WEBVTT - The Power of the Blessing – Part 1 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:04.120 Today on bold steps, Mark and his son Josiah team 0:00:04.120 --> 0:00:06.600 up to share an important Father's Day message about the 0:00:06.600 --> 0:00:08.440 power of a father's blessing. 0:00:09.280 --> 0:00:13.720 Lavish affection makes someone feel like I belong to this. 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:18.160 When there's a lack of physical affection, then you start 0:00:18.160 --> 0:00:23.440 feeling there's something wrong with me. Something that is unacceptable 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:28.040 about who I am. Therefore, there's little affection towards me. 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:43.360 And welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is 0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:46.240 president of Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:49.800 Life Community Church in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Well, Mark, 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:52.080 coming up this weekend is Father's Day, of course, and 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:54.080 for many, we'll be honoring our dads. But there are 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:55.960 also a lot of listeners for whom the word father 0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:58.840 doesn't evoke happy feelings. So you're going to talk both 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:01.400 about what it means to live in the blessing or 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:03.800 the vacuum of not having a father present. 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:09.039 Yeah, Wayne, you know the scripture talks about Father God. Typically, 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:13.120 we expect that that would just invoke these warm feelings 0:01:13.120 --> 0:01:16.840 of a protective father. But for so many in our generation, 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:22.360 it does not. There's a vacuum there. And this message 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:27.360 is really about what it means to convey the father's blessing, 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:31.480 especially if you've never received it. And so there's a 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:36.800 whole generation of fathers that because of absentee fathers or 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:42.480 divorce or whatever the circumstances, that have never really felt 0:01:42.480 --> 0:01:45.840 the power of blessing. And if you've never really experienced 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:48.280 the power of blessing, sometimes when it's your turn to 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:52.800 give it, it's challenging. I believe that every father can 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:55.040 give the power of the blessing, but they have to 0:01:55.520 --> 0:01:58.680 sort of experience it from their Heavenly father so that 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:02.130 they can give it out. And so if you've been 0:02:02.130 --> 0:02:04.490 struggling with that, I think this would be a great 0:02:04.490 --> 0:02:07.410 message for you to listen to because you have the 0:02:07.410 --> 0:02:08.730 power to bless. 0:02:08.730 --> 0:02:10.450 And it means a lot to you to give this 0:02:10.450 --> 0:02:12.489 message with Josiah, your son. 0:02:12.650 --> 0:02:18.250 Absolutely. So when Josiah first started preaching with me, he had, uh, 0:02:18.250 --> 0:02:22.889 no kids. Uh, but now he's got three boys under three, 0:02:23.130 --> 0:02:25.890 so his hands are full. And it really is, uh, 0:02:25.889 --> 0:02:28.610 fun to be able to dual teach this message. 0:02:28.730 --> 0:02:31.170 So with that said, let's dive into our message titled 0:02:31.169 --> 0:02:34.930 The Power of the blessing with Mark and Josiah Jobe. 0:02:36.169 --> 0:02:40.090 There's a lot of confusion sometimes about blessing. Some people, 0:02:40.090 --> 0:02:42.210 if you ask, well, what's the blessing? They'll say, well, 0:02:42.210 --> 0:02:44.730 that's what we do before we eat a meal. We 0:02:44.730 --> 0:02:49.090 say the blessing. Some people say, well, that's what happens 0:02:49.090 --> 0:02:53.770 after you sneeze. Bless you. They think that's the blessing. 0:02:54.210 --> 0:02:57.170 So there's a lot of different ideas about what the 0:02:57.169 --> 0:03:00.130 blessing is. Sometimes it's hard to grasp. It's a little 0:03:00.169 --> 0:03:05.290 bit generic, ethereal. It's a little bit hard to pinpoint. 0:03:05.290 --> 0:03:09.970 I heard two clergy that were having discrepancy about the blessing. Uh, 0:03:09.970 --> 0:03:12.769 one was a Catholic priest and one was a rabbi. 0:03:13.210 --> 0:03:15.410 And in order to save money, they had moved in 0:03:15.410 --> 0:03:18.650 together and bought a car together. And so one of 0:03:18.650 --> 0:03:20.410 them said to the other, hey, we need to bless 0:03:20.410 --> 0:03:24.730 our car. Yeah, that's a good idea. So the rabbi 0:03:24.730 --> 0:03:27.090 looked out the window one day, and he saw the 0:03:27.090 --> 0:03:32.850 Catholic priest sprinkling water on the car and, uh, speaking 0:03:32.850 --> 0:03:35.010 blessing over the car when he came in. He said, 0:03:35.010 --> 0:03:37.250 what are you doing? He said, well, in my tradition, 0:03:37.250 --> 0:03:39.610 that's how we bless, you know, the sprinkling of the 0:03:39.610 --> 0:03:43.530 holy water. And then speaking blessing, he said, oh, okay. 0:03:44.130 --> 0:03:46.770 So the next day, the Catholic priest looked out the 0:03:46.770 --> 0:03:51.450 window and he saw the rabbi with a hacksaw, and 0:03:51.450 --> 0:03:55.090 he was sawing off the end of the tailpipe of 0:03:55.090 --> 0:03:58.410 his car. And he said, hey, what are you doing? 0:03:58.570 --> 0:04:01.500 He said, well, in my tradition, we circumcise. That's the blessing. 0:04:01.500 --> 0:04:07.100 So he just was, uh. So there's a lot of 0:04:07.100 --> 0:04:11.220 understandings about blessing, and I'm not sure what your understanding 0:04:11.260 --> 0:04:16.060 of blessing is, but there is something powerful and compelling 0:04:17.420 --> 0:04:25.020 when you receive the blessing of the father. Amen. You know. 0:04:25.060 --> 0:04:27.300 As we've we preached this message now twice as the 0:04:27.300 --> 0:04:30.659 third time we're preaching this message, this, this, um, this Sunday, 0:04:30.940 --> 0:04:35.820 what I've realized, and I'm so convinced of the power 0:04:35.820 --> 0:04:39.340 that is in blessing. I think one of the main 0:04:39.339 --> 0:04:42.980 problems that plagues people today is that so many people 0:04:42.980 --> 0:04:46.220 are functioning from a deficit of not having the blessing 0:04:46.220 --> 0:04:49.339 spoken into their life. And I think it creates this, 0:04:49.500 --> 0:04:52.900 this vacuum in their life that they need. We feel 0:04:52.900 --> 0:04:55.860 the need to try to, uh, have it filled and 0:04:55.860 --> 0:04:59.220 all of these different illegitimate ways. And so we chase it. 0:04:59.220 --> 0:05:01.539 I can't tell you how many people, even after the 0:05:01.580 --> 0:05:05.260 service I talked to that said, that's exactly my story. 0:05:05.260 --> 0:05:07.420 I didn't have that. I wasn't blessed in that way. 0:05:07.420 --> 0:05:10.660 I didn't have somebody in my life that spoke into 0:05:10.700 --> 0:05:13.060 my life. And I believe that as we understand this, 0:05:13.100 --> 0:05:16.700 it will transform our life. So the idea behind blessing 0:05:16.700 --> 0:05:19.300 and the idea behind the word, the idea behind the 0:05:19.300 --> 0:05:23.340 Hebrew word, specifically in the Old Testament in Genesis chapter 24, 0:05:23.620 --> 0:05:28.340 is the idea of bowing the knee. And in that culture, 0:05:28.380 --> 0:05:30.300 if you saw somebody that was a king or a 0:05:30.339 --> 0:05:33.820 royal dignitary, you would come before that person. You would 0:05:33.860 --> 0:05:37.980 bow your knee before that person, signifying and communicating to 0:05:38.020 --> 0:05:40.940 that person. This is someone that has a lot of 0:05:40.940 --> 0:05:45.780 value and worth. So when you choose to bless someone, 0:05:46.100 --> 0:05:49.580 you're acting in a way that shows that you value them. 0:05:50.140 --> 0:05:53.179 You're choosing to do things, act in a way you say, 0:05:53.180 --> 0:05:56.940 this person that's in my life is somebody that has value, 0:05:56.940 --> 0:05:58.979 and this doesn't have to just be your children, even 0:05:58.980 --> 0:06:01.350 though we'll speak a lot from that lens today. This 0:06:01.350 --> 0:06:04.190 could be a spouse, a coworker, a boss. You say, 0:06:04.190 --> 0:06:06.830 I'm living in a way that I want you to understand. 0:06:06.870 --> 0:06:10.390 I'm blessing you. I'm living out a way that's saying 0:06:10.390 --> 0:06:14.310 you have value. Now, on the other end of that, 0:06:14.310 --> 0:06:17.029 what is a curse? A curse. This word in the 0:06:17.070 --> 0:06:21.310 Hebrew literally means a trickle or a muddy stream caused 0:06:21.310 --> 0:06:25.590 by a dam or obstruction of to an upstream. This 0:06:25.589 --> 0:06:27.990 is the idea that when you curse somebody, it's when 0:06:27.990 --> 0:06:30.630 you cut off the things that are good to them 0:06:30.630 --> 0:06:34.190 so they can't experience it. And so in our store, 0:06:34.190 --> 0:06:36.150 in our life, each and every one of us has 0:06:36.150 --> 0:06:39.510 the listen to me has the power and the ability 0:06:39.510 --> 0:06:42.270 to choose. Do I want to be a blessing to 0:06:42.310 --> 0:06:45.589 those around me where they are getting the good life 0:06:45.589 --> 0:06:48.190 and the value that I see in them, blessing them 0:06:48.190 --> 0:06:50.270 with the way that I'm living? Or do we want 0:06:50.310 --> 0:06:52.910 to be people that curse people? You may say, oh, 0:06:52.910 --> 0:06:55.549 I wouldn't say verbally, I'd curse them, but we curse 0:06:55.550 --> 0:06:58.910 them by withholding that which is good that they need 0:06:58.910 --> 0:07:01.349 in their life and what God has called us to 0:07:01.350 --> 0:07:05.590 do is bless people and be people of blessing and light. 0:07:05.589 --> 0:07:07.830 And so we're going to talk really quickly about the 0:07:07.830 --> 0:07:10.910 four elements of how you say, how do I do it? 0:07:11.670 --> 0:07:15.070 I've never seen it. How you can bless people in 0:07:15.070 --> 0:07:15.790 your life. 0:07:17.910 --> 0:07:21.350 You know, the Bible tells us that when God created 0:07:21.550 --> 0:07:25.790 man and woman, it says God created male and female. 0:07:27.190 --> 0:07:31.990 He created them in his image. The very first act 0:07:31.990 --> 0:07:38.869 of God was to bless. Blessing, as Pastor Josiah said, 0:07:38.870 --> 0:07:44.910 is the conveying of favor of goodness transferred from one 0:07:44.910 --> 0:07:50.670 person to the next. In 1986, there was two authors 0:07:50.990 --> 0:07:55.429 that co-authored a book called The Blessing Giving the Gift 0:07:55.430 --> 0:07:59.830 of Unconditional Love and Acceptance, John Trent and Gary Smalley 0:07:59.830 --> 0:08:02.120 Only when they wrote this book. I was not yet 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:06.679 a father, but I read it early on and it 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:09.360 shaped some of my thinking. I'd never thought that much 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:12.840 about the blessing until I read this book, and I 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:16.960 was just about to become a father, just about to 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:20.600 experience the birth of my children. And this was a 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:23.720 powerful book that helped me want to make sure that, 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:29.360 as a father, I was conveying the biblical, scriptural blessing 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:33.520 to my children because it helped me realize how much 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:37.600 and how powerful the blessing is. There are four key 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:42.559 elements to the blessing, as you see in Scripture, and 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:46.600 we're going to be looking at Genesis 27 and Genesis 48, 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:50.960 where you see two fathers that are conveying the blessing. 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:53.959 The first element that I want you to be aware 0:08:53.960 --> 0:09:00.080 of is the element of meaningful touch and affection in 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:06.680 Genesis chapter 27, you have Abraham's son Isaac blessing his 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:11.040 sons Jacob and Esau. And if you read in Genesis 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:16.040 chapter 27, verse 26 and 27, the Bible says that he, 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:22.240 as he blesses them, uh, he's actually, uh, comes near 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:27.440 and kisses them and embraces them. In Genesis chapter 48, 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:32.640 you see Jacob Blessing, uh, two of his grandsons, and 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:36.360 it says Joseph brought his sons to him, and the 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:41.280 father kissed them and embraced them. Can I tell you something? 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:49.120 They have done studies. Long term studies about the effects 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:56.320 of affection towards our children. Appropriate affection. One study, one 0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:59.760 of the longest studies, was a 30 year study. They 0:09:59.970 --> 0:10:05.450 studied the effect of babies and toddlers that had received 0:10:06.690 --> 0:10:12.490 strong affection embrace, hugs, kisses, a lot of affection when 0:10:12.490 --> 0:10:16.210 they were young and as they grew up in as children, 0:10:16.410 --> 0:10:19.090 and the effects that they had on them as adults, 0:10:19.090 --> 0:10:21.730 they were wondering. And then they studied a second group 0:10:21.730 --> 0:10:25.370 that had received very little physical affection when they were young. 0:10:25.650 --> 0:10:29.730 And this is the results of these studies, those that 0:10:29.730 --> 0:10:35.849 had received a lot of affection, physical affection from their parents, 0:10:36.170 --> 0:10:44.170 had higher self-esteem, improved academic performance, better parent child communication, 0:10:44.370 --> 0:10:50.410 and fewer psychological and behavioral problems. Those that had received 0:10:50.450 --> 0:10:57.650 less affection or very little affection, uh, struggled with lower self-esteem, 0:10:58.210 --> 0:11:06.810 feelings of being alienated, hostility, aggressiveness, and antisocial behavior. What 0:11:06.809 --> 0:11:11.210 the study was realizing is that children, when they feel loved, 0:11:11.690 --> 0:11:18.929 embraced when there's high affection, demonstrated. Because what affection says 0:11:18.970 --> 0:11:23.490 is we're close. What affection says is you are loved. 0:11:23.850 --> 0:11:28.570 What affection says is you are mine. What affections demonstrates 0:11:28.610 --> 0:11:33.050 lavish affection makes someone feel like I belong to this. 0:11:33.690 --> 0:11:38.650 When there's a lack of physical affection, then you start 0:11:38.650 --> 0:11:42.729 feeling there's something wrong with me. We're not that close. 0:11:42.970 --> 0:11:47.010 Maybe we're alienated here. And there's a sense of. There's 0:11:47.010 --> 0:11:52.770 probably something that is unacceptable about who I am. Therefore, 0:11:53.050 --> 0:11:56.890 there's little affection towards me. A father came up to 0:11:56.890 --> 0:11:59.929 me after one of our services, our first service, and 0:11:59.929 --> 0:12:03.980 he said to me, and he's in his probably his 0:12:03.980 --> 0:12:09.700 50s now. He said, my father never, ever said, I 0:12:09.700 --> 0:12:15.140 love you until recently. He said, my father 70 years old. 0:12:15.820 --> 0:12:19.180 And when he said it to me, it shocked me. 0:12:20.740 --> 0:12:23.620 There are some men in this auditorium that you grew 0:12:23.620 --> 0:12:26.980 up in, a culture that makes it hard for you 0:12:26.980 --> 0:12:30.939 to share affection. Some of you grew up with fathers 0:12:30.940 --> 0:12:33.860 that were a part of a culture and part of 0:12:33.860 --> 0:12:39.500 a generation where austerity and just being tough and not 0:12:39.500 --> 0:12:44.260 showing emotion was highly valued. But there are some men 0:12:44.260 --> 0:12:48.219 in this auditorium that you grew up wondering, am I 0:12:48.220 --> 0:12:53.459 a man? Am I accepted, am I valuable? Does my 0:12:53.460 --> 0:12:56.980 dad really care? And maybe he did care, but he 0:12:56.980 --> 0:13:05.500 had difficulty expressing Affection. Verbally, physically. The hug, the embrace. 0:13:06.820 --> 0:13:09.300 I want to remind you that you have a powerful, 0:13:09.700 --> 0:13:13.459 powerful tool at your disposal. And that's the ability to 0:13:13.460 --> 0:13:16.219 show affection. By the way, this is not just true 0:13:16.220 --> 0:13:18.100 of your children. It's also true of your wife. If 0:13:18.100 --> 0:13:21.059 you're married, it's not good enough to say, I love you, honey. 0:13:21.100 --> 0:13:23.660 She needs your arm around her shoulder once in a while. 0:13:23.660 --> 0:13:26.540 She needs you to take her hand once in a while. 0:13:26.540 --> 0:13:28.580 She needs that kiss in the morning. Once in a while. 0:13:28.580 --> 0:13:31.820 She needs to know that there's affection that you're showing 0:13:31.900 --> 0:13:34.900 towards her. She's probably already told you that. And I'm 0:13:34.900 --> 0:13:36.980 just reiterating that to you. 0:13:44.059 --> 0:13:46.660 You're listening to the Bible teaching of Mark job and 0:13:46.660 --> 0:13:49.900 his son Josiah, and will continue this bold steps message 0:13:49.900 --> 0:13:53.020 titled The Power of the blessing, right after a quick break. 0:13:53.420 --> 0:13:55.540 If you haven't been to our website yet, we encourage 0:13:55.540 --> 0:13:58.859 you to visit and see all the faith building resources, opportunities, 0:13:58.860 --> 0:14:02.390 and sermon series we have available. Just go to Bold Steps. 0:14:03.429 --> 0:14:06.550 You can even have these daily lessons downloaded automatically to 0:14:06.590 --> 0:14:09.470 your phone or mobile device by subscribing to the Bold 0:14:09.470 --> 0:14:12.589 Steps podcast. 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And if you'd like to get even more 0:14:34.790 --> 0:14:36.790 connected with us, and perhaps tell us a little about 0:14:36.790 --> 0:14:39.470 your testimony and how Bold Steps has played a part 0:14:39.470 --> 0:14:42.190 in your spiritual growth, we'd love to hear from you. 0:14:42.430 --> 0:14:44.870 You can send us a message online at Bold Steps. 0:14:44.870 --> 0:14:51.070 Org or through email Bold steps at Moody's. Or maybe 0:14:51.070 --> 0:14:52.710 give us a call and leave your message on a 0:14:52.710 --> 0:15:02.720 recorded line by dialing 312329 2011. 92011. Now let's get 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:05.520 back into today's message. Here again is Mark Jobe. 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:13.480 I love, by the way, the story that draws my 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:18.760 attention is in Mark chapter ten verse 14 through 16. 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:22.680 Jesus was surrounded by a crowd of people that were 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:25.800 pushing in to hear him. They wanted to be healed. 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:29.360 They wanted to catch a look at him. And there's 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:33.479 also small children that were coming and wanting to touch Jesus. 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:38.240 The disciples, feeling like they were being good ushers, were 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:41.760 keeping the children away. And when Jesus saw this, it 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:45.280 says in Mark chapter ten verse 14, he was indignant. 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:47.840 In other words, he was surprised. Hey, don't do that. 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:52.240 He said to them, let the little children come to me, 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:55.840 and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:59.760 belongs to such as these. Listen, I love this. This 0:15:59.880 --> 0:16:04.000 is Jesus, the Messiah, the God who's always had. He 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:06.640 never had a beginning, never had an end. The God 0:16:06.640 --> 0:16:09.800 Almighty who was there when the heavens were created, the 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:15.480 earth was formed, born of a supernatural, Immaculate conception, the 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:19.080 sinless Son of God. It says, and he took the 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:24.120 children in his arms, put his hand on them, and 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:31.320 blessed them. Amen. I love that first element of the 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:36.800 blessing is the willingness to show meaningful affection. Let me 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:40.560 close with this. Some of you were really good when 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:44.360 your kids were babies. You hugged them, kiss their cheeks, 0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:48.720 embrace them, showed affection. But you became much more awkward 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:52.120 as they grew older. Let me tell you, your teenage, 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:56.360 maybe even your adult sons and daughters still need the 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:59.440 power of affection in their life. 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:11.600 You know, as I was studying this, this passage this 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:13.840 week and preparing for this and also reading this book, 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:16.359 the blessing that I had never read before, you know, 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:19.280 I was so ministered to it myself. I'm trying to 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:22.199 raise my boys well, and I'm really thinking about how 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:25.520 can I really bless them and, and, you know, enable them. 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:28.080 And I realized as I was reading through the book 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:29.960 and almost kind of going through the checklist in my 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:34.200 mind that I was given an amazing example up close, 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:36.800 because I feel like as I go through this passage 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:39.280 and study what the blessing is, I was able to 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:41.400 in my home and under my father and my mother's, 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:45.359 you know, leadership and their love, able to experience every 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:47.840 one of those in a healthy way, really. And I 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:50.399 want to honor, you know, my father, my father in 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:56.199 that way. Because what I've learned, here's what I've learned 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:58.919 in talking with so many people. What I've learned is 0:17:59.650 --> 0:18:02.250 oftentimes the people that we want to become, we don't 0:18:02.290 --> 0:18:05.290 we don't become because we default to what's behind us, 0:18:05.570 --> 0:18:08.530 and we grab back at whatever we've experienced, whatever we've 0:18:08.570 --> 0:18:11.450 grown up with and, and under, you know, under the 0:18:11.490 --> 0:18:13.689 new reality of the life that we have with God. 0:18:13.690 --> 0:18:16.730 We have to choose to to to pull to what, 0:18:16.770 --> 0:18:19.130 you know, grab back to what God has now for us, 0:18:19.130 --> 0:18:21.010 not just what we've been raised with that may be 0:18:21.010 --> 0:18:25.490 dysfunctional or may be good. Right? The second step, really, 0:18:25.490 --> 0:18:27.970 or element of how to bless, is a spoken message 0:18:27.970 --> 0:18:31.850 that attaches high value. Part of the blessing, part of 0:18:31.850 --> 0:18:34.210 the way we bless people around us is not just 0:18:34.210 --> 0:18:36.610 by hugging them or kissing them on the cheek or 0:18:36.609 --> 0:18:39.169 holding their hand, but part of the way we bless 0:18:39.170 --> 0:18:47.330 them is with the power of our words. Proverbs 1821 says, 0:18:47.330 --> 0:18:53.129 the tongue has the power of life and death. You know, 0:18:53.170 --> 0:18:55.610 I'm trying to teach my little son Saint right now, 0:18:55.650 --> 0:18:58.530 my two year old. I'm trying to teach him the 0:18:58.530 --> 0:19:01.460 value of words even from a young age. And one 0:19:01.460 --> 0:19:03.859 of the things he. I don't know how he learned 0:19:03.859 --> 0:19:05.619 it or why he says it, but every once in 0:19:05.660 --> 0:19:08.659 a while, even this morning, my son will go up 0:19:08.660 --> 0:19:11.220 to my. My other son who's in his jumper, and 0:19:11.220 --> 0:19:15.140 he'll go, go way Dallas. And so me and my 0:19:15.140 --> 0:19:18.100 wife are being very clear. We don't want him to 0:19:18.100 --> 0:19:20.859 say that to his little brother. And so I've told him, 0:19:20.859 --> 0:19:23.700 I said, hey, Saint. We don't say that to our brother. 0:19:23.700 --> 0:19:26.179 We like our little brother. We say nice things to 0:19:26.180 --> 0:19:29.500 our little brother. We say things like, thank you, Dallas. 0:19:29.500 --> 0:19:33.260 And so then he goes, okay, thank you Dallas. Words matter. 0:19:33.700 --> 0:19:37.060 We can say things that build people up, that add 0:19:37.060 --> 0:19:39.580 value to their life, that encourage them when they're down. 0:19:39.580 --> 0:19:42.379 And we can also use our tongue and our words 0:19:42.380 --> 0:19:45.859 to tear people down, break them down, and remove a 0:19:45.859 --> 0:19:48.420 lot of the value that God has already instilled in 0:19:48.420 --> 0:19:50.979 them as a child of God, or a creation of his. 0:20:00.700 --> 0:20:03.419 Well, that's the voice of Josiah Jobe, Mark's son. And 0:20:03.420 --> 0:20:06.139 you're listening to Bold Steps, the Bible teaching of Mark Jobe. 0:20:06.140 --> 0:20:08.820 And today his son as well. Today's message is called 0:20:08.820 --> 0:20:11.380 the power of the blessing. And you can hear part 0:20:11.380 --> 0:20:13.980 two of this special Father's Day message right here tomorrow. 0:20:13.980 --> 0:20:17.459 So please keep listening. In the meantime, we encourage you 0:20:17.460 --> 0:20:19.620 to visit our website and check out all the special 0:20:19.619 --> 0:20:24.060 resources and opportunities we have available by going to Bold steps.org. 0:20:24.500 --> 0:20:26.860 One resource we really encourage you to check out is 0:20:26.859 --> 0:20:29.820 this month's exclusive Bold Step gift. And to tell us 0:20:29.820 --> 0:20:31.660 more about it, Mark, we have the authors with us, 0:20:31.660 --> 0:20:33.020 Aaron and Jason Davis. 0:20:33.380 --> 0:20:37.420 Jason, you mentioned in your book Lies Boys believe that 0:20:37.420 --> 0:20:40.300 one of the most harmful lies that boys can fall 0:20:40.300 --> 0:20:43.740 for is that reading the Bible just isn't for me. 0:20:44.580 --> 0:20:49.100 And in an age of declining biblical literacy, how can 0:20:49.140 --> 0:20:52.580 parents help their sons develop a love for God's Word 0:20:52.580 --> 0:20:53.980 and really want to read it? 0:20:54.619 --> 0:20:57.420 I think that you're right on and it is a 0:20:57.460 --> 0:21:01.180 real issue. But an exciting thing is that searches for 0:21:01.700 --> 0:21:07.740 Bible related content have skyrocketed over the last several months. 0:21:07.740 --> 0:21:10.979 So I think there's a resurgence of interest in things 0:21:10.980 --> 0:21:15.500 of Scripture. But when we're dealing specifically with young men, 0:21:15.820 --> 0:21:19.100 I think that, yeah, it can be daunting, especially if 0:21:19.100 --> 0:21:22.340 they just randomly open up their Bible and it's a, 0:21:22.380 --> 0:21:28.139 you know, numbers and they're just reading these chains of content. Uh, 0:21:28.140 --> 0:21:32.300 and that's important content, but it's probably more appropriate for 0:21:32.300 --> 0:21:35.820 somebody that has a better grasp on the full scripture. 0:21:35.820 --> 0:21:39.780 So where I think families should start is with something 0:21:39.780 --> 0:21:44.659 simple like lies, boys believe something to spark an interest 0:21:44.660 --> 0:21:49.420 in Scripture and then challenging their their son. Hey, did 0:21:49.420 --> 0:21:52.620 you read the Bible today? Did you can tell me 0:21:52.619 --> 0:21:56.740 about an adventure that Jesus had? Or tell me about, uh, 0:21:56.740 --> 0:22:00.190 a challenge that Jesus faced. Tell me what the disciples 0:22:00.190 --> 0:22:04.869 were up to and make it relatable to story instead 0:22:04.869 --> 0:22:08.710 of just facts and figures. And boys will relate more 0:22:08.710 --> 0:22:12.510 to the story, especially when it involves adventure or challenges 0:22:12.510 --> 0:22:14.270 and overcoming those challenges. 0:22:14.630 --> 0:22:16.430 And if I could just talk to the mom or 0:22:16.430 --> 0:22:20.070 the grandma listening. It looks different for our husbands and 0:22:20.070 --> 0:22:22.869 our sons, and it does for us. Uh, for me, 0:22:22.869 --> 0:22:25.429 it's a quiet morning with my Bible open and a 0:22:25.430 --> 0:22:27.550 cup of coffee nearby. I gather with a group of 0:22:27.550 --> 0:22:30.270 women in a circle every week, and for a long 0:22:30.270 --> 0:22:32.989 time I had that expectation for Jason, my husband, and 0:22:32.990 --> 0:22:35.550 my sons. And it looks different for them. Jason and 0:22:35.550 --> 0:22:37.830 I teach boys and girls Sunday school, so he teaches 0:22:37.830 --> 0:22:40.310 the boys. I teach the girls. We're on the same hallway, 0:22:40.630 --> 0:22:43.910 and the girls literally are sitting quietly in a circle 0:22:43.910 --> 0:22:47.070 with their Bibles open, reading the verses out loud, and 0:22:47.070 --> 0:22:49.430 we can hear the boys all the way down the hall. 0:22:49.470 --> 0:22:52.310 I don't know what they're doing, but they're they're loud. 0:22:52.550 --> 0:22:53.430 Jason. 0:22:55.510 --> 0:22:57.869 Jason's taught me that it's important that those boys love 0:22:57.910 --> 0:23:00.590 church and that they walk out of Sunday school going, 0:23:00.630 --> 0:23:03.350 that was a great time. And they're getting the Bible, 0:23:03.510 --> 0:23:05.869 but it looks different than it does for us. And 0:23:05.869 --> 0:23:09.590 that's part of celebrating the differences between boys and girls. 0:23:09.630 --> 0:23:12.470 And so I just think as moms, we can sometimes 0:23:12.470 --> 0:23:15.750 have an expectation that our sons interactions with the word 0:23:15.750 --> 0:23:19.709 will be quiet and they will exegete with us and 0:23:19.710 --> 0:23:22.750 they will want to dialogue. And that just isn't always 0:23:22.750 --> 0:23:24.590 how it happens. And they should have the freedom to 0:23:24.630 --> 0:23:27.590 explore the word in the ways that are meaningful to them. 0:23:27.910 --> 0:23:30.590 Yeah, and I love that you're pointing out the differences 0:23:30.630 --> 0:23:34.709 with how boys and girls typically learn. There's always exceptions 0:23:34.710 --> 0:23:37.189 to that. But thank you so much. This is a 0:23:37.190 --> 0:23:41.150 great resource. I'm encouraged by the way. Uh, Jason, you 0:23:41.150 --> 0:23:46.350 mentioned that there's an uptick in biblical literacy. They say 22% 0:23:46.470 --> 0:23:50.470 sales of Bibles have gone up. And I'm also encouraged 0:23:50.470 --> 0:23:54.510 that we live in a season where there's an upsurge 0:23:54.510 --> 0:23:58.670 also in young men going to church. And I do 0:23:58.670 --> 0:24:00.440 think that some of it has to do with the 0:24:00.440 --> 0:24:03.320 lies that they've been raised with, and they're looking for truth. 0:24:03.720 --> 0:24:07.200 Absolutely. They'll find it in Scripture. They'll find that truth. 0:24:07.280 --> 0:24:12.000 So let's get them started. Young lies, Boys Believe by 0:24:12.040 --> 0:24:14.880 Aaron and Jason. Thank you for this tool. I think 0:24:14.880 --> 0:24:17.720 it's going to be a blessing to a lot of families. 0:24:17.760 --> 0:24:19.359 I'm sure it will be. And we want you to 0:24:19.400 --> 0:24:21.880 request your own copy today. When you give a gift 0:24:21.880 --> 0:24:24.879 of any amount to support this ministry, just call us 0:24:24.880 --> 0:24:33.160 at 800 Moody. Again, that's (800) 356-6639 or donate online and 0:24:33.160 --> 0:24:37.560 request the book when you go to Bold Steps. If 0:24:37.560 --> 0:24:39.840 it's easier, you can send your donation and request the 0:24:39.840 --> 0:24:42.440 book in the mail. Write to us at bold steps. 0:24:42.440 --> 0:24:48.440 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. And as 0:24:48.440 --> 0:24:51.280 you found Mark's teachings to be meaningful in your life, 0:24:51.280 --> 0:24:54.160 consider taking a step forward and becoming part of our 0:24:54.160 --> 0:24:57.119 bold partner family by signing up to give on a 0:24:57.119 --> 0:25:01.520 monthly basis. Your partnership helps us extend these Scripture filled 0:25:01.520 --> 0:25:05.640 messages to fellow listeners seeking biblical wisdom. 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That's Friday on Bold Steps with 0:25:43.800 --> 0:25:48.280 Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, 0:25:48.400 --> 0:25:50.560 a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.