S1: Discover how to take your place today on Bold Steps
S1: with Mark Jobe.
S2: I believe that at some times in our life we
S2: have a lot but don't know how much we have.
S2: Sometimes we live like paupers when in reality we're children
S2: of the Most High King.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is president
S1: of Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New
S1: Life Community Church in Chicago. And I'm excited today because
S1: we are starting a new series based on the book
S1: of Ephesians. And Mark, you're going to outline some important
S1: and practical steps we need to take if we want
S1: to maximize sharing our faith.
S2: That's right Wayne. And again, let me just say how
S2: excited I am to jump in the book of Ephesians
S2: with you. You are going to be thrilled because this
S2: is a powerful, powerful book. And really at the core,
S2: Paul starts out by telling us, hey, so many of
S2: us don't understand who we really are, so we need
S2: to take our place because we're living. As you'll see
S2: from this message, we're living sometimes in poverty when really
S2: we're rich. And I'm not talking about finances, I'm talking
S2: about spiritually.
S1: We get it. Let's turn to Ephesians now and get started.
S1: Our message series. When you believe Everything changes. Here's Mark Jobe.
S2: Oftentimes you are much richer. You have much more than
S2: what you know you have. But oftentimes we don't know
S2: how to access what we already have. I heard of
S2: a story a little while back of a woman by
S2: the name of Hetty Green. Hetty Green was known as
S2: America's greatest miser. She ate cold oatmeal because it cost
S2: too much to heat it up. Her son had to
S2: have his leg amputated because she wanted. She waited too
S2: long for medical attention while she was looking for a
S2: free clinic. She even died from a ruptured blood vessel
S2: in her brain while arguing about the benefits of skimmed milk.
S2: Was she crazy? Maybe. Eccentric? Without a doubt. But one
S2: thing was for sure she wasn't poor. When Hetty Green died,
S2: she left an estate that was valued at over $100 million.
S2: You mean here's a woman that doesn't want to heat
S2: her oatmeal because she wants to conserve, yet she's got
S2: $100 Million dollars. She's living like a pauper, when in
S2: reality she has the ability to live like a queen.
S2: I believe oftentimes I run into believers that way. Believers
S2: in Jesus Christ that have the capacity to live at
S2: a level much higher than what they're living at, but
S2: because they're not sure how to access what they have,
S2: they live almost like paupers. So I'm going to ask
S2: you to take your Bibles and turn to Ephesians chapter one.
S2: Now there's a couple of things I want to tell
S2: you about before we jump into actually reading this passage.
S2: I want you to understand a little bit about Ephesians,
S2: and I want you to understand a little bit of
S2: why it was written and how it was written. Have
S2: you noticed that? Well, first of all, Ephesians was written
S2: by the Apostle Paul. If you look at Ephesians chapter one,
S2: verse one, it says, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus,
S2: by the will of God to the saints in Ephesus,
S2: the faithful in Christ Jesus. Well, Paul is the author
S2: of the book of Ephesians, but was Paul one of
S2: the 12 apostles? It's a trick question. Many people think
S2: that Paul was actually one of the 12 apostles, but
S2: he was not. Paul was not one of the 12
S2: disciples that walked with Jesus that we normally consider an apostle.
S2: Paul was actually anti-Christian. A persecutor of the church he
S2: hated followers of of Jesus. In fact, it was the
S2: Apostle Paul who, before he became known as the Apostle Paul,
S2: was known as Saul. It was the Apostle Paul that
S2: gave the gave the orders to approve the first martyr
S2: of the Christian church, who was Stephen. And they stoned him,
S2: and Paul was there, encouraging them to stone him. He
S2: hated Christians so much that he was on a mission
S2: to eliminate and imprison as many Christians as he could,
S2: and he took a trip on the way to Damascus
S2: to look for Christians in a town called Damascus. And
S2: as he was on his way, he had an encounter
S2: that would radically change his destiny in his life. Sometimes
S2: Jesus will do that to you. And on his road
S2: to Damascus, he had an encounter with Jesus that threw
S2: him off his horse. He heard the voice of Jesus saying, Paul, Paul,
S2: why do you persecute me? And after this encounter with Jesus,
S2: he was left blind, stunned, confused. He went to the
S2: town of Damascus and a believer prayed over him and
S2: explained the ways of God. And he was so utterly
S2: converted that from that day on he began to preach
S2: the gospel just as fervently as he had opposed the
S2: gospel of Jesus. Oh, I don't know. I'm assuming that
S2: there were some of you in this auditorium that at
S2: one time were very anti-Christian. Were some of you? Anybody
S2: remember the day that you'd cuss Christians out, get that
S2: Bible away, get that blankety blank Bible away from me, huh?
S2: You can admit it. And then finally, when you came
S2: to Christ, just as strong as you were against, you
S2: became pro what Jesus has done in your life. And
S2: so it was the Apostle Paul that is writing this
S2: letter to the Ephesians. Now where did we get the title? Ephesians? Well,
S2: basically a lot of the books of the Bible are
S2: named after the cities that the letter was written to.
S2: For example, the city of Thessalonica is where the Thessalonians lived.
S2: And so we have the book in the New Testament
S2: called Thessalonians. Colossae is a city where the Colossians lived.
S2: And so we have a book in the Bible called Colossians.
S2: Philippi was where the Philippians lived. And we have a
S2: book in the Bible called Philippians because it was written
S2: towards the Philippians. If Paul were to write a letter
S2: to Chicago, the church in Chicago, then the letter would
S2: be called Chicagoans, and we would turn to the letter
S2: called Chicagoans, and it would be the letter that was
S2: written to the church that lives in Chicago. So Ephesus
S2: was a city. I've been to Ephesus. The ancient town
S2: of Ephesus is currently located in Turkey. Uh, in those
S2: days it was called Asia minor. And Ephesus is where
S2: the Ephesians lived. And so Paul wrote a letter to
S2: the Ephesians. And the first time that Paul ever visited
S2: Ephesus is chronicled in acts chapter 18. He went to
S2: Ephesus with a couple, a ministry couple called Priscilla and Aquila.
S2: And he went to this city, a big metropolitan city,
S2: and he began to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
S2: There Paul had to move on to Jerusalem. And so
S2: he left Akilah and Priscilla to talk to people about
S2: Jesus while they were talking to people about Jesus. And
S2: by the way, can I just interject here. There's something
S2: very powerful about ministering together as a couple. You see
S2: me here up front on a regular basis. Because I'm
S2: the teacher. Preacher. But I want you to know that
S2: since day one, since the very first day that I
S2: came to this church, my wife has been as involved
S2: in ministry as I have. Don't ask her to teach.
S2: Don't ask her to preach because she doesn't like to
S2: do that. But she has been as involved as or
S2: more committed than I have been from day one. And
S2: we've been here almost 25 years. And there's something really
S2: powerful to minister as a couple. And she's actually sitting
S2: right here. Usually she's in Sunday school. Good to see you, hon.
S2: In fact, I remember when I was dating my wife, uh,
S2: she wasn't my wife when I was dating her, but
S2: when I started dating, um, we were actually leading a
S2: Bible study. And I remember thinking to myself, I don't
S2: know if a relationship is going to be a distraction
S2: or if it's going to really help me out. And
S2: I remember we were I was leading a Bible study
S2: by 71st in Springfield near Marquette Park. And I was
S2: still in college at the time and leading this Bible study. And, uh,
S2: d uh, started coming to that Bible study, and I
S2: realized that she had this way with working with other
S2: women and and being involved and calling and ministering. And
S2: it's the first time the light came on in my
S2: head and said, I thought to myself, you know what?
S2: We make one dynamic team. I like this, I like this.
S2: I tell people that are in ministry or trying to
S2: do something for God. There is no neutral. There's no
S2: neutral spouse. A spouse can either be a hindrance and
S2: liability or incredible asset in whatever you're pursuing. And when
S2: two people come together with one vision and decide in
S2: a united way to say, we're going to do something
S2: for God, watch out, because incredible things can happen. But
S2: I've seen people in ministry spiral downward because one person
S2: feels called to ministry and the other person doesn't like
S2: it or doesn't want it. And I've seen those places take.
S2: And so I believe there's something really powerful about ministering
S2: together as a couple. Well, this couple, Akhil and Priscilla,
S2: were ministering together in, in the, in the town of Ephesus.
S2: And as they were telling people about Jesus in Ephesus,
S2: another fellow by the name of Apollos came. And Apollos
S2: was a very good speaker and orator, and knew about
S2: the things of God. And he began to attract a
S2: big crowd. And when a killer and Priscilla heard of
S2: what he was doing, they met up with Apollos. And
S2: they realized that although Apollos was very good at speaking,
S2: he only had half the message. Because Apollos had been
S2: converted under John the Baptizer, but he had never been
S2: under the instructions of Jesus. And so when Paul came
S2: back to Ephesus, he found himself with a group of believers.
S2: And he began to talk to this group of believers.
S2: And he asked them about the Holy Spirit. And they said,
S2: we don't even know there is a Holy Spirit, because
S2: they had not been taught the full gospel. And it
S2: was at that time that the Apostle Paul prayed over them,
S2: put hands on them, and ask that they would receive
S2: the power of the Holy Spirit in their life. At
S2: that time, incredible things began to happen in the town
S2: of Ephesus. The Bible tells us that so many people
S2: began to come to Christ and get saved and give
S2: their life to God. Many of them were involved in
S2: witchcraft and sorcery, and when they came to Christ, they
S2: repented of their witchcraft, their sorcery, their occult practices. They
S2: brought their books, their paraphernalia, their, uh, their scripts and
S2: everything they use in their sorcery and created these big
S2: mounds of things that they were getting rid of. And
S2: they had a huge bonfire to burn all of the
S2: pagan elements that they used to worship and follow. Here's
S2: the thing I want you to remember. You cannot have
S2: a conversion experience and choose to follow Christ without leaving
S2: certain things behind.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Marc Job. We'll continue
S1: today's message in a moment. But first, Marc, I want
S1: to talk about something that's become a growing concern within
S1: Christian leadership circles. Our world is going through a whirlwind,
S1: pretty dramatic developments and changes, not just here in America
S1: but around the globe. And we need to remind ourselves,
S1: as Christians, we have a much higher calling than any
S1: political movement, don't we.
S2: Wayne? Turn on the news. And there is drama all
S2: over the place. From rumors of wars to economic crisis.
S1: To polarization.
S2: To actual wars that are happening to bombings, and it
S2: is easy to get distracted by all this, worried by it,
S2: anxious by it, sort of sucked into it. But here's
S2: what I want to say. This is a great time
S2: for the good news of Jesus Christ and the hope
S2: of the gospel.
S1: Amen.
S2: There are a lot of people coming to Christ throughout
S2: the world, and you may not hear about it, because
S2: there's other news that is prominent and is taking people's attention.
S2: But there is an undercurrent of a harvest evangelism. And
S2: that's what we're all about right now, is a moment
S2: where people are shaken, where there's concern. But there are
S2: so many people that are turning to the heavens, and
S2: we at Bold Steps have determined we will not miss
S2: that moment. And so we are asking you to partner
S2: with us, help us out, because right now is a
S2: great time to be calling people to Jesus.
S1: We urge you to give online at Bold Steps. Org
S1: or you can call us. The number is 800. D.L.
S1: Moody and that works out to be (800) 356-6639. And when
S1: you do give, we'll be sure to send you a
S1: special gift which will tell you more about later in
S1: the program today. Well, thank you for that, Mark. But
S1: let's go back to your message now here on Bold Steps.
S2: When God gets a hold of someone, you don't stay
S2: the same. You start getting rid of things. I think
S2: all of us need a bonfire in our life. Hello? Hey, you.
S2: Come to Christ, men. There may need to be a
S2: bonfire while you pull out those Playboy magazines and other
S2: such things and get rid of it. Because what you
S2: start realizing is that this is incompatible with my new
S2: life in Christ. You cannot add Christ to your life
S2: and continue with all the old stuff. There are certain
S2: things that when Christ comes in, you leave behind that.
S2: That's called conversion. And they had this huge bonfire experience,
S2: and God began to work in such miraculous ways that
S2: it was at this time that the Bible tells us
S2: that even the handkerchief that came from Paul and touched
S2: people was healing people from physical diseases, such as the
S2: was the anointing and the power of God upon Ephesus
S2: at that time. There are times when God works in
S2: some miraculous, powerful way, supernatural that we cannot explain when
S2: God is seeking to do something. It is also at
S2: that time that there was a major riot, because anytime
S2: the church progresses, there will always be opposition. Count on it.
S2: When God begins to do something, there will always be
S2: opposition to what God is seeking to do. This time,
S2: the opposition came via the unions of the city of Ephesus.
S2: Making idols and pagan gods was a big business. In
S2: the days of Ephesus, there were hundreds of gods that existed.
S2: There was the god of fertility, and there was the
S2: god of vengeance. There was the god of the shoemakers
S2: and the god of the sailors. There was the god
S2: of the farmers and the God of the multitude of
S2: things of gods, and every person. If you went into
S2: their house in those days in Ephesus, everybody would have
S2: their little statues, the gods that they would pray to,
S2: and they were sort of their sponsoring God, so to speak.
S2: And if you walk down the streets of Ephesus, there
S2: were statues of different gods that would line the streets
S2: of Ephesus. And and the tradesmen made much of their
S2: money by building these statues out of wood and and
S2: out of rock and out of iron. And they would
S2: build these statues, and it was a big money business,
S2: and people would buy their statues and dedicate their statues.
S2: When people started coming to Christ, the union trades workers
S2: began to realize Christianity has no God statues. They have
S2: an invisible God That they worship an invisible God, that
S2: they worship, that claims that he rules heaven and earth.
S2: And they began to realize that if Christianity spreads, we
S2: will lose our business. No one will buy statues anymore.
S2: We'll lose tens of thousands of dollars and go out
S2: of business. So they organized a riot. How many of
S2: you know that sometimes the opposition of Christianity is not
S2: just on religious views. Sometimes it can be political, racist
S2: and economic. Hello. Don't be naive into thinking that opposition
S2: will just come out of spiritual opposition. When we went
S2: to buy this church building here that you're in right now,
S2: this was a factory, and we decided that we were
S2: going to buy this building and convert this building into
S2: a church Ministry Center and we're super excited about it.
S2: We were challenged by raising the money for this because
S2: it's a lot of money. It was $2 million to
S2: buy this building. But when we went to get this building,
S2: the building in Chicago, you have to zone a building
S2: for something. This building was zoned for manufacturing. For what
S2: factories are zoned for. And we need to rezone it
S2: for a church use. And in order to zone it
S2: for a church use, you have to get approval downtown
S2: at City Hall. And in order to get approval downtown
S2: at City Hall, you have to go through the alderman's
S2: office here. And in this case, to go through the
S2: alderman's office here. He had a zoning board that we
S2: had to come before. And the zoning board had to
S2: approve it in order to change the status so that
S2: we could get a church here. And when we went
S2: down to try to get the zoning, most of the
S2: people on the zoning board were favorable. But there was
S2: a few people that were belligerently opposed to us starting
S2: a church here. I want you to understand that that
S2: sometimes opposition will arise to the progress and spread of
S2: the gospel. It doesn't always come just out of theological persecution.
S2: It can rise up out of economic and racial bigotry
S2: that that that rises up to try to put the
S2: stop to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, in this case,
S2: it was economic.
S1: Well, we're just getting started with our message from Mark
S1: Jobe called take your place here on Bold Steps, and
S1: you can learn more about Mark and his ministry when
S1: you visit us at Bold Steps. And today we're joined
S1: by two special guests, Aaron and Jason Davis, who've written
S1: a book that tackles a challenge every Christian parent faces
S1: how to help our boys navigate the lies our culture
S1: is throwing at them. The book is called Lies Boys Believe.
S3: That's right. Wayne. You know, last month we offered the
S3: companion to this resource Lies Girls believe. I remember. So, Aaron,
S3: as a mother of four boys. Yeah, you heard it
S3: for boys. What motivated you to write this book?
S4: Well, obviously my own sons. You're right. So everybody listening.
S4: It's okay for you to gasp at that. Four sons.
S4: That's what Jason and I have. So it's a rowdy house.
S4: But they're our primary concern. But they're also a good
S4: indicator of what's happening in the wider culture. And everybody
S4: seems to be talking about boys in crisis, secular and Christian.
S4: But we want to point our boys to the truth,
S4: and the truth is found in God's word. And so
S4: we let our boys go first. They were super involved
S4: in the project, and I hope this is an outflow
S4: of our parenting, but we also hope they're just a
S4: four examples of what can happen when God gets Ahold
S4: of boys when they're young and they fall in love
S4: with His word when they're young and they start living
S4: for truth.
S1: So, Jason, you have built in research, huh?
S5: Yeah. It's made it easy. We didn't have to travel
S5: a lot to do the market research for this one.
S2: And, Jason, what ages would you say this book is
S2: targeted towards?
S5: Uh, young men, uh, probably 6 to 12 would be
S5: the target demographic. That's probably not the right terminology, but, um,
S5: we found that our boys in that age group really
S5: resonated well with the content and the message.
S2: You know, I think this type of book is so needed.
S2: There are so many, so many parents struggling with just
S2: the lies that our culture is just saturating our young
S2: people with. But young boys especially, are at a disadvantage
S2: these days when the image of what it means to
S2: be a man or grow up to be a man
S2: is really been erased and very confusing.
S1: This is critical, isn't it? Yeah. Aaron and Jason, thank
S1: you so much for writing this book and making it
S1: available to our listeners.
S5: It's been a real pleasure.
S4: Yeah, we're just honored to get to serve families in
S4: the church in this way.
S1: And of course, we'd love to send you this powerful
S1: resource when you support bold steps with a gift of
S1: any amount. To request your copy, call us at 800. D.L. Moody.
S1: That's (800) 356-6639 or give online at Bold Steps. Org. Or
S1: if you prefer, you can send your contribution to bold steps.
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S1: bold steps, just visit Bold Steps. Org. I'm Wayne Shepherd,
S1: thanks for joining us today. Be sure to come back
S1: tomorrow when Mark continues this discussion. Our message comes from
S1: the book of Ephesians chapter one, and you won't want
S1: to miss it. Tuesday on Bold Steps with Mark John.
S1: Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry
S1: of Moody Bible Institute.