not physical. But let 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:04.760 me tell you what happens when your spirit comes alive. 0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:10.920 When your spirit comes alive. Now something has changed. Now 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:15.439 notice your spirit is different than the Holy Spirit. Your 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:20.280 spirit that you were born with was dead because of sin. 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:24.640 The Holy Spirit, who's the third person of the Triune God, 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:30.520 comes down and comes inside of you and resurrects your spirit. 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:34.280 And now the Holy Spirit starts speaking to your spirit. 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:41.000 That's why when someone comes to Christ, we don't give 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:47.080 them a thousand page booklet and say, here, read this. 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:53.640 These are 999 rules of what you can do and 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:59.639 can't do. Don't chew tobacco and spit on church grounds. No. 0:18:00.810 --> 0:18:03.970 don't say this word or that word. No. Don't do 0:18:03.970 --> 0:18:05.650 this or that. No no no no no no no 0:18:05.650 --> 0:18:08.170 no no. No one gives you a book. Why? Because 0:18:08.170 --> 0:18:11.609 you get something much better than a book. You get 0:18:11.609 --> 0:18:17.969 an inbuilt spiritual GPS system. It's called the Holy Spirit. 0:18:19.650 --> 0:18:22.810 Now that your spirit's alive, you walk out of the 0:18:22.810 --> 0:18:25.530 place and you start doing something, and suddenly a voice 0:18:25.530 --> 0:18:31.889 inside says. Why are you doing that? Well, I've always 0:18:31.890 --> 0:18:36.929 done it. But now suddenly you feel like, nah, I 0:18:36.930 --> 0:18:39.250 don't feel I can do it like I did it anymore, 0:18:39.250 --> 0:18:43.850 because something inside of me telling me that's wrong. You 0:18:43.850 --> 0:18:45.369 go to talk like you used to talk before, and 0:18:45.369 --> 0:18:48.210 suddenly some words start sort of fumbling in your mouth 0:18:48.210 --> 0:18:51.690 because there's something inside of you saying that. That that's 0:18:51.690 --> 0:18:55.490 not the way you speak anymore. You have some thoughts 0:18:55.490 --> 0:18:57.770 that you had before, and something inside of you starts 0:18:57.770 --> 0:19:00.979 telling you, hey, those thoughts need to be aligned. You 0:19:01.020 --> 0:19:03.300 do things that you've done for years and didn't think 0:19:03.340 --> 0:19:05.540 a moment about it, and now you do them and 0:19:05.540 --> 0:19:08.820 now you feel sad about it. Or guilty. Why? Because 0:19:08.820 --> 0:19:13.300 the Holy Spirit is starting to align your life with 0:19:13.300 --> 0:19:16.460 the life of God. The Holy Spirit inside of you 0:19:16.460 --> 0:19:19.859 is has awakened you to the voice of God, to 0:19:19.900 --> 0:19:24.020 the things of God. And now God is speaking to you. 0:19:25.420 --> 0:19:28.100 You open up the Bible that used to be this dusty, 0:19:28.100 --> 0:19:31.980 crusty book that only people read at funerals and and 0:19:31.980 --> 0:19:36.580 weddings and that you had, but you never read because 0:19:36.580 --> 0:19:39.460 you just didn't understand it. And when you come to 0:19:39.500 --> 0:19:41.940 God and the Holy Spirit is inside of you, suddenly 0:19:41.940 --> 0:19:45.620 the eyes, the veils in your eyes start coming off, 0:19:45.619 --> 0:19:50.460 and suddenly it's like things start making sense and coming alive, 0:19:50.619 --> 0:19:53.500 and you feel like God is speaking to me now. 0:19:53.780 --> 0:19:56.780 I mean, I actually read the Bible and felt like 0:19:56.780 --> 0:19:59.699 God had a word for me. I'm actually reading it 0:19:59.700 --> 0:20:03.139 and feeling like I'm understanding and growing and that God 0:20:03.140 --> 0:20:05.700 is speaking to my soul. Why? What is that? It's 0:20:05.700 --> 0:20:10.780 the Holy Spirit. You have come alive now. Oh, you're 0:20:10.780 --> 0:20:16.740 not perfect. Oh, no. No. No way. From perfect. The moment, 0:20:16.740 --> 0:20:18.740 the moment you come to Christ, you are made alive 0:20:18.740 --> 0:20:20.739 in your spirit. But here's the thing. You still have 0:20:20.740 --> 0:20:25.260 the same old brain. Your soul hasn't changed. Only your 0:20:25.260 --> 0:20:28.859 spirit's changed. But you still have the same old mind. 0:20:28.859 --> 0:20:35.500 Because God doesn't give us a brain transplant. So you 0:20:35.500 --> 0:20:38.460 can come to Christ, get saved. Your spirit's alive. Get convicted, 0:20:38.460 --> 0:20:40.380 go out in the foyer and lust at a girl 0:20:40.380 --> 0:20:43.420 who has a short skirt on. You're thinking, oh Lord, 0:20:43.420 --> 0:20:45.300 I thought I just got saved. Yeah, you just got saved. 0:20:45.300 --> 0:20:47.340 But you still have the same old mind. Your mind 0:20:47.340 --> 0:20:49.860 has to be changed by the renewing of your mind. 0:20:49.859 --> 0:20:53.580 It's a process. Your spirit is made alive immediately. Your 0:20:53.580 --> 0:20:57.900 mind has to be renewed with time and truth. Are 0:20:57.900 --> 0:20:59.580 you tracking with me? This is real important for you 0:20:59.580 --> 0:21:05.580 to understand. But when your spirit's made alive. Oh, here's 0:21:05.580 --> 0:21:11.820 what I know. When you genuinely have the spirit, I don't. 0:21:11.820 --> 0:21:13.740 I don't worry, because I know you're going to be 0:21:13.740 --> 0:21:18.020 convicted and empowered and dragged back and taken to the 0:21:18.020 --> 0:21:20.540 cross and that God is going to work in you, 0:21:20.540 --> 0:21:22.780 because once you have the spirit, you are sealed unto 0:21:22.780 --> 0:21:24.700 the day of redemption. You can fight it, but you 0:21:24.700 --> 0:21:27.659 can't win. You can resist it, but he'll keep coming back. 0:21:27.700 --> 0:21:30.660 You can grieve him, but you cannot overcome him. You 0:21:30.660 --> 0:21:33.140 can try to live like you don't have it, but 0:21:33.140 --> 0:21:36.060 you have it, and you will never be the same 0:21:36.060 --> 0:21:38.740 once you have the Holy Spirit inside of you. Because 0:21:38.740 --> 0:21:41.260 he's there to stay, there to change you there, to 0:21:41.260 --> 0:21:48.540 transform you there. Sealed unto the day of redemption. It's 0:21:48.540 --> 0:21:53.580 a powerful thing to be alive unto God. And listen 0:21:53.580 --> 0:21:57.900 to what he says. So you were dead, but you 0:21:57.900 --> 0:22:03.350 have been made alive with Christ. Verse six. And God 0:22:03.350 --> 0:22:06.989 raised us up with Christ. So not only were you 0:22:07.030 --> 0:22:11.350 made alive, but you were raised up. Jesus was made 0:22:11.350 --> 0:22:14.350 alive in the grave, but he raised up and walked again. 0:22:14.830 --> 0:22:17.670 We were we were made alive spiritually. But now we're 0:22:17.670 --> 0:22:21.190 raised up with Christ. We we begin to walk with Christ. 0:22:21.230 --> 0:22:24.590 Live with Christ. He begins to live inside of us. Listen. 0:22:26.030 --> 0:22:28.390 And by the way, you know, people say, well, Jesus 0:22:28.430 --> 0:22:34.070 is in me. And technically you're wrong, but literally you're right. 0:22:34.790 --> 0:22:37.550 Because really, who lives inside of you is the Holy 0:22:37.550 --> 0:22:42.830 Spirit that carries with him the essence and the presence 0:22:42.830 --> 0:22:45.510 of Jesus. Are you understanding? 0:22:53.230 --> 0:22:56.870 Being raised up and made alive by God? This is 0:22:56.869 --> 0:22:59.750 bold steps. And that's the takeaway from today's message from 0:22:59.750 --> 0:23:03.590 pastor Mark Jobe. Well, we love getting listener letters like 0:23:03.590 --> 0:23:05.510 the one we heard earlier. And if you'd like to 0:23:05.510 --> 0:23:08.190 connect with us and share your story or just say hello, 0:23:08.230 --> 0:23:10.350 we'd love to hear from you. You can write to 0:23:10.350 --> 0:23:14.869 us at Bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 0:23:14.869 --> 0:23:20.830 606 ten. Once again, our address is 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, 0:23:20.869 --> 0:23:24.710 Illinois 60,006 ten. Or connect with us online when you 0:23:24.710 --> 0:23:28.629 visit our website, you'll find us at Bold steps.org. You 0:23:28.630 --> 0:23:31.630 can also stay connected on your favorite social media platforms 0:23:31.630 --> 0:23:34.390 like Facebook and Instagram. Just a few of the ways 0:23:34.390 --> 0:23:36.389 you can stay in touch with the Bold Steps team, 0:23:36.390 --> 0:23:39.670 and we look forward to hearing from you soon. So 0:23:39.670 --> 0:23:41.709 thank you to our bold partners. You can become a 0:23:41.710 --> 0:23:47.110 partner with us when you go online to Bold Steps. Now, Mark, 0:23:47.109 --> 0:23:48.790 before we end today, I'd like you to share with 0:23:48.790 --> 0:23:51.110 our listeners a little about your brand new devotional booklet, 0:23:51.109 --> 0:23:53.750 more Than a Label discovering who you are in Christ. 0:23:54.070 --> 0:23:57.230 Wayne, so many people these days have told us that 0:23:57.869 --> 0:24:02.320 one of the tactics of the enemies is to have 0:24:02.320 --> 0:24:05.680 them live with accusations about who they are or who 0:24:05.720 --> 0:24:08.400 they are, not putting labels on them. So this little 0:24:08.400 --> 0:24:13.320 devotional is meant to help get someone jump started. 15 0:24:13.320 --> 0:24:17.800 days into taking those labels off and taking on the 0:24:17.800 --> 0:24:22.040 labels of God. In other words, getting God's identity over 0:24:22.040 --> 0:24:22.720 their life. 0:24:22.920 --> 0:24:24.639 Well, I hope you will request a copy of Mark's 0:24:24.640 --> 0:24:26.680 devotional more Than a label. When you give a gift 0:24:26.680 --> 0:24:29.159 of any amount to bold steps today. Just visit us 0:24:29.200 --> 0:24:33.600 at Bold Steps dot plus this month. Only when you 0:24:33.600 --> 0:24:35.520 do give to Bold steps, we'll be happy to send 0:24:35.520 --> 0:24:38.640 you our bold step gift. In addition to Mark's Devotional. 0:24:38.920 --> 0:24:42.200 It's a book titled Lies Boys Believe, and it tackles 0:24:42.200 --> 0:24:44.960 some of the most dangerous and common lies that our 0:24:44.960 --> 0:24:49.399 culture pushes on young boys. It's filled with engaging illustrations, 0:24:49.440 --> 0:24:53.359 fun puzzles, interactive challenges, and graphic elements that appeal to 0:24:53.400 --> 0:24:56.960 boys visual learning style. The book makes discovering truth and 0:24:56.960 --> 0:25:00.040 adventure rather than a chore for boys this thoughtfully crafted, 0:25:00.040 --> 0:25:03.080 bold step gift will keep them engaged while imparting life 0:25:03.119 --> 0:25:06.439 changing biblical wisdom. Today, we'd love to send you a 0:25:06.440 --> 0:25:08.800 copy when you give a gift to support this ministry. 0:25:08.960 --> 0:25:13.160 Just go to Bold Steps or call us at 800. 0:25:14.600 --> 0:25:20.800 That's (800) 356-6639 or mail your donation and request for the 0:25:20.800 --> 0:25:25.840 book to bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 0:25:25.880 --> 0:25:29.639 606 ten. Well, that's all the time we have today, 0:25:29.640 --> 0:25:31.720 but be sure to join us again tomorrow when Mark 0:25:31.720 --> 0:25:34.080 concludes this message on what it means to be made 0:25:34.080 --> 0:25:37.320 alive in Christ. Our message comes from our series called 0:25:37.320 --> 0:25:40.440 When You Believe. Everything changes and you will hear it 0:25:40.440 --> 0:25:46.040 right here Wednesday on Bold Steps with Mark John. Bold 0:25:46.040 --> 0:25:48.879 steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of 0:25:48.920 --> 0:25:50.359 Moody Bible Institute.