WEBVTT - What Are You Dragging Behind? -Part 2 0:00:00.470 --> 0:00:04.370 Today on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe shares a convicting message 0:00:04.370 --> 0:00:05.809 about stepping up. 0:00:05.870 --> 0:00:09.290 There's a man that I'm talking to here. Your wife 0:00:09.289 --> 0:00:12.709 is carrying the leadership that you should have carried, and 0:00:12.710 --> 0:00:15.860 she's doing what you should have done. And you say, well, 0:00:15.860 --> 0:00:17.660 she's doing better than I could do. No. And she 0:00:17.660 --> 0:00:21.290 doesn't like it because ultimately she will resent having to 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:24.139 do what God called you to do that falls on 0:00:24.140 --> 0:00:25.550 her lap to do. 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:41.180 This is bold steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is the 0:00:41.180 --> 0:00:44.180 senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago, and 0:00:44.180 --> 0:00:48.260 he's president of Moody Bible Institute. I'm Wayne Shephard. Yesterday, 0:00:48.260 --> 0:00:51.320 Mark began challenging us with a powerful truth that when 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:54.320 we say yes to following God, he begins to address 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:57.950 those areas of delayed obedience in our lives. The things 0:00:57.950 --> 0:01:01.230 we've been putting off dealing with suddenly become priorities because 0:01:01.260 --> 0:01:04.290 God wants to use us for his purposes. If you 0:01:04.290 --> 0:01:06.929 miss part one of this convicting message titled what are 0:01:06.930 --> 0:01:10.830 You Dragging Behind? You can find it at Bold Steps. Org. 0:01:10.860 --> 0:01:14.760 Now here's Mark Jobe with today's bold steps. 0:01:16.050 --> 0:01:22.980 It becomes clear in this passage that Moses has a father. 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:28.680 Moses has a Jew. Moses has part of the called 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:34.709 out people that it was clear back in Genesis, through Abraham, 0:01:35.130 --> 0:01:38.310 that it was very clear that when a boy male 0:01:38.310 --> 0:01:44.550 was born that they needed to be circumcised. Moses knew it. 0:01:44.819 --> 0:01:48.510 It was clear to him. We don't know exactly why 0:01:48.540 --> 0:01:53.700 Moses didn't circumcise his sons, but a lot of scholars 0:01:53.700 --> 0:01:57.750 believe that maybe he had been. Listen, he had been 0:01:57.750 --> 0:02:04.310 influenced by the culture. That among the Midianites it wasn't 0:02:04.310 --> 0:02:10.580 the practice to circumcise babies. Some scholars believe that they 0:02:10.580 --> 0:02:13.220 were circumcised when they were older, when they were about 0:02:13.220 --> 0:02:16.579 to get married. That'd be a bad time to get circumcised, 0:02:16.580 --> 0:02:24.679 let me tell you. But nonetheless, culture, it wasn't culturally 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:28.490 acceptable to be circumcised among the Midianites. So we don't 0:02:28.490 --> 0:02:33.079 know exactly why Moses delayed. We don't know exactly why 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:35.720 he did not do what he knew he should do 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:39.380 with his son. We don't know exactly why he abdicated 0:02:39.380 --> 0:02:43.070 his responsibility of leadership, to lead his household well in 0:02:43.070 --> 0:02:46.970 the ways of God, and be clear and and definite 0:02:46.970 --> 0:02:50.600 in his obedience. But we do know this, that Moses, 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:55.970 as a Jew, fully understood that he should circumcise, and 0:02:55.970 --> 0:03:00.380 that he had deliberately not circumcised, maybe because of the 0:03:00.419 --> 0:03:04.560 pressure of culture, more than likely because it was unpopular 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:08.100 among the Midianites. But he had refused to circumcise his 0:03:08.100 --> 0:03:12.870 male child, and it wasn't a problem. It wasn't a 0:03:12.870 --> 0:03:16.290 problem when he was just leading sheep. It wasn't a 0:03:16.290 --> 0:03:19.200 problem when he was not engaged in a higher call. 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:23.190 But as soon as he was called to his higher call, 0:03:23.190 --> 0:03:28.530 then suddenly his delayed obedience became a big issue to God. 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:31.950 Can I tell you something? Men look up at me. 0:03:31.950 --> 0:03:38.010 This is really important. If you're not doing anything, you're 0:03:38.010 --> 0:03:44.040 just kind of wasting your life meandering around, living fleshly, 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:48.450 living without purpose, or calling or being used of God. 0:03:48.750 --> 0:03:53.580 Then your lifestyle, your disobedience. Well, it doesn't affect a 0:03:53.610 --> 0:03:58.740 lot of people, affects you, it doesn't affect it's important, 0:03:58.740 --> 0:04:01.460 but it doesn't affect a lot of people. But the 0:04:01.460 --> 0:04:04.880 moment that you say yes to God, the moment that 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:07.940 you respond to God and say, God, use me. The 0:04:07.940 --> 0:04:11.270 moment that you get serious about your walk with God, 0:04:11.270 --> 0:04:15.260 then let me tell you something. Then your delayed obedience, 0:04:15.260 --> 0:04:20.660 your unfinished business becomes a priority in the Spirit of 0:04:20.660 --> 0:04:23.090 God because he's saying, If I'm going to use you, 0:04:23.089 --> 0:04:26.029 then you have to deal with the issues that have 0:04:26.029 --> 0:04:29.210 been asking you to deal with for a long time. 0:04:32.870 --> 0:04:37.520 Let me illustrate it this way. A couple decades ago, 0:04:37.580 --> 0:04:42.140 I grew up in the country of Spain. My father 0:04:42.140 --> 0:04:45.289 and mother, my mother is still alive. Bless her heart. 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:49.010 Godly woman reads five chapters out of the Bible every day. 0:04:49.670 --> 0:04:53.930 I don't think I've ever heard her complain. Loves Jesus. 0:04:54.140 --> 0:04:59.419 This typical die hard missionary. She lives in northern Spain 0:04:59.420 --> 0:05:04.260 right now. But my father, who rode horses to the 0:05:04.260 --> 0:05:07.230 mountains of Chile, my father, who had grease in his 0:05:07.230 --> 0:05:11.460 hands because he fixed tractors and cars as he witnessed 0:05:11.490 --> 0:05:16.110 to our neighbors. He was a guy that liked motorcycles 0:05:16.110 --> 0:05:19.140 and cars, but he had a passion for Jesus and 0:05:19.140 --> 0:05:23.760 he would use whatever tool he had there. Uh, he 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:28.050 became sick. I was in the US. I was pastoring, 0:05:28.050 --> 0:05:30.330 my brother was in the US as well, and my 0:05:30.330 --> 0:05:32.250 mother called me up and said, hey, you know, your 0:05:32.250 --> 0:05:34.919 dad's in the hospital here in northern Spain. It looks 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:38.850 like it's pretty serious. Uh, could you boys fly to Spain? Because, 0:05:38.850 --> 0:05:42.510 I don't know. They're saying this could be very, very serious. 0:05:42.540 --> 0:05:46.650 And so I talked to my brother myself. He flew 0:05:46.650 --> 0:05:51.390 in from Tulsa. We got some emergency tickets, and I 0:05:51.390 --> 0:05:55.229 went to O'Hare airport, and we said, hey, we're flying 0:05:55.230 --> 0:05:57.330 out to Spain today. The lady behind the counter said, 0:05:57.330 --> 0:05:59.909 where are you going? I said, we're going to Madrid, Spain. 0:05:59.940 --> 0:06:02.900 My brother was there and I said, ma'am, yeah, we're 0:06:02.900 --> 0:06:04.609 going to Spain. She looked at me. She looked at 0:06:04.610 --> 0:06:07.610 my passport and said, no, sir, you're not going anywhere today. 0:06:08.540 --> 0:06:12.410 I said, why not? She said, sir. She turned around 0:06:12.410 --> 0:06:16.039 and showed me my passport. She said, your passport's expired. 0:06:18.589 --> 0:06:21.890 Can I tell you something? I'd been driving around Chicago 0:06:21.890 --> 0:06:25.669 with an expired passport. It didn't affect me. I'd been 0:06:25.670 --> 0:06:29.180 doing ministry, preaching with an expired pastor. It didn't affect me. 0:06:30.110 --> 0:06:34.969 I'd been paying my bills. I'd been ministering, preaching, raising 0:06:34.970 --> 0:06:38.210 my kids, driving my car. I'd been doing all those 0:06:38.210 --> 0:06:41.839 things as long as I stayed within the borders. It 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:45.350 didn't affect me. The moment that I was ready to 0:06:45.380 --> 0:06:50.450 cross the border to another season, then suddenly my expired 0:06:50.450 --> 0:06:54.470 passport kept me on this side of the border. Because 0:06:54.470 --> 0:06:57.049 as long as I was in this side, it was 0:06:57.050 --> 0:07:00.200 when I was crossing a border that suddenly my unfinished 0:07:00.210 --> 0:07:05.790 business became a problem. Now, it happened to be when 0:07:05.790 --> 0:07:09.120 the federal government was shut down. We seem to have 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:13.050 a lot of that happening, don't we? They couldn't balance 0:07:13.050 --> 0:07:15.660 the budget, so they had shut down the federal building. 0:07:15.660 --> 0:07:18.330 So I said, no problem. I'm going to go downtown, 0:07:18.330 --> 0:07:20.520 and I'm going to go downtown Chicago and turn to 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:24.360 the federal building and get my passport renewed. So I 0:07:24.390 --> 0:07:28.230 hurried downtown, took my passport, went into the federal building. 0:07:28.230 --> 0:07:30.420 The security guard stopped me at the door and he said, 0:07:30.420 --> 0:07:31.980 where are you going, sir? I said, I'm going to. 0:07:32.010 --> 0:07:36.570 I need an emergency passport renewed. He said, sir, the 0:07:36.570 --> 0:07:40.739 federal government shut down. I said, well, how do I 0:07:40.980 --> 0:07:47.010 renew my passport? He said, Washington. I started calling a 0:07:47.010 --> 0:07:49.800 bunch of people. Anyone, any number I could get Ahold of. 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.590 A Washington finally got Ahold of someone, and I said, 0:07:52.590 --> 0:07:55.110 my father's been a missionary a long time. He's on 0:07:55.110 --> 0:08:00.060 his deathbed. I need my passport renewed. And miraculously, he said, 0:08:00.060 --> 0:08:02.300 go down to the federal building. I'm going to let 0:08:02.300 --> 0:08:06.050 it happen. I showed up at the federal building. He said, 0:08:06.050 --> 0:08:09.320 you're here again. I said, yeah, I have orders to 0:08:09.350 --> 0:08:12.860 open this building up. He said to me, you must 0:08:12.860 --> 0:08:17.270 have contacts in high places. I said, you don't even 0:08:17.270 --> 0:08:17.990 know how high. 0:08:18.020 --> 0:08:24.500 Like way. Way, way up there. 0:08:25.610 --> 0:08:27.980 Listen, I'm so glad I made it to my dad's 0:08:27.980 --> 0:08:32.120 bedside because a week later, he was dead. But I 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:39.980 almost was hindered from an important, life changing, dynamic encounter 0:08:39.980 --> 0:08:46.160 with my father because I was living with unfinished business. 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:51.110 Moses was not affected as a shepherd. His son was 0:08:51.110 --> 0:08:53.360 probably about ten years old at the time. He'd been 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:56.900 living ten years with an uncircumcised son, and it wasn't 0:08:56.900 --> 0:08:59.450 an issue until he was going to cross a border 0:08:59.450 --> 0:09:03.660 and going to another season and going to a higher call, 0:09:03.660 --> 0:09:07.380 and then suddenly it became an issue in his life. 0:09:07.380 --> 0:09:09.090 And I'm going to tell you something. Some of you 0:09:09.090 --> 0:09:15.360 are stuck at a border because of unfinished business. Your 0:09:15.360 --> 0:09:22.140 passport is expired. Your obedience is expired. And God is saying, 0:09:22.140 --> 0:09:24.479 I'm not going to let you pass this border until 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:26.910 you deal with the issue that I've been talking to 0:09:26.940 --> 0:09:31.739 you about dealing with it for a long time. Number two, 0:09:31.770 --> 0:09:42.660 write this down. Your baggage will show up unexpectedly and 0:09:42.660 --> 0:09:46.140 fall into the lap of your family and those that 0:09:46.140 --> 0:09:50.430 are closest to you. Notice what the Bible tells us. 0:09:51.630 --> 0:09:57.090 God was about to kill Moses, but Zafira, his wife, 0:09:57.150 --> 0:10:03.020 took a flint knife and she cut off her son's foreskin. 0:10:03.290 --> 0:10:07.250 And she touched Moses feet with it. And she said 0:10:07.250 --> 0:10:12.079 to him, surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me. 0:10:12.530 --> 0:10:14.569 Can I just stop for a second and talk to 0:10:14.570 --> 0:10:17.840 you about that? I want you to know that when 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:20.990 you delay and I'm talking to someone here, I know 0:10:20.990 --> 0:10:22.790 God put this passage in my heart. I didn't want 0:10:22.790 --> 0:10:24.980 to preach this passage because I feel like I've preached 0:10:24.980 --> 0:10:27.469 it before, but I feel like God said, you need 0:10:27.470 --> 0:10:30.500 to preach that passage. There are some. There's a man 0:10:30.500 --> 0:10:34.429 that I'm talking to here that you have delayed in 0:10:34.429 --> 0:10:39.320 your responsibility as a husband and a father, and the 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:44.300 responsibility to lead your household. The responsibility to disciple your 0:10:44.300 --> 0:10:48.080 family has fallen into the lap of your wife. Your 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:51.500 wife is carrying the leadership that you should have carried. 0:10:51.500 --> 0:10:55.280 Your wife is taking the responsibility that was your God 0:10:55.309 --> 0:10:59.240 given responsibility to carry. It's fallen into the lap of 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:02.550 your wife and she's doing what you should have done. 0:11:02.550 --> 0:11:04.920 And you say, well, she's doing better than I could do. No. 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:08.280 And she doesn't like it because ultimately she will resent 0:11:08.309 --> 0:11:11.190 having to do what God called you to do that 0:11:11.190 --> 0:11:13.110 falls on her lap to do. 0:11:17.670 --> 0:11:20.220 You're listening to the Bible teaching of Mark job here 0:11:20.220 --> 0:11:23.100 on Bold Steps. We'll continue in a moment. Let me 0:11:23.100 --> 0:11:25.260 remind you that all of these daily lessons can be 0:11:25.260 --> 0:11:28.860 found on our website. Bold steps. Org or on your 0:11:28.860 --> 0:11:32.070 favorite podcast app by searching for bold steps with doctor 0:11:32.070 --> 0:11:34.830 Mark Jobe. Just remember to click subscribe while you're there 0:11:34.830 --> 0:11:37.110 and leave us a message and a five star review 0:11:37.140 --> 0:11:40.170 to help others find the program. And for even more 0:11:40.170 --> 0:11:43.050 content on the go, you'll want to download the Bold 0:11:43.050 --> 0:11:46.440 Steps app. Watch and listen to an entire sermon series 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:49.560 right from your phone, and discover even more teaching videos 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:52.830 centered on biblical truths right at your fingertips. Just go 0:11:52.830 --> 0:11:54.900 to the App Store on your phone or mobile device 0:11:54.900 --> 0:11:59.459 and download the Bold Steps app for free today. Finally, 0:11:59.460 --> 0:12:01.699 if you're not following us on our social handles, why 0:12:01.700 --> 0:12:04.970 not join us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube? Search for 0:12:04.970 --> 0:12:08.030 Bold Steps Radio and click the follow button. You'll love 0:12:08.030 --> 0:12:11.000 all the extra content like long and short form videos 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:13.579 addressing topics in your everyday life. It's a great way 0:12:13.580 --> 0:12:17.089 to connect with us outside the program. Now back to 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:20.660 Mark's lesson. Our message is titled what are you dragging behind? 0:12:20.690 --> 0:12:22.880 Once again, here's Mark Jobe. 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:32.359 Listen, this is what the Bible tells us. The Bible 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:37.429 tells us that we don't know if Moses was very 0:12:37.429 --> 0:12:41.990 ill or somehow paralyzed, but Zafira knew that God was 0:12:41.990 --> 0:12:44.780 dealing with him. In other words, she was conscious that 0:12:44.780 --> 0:12:48.950 that Moses was in a very critical state. And so 0:12:48.980 --> 0:12:52.280 think about it. She sees Moses in a critical state. 0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:58.820 She knows intuitively that it's about circumcision. The angel doesn't 0:12:58.850 --> 0:13:02.550 tell her, Which makes me think that they've dialogued about 0:13:02.550 --> 0:13:06.570 it at times. And he's dying. He's unable to do 0:13:06.570 --> 0:13:10.650 it himself now. He's probably very sick, and she takes 0:13:10.650 --> 0:13:13.770 a flint knife and she goes after her ten year 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:16.200 old son and said, come here, son. Your dad should 0:13:16.230 --> 0:13:18.150 have done this a long time ago when you were 0:13:18.150 --> 0:13:20.040 a baby. It should have happened. Now I have to 0:13:20.070 --> 0:13:28.110 do it. I'll spare you the gory details, but she 0:13:28.110 --> 0:13:36.810 has to circumcise her boy because Moses had failed at 0:13:36.809 --> 0:13:41.580 his responsibility. And now, when she has to do what 0:13:41.580 --> 0:13:43.980 should have been done ten years ago, when the baby 0:13:43.980 --> 0:13:46.859 was only a few days old, now she has to 0:13:46.860 --> 0:13:52.740 traumatize her son at an inconvenient time in a very 0:13:52.740 --> 0:13:58.800 difficult way. Doing with the flint knife. A rock should 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:03.480 make us all go shudder a little bit, doing what 0:14:03.510 --> 0:14:06.660 Moses should have done a long time ago. And so 0:14:06.660 --> 0:14:10.170 she grabs Gersham. Mommy, what's going on? Your dad should 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:12.060 have done this a long time ago. Mommy, why are 0:14:12.059 --> 0:14:16.949 you doing this to me? And. I've told people before 0:14:16.980 --> 0:14:22.200 that I can just see Gersham at a Celebrate Recovery meeting. 0:14:24.660 --> 0:14:28.860 I remember when I was ten, I tried to block 0:14:28.860 --> 0:14:32.160 it out of my mind. Even now, I shudder to 0:14:32.190 --> 0:14:39.240 think about it. My mom. You know why? Because a 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:43.530 man of faith. Listen. Listen to me. Because a man 0:14:43.530 --> 0:14:49.650 that had a dream, had a call, became disengaged with 0:14:49.650 --> 0:14:55.560 his call, became neutralized in his passion. Not only did 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:57.420 he give up the dream of setting the people of 0:14:57.420 --> 0:15:01.540 Israel free, but he gave up his zeal for God 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:05.710 and the very basic steps of obedience that he should 0:15:05.710 --> 0:15:10.390 be taking. He didn't take and fell into the laps 0:15:10.390 --> 0:15:13.870 of lap of his wife. Can I tell you that 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:20.890 when we disobey, when we release our call, when we 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:25.000 don't follow through on what God has called us to do, 0:15:25.510 --> 0:15:30.070 God is going to raise someone to do it, and 0:15:30.070 --> 0:15:32.500 it will probably fall in the laps of the people 0:15:32.500 --> 0:15:37.840 that are closest to you. I have seen a nation 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:45.970 often times of passive men. I've seen a nation, often 0:15:45.970 --> 0:15:55.480 times households wrecked by men that are saved, but have 0:15:55.480 --> 0:16:00.050 allowed the sense of calling upon their life to Evaporate 0:16:01.340 --> 0:16:13.010 that have lived in passivity, in delayed obedience, in procrastinated obedience, 0:16:14.150 --> 0:16:16.580 are dragging things in their life that they should have 0:16:16.580 --> 0:16:20.330 done a long time ago. And it starts to affect 0:16:20.330 --> 0:16:22.610 their kids, and it starts to affect their marriage, and 0:16:22.610 --> 0:16:25.310 it starts to affect their spiritual life. It starts to 0:16:25.310 --> 0:16:28.550 affect who they are not because they can't change it, 0:16:28.550 --> 0:16:31.730 but because they've they've been living in that land of 0:16:31.730 --> 0:16:36.410 neutrality and passivity. And a sense of God has passed 0:16:36.410 --> 0:16:40.970 me by. And if you think that God has passed 0:16:40.970 --> 0:16:46.730 you by, if you think that your life doesn't matter anymore, 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:51.230 then you start living your life as though you were 0:16:51.230 --> 0:16:56.630 a Christian. Yeah, but not a Christian. With passion, with purpose, 0:16:56.630 --> 0:17:00.300 with desire. Fulfilling a mission upon your life. You live 0:17:00.300 --> 0:17:06.420 your life in neutral passivity, and I believe that that's 0:17:07.500 --> 0:17:11.729 what Moses was struggling with. And can I say, I 0:17:11.730 --> 0:17:13.890 love the fact that God calls them and loves them, 0:17:13.890 --> 0:17:16.109 and God sees in him what he doesn't even see 0:17:16.109 --> 0:17:18.720 in himself. Come on. I'm talking to someone here today. 0:17:21.780 --> 0:17:28.860 You know, unfinished business can sabotage our destiny at times 0:17:28.859 --> 0:17:32.520 when we least expect it. I pastor in the city 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:34.920 of Chicago and I started pastoring when I was 21 0:17:34.920 --> 0:17:38.400 years old. I've had to go back and pretty much 0:17:38.430 --> 0:17:41.190 apologize to everybody I pastored when I was 21, because 0:17:41.190 --> 0:17:43.620 I really didn't know what I was doing too much 0:17:43.650 --> 0:17:48.810 at 21. But I remember the very first couple I married, 0:17:48.810 --> 0:17:51.510 I was so excited to marry them. By the way, 0:17:52.140 --> 0:17:56.040 I'd never done a marriage ceremony, and I had led 0:17:56.369 --> 0:17:59.400 him to Christ and I had led her to Christ. 0:17:59.420 --> 0:18:02.480 They were living together and had a five year old son. 0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:04.850 And so I do this all the time, by the way. 0:18:04.850 --> 0:18:08.360 It works pretty good. I said. So now that you're saved, 0:18:09.230 --> 0:18:13.310 you know you need to get married. And he said, well, yeah, 0:18:13.310 --> 0:18:15.889 we're thinking of. We've been thinking about it for a while. 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:18.320 You know, we're going to try to save up some money. And, 0:18:18.350 --> 0:18:20.300 you know, we're going to, you know, plan for a 0:18:20.300 --> 0:18:23.419 decent wedding. I said, okay, that's fine, but but I 0:18:23.420 --> 0:18:25.850 want you to remember that now that you're saved, you 0:18:25.850 --> 0:18:29.210 can't sleep with her anymore. Just, you know, your body 0:18:29.210 --> 0:18:31.760 is a temple to holy. He the guy said to me, 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:33.140 but we got a five year old. I said, yeah, 0:18:33.170 --> 0:18:36.770 it doesn't matter. You're still not married. So you you 0:18:36.800 --> 0:18:41.570 need to abstain sexually until you get married, he said, 0:18:41.570 --> 0:18:46.400 so how quickly can we get married then? I said, okay, 0:18:46.430 --> 0:18:49.970 now we're talking here. So I did some of the 0:18:49.970 --> 0:18:54.260 premarital counseling. I'm ready to get married three days before 0:18:54.260 --> 0:18:59.210 the wedding, three days before the wedding, the woman comes 0:18:59.210 --> 0:19:00.909 and says, she says, pastor, can I talk to you? 0:19:00.940 --> 0:19:03.640 I said, sure. She said, I have. I may have 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:06.790 a little issue. I said, what's your issue? She said, well, 0:19:06.790 --> 0:19:09.700 you know, a few years ago him and I were separated. 0:19:09.700 --> 0:19:11.199 We were going through a hard time. He kicked me 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:13.119 out of the house. I was on my own. I 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:16.840 needed money. Uh, there was a guy that wasn't from 0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:21.429 this country. He offered. He asked if he gave me 0:19:21.460 --> 0:19:25.330 $5,000 to marry him, if I would marry him, give 0:19:25.330 --> 0:19:27.790 him $5,000, and it would give him more of a 0:19:27.790 --> 0:19:31.030 legal status. And so she said, I married him. I 0:19:31.030 --> 0:19:33.280 haven't seen him. We never slept together. I don't know 0:19:33.280 --> 0:19:37.960 where he's at, she said. Is that a problem? I said, 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:41.350 it is because this country does not allow polygamy. So 0:19:41.350 --> 0:19:43.990 it is a problem. I can't marry you, I said 0:19:44.020 --> 0:19:47.020 to her and she and she said, well, what are 0:19:47.020 --> 0:19:49.450 we going to tell people? Well, I said, so. I said, 0:19:49.450 --> 0:19:53.050 send out an email and tell people we're having technical difficulties. 0:19:54.190 --> 0:20:00.139 And so we postponed the wedding for paperwork and technical 0:20:00.140 --> 0:20:03.500 difficulties until she could put an announcement in the paper 0:20:03.500 --> 0:20:05.570 and announce it. But but here's the point that I 0:20:05.570 --> 0:20:08.960 want you to make understand, is that she could not 0:20:08.960 --> 0:20:17.000 go into the next level because she had unfinished business. 0:20:17.540 --> 0:20:20.390 This next thing that she dreamed about, this area that 0:20:20.390 --> 0:20:24.170 she was excited about, it held her back because she 0:20:24.170 --> 0:20:29.570 had unfinished business. Number three, if you're taking notes, write 0:20:29.570 --> 0:20:35.960 this down. Your baggage, when released, helps you move into 0:20:35.960 --> 0:20:40.040 a calling that is higher than where you came from. 0:20:40.220 --> 0:20:45.469 I want you to notice that Zafira, his wife. The 0:20:45.470 --> 0:20:48.470 Bible tells us that she took a flint knife. She 0:20:48.470 --> 0:20:52.910 cut off her son's foreskin, and then she took it. 0:20:52.940 --> 0:20:59.180 And she threw the foreskin at Moses. And she said 0:20:59.190 --> 0:21:04.470 surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me. And 0:21:04.470 --> 0:21:08.340 as soon as she had done that, verse 27, the 0:21:08.340 --> 0:21:10.409 Bible says, the Lord said to Aaron, go into the 0:21:10.410 --> 0:21:13.590 wilderness and meet Moses. So he met Moses at the 0:21:13.590 --> 0:21:17.010 mountain of God and kissed him. Then suddenly Moses was 0:21:17.010 --> 0:21:22.050 alive again. Why? Because he obeyed suddenly when he when 0:21:22.080 --> 0:21:27.090 obedience was orchestrated in his family. Then suddenly the doors 0:21:27.090 --> 0:21:29.880 were open to step into the call that God had 0:21:29.880 --> 0:21:33.990 upon his life. Suddenly, the pause button on his call 0:21:33.990 --> 0:21:37.650 was released so that he could begin to pursue God again. 0:21:37.650 --> 0:21:41.520 And when he stepped into when he met with Aaron, 0:21:41.520 --> 0:21:44.820 and when he met with the leaders of Israel, the 0:21:44.820 --> 0:21:49.170 anointing of God was back on Moses again. And the 0:21:49.170 --> 0:21:51.990 Bible tells us that Moses and Aaron in verse 29 0:21:51.990 --> 0:21:54.960 brought together all the elders of the Israelites. And Aaron 0:21:54.960 --> 0:21:57.510 told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. And 0:21:57.510 --> 0:22:01.430 he also performed signs before the people and they believed 0:22:01.430 --> 0:22:04.460 just a couple days later. Earlier, he was about to 0:22:04.490 --> 0:22:08.899 be killed by God, and now he's performing supernatural signs 0:22:08.900 --> 0:22:12.619 by God. Why? Because that anointing, that sense of call, 0:22:12.619 --> 0:22:16.459 was restored to his life once he dealt with baggage 0:22:16.460 --> 0:22:19.640 in his life, unfinished business areas in his life that 0:22:19.640 --> 0:22:22.729 he needed to obey. Do you have something in your 0:22:22.730 --> 0:22:25.159 life that God has been convicting you about for a 0:22:25.160 --> 0:22:28.609 long time, but you have just been resisting? Do you 0:22:28.609 --> 0:22:30.500 have a step that you need to take? 0:22:35.930 --> 0:22:39.320 You know, at that conference I gave an altar call 0:22:39.320 --> 0:22:42.859 and a bunch of men came forward, Christians that were 0:22:42.859 --> 0:22:46.970 dealing with unfinished business, and there was quite a few 0:22:46.970 --> 0:22:50.540 men that actually their unfinished business was they had not 0:22:50.540 --> 0:22:53.780 given their life to Christ. And so I want to 0:22:53.810 --> 0:22:57.110 pause right now and just quickly pray for you, as 0:22:57.109 --> 0:23:01.199 maybe you're wrestling with obeying what God wants you to 0:23:01.200 --> 0:23:04.950 do as a result of this message. Father, I pause, 0:23:04.950 --> 0:23:08.070 and I pray for that man right now that has 0:23:08.070 --> 0:23:13.020 baggage that is not letting him step into the season 0:23:13.020 --> 0:23:16.140 you've called him into. I pray God that they would 0:23:16.140 --> 0:23:21.899 deal with delayed obedience, with disobedience, with baggage that you 0:23:21.900 --> 0:23:26.880 have already spoken to their heart about, whether it's sexual sin, 0:23:26.880 --> 0:23:31.170 whether it's areas of neglect. I pray in Jesus name 0:23:31.170 --> 0:23:33.900 that they would deal with it today. And I pray 0:23:33.900 --> 0:23:37.980 for that person, God who's unfinished business is giving themselves 0:23:37.980 --> 0:23:41.580 to you. I pray in Jesus name that today will 0:23:41.700 --> 0:23:45.630 be the day of surrendering to the lordship and and 0:23:45.630 --> 0:23:48.990 and salvation of Jesus the Christ. I pray this in 0:23:48.990 --> 0:23:50.940 Jesus name. Amen. 0:23:50.970 --> 0:23:54.149 Amen. Thank you Mark. Now let me invite you to 0:23:54.180 --> 0:23:57.090 learn more about taking your next step with Jesus. Just 0:23:57.090 --> 0:24:00.680 visit us online at Bold Steps. and then hit the 0:24:00.680 --> 0:24:04.340 connect tab and click on my next step in faith. 0:24:04.369 --> 0:24:06.920 Mark has prepared a personal message there for you, going 0:24:06.920 --> 0:24:09.290 deeper into what it means to truly know Jesus and 0:24:09.290 --> 0:24:12.470 what makes this relationship so life changing. We'd love to 0:24:12.470 --> 0:24:14.060 be a part of your journey and help you move 0:24:14.090 --> 0:24:16.970 past whatever's been dragging you back. So follow up with 0:24:16.970 --> 0:24:21.470 us there. Again, it starts at bold steps.org, and then 0:24:21.470 --> 0:24:23.449 with just a few moments remaining, let me invite you 0:24:23.450 --> 0:24:26.000 to request a copy of this month's Bold Step gift, 0:24:26.030 --> 0:24:30.169 a powerful book titled A Non-anxious presence. In it, author 0:24:30.170 --> 0:24:33.919 Mark Sayers offers a fresh framework for understanding and engaging 0:24:33.920 --> 0:24:38.300 with a rapidly shifting culture. Instead of anxiety about change, 0:24:38.300 --> 0:24:41.930 you'll discover how to maintain steady faith and bold vision 0:24:41.930 --> 0:24:46.070 even in turbulent times. This resource couldn't be more timely. 0:24:46.100 --> 0:24:49.250 God is moving in powerful ways, even through circumstances that 0:24:49.250 --> 0:24:53.180 may seem chaotic. So learn how to recognize divine opportunities 0:24:53.180 --> 0:24:56.240 in the midst of disruption and lead others with wisdom 0:24:56.240 --> 0:25:00.359 and hope by requesting your copy of a non-anxious presence. 0:25:00.390 --> 0:25:02.850 We'll send it to you with your gift of any size. 0:25:02.850 --> 0:25:06.090 To support bold steps, you can easily donate through a 0:25:06.090 --> 0:25:09.659 number of ways by going online to Bold Steps. Org 0:25:09.660 --> 0:25:17.189 or calling us at 800. D.L. Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. You 0:25:17.190 --> 0:25:19.440 can even send a check in the mail. Just address 0:25:19.440 --> 0:25:23.730 your envelope to bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, 0:25:23.760 --> 0:25:27.930 Illinois 606 ten. I'm Wayne Shepherd, inviting you to join 0:25:27.930 --> 0:25:31.050 us tomorrow when Mark begins his next message titled, What's 0:25:31.050 --> 0:25:34.290 Holding You Back? We'll continue with some of today's important 0:25:34.290 --> 0:25:37.709 themes about breaking free from old bondages and how to 0:25:37.740 --> 0:25:41.040 take bold steps into our next season, so be sure 0:25:41.040 --> 0:25:45.780 to listen Wednesday to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold 0:25:45.780 --> 0:25:48.840 steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of 0:25:48.840 --> 0:25:50.490 Moody Bible Institute.