S1: Today on Bold steps with Mark job, we're discovering whether
S1: God is the ruler of our lives.
S2: You can't go about living your life and just say, well,
S2: God is there to help me when I'm in trouble to.
S2: To be a backup plan for me. No, God says,
S2: if I am Lord of your life, I tell you
S2: how to live, how to walk, how to talk, how
S2: to marry, where to go, what music to listen to,
S2: how you spend your weekends and how you work at work.
S2: And if I am not God in your life, then
S2: don't call me your God.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, senior pastor of
S1: New Life Community Church and president of Moody Bible Institute
S1: in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. As we move forward in
S1: our series Rock Solid Living, we're looking at the Ten
S1: Commandments and how these ancient words bring about new life. Today,
S1: Mark is looking at the first commandment in our materialistic
S1: culture The need to be in control is so prevalent,
S1: but we need to be asking ourselves, what are we
S1: putting before God? And if you have a question for
S1: Mark about the commandments or this new series, just go
S1: to our website and ask. You'll find us online at
S1: Bold Steps right now with a message titled Give God
S1: His Proper Place. Here's Mark Jobe with these timely, bold steps.
S2: Jesus was once asked in the New Testament of all
S2: the commandments, which is the most important? The most important one,
S2: answered Jesus, is this hear, O Israel, the Lord your God.
S2: The Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with
S2: all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,
S2: and with all your strength. The second is love your
S2: neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.
S2: You see, love God with all your heart, all your soul,
S2: all your mind, and all your strength is the fulfillment
S2: of the first commandment that God is to be before
S2: everything else in life. Everything. You say, well, how does
S2: that happen? Well, in the New Testament it is confirmed
S2: because the only way to be right with God in
S2: the New Testament is very clearly understood that the law,
S2: the Old Testament law, the law taught us how much
S2: we needed God. The law taught us how much we failed.
S2: You read the Old Testament and you read all those rules,
S2: and some of you are asking, pastor, how many of
S2: those rules shall I keep? The law is like a tutor.
S2: The tutor teaches you something about God. What the law
S2: was teaching us is that we cannot save ourselves, that
S2: we are broken, that we will fail, that we can
S2: never live up to God's standards, that we can never
S2: achieve the standard that God has called us to. That's
S2: what the law teaches us. Why does it teach us that?
S2: Because unless you understand, unless you and I understand how
S2: broken we are. Uh, theologians call it the depravity of man.
S2: Unless we understand how depraved we are, we will never
S2: understand how much we need a savior to save us.
S2: And we will never be driven to Jesus unless we
S2: understand how much we have fallen from the grace of God.
S2: The law teaches us that we can never measure up.
S2: We can never meet his standards. The law teaches us
S2: that we need a Savior. The law teaches us that
S2: we need Jesus. The more you read in the Old Testament,
S2: the more you begin to realize, I need Jesus, I
S2: need Jesus, I need Jesus. When you come to Jesus,
S2: what Jesus teaches you is that when you come to
S2: him and accept him, you cannot get to God unless
S2: you go through Jesus. When you go through Jesus, you
S2: lay down your life and you say, I am no
S2: longer Lord of my life. You are Lord of my life.
S2: Come in, be my Savior and Lord, and the Holy
S2: Spirit comes inside of you and begins to give you
S2: the power to live the commandments of God. Now do
S2: people give you a list of commandments to follow? No.
S2: The Holy Spirit begins to tell you where you're missing
S2: the mark. It's called conviction. He begins to talk to
S2: you about the holiness of God. He begins to push
S2: you to God. The law teaches us how broken we
S2: are and it drives us to Jesus. If you are
S2: not driven to Jesus by reading the Old Testament, then
S2: you're reading it wrong. Many people have become moralists. They
S2: read the Bible and they think the Bible is about
S2: improving themselves. You can never a moralist as they read
S2: the Bible, will end up in two places. Number one,
S2: if you read the Bible just as a moralist trying
S2: to improve yourselves, if you really get good and you're
S2: better than most people around you, you will become judgmental
S2: and full of pride because you think that you're a
S2: lot better than everybody around you, and you will stroke
S2: yourself and high five yourself about how good you are
S2: compared to so many people around you. That's a moralist.
S2: That's what the Pharisees did. If you read the Bible
S2: and try to follow the laws as a moralist and
S2: you realize you can't measure up to those laws, then
S2: many people, what they do is they give up altogether.
S2: They go out and start living a wild life, and
S2: they'll say, I tried to live the Bible, I can't.
S2: I'm falling and failing all of the time. So you
S2: either a walk away from God or b become a
S2: Pharisee full of pride. If you read the Bible simply
S2: as laws to improve yourself, God never designed that. In fact,
S2: Jesus came down strongly on that. What Jesus called us
S2: to do is to realize that we cannot change. We
S2: cannot save. We cannot alter ourself. That's why we need
S2: a power greater than us. It's called the power of
S2: the Holy Spirit. And that power only comes through Jesus Christ.
S2: When we repent, believe, and are baptized. That power allows
S2: us the strength to turn around and to begin to
S2: live for Jesus Christ. Notice what Ephesians chapter five verse
S2: five says. For this you can be sure no immoral,
S2: impure or greedy person. Such a man is an idolater,
S2: has inheritance in the kingdom of God and Christ. Let
S2: me read that again. The Apostle Paul is telling us
S2: no immoral. What's an immoral person? A person that is
S2: sexually immoral? This is pretty strong language here. This is
S2: these are these are married, either married individuals having sex
S2: outside of their marriage. That's called adultery or singles having sex.
S2: That's called fornication. He says no immoral, impure or greedy
S2: person has inheritance in the kingdom of God, in Christ
S2: and God. You say, pastor, what are you saying? Are
S2: you saying that if I sleep with my girlfriend, I'm
S2: going to hell? Is that. Is that what you're telling me?
S2: What I'm telling you is this. It doesn't mean that
S2: if we sin, we go to hell. But what it
S2: does say is this. That if whatever is in your
S2: life becomes more important to you than God, and it
S2: drives you more than God and influences you more than God,
S2: if money. Look what it says. If money, if you're
S2: a greedy person, it says such a man is an idolater.
S2: How can a greedy person be an idolater? Because he's
S2: made money more important than God. Listen, if your boyfriend
S2: and sexuality and impurity and greed. If those things become
S2: more important to you than God, and you worship at
S2: the altar more than you do at the altar of God,
S2: and they drive your life more than God drives your life,
S2: and you are driven by them more than driven by God,
S2: then you have become an idolater. You have put something
S2: in your life bigger than God, more important to God.
S2: And this is what it says no idolater will inherit
S2: the kingdom of heaven. That's pretty strong. It doesn't mean
S2: that if a person falls into sin one time that
S2: they're destined to hell. The blood of Jesus is powerful.
S2: He cleanses. But it does mean that if that thing
S2: in your life drives you, controls you, obsesses you, becomes
S2: more important than God, and you're driven more by the
S2: flesh than you are by the spirit, then you better
S2: watch out because you may have mega problems on your hand.
S2: You have become an idolater. You have put something higher
S2: than the law of God. You have put something bigger
S2: than God in your life, and the consequences are powerful.
S2: That's why we need Jesus so much. Is forgiveness is
S2: control is washing in our lives.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe. We'll
S1: get back to today's message. Give God his proper place.
S1: We'll do that in just a moment. But hey, I'm
S1: having fun every Monday morning, opening the email box and
S1: finding the Bold Stepper weekly there. But it's not just
S1: for me, Mark, you do this for all of our listeners.
S3: Yeah, it's a blast to be able to open it
S3: up on Monday and just get a word of encouragement.
S3: And so we do this specifically to get you started
S3: on the right foot. There's a devotional thought, sometimes personal stories.
S3: I talk this Monday about my middle son who just
S3: turned 22 years old. And so I like to share
S3: some of my family stories with you as well.
S1: It's great fun to get connected with Mark and bold
S1: Steps through the Bold Stepper weekly. You can sign up
S1: get to Steppin in Your Walk with Christ at Bold steps.org.
S1: It comes to your email box automatically. There's no cost,
S1: no obligation, it just comes automatically. It's one of those
S1: great things from bold steps. Sign up at Bold Steps org. Hey,
S1: one more thing. On a serious note, we so appreciate
S1: listeners who respond. Here's a listener. A woman in Florida
S1: wrote to us and said, pastor Mark, when my husband
S1: was in jail, he would listen to your sermons and
S1: they helped him very much. He wants everybody that needs
S1: God or help to listen to your broadcasts. Thanks very
S1: much for letting God use you. My husband's name is Edward.
S1: God bless you in your ministry. Boy, that's that's terrific
S1: to hear.
S3: It really is encouraging. And yanita from Florida. Thank you
S3: for reaching out on behalf of your husband, Edward and Edward.
S3: Let me just say God has given you a new
S3: lease on life. Now that you are out, I know
S3: the challenges are great. I know the temptations are strong,
S3: but I believe that he's called you to be a
S3: cycle breaker legacy maker. So I want to challenge you
S3: to continue to grow, to be that man of God
S3: leading your family. And may you look back at your
S3: past chapter in prison as a time where God used,
S3: like Joseph, to prepare you for your calling. So God
S3: bless you. Thanks for that word of encouragement.
S1: We love our listeners. Tell us your story. Go to
S1: our website, Bold Steps Radio.com. Now let's get back into
S1: the second half of today's message.
S2: So thou shall not put anything in front of God.
S2: And thirdly. Not only are there no substitutes for him,
S2: nothing in front of him, and nothing in addition to him,
S2: you shall have no other gods before me. Second Kings
S2: chapter 17, verse 33 says, they worshiped the Lord, but
S2: they also served their own gods. That's a pretty sad statement.
S2: He was talking about the general condition of the people
S2: of Israel at that time. And he said, they worship God,
S2: they worship the Lord, but they also served their own gods.
S2: How many of you know that? That can be very
S2: characteristic of even Christianity? Do you realize that you can
S2: come here on Sunday and worship God, but yet serve
S2: other gods? Do you realize that you can come here
S2: on Sunday and lift your hands to God and say,
S2: you are the greatest, you are the best. There is
S2: no one like you, but Monday through Saturday that you
S2: can go home and serve other gods that aren't the
S2: God of the Bible, that aren't the only true God
S2: of the universe. You can worship the Lord and serve
S2: other gods. You can worship the Lord, and yet let
S2: your life be driven by other gods that in the end,
S2: are more important than the God that you claim to worship.
S2: And that's called idolatry in Christianity. See, the question isn't
S2: have you said that he is Lord? The question is,
S2: is he Lord? The question isn't do you claim that
S2: he's God? The question is, are you letting him be God?
S2: The question isn't do you call yourself a Christian? The
S2: question is, are you allowing him to be Lord of
S2: your life? And he is number one, preeminent above everything
S2: else in your life. He keeps that place of supreme
S2: power and lordship in your life. Because if he's not,
S2: then let me tell you. Then we are breaking the
S2: first commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Listen,
S2: the Bible is really strong about this. Never for a
S2: moment begin to take your Christianity for granted. Never for
S2: a moment begin to think. Well, I, you know I
S2: gave my life to Christ, so it doesn't really matter
S2: how I live. The Bible says that the world is
S2: full over and over in Scripture. It talks about those
S2: who fall away and don't persevere to the end. The
S2: Bible talks about the end times being a time where
S2: people will be shaken from their faith, that people will
S2: fall away, that will they'll be driven by the appetite
S2: of their flesh and go to the world. The Bible talks.
S2: It warns us, stand firm. Stand strong, because many will
S2: fall away. In those days, there will be a struggle
S2: for the soul of every person that is here. There
S2: will be temptation that will come away. And the greatest
S2: form of temptation that will attack us is this is
S2: God number one in your life. And are you living
S2: like he's number one in your life, or are there
S2: other gods? You say, well, pastor, how do I know it?
S2: Let me tell you how you know it. When God
S2: is number one in your life, then your values will
S2: be the values of God. When God is number one
S2: in your life, you will do what God wants you
S2: to do, not what you want to do. When God
S2: is number one in your life, you will put him
S2: above everything else in life. This is what Jesus said.
S2: Jesus said, do you want to come and follow me?
S2: Then you must lay down your life and lose it
S2: in order to follow me. Let me tell you, you
S2: can't just add God to your life. You can't go
S2: about living your life and just say, well, I, God
S2: is there to help me when I'm in trouble. God
S2: is there to to be a backup plan for me.
S2: Know God says, if I am Lord of your life,
S2: then I am Lord of your life. I am number
S2: one in your life. I tell you how to live,
S2: how to walk, how to talk, how to marry, where
S2: to go, what music to listen to, how you spend
S2: your weekends and how you spend how you work at work.
S2: If I am number one in your life, then I
S2: am God of your life. And if I am not
S2: God in your life, then don't call me your God.
S2: I say this strongly, but I say it lovingly. I
S2: say it as your pastor because I believe there's been
S2: a stirring in my heart, a stirring in my soul,
S2: that we as a church put God in the place
S2: that he deserves. The stirring in my heart. To see
S2: us walk in holiness. So the power of God can
S2: be manifest through us, stirring in my heart to see
S2: a people rise up and say, I'm serious about God,
S2: not just playing around. Unless our hearts are there with God,
S2: we affect not only this generation, but the next generation
S2: as well. I believe that God is a holy God,
S2: and God wants holiness of his people, and we cannot
S2: achieve it of our own. We need that. That's why
S2: we need Jesus in our lives to convict us, to
S2: break us, to draw us to the cross, to bring
S2: us to repentance. That's why we need Jesus. You need
S2: I need him, you need him. I'm right at the
S2: front of saying I need Jesus. The question, really, that
S2: we are to ask ourselves. What does it look like
S2: to put God first? Or when you put God first,
S2: when you put God first, you're asking yourself this question
S2: what does God want me to be? And what does
S2: God want me to do? Does God want me to be?
S2: And what does God want me to do? Listen, if
S2: you're number one in your life and God is not first,
S2: here's what you'll be asking. What do I want to
S2: do and what makes me happy? And if I think
S2: God what God wants doesn't make me happy, then I'll
S2: just disregard it because my main concern is what makes
S2: me happy. So a husband comes to me and says,
S2: I'm going to leave my wife. Why? I'm not happy. And. Well,
S2: I want to be happy. Listen, if happiness is the
S2: God of your life, then leave your wife. But let
S2: me tell you that you are number one in your life,
S2: not God. Don't tell. Don't say God had you leave
S2: your wife because. Because happiness is not God's goal. I
S2: don't feel happy anymore. I'm gonna leave her, find a
S2: new one. That's what you said about the last three.
S2: You see, the ultimate. The ultimate. The question is, who's
S2: lord of your life? If you're Lord of your life,
S2: then you do what you want to do when you
S2: want to do it. If God is Lord of your life,
S2: you never do what you want to do. Never. When
S2: you want to do it, you always ask yourself, Lord,
S2: what do you want of me? Am I being pleasing
S2: to you? God, you own my life. My life belongs
S2: to you. I do what you want, not what I want.
S2: There's a huge difference. We settle that question. When you
S2: came to Jesus and bowed your knee and said, God,
S2: I am no longer come into my life, be Lord
S2: of my life. At that moment you said, God, you
S2: are Lord of my life, and you can't take it back.
S2: If he's Lord, then he's Lord. If he's not, then
S2: he's not. But if he's Lord of your life, then
S2: you need to give him the place that he deserves.
S2: Being Lord of your life, you need to say, Jesus,
S2: you are Lord and I'm not. Forgive me if I've
S2: stepped into that place of lordship. Forgive me if I've
S2: let other gods the God of pleasure or joy, the
S2: God of money, the God of power, the God of love,
S2: the God of sex, any other God, take your place. God,
S2: I die at that place. And I say, forgive me, God.
S2: And I put you once more at the top where
S2: you belong. You are Lord God, and I choose today
S2: to serve you as Lord and not break that first commandment.
S1: You've been listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, who's
S1: here in the studio with me. Mark, such a great
S1: message today. How can you lose? Preaching in the Ten Commandments, right. Tomorrow.
S1: Where are we going next? What's the next commandment?
S3: Well, tomorrow's a commandment that affects so many people. You
S3: may want to dismiss it initially and say that doesn't apply.
S3: But this is huge. And the commandment is thou shalt
S3: not commit adultery. Now let me say this. Most people agree. Yeah,
S3: that's a terrible thing. Infidelity in marriage, however, are the
S3: stats show that 41%, either physically or emotionally, fall into
S3: the trap of adultery. And so there are so many
S3: people right now recovering from that. Maybe you've experienced that
S3: in your marriage. Maybe you're struggling with it right now.
S3: But this is going to be a powerful message and
S3: healing to many marriages.
S1: And Jesus was pretty clear. It includes what goes on
S1: in our mind.
S3: That's right. So before you turn it off and say
S3: that doesn't apply to me, I think that Jesus took
S3: it to the next level and talked to us. Yeah,
S3: those that look at a woman to lust after her
S3: in their own mind have committed adultery. So it's a
S3: big spectrum.
S1: Thanks, Mark. We'll talk again in just a moment. But
S1: I remind you, you're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe,
S1: and the title of this series is Rock Solid Living.
S1: Let me remind you that you can always revisit these
S1: messages online at Bold steps.org, or by listening through the
S1: Bold Steps app or our Bold Steps podcast. And today,
S1: we're also excited to offer Mark Jobe's brand new devotional,
S1: More Than a Label Discovering who you are in Christ,
S1: this transformative 15 day devotional takes you deep into God's Word.
S1: To explore the truth about your identity in Christ. You'll
S1: discover who God created you to be and why your
S1: identity truly matters. Through each day's reading, you'll uncover your
S1: purpose and calling as you open God's Word and learn
S1: to live out your true identity. So don't let the
S1: world define you by labels. Step into the life and
S1: purpose God has planned for you. Get your copy of
S1: More Than a Label today. When you give any amount
S1: to bold steps again, just go to Bold Steps. Slash give.
S1: And for more information about this new devotional, go to
S1: Bold steps.org and look for it at the devotional tab
S1: or call us at 800 Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. If you're
S1: sending a gift, you can do that through the mail.
S1: Our address is bold. Steps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago,
S1: Illinois 606 ten. And then we also invite you to
S1: take that gift even further by becoming a bold partner
S1: and signing up to give on a monthly basis. Remember,
S1: it's not the size of your gift that matters, but
S1: a willingness to faithfully give each month. So these messages
S1: and resources can reach as many people as possible all
S1: across the radio, the internet, and mark on our social
S1: media outreach as well.
S3: Yeah, Wayne, we're approaching the final month of our fiscal year,
S3: so this is a really great time. If you haven't
S3: given or if you've been thinking about giving or if
S3: you want to up your giving, this is a great
S3: time to do so. And as Wayne said, it's not
S3: the size of the gift. It's the consistency of monthly
S3: giving that really makes an impact. So we have what's
S3: called bold partners. And these are people, a team of people,
S3: a growing number of people that have said we're going
S3: to continue to support this ministry monthly. Thank you so
S3: much for doing that. And if you want to become
S3: a bold partner, Wayne, what does someone do?
S1: Just go to our website, Bold steps. Org or you
S1: can call us at 800 Moody. That's our phone number
S1: 800 Moody. All right. Thank you Mark. I'll remind our
S1: listeners to join us again tomorrow for another exciting message
S1: from Mark Jobe. Or Unpacking God's commandment on adultery and
S1: just how countercultural and impactful this command is in today's world.
S1: That's coming up Wednesday on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe.
S1: Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry
S1: of Moody Bible Institute.