WEBVTT - In His Presence – Part 2 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:04.000 Today on Bold steps with Mark job, we're discovering the 0:00:04.000 --> 0:00:07.080 life changing power of finding the presence of God. 0:00:07.880 --> 0:00:11.520 If you can blame accuse, if you can walk arrogantly 0:00:11.520 --> 0:00:15.480 through the streets of Chicago, by the homeless, by the broken, 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:20.239 by the businessmen, if you judge and walk with very 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:25.680 little concern except criticism, then you have not been recently 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:27.479 in the presence of the Most High God. 0:00:40.000 --> 0:00:43.440 Welcome to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe, president of 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:46.239 Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New Life Community 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:50.200 Church in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Last week we began 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:53.519 a powerful lesson from Isaiah chapter six about encountering the 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:58.280 true presence of God. Before Isaiah could begin his public ministry, 0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:01.600 God knew he needed a fresh supernatural vision of his 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:05.200 grandeur and holiness. A vision that would ignite Isaiah's calling 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:08.280 with holy fire. If you missed part one of this 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:11.520 eye opening message, you'll find it at Bold steps.org. But 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:14.319 now let's join Mark Jobe as we continue exploring what 0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:18.280 happens when we truly experience God's presence. Our message titled 0:01:18.520 --> 0:01:19.920 In His presence. 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:25.640 So the fact that you're a Christian doesn't offend anybody. 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:30.000 As long as it's a contained Christianity, the fact that 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:34.160 you're a believer in God doesn't bother anybody. As long 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:38.880 as it's watered down. As long as it's nominal. As 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:42.039 long as it's not too radical. As long as you're 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:49.640 God is a shrunken version of God. But God needed 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:52.440 to do something in Isaiah because he knew that Isaiah 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:55.680 was going to be ministering in a culture with a 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:59.840 minimized God. And before Isaiah was going to step into 0:01:59.880 --> 0:02:02.730 his public ministry. God said, you need to see me 0:02:02.730 --> 0:02:05.930 for who I am. You need a fresh vision of 0:02:06.010 --> 0:02:09.090 who I am. Because if you start to minister with 0:02:09.090 --> 0:02:12.290 this small vision, then you will never be consumed by 0:02:12.290 --> 0:02:14.850 the fire that I want to exist within your belly. 0:02:14.970 --> 0:02:19.850 Your calling will never be fervent. Your radical nature pursuing 0:02:19.850 --> 0:02:22.130 me will never be where it needs to be. You see, 0:02:22.169 --> 0:02:24.490 before you do anything, you need to be exposed to 0:02:24.530 --> 0:02:29.010 the real I am. And so, as Isaiah was in 0:02:29.010 --> 0:02:34.410 the temple seeking God, he had a supernatural vision of God. 0:02:35.010 --> 0:02:38.970 And there's two things that stand out immediately before Isaiah 0:02:39.010 --> 0:02:42.730 as he encounters this God. The Bible says that there's 0:02:42.770 --> 0:02:47.329 a throne and there's holiness. The throne speaks to the 0:02:47.330 --> 0:02:53.050 authority of God, his sovereignty, his power over all things. 0:02:53.770 --> 0:02:58.210 And his holiness means that God is set apart like 0:02:58.210 --> 0:03:03.130 no other. He's not one God among the others, he 0:03:03.130 --> 0:03:05.570 is set apart. There is no one like unto him. 0:03:05.810 --> 0:03:10.610 He's in a category uniquely his, a category that cannot 0:03:10.610 --> 0:03:15.490 be defined. A category that is far above. There is 0:03:15.490 --> 0:03:20.010 no other God like this God. And God wanted Isaiah 0:03:20.010 --> 0:03:22.850 to see him in all of his grandeur and beauty. 0:03:23.169 --> 0:03:27.690 Isaiah was not alone in seeing God's throne. Almost everyone 0:03:27.690 --> 0:03:29.889 in the Bible who had a vision of heaven has 0:03:29.889 --> 0:03:33.730 written about the throne of God. Look at revelation. There's 0:03:33.730 --> 0:03:37.690 a throne, and he describes what he saw in this throne. 0:03:38.370 --> 0:03:41.970 He describes that he saw this great throne representing the 0:03:41.970 --> 0:03:48.250 sovereignty of God, that they said, Holy, holy, holy is 0:03:48.250 --> 0:03:51.930 the Lord God Almighty. Now they could have said a 0:03:51.970 --> 0:03:54.290 lot of things to describe God, because God is a 0:03:54.330 --> 0:03:56.970 lot of things. They could say love, love, love is 0:03:56.970 --> 0:04:00.450 the Lord God Almighty. They could say, mercy, mercy, mercy 0:04:00.450 --> 0:04:03.980 is the Lord God Almighty. They could say grace, grace, 0:04:03.980 --> 0:04:07.260 grace filled is the Lord God Almighty. But you know 0:04:07.260 --> 0:04:11.660 what these angels said? Something unique. Something that defines our 0:04:11.660 --> 0:04:16.380 God like no other. They said, Holy, holy, holy is 0:04:16.380 --> 0:04:21.060 the Lord God Almighty. Why? Because the holiness of God, 0:04:21.060 --> 0:04:24.660 the holiness of God, defines his character. All of the 0:04:24.660 --> 0:04:28.700 other attributes of God are contained within his holiness. You 0:04:28.700 --> 0:04:30.940 can't understand the love of God unless you understand the 0:04:30.940 --> 0:04:35.620 holiness of God. You will not be consumed by how 0:04:35.900 --> 0:04:39.900 powerful God's love is, unless you first of all understand 0:04:39.900 --> 0:04:43.580 that he is pure, undefiled, like no other. And that 0:04:43.580 --> 0:04:48.859 in his own character us in our unblemished way, sinful 0:04:48.860 --> 0:04:52.020 way would be consumed. And now we understand the love 0:04:52.020 --> 0:04:57.380 of God to be overwhelming. You see, devoid of his holiness, 0:04:57.820 --> 0:05:00.539 the character of God, the other attributes of God, they 0:05:00.660 --> 0:05:04.780 become so mundane. Oh, God loves me. Yeah. And so 0:05:04.779 --> 0:05:07.340 does my wife and my kids and my neighbor and 0:05:07.339 --> 0:05:10.620 my cousin. But the love of God is not like that. 0:05:10.620 --> 0:05:13.500 The love of God is defined within the context of 0:05:13.500 --> 0:05:18.100 his holiness. This is a different kind of love. This 0:05:18.100 --> 0:05:24.220 is a higher kind of love. A.W. Tozer said he 0:05:24.220 --> 0:05:29.420 is absolutely holy, with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity 0:05:29.700 --> 0:05:32.820 that is incapable of being other than who he is. 0:05:33.220 --> 0:05:41.500 A piercing purity. You say, well, Mark, I don't know 0:05:41.500 --> 0:05:43.740 if I can relate to that. I'd rather see Jesus 0:05:43.740 --> 0:05:47.060 as my friend. Oh he is. But never get too 0:05:47.060 --> 0:05:50.220 familiarized with Jesus to feel like he's just a little 0:05:50.260 --> 0:05:54.900 buddy out there because he's not. He's the incomprehensible, high 0:05:54.900 --> 0:05:59.780 and lifted up holy God. And when we lose that, 0:06:00.830 --> 0:06:06.589 We lose a sense of urgency. Listen, when we lose that, 0:06:06.870 --> 0:06:13.670 we are not propelled to purity. Isaiah saw him high 0:06:13.670 --> 0:06:17.310 and lifted up in this way. When the Bible calls 0:06:17.350 --> 0:06:20.670 God holy, it means that he's primarily that that God 0:06:20.670 --> 0:06:26.230 is transcendently separate from all others. There's no competition. There's 0:06:26.230 --> 0:06:30.870 no syncretism, there's no mixture. He's not diluted. He's 100% holy. 0:06:32.390 --> 0:06:36.070 But I need to remind you what happens when Isaiah 0:06:36.110 --> 0:06:40.870 encounters his holiness. Because this is not just a description 0:06:40.870 --> 0:06:44.630 of who God is. This is not an exercise in impression. 0:06:46.029 --> 0:06:51.910 This is so that Isaiah would be intrinsically changed. You see, 0:06:51.910 --> 0:06:55.630 his presence stirs us with a renewed awareness of our 0:06:55.630 --> 0:06:59.630 desperate need for purity. And the very first thing that 0:06:59.630 --> 0:07:03.309 Isaiah says when he's exposed to the grandeur of God 0:07:03.310 --> 0:07:09.670 and His holiness. The very first thing, he doesn't bow 0:07:11.630 --> 0:07:16.790 and worship and say, you're such an awesome God. I 0:07:16.790 --> 0:07:20.630 would think that maybe that would be his response. But 0:07:20.670 --> 0:07:24.310 immediately what Isaiah does in light of God's holiness, he 0:07:24.310 --> 0:07:33.870 is becomes acutely aware of his unholiness. The very first 0:07:33.870 --> 0:07:42.830 thing that he says is woe is me. He doesn't say, woe, God, 0:07:42.830 --> 0:07:56.830 you are amazing. He said, woe! I am unclean! I cried, 0:07:56.830 --> 0:08:01.800 this is a desperate cry. He says, I'm ruined. Why? 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:06.360 Because he's exposed to the unblemished purity and holiness of 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:10.320 Almighty God. You see, it's within that contrast that we 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:14.480 realize how much we need to change. It's in the 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:21.320 horizontal comparison with others that we excuse our fleshliness, our deficiency, 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:25.240 our sin, and we walk around like we're okay. It's 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:29.400 in the undaunted view of God's holiness that immediately we 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:34.960 are pierced with our need to be cleansed. It's when 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:37.800 I have not been exposed to God. It's when I'm 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:41.400 not concentrating on God. It's when I'm not focused on 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:46.160 the vertical that I become very, very comfortable with my fleshliness, 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:50.040 my sins, my attitude, my pride, my egotism, my lust. 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:53.760 I become very comfortable with it. I excuse it, I 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:56.400 minimize it, I live with it, and I take on 0:08:56.400 --> 0:09:02.040 a nonchalant attitude like it's not that bad. That's me 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:05.600 walking in the flesh. Me walking in the flesh is 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:07.560 when I compare myself with others. And of course, I 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:09.560 always compare myself with people that are a lot worse 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:14.559 than I am. He said, for I am a man 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:18.240 of unclean lips, and I live among a people of 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:23.720 unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:30.280 Lord Almighty. I like what J.I. Packer says. He says 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:34.240 revival is the visitation of God, which brings to life 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:38.600 Christians who have been sleeping and restores a deep sense 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:45.240 of God's near presence and holiness, thence springs a vivid 0:09:45.240 --> 0:09:51.280 sense of sin and a profound exercise of heart and repentance. 0:09:51.280 --> 0:10:01.290 Praise and love. Listen with an evangelistic outflow. I am 0:10:01.290 --> 0:10:06.370 at worst when I am least perceptive of the presence 0:10:06.370 --> 0:10:10.890 of God. When I am walking in little awe of 0:10:10.929 --> 0:10:18.530 who he is. That's when I'm the worst. I'm the worst. 0:10:20.770 --> 0:10:26.369 When my pride tells me I'm okay. When my deceptive 0:10:26.370 --> 0:10:33.730 heart minimizes that which causes the heart of God to grieve. 0:10:36.610 --> 0:10:41.090 We can live in a culture that's lukewarm. In a 0:10:41.090 --> 0:10:46.929 culture that's accepted a shrunken God, it breeds and fosters 0:10:46.970 --> 0:10:54.730 a culture of lukewarm Christianity. A culture of nominal holiness. 0:10:56.130 --> 0:11:06.770 A culture of. Gentle passion. A culture that tolerates. A 0:11:06.770 --> 0:11:13.370 culture that assimilates. A culture that synchronizes with our culture 0:11:14.890 --> 0:11:18.890 so that we fit in. But I believe that God 0:11:18.890 --> 0:11:23.730 is looking for Isaiah's. I believe that God is looking 0:11:23.730 --> 0:11:26.650 for Isaiah's, who have been exposed to the presence of 0:11:26.650 --> 0:11:34.490 God and cannot swallow or accept a lukewarm, watered down 0:11:34.490 --> 0:11:37.490 version of what it means to be a follower of 0:11:37.490 --> 0:11:41.650 Jesus the Christ and the awesome, Holy God of the universe. 0:11:43.330 --> 0:11:47.050 And the Bible tells us that. Listen, the Bible tells 0:11:47.050 --> 0:11:50.450 us that when Isaiah saw, he said, I'm ruined. I'm 0:11:50.450 --> 0:11:52.490 a man of unclean lips. In other words, what it 0:11:52.490 --> 0:11:54.970 did to him is it drove him to the need 0:11:54.970 --> 0:11:56.450 to be clean. I have to be clean. I have 0:11:56.450 --> 0:11:59.770 to be clean. There's a desperation when you encounter the 0:11:59.940 --> 0:12:02.820 presence of God when you expose His holiness, there's not 0:12:02.820 --> 0:12:04.140 a just, hey, it would be nice if I got 0:12:04.140 --> 0:12:08.220 my life right. There is a desperation. I cannot go 0:12:08.260 --> 0:12:12.300 one more day without getting right with God. There's a 0:12:12.300 --> 0:12:18.100 deep conviction of sin. There's a deep drive for purity. Why? 0:12:18.420 --> 0:12:21.900 What drives us? The fear of hell? No. It's the 0:12:21.900 --> 0:12:28.020 fear of God. It's exposure to the undiluted presence of 0:12:28.020 --> 0:12:32.540 the Holy God that causes us to have a urgency 0:12:32.580 --> 0:12:37.260 about getting things right, not a unwillingness to continue to 0:12:37.260 --> 0:12:38.700 live and walk that way. 0:12:45.020 --> 0:12:47.500 A powerful description of what it means to experience the 0:12:47.500 --> 0:12:50.300 presence of God. And Mark Jobe will continue after a 0:12:50.300 --> 0:12:52.939 short time out, but you're listening to Bold Steps, a 0:12:52.940 --> 0:12:56.060 message titled In His Presence. Mark, I want to take 0:12:56.059 --> 0:12:59.020 a moment and especially thank our bold partners, people who 0:12:59.020 --> 0:13:02.100 give to this ministry on a monthly basis. We we're 0:13:02.100 --> 0:13:04.380 just so grateful for them. And we got this note 0:13:04.380 --> 0:13:06.980 from a man who's listening now to one of our 0:13:06.980 --> 0:13:10.300 newer stations online with us. Uh, he says, Pastor Job 0:13:10.300 --> 0:13:12.340 and the Bold Steps radio team. Thank you for a 0:13:12.340 --> 0:13:15.500 great program. I listen every weekday and also enjoy the 0:13:15.500 --> 0:13:18.820 short messages. Pastor job, the spirit speaks to me through 0:13:18.860 --> 0:13:22.060 your practical, down to earth preaching. We also share something 0:13:22.100 --> 0:13:25.740 as fairly unique as Americans. I also speak Spanish with 0:13:25.740 --> 0:13:29.300 a Spanish accent. Not only that, but because I lived 0:13:29.300 --> 0:13:32.780 in Catalonia for almost 20 years and spoke the language there, 0:13:33.059 --> 0:13:34.860 much to the amusement of people I meet from the 0:13:34.860 --> 0:13:36.900 rest of Spain and the Spanish speaking world, I sound 0:13:36.900 --> 0:13:40.219 like a Catalan farmer in Spanish. I hope to use 0:13:40.220 --> 0:13:44.780 this linguistic situation to glorify God. God bless your bilingual ministry. 0:13:44.780 --> 0:13:46.220 And he's a he's a bold partner. 0:13:46.700 --> 0:13:50.179 That's great. Well, Robert, thank you for that encouragement. 0:13:52.420 --> 0:13:52.940 Here we go. 0:13:52.980 --> 0:13:53.340 Robert. 0:13:53.820 --> 0:13:54.660 You got him going. 0:13:54.700 --> 0:13:57.900 Okay. So blessings. You know, it's great to people from 0:13:57.900 --> 0:14:00.550 all over the world both in this country and other 0:14:00.550 --> 0:14:04.150 places can connect with what the Spirit of God is doing. 0:14:04.190 --> 0:14:07.429 And so, Robert, that word of encouragement is great. And 0:14:07.429 --> 0:14:10.750 we appreciate, uh, we appreciate you as a bold partner 0:14:10.750 --> 0:14:11.709 as well. Thank you. 0:14:11.750 --> 0:14:14.270 Well, be like Robert and become a bold partner today 0:14:14.270 --> 0:14:16.750 by giving to this ministry. You can do that online 0:14:16.750 --> 0:14:20.990 at Bold steps.org and it is so much appreciated. Thank 0:14:20.990 --> 0:14:23.750 you for doing that. Now back to our message. Here 0:14:23.750 --> 0:14:26.510 again is Mark Jobe with more bold steps. 0:14:31.830 --> 0:14:34.750 In the Welsh revival at the turn of the century, 0:14:35.030 --> 0:14:37.670 just a couple of years after D.L. Moody had died, 0:14:39.110 --> 0:14:40.990 the heart of it was a 26 year old man 0:14:40.990 --> 0:14:46.710 named Evan Roberts. Read about the Welsh revival and you 0:14:46.710 --> 0:14:51.150 will be astonished at what God did in staggering proportions 0:14:51.150 --> 0:14:57.430 in that little country. More than 100,000 people professed conversion 0:14:57.430 --> 0:15:02.280 during a six month period. What they emphasize. Confession of 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:07.040 all known sin have done with all secret and doubtful things. 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:15.560 Confess Christ openly and obey the Spirit's prompting immediately. This 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:17.160 in my time is running out. So let me finish 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:25.960 with this. His presence always points us to the centrality 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:30.160 and work of Jesus. The Bible says, then one of 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:32.880 the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in 0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:36.840 his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:40.160 With it he touched my mouth and said, see, this 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:43.360 has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away and 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:48.720 your sin is atoned for. You see, most scholars believe 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:51.720 that the coal was taken from the altar of incense. 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:55.640 It's the same altar that Uzziah had stood before and 0:15:55.640 --> 0:16:02.880 15 years before desecrated. It is also the altar of 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:06.120 incense was the holy to the Lord, and was atoned 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:10.960 for with the blood of sacrifice. It's pointing to Jesus. 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:16.080 It's pointing to atonement. It's the blood of Christ applied 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:20.800 in our hearts that makes our prayers acceptable. It is 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:26.720 the sacrifice of the lamb. It drives us to Jesus 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:29.120 at the heart of every renewal. At the heart of 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:32.880 every revival is not just a conviction of sin, but 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:39.080 it's a drawing, a drivenness to Jesus, the the pure sacrifice. 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:42.840 There cannot be renewal and revival in our heart with 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:46.120 a new appreciation for what Jesus has done for a 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:52.000 new consecration to the Lordship of Jesus in our lives. 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:59.560 In Isaiah's fresh encounter. Well, you know you've heard it before. 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:04.440 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:09.520 shall I send, and who will go for us? And 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:15.520 I love this. He had seen a fresh vision of God. 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:26.520 So his response is, here am I. Send me. You see, 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:32.000 if you don't have a passion, a drive, a fire. 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:40.760 Don't blame it on your personality. It may have much 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:43.760 more to do with your exposure to the presence of God. 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:51.560 Because the presence of God puts an urgency in our soul. 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:56.119 I'm going to close with this. 0:18:02.010 --> 0:18:08.050 I almost quit ministry six months into it. And God 0:18:08.250 --> 0:18:12.410 brought me into deep, deep conviction that. 0:18:12.410 --> 0:18:13.290 I was trying to do the. 0:18:13.330 --> 0:18:16.369 Work of God in the power of the flesh, and 0:18:16.369 --> 0:18:17.130 I needed to spend. 0:18:17.130 --> 0:18:17.290 More. 0:18:17.290 --> 0:18:21.250 Time in his presence. It was contrary to my nature 0:18:22.450 --> 0:18:29.210 because I wanted to do not be still. I wanted 0:18:29.210 --> 0:18:33.890 to accomplish. Not gaze. 0:18:37.210 --> 0:18:37.690 But it was. 0:18:37.690 --> 0:18:41.609 In that time of breaking that for the first time 0:18:41.609 --> 0:18:47.130 I wept over the city. It was in the presence 0:18:47.130 --> 0:18:50.330 of God that for the first time, my heart broke 0:18:50.330 --> 0:18:56.409 over the brokenness that I saw in our communities. It 0:18:56.410 --> 0:19:01.700 was in the presence of God that A unabashed, compelling 0:19:01.700 --> 0:19:04.580 love filled my soul for people that I could care 0:19:04.619 --> 0:19:10.500 less about before. It was in the presence of God 0:19:10.500 --> 0:19:17.460 that a fire started burning in my heart. A compelling 0:19:17.460 --> 0:19:25.900 desire to see people change and know the gospel. Without 0:19:25.900 --> 0:19:29.820 exposure to his presence, you know the gospel. You know 0:19:29.820 --> 0:19:36.179 it's important. It's in your head. But you will have 0:19:36.180 --> 0:19:48.780 very little desire and drive that others should know. There's 0:19:48.780 --> 0:19:55.700 never spiritual renewal without people gaining a fiery passion to 0:19:55.740 --> 0:20:00.659 tell others about Jesus. If we can walk down the 0:20:00.660 --> 0:20:03.659 street and just complain about people, look down. If you 0:20:03.660 --> 0:20:07.180 can see the prostitute on the street and turn and 0:20:07.180 --> 0:20:14.780 disgust instead of allowing your heart to break over someone's 0:20:14.780 --> 0:20:20.419 daughter that needs the Lord. If you can blame, accuse. 0:20:21.060 --> 0:20:24.340 If you can walk arrogantly through the streets of Chicago, 0:20:24.740 --> 0:20:30.619 by the homeless, by the broken, by the transgender, by 0:20:30.619 --> 0:20:36.899 the businessmen. If you judge and walk with very little 0:20:36.900 --> 0:20:44.660 concern except criticism, then you have not been recently in 0:20:44.660 --> 0:20:48.620 the presence of the Most High God. Because if you 0:20:48.619 --> 0:20:53.700 had listen, if you had, your heart would weep and break. 0:20:53.700 --> 0:20:59.060 Compassion would break out. Grieving would take over. A A 0:20:59.060 --> 0:21:01.660 desire for people to know Jesus would be a part 0:21:01.660 --> 0:21:06.860 of your encounter, your daily encounter. Maybe some of you 0:21:06.859 --> 0:21:13.500 would be saying, O Lord. Give me a fresh vision 0:21:13.500 --> 0:21:19.140 of who you are. I need an Isaiah encounter. God. 0:21:21.660 --> 0:21:27.020 Start with me. It's easy for us to say, God, 0:21:27.020 --> 0:21:29.220 do it in everybody else. But let me tell you, 0:21:29.220 --> 0:21:31.420 the right posture is not what God needs to do 0:21:31.420 --> 0:21:34.260 in them and those in this and what their sin. 0:21:34.300 --> 0:21:41.860 The right posture is God, start with me. Father, we pray. 0:21:44.060 --> 0:21:50.740 That the scales of our eyes would be lifted. That 0:21:50.740 --> 0:22:00.470 are distorted, minimized, sanitized version of you Would be displaced 0:22:00.470 --> 0:22:07.669 by true encounters with who you are. God. I thank you, father, 0:22:07.670 --> 0:22:13.470 that you are good. You pursue us. I pray God 0:22:13.470 --> 0:22:17.350 that you would prepare our hearts to be exposed to 0:22:17.390 --> 0:22:21.189 the light of your holiness, and that we would not 0:22:21.190 --> 0:22:25.229 shy away. But, God, we would deal with whatever you 0:22:25.230 --> 0:22:28.750 need to deal with our lives. That we would respond 0:22:28.750 --> 0:22:33.430 promptly in obedience and that you would have your way. 0:22:34.550 --> 0:22:36.470 I thank you for this student body, and I thank 0:22:36.470 --> 0:22:40.390 you for the faculty. I thank you, father, that this 0:22:40.390 --> 0:22:42.950 is an amazing community that wants to follow you, God. 0:22:42.950 --> 0:22:45.070 But there's so much you need to do in us 0:22:45.070 --> 0:22:49.070 still so much God that you need to do in 0:22:49.070 --> 0:22:55.869 us still. And so we wait with expectation. We honor you. 0:22:55.910 --> 0:23:01.110 We bless you. And we pray this in Jesus Amen. 0:23:10.430 --> 0:23:13.990 Amen. That's Mark Jobe. You're listening to Bold Steps, a 0:23:13.990 --> 0:23:17.230 lesson titled In His Presence. And you can revisit this 0:23:17.230 --> 0:23:19.389 message or share it with someone you know by simply 0:23:19.390 --> 0:23:24.590 visiting our website. Bold Steps. Now, as our regular listeners know, 0:23:24.590 --> 0:23:26.710 every month we pick out a very special book that 0:23:26.710 --> 0:23:29.350 we believe will help strengthen you and encourage you in 0:23:29.350 --> 0:23:32.990 your spiritual growth. It's known as our Bold Step gift, 0:23:32.990 --> 0:23:35.790 and this month we've got a resource that's tailor made 0:23:35.790 --> 0:23:39.550 for our modern age. Because in today's fast paced digital world, 0:23:39.550 --> 0:23:43.030 it just seems harder and harder to make genuine connections. 0:23:43.310 --> 0:23:45.790 Often we don't know what to say or what to ask, 0:23:45.790 --> 0:23:48.190 or how to respond to our own family and friends, 0:23:48.190 --> 0:23:51.430 even when we want to go deeper. That's why doctor 0:23:51.430 --> 0:23:55.230 Heather Holloman's book, The Six Conversations, is a life changer. 0:23:55.670 --> 0:23:58.670 Through real world guidance and biblical wisdom, this book will 0:23:58.800 --> 0:24:02.720 transform how you approach every interaction, walking you through from 0:24:02.720 --> 0:24:05.920 start to finish, and how to build better communication and 0:24:05.920 --> 0:24:10.199 discover breakthroughs in your relationships. This bold step gift offers 0:24:10.200 --> 0:24:13.320 proven strategies to help you move beyond small. Talk to 0:24:13.359 --> 0:24:17.120 conversations that truly matter. So reach out today and get 0:24:17.119 --> 0:24:20.040 your copy of this life changing resource. We'll send you 0:24:20.040 --> 0:24:22.400 a copy with your gift of any amount to support 0:24:22.400 --> 0:24:27.000 bold steps. Just call us at one 800 Moody. That's 0:24:27.000 --> 0:24:33.880 (800) 356-6639 or give online at Bold Steps org. You can 0:24:33.880 --> 0:24:36.000 also send your gift through the mail. Write to us 0:24:36.040 --> 0:24:42.440 at bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. 0:24:43.240 --> 0:24:45.280 And today, we'd like to invite you to become a 0:24:45.280 --> 0:24:48.560 bold partner. A bold partner is someone who supports this 0:24:48.560 --> 0:24:51.639 ministry with a monthly financial gift, helping us spread the 0:24:51.640 --> 0:24:54.640 truth of God's Word around the world all year long. 0:24:55.119 --> 0:24:57.920 And when your gift is $30 or more each month, 0:24:57.920 --> 0:25:01.240 we'll send you some special bonuses, like a signed copy 0:25:01.240 --> 0:25:04.600 of Mark's book unstuck. There's access to our Bold Partner 0:25:04.600 --> 0:25:08.159 post and a 50% discount on all items at the 0:25:08.160 --> 0:25:12.159 Moody Publishers online store. Signing up is simple and easy. 0:25:12.240 --> 0:25:16.040 When you visit Bold Steps. And by the way, one 0:25:16.040 --> 0:25:19.560 final note have you subscribed to Mark's YouTube channel yet? 0:25:19.600 --> 0:25:21.680 It's a great way to get his latest video teachings 0:25:21.680 --> 0:25:24.520 right on your phone or smart device. Just search for 0:25:24.520 --> 0:25:28.440 Bold Steps Radio on YouTube and click the subscribe button. 0:25:29.040 --> 0:25:31.520 I'm Wayne Sheppard, coming up tomorrow on the program, Mark 0:25:31.520 --> 0:25:34.400 has an important lesson about settling in where God has 0:25:34.400 --> 0:25:37.760 placed you. It's a message titled Getting the Big Picture. 0:25:38.160 --> 0:25:41.320 So tune in for a fresh biblical perspective on your life. 0:25:41.359 --> 0:25:46.760 Tuesday on Bold Steps with Mark Joe. Bold steps is 0:25:46.760 --> 0:25:50.760 a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.