S1: Today on bold steps with Mark job, we're discovering rock
S1: solid living.
S2: You're not defined by your background. You're not defined by
S2: your social status. You are not defined by those things.
S2: You are defined by the presence of God. You have
S2: something to give. You're a giver and you're not a taker.
S2: That's the value of the Kingdom of God.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, president of Moody
S1: Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New Life Community
S1: Church in Chicago. And Wayne Shepherd, in your life, are
S1: you more of a giver or a taker? It's an
S1: honest question to ask. Given that we live in a
S1: consumer driven culture, we're often reminded to take care of
S1: number one at all costs. But is that what God
S1: wants from us, or is he calling us to more?
S1: That's the question Mark answers today as we continue our study.
S1: Rock solid living. If you've missed any of the messages
S1: in this series, you can catch up online at Bold Steps.
S1: But right now, here's Mark Jobe with today's message titled
S1: Thou Shalt Not Steal.
S2: In Deuteronomy chapter 27, verse 17, it says, cursed is
S2: the man who moves his neighbor's boundary stone. Now, in
S2: an agrarian society, your land is your most important source
S2: of income. You plow you till you plant and your
S2: income comes from that. So if you lose land and
S2: what some of the ancients would do is they would
S2: move the boundary, they would move at night, they would
S2: move the rocks that mark the boundary of their land.
S2: And if they could move it over 3 or 4ft,
S2: they would gain a whole stretch of land and increase
S2: their income. But it was robbing their neighbor. And God says,
S2: cursed Is the man that moves the stone. In other words,
S2: when you rob your neighbor, there's a curse that comes
S2: upon your life. The withdrawal of the favor of God.
S2: First Corinthians chapter six, verse ten says, do you know
S2: the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do
S2: not be deceived. And then he lists a whole bunch
S2: of things that will not inherit the kingdom of God.
S2: And he among them he says, nor thieves, nor the greedy,
S2: nor drunkards, nor the slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the
S2: kingdom of God. What I'm pointing out to you is
S2: that God takes seriously the breaking of the Ten Commandments,
S2: the Ten Commandments, but he takes seriously the breaking of
S2: the eighth commandment that violates the nature of God's heart,
S2: which is the heart of giving and turns us into takers.
S2: One last verse I want to give you under this
S2: is Malachi chapter three, verses eight and nine. It says,
S2: Will a man rob God, Yet you rob me because
S2: you ask, how do we rob you in tithes and offerings?
S2: You're under a curse, the whole nation of you, because
S2: you're robbing me. God is saying anything that you take
S2: that doesn't belong to you. Anything that you owe someone else,
S2: including what you owe to give to God. And yet
S2: you do not give, becomes a curse to you. I
S2: believe that giving and releasing jumpstarts a Kingdom of God
S2: cycle in your life that counters the enemy's cycle of destruction.
S2: Notice what the Apostle Paul told to the Ephesian believers
S2: in Ephesians chapter four, verse 27 through 28. I want
S2: you to listen to this. This is huge. I want
S2: you to grasp this because some of you may be arguing, well, pastor,
S2: I don't see what the big deal is. Okay, so
S2: I checked out a half hour early at my job
S2: without working. I don't see what the big deal is. Okay,
S2: so I lied a little bit on my income tax.
S2: Do you know I need the money a lot more
S2: than the US government needs the money. Okay, so I
S2: took a few tools from my job. Our tendency could
S2: be to excuse it. What I want you to understand
S2: is that it's not just about the quantity. It's not
S2: about the dollar amount. What it's about is the seeds
S2: that you are planting in your life, and the negative
S2: effect that they can have. And you may be sowing curses,
S2: so to speak, into your life without even realizing it.
S2: Upon the violation of the eighth commandment, I want you
S2: to see this. Ephesians 427 through 28. It says, the
S2: apostle Paul says, and do not give the devil a foothold.
S2: Now how many of you know what a foothold is?
S2: If you don't know all you all you have to
S2: remember is when you were in junior high And your brother,
S2: your older brother was chasing you around the house because
S2: mom was out buying groceries and he's chasing you around
S2: the house. I'm going to get you. I'm going to
S2: get you. And you run into your bedroom and you
S2: slam the door closed and you think you're safe. But
S2: you realize that although the door is almost closed, it's
S2: not closing all the way. And so you slam it again,
S2: only to realize as you look down that he's got
S2: a foot in the door. Oh, and you can slam
S2: it and slam it, but once there's a foot in
S2: the door, then what comes next? Oh, you know, once
S2: he's got a foot in the door, then he's going
S2: to put his hand in there, his shoulder in there.
S2: And before you know it, he will overpower you to
S2: open the door, because when there's a foot in the door,
S2: it gives room for more to go in the door.
S2: And pretty soon he's in there beating you. And spiritually,
S2: what God is saying is that when you give a
S2: foothold to the enemy, it means that the door is
S2: wide enough open so that more and more can start
S2: slithering in through that foothold that you've given to begin
S2: to bring about an atmosphere of destruction upon your life.
S2: And so the Apostle Paul says, and do not give
S2: the devil a foothold. And then he says, he who
S2: has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work
S2: doing something useful with his own hands, that he may
S2: have something to share with those in need. Hold on
S2: a second, he says. If you've been stealing. Stop the stealing.
S2: Get a job. Get a job for what? To pay
S2: your bills. He doesn't even mention your bills. He says
S2: get a job so that you can earn income. So
S2: that you can begin to share generosity into other people's lives. Why?
S2: Because the Kingdom of God is about giving. The King
S2: of the enemy is about taking. Anytime you see a taker,
S2: it's part of the Kingdom of God value system. Anytime
S2: you see a giver, it's part of the Kingdom of
S2: God value system. The takers. The Kingdom of the darkness
S2: value system giver is a Kingdom of God value system.
S2: And you need to ask yourself, what kind of mentality
S2: do I have? If you got into marriage thinking, well,
S2: why did you get married? Well, I have needs. I
S2: want them met. I need someone to love me. I
S2: need someone to give me companionship. I need to have
S2: sex on a regular basis. And I'm thinking maybe I
S2: have someone to do my dishes. Do my laundry. You know,
S2: my mother says I'm 30 years old. I should do
S2: that on my own. She's not doing it anymore. So
S2: I got married because I have knees, let me tell you.
S2: Wrong answer. But here's what happens. As soon as your
S2: needs stopped being met, you will feel like I want
S2: out of this deal because my needs are not being met.
S2: And you entered into that relationship with a taker mentality.
S2: Let me tell you how God wants you to enter
S2: into that relationship. You enter into that relationship saying to yourself,
S2: I want to go in. I want to give of
S2: my love. I want to give of my heart. I
S2: want to pour into this. I want to serve. I
S2: want to flow. Give as much to this relationship as
S2: I can. And the byproduct of you giving was that
S2: you will receive in return, but you go in with
S2: a giving mentality. Kingdom of God mentality. We go into
S2: a community, and our mentality, even as a people of God,
S2: needs to be a giving mentality, not a taking mentality.
S2: Even as a believer, as you come to a community
S2: of faith like this, you could you could take on
S2: a takers mentality and you could ask yourself, well, I'm
S2: going to see what I can get out of this service.
S2: I hope I get a lot. I hope I like
S2: the songs that they choose. I hope the message is
S2: for me. And if I if I can get, then
S2: I'm okay with it. If I don't feel like I'm getting,
S2: then I'm not okay with it. And you can come
S2: with that mentality, but I call that an immature mentality. Oh,
S2: I hope you receive and I hope you get. But
S2: maybe not every service you're going to get as much
S2: as the other service. But I believe that a mature mentality,
S2: a kingdom of God mentality comes into a community of faith,
S2: not only saying, I hope this will be a blessing,
S2: but I hope I can be a blessing. And you
S2: enter in. Yeah, this is how you enter in God.
S2: I know that every Sunday, with 1400 people meeting at
S2: our midway campus, I know that there's someone that's going
S2: to be discouraged, someone that's going to have maybe marital trouble,
S2: or contemplated suicide, or lost their job, or praying for
S2: a prodigal son. And so, God, I pray that as
S2: I go to church this morning, oh God, help me
S2: to be a blessing to someone I hope I can minister, encourage, deposit.
S2: I'm going to be looking to do something to give away,
S2: to help someone out. Because I'm not just coming to
S2: take man. I'm coming to give.
S1: While you're listening to pastor Mark Jobe, and we're taking
S1: a brief pause from today's message to remind you that
S1: we would love to hear from you. Your encouragement, your comments,
S1: regardless of what they are, are important to us. And Mark, recently,
S1: in that light, you made a statement on the program
S1: that in Chicago, we have one of the most bigoted
S1: cities in the U.S. and that got some response from
S1: some listeners.
S3: Yeah. So let me first of all say that I
S3: love Chicago, and I've lived here for many, many years.
S3: My wife was born and raised in Chicago's Southwest Side.
S3: But when I started pastoring in Chicago, I also realized
S3: that there is a lot of segregation, and I pastor
S3: a largely minority congregation there, a lot of different ethnic groups.
S3: And I came to realize that there has been a
S3: lot of polarization, racism in the city of Chicago. And
S3: that's not just my opinion. Sociologists study cities say that
S3: Chicago has been one of those cities that has struggled
S3: a lot. I want to say, praise God that he
S3: is doing a lot in this city, and praise God
S3: that he's breaking down barriers, but not with a lot
S3: of fight. And when I look across our congregation on
S3: Sunday morning or look at our worship team. African American, Asian. Hispanic.
S3: White worshiping together. It reminds me of a piece of heaven,
S3: but it also reminds me, as I minister in cities
S3: like Chicago, there's a lot of places around the US
S3: that there's still a lot of work to do.
S1: Amen. Yeah. And thank God for churches like New Life
S1: Community Church that I think are doing the right thing
S1: in this city.
S3: Yeah. I remind our congregation, oftentimes, look around, there are
S3: people because of their skin color or the background that
S3: they came from, that in your former life you would
S3: have nothing to do with. But now you call them
S3: my brother. My sister. And I think the church should
S3: be leading the way.
S1: Well, we thank that listener for contacting us with that comment, Mark.
S1: You can connect with us on our social media platforms
S1: like Facebook or Instagram, or contact us through our website boldsystems.org.
S1: All right. Let's jump back into the second half of
S1: today's message now.
S2: If you take on that mentality, do you also say,
S2: I want to serve, not pay? You know, it was
S2: hard to find parking today. I hope those parking guys
S2: get it together. You may want to say, hey, I
S2: want to offer to serve in the parking lot once
S2: a month. Bless. Giving mentality says I'm not just coming
S2: to see how my needs can be met. I'm not
S2: a consumer. I'm a giver. I'm a part. Jesus. When
S2: he came to earth, Jesus said, I did not come
S2: to be served, but I came to serve. He was
S2: the Son of God. He could have asked that everybody
S2: would meet his needs, that everybody would bow, that everybody would, would,
S2: would cater to him in everything. But instead Jesus said,
S2: I have come to serve. And he, he, he gave
S2: of himself. He gave of his love. He gave to
S2: the poor, he gave to the needy, and ultimately he
S2: gave his life. Why? He's building a culture. It's called
S2: the Kingdom of God culture. It's a culture that releases.
S2: It's a culture that gives. It gives. It's a culture
S2: that thrives in generosity. It's the opposite of stealing, the
S2: opposite of taking. It's a giving culture that exists in
S2: the kingdom of God. My prayer is that not only
S2: in our individual lives, that we would take on a
S2: giving Kingdom of God culture, but I pray that corporately
S2: we would give a kingdom of God giving culture. That's
S2: why my prayer is wherever we plan to campus. My
S2: prayer is that that that we would be able to
S2: bless that community because we give to that community, not
S2: just take from that community. Let me give you an example.
S2: Our our our team in Little Village realized that that
S2: there's tons of violence happening in the summertimes and tons
S2: of especially Latino youth killing one another senselessly. And we
S2: happen to be in Little Village. We happen to be
S2: on the border kind of on the on the border
S2: line of two of the major gangs in the little
S2: village community. And you know that whenever you're in the border,
S2: whenever you're on the border line, that that's where the
S2: friction happens. And so we decided a couple of years
S2: ago that we were going to start a softball league.
S2: So we started a softball league in Little Village. It's
S2: different than more softball, most softball leagues, because 90% of
S2: the people playing in that softball league are gang affiliated.
S2: This year we had 20 teams, 300 participants. The great
S2: majority affiliated with the gang. You say, well, why do
S2: you want to do that? Oh, we want to do
S2: that because we're givers and not takers. That's why we
S2: want to do that. We want to do that because
S2: we want peace in our neighborhood. So we do one
S2: softball league on this side and another softball league on
S2: that side. Some of the highest ranking members of some
S2: of the gangs are part of that softball league. And
S2: then at the end, we have a championship in which
S2: this team plays against that team, against an opposite gang.
S2: We don't do it in the neighborhood and we call
S2: a lot of cops. We did it on our own.
S2: We funded it on our own. This year, the city
S2: of Chicago saw what we were doing and saying, hey,
S2: you guys are doing this. You're doing a great job.
S2: They gave us a $25,000 grant to run the softball game.
S2: What am I saying? I'm saying that we are givers.
S2: That from the very beginning we say, God, you have
S2: given us something. We operate in the Kingdom of God
S2: mentality of giving and not taking. We give life. We
S2: don't take life. We impart hope. We don't take hope.
S2: We infuse love. We don't just take love. We give
S2: to people. We don't use people. The mentality of the
S2: Kingdom of God is a king is a mentality of generosity.
S2: It's a mentality that overflows. It's a mentality that says,
S2: I have seeds to sow and I will sow those
S2: seeds and I will reap a harvest of righteousness, but
S2: I will sow, because God's heart is a heart of giving.
S2: And as we give, we know that the byproduct will
S2: be expansion of the kingdom of God and the values
S2: of the Kingdom of God. Yesterday we did a community
S2: fest in our Humboldt Park campus, which is a very
S2: rough little neighborhood that we're in there. I got a
S2: couple text messages early in the afternoon about 11:00 or so,
S2: and they said, hey, pray for us, pastor, because, um,
S2: we're trying to put on a community fest with music
S2: and games and stuff for a community that's super dysfunctional.
S2: A lot of gangs, a lot of violence, a lot
S2: of stuff going on there. And they said, pray for us,
S2: because there had just been a drive by shooting on opposite.
S2: People heard that we were doing a fest there and
S2: wanted to disrupt it for the people in the community.
S2: So they drove by and there was a drive by
S2: shooting in on the block that we're about to do
S2: a a community fest in. The good thing is the
S2: alderman had dropped by to see how things were going.
S2: So he got to experience a little drive by shooting
S2: of his own. I called Pastor Danny up and said,
S2: how are we doing, pastor? What's going on there? He said, man,
S2: I call him up in the afternoon. Later he said,
S2: we're going full fledged. We got the band going, the
S2: people coming out, man, that's not going to stop us.
S2: We're not going to let the enemy stop us from
S2: what God has called us to do. What is that?
S2: It's a giving. It's it's it's a giving kingdom of
S2: God atmosphere. Instead of taking kingdom of God atmosphere. I
S2: believe listen to me. Well, the reason that we're givers
S2: is that we have something to give. If you have
S2: the Spirit of God in your heart and the Holy
S2: Spirit dwells inside of you, I don't care what your
S2: bank account says you are, you are not defined by
S2: the money that is currently in your savings account. You
S2: are defined by the presence of God in your life.
S2: And if you have God, you have something to give
S2: every single one of us here. Listen, you're not defined
S2: by your background. You're not defined by your social status.
S2: You're not defined by whether you are employed or unemployed.
S2: You are not defined by whether you have a criminal
S2: record or do not. You're not defined by whether you
S2: have a BA degree, in Ma degree or no degree
S2: at all. You are not defined by those things. You
S2: are defined by the presence of God. And if you
S2: are a possessor of the Holy Spirit and the presence
S2: of God, you have something to give. You're a giver
S2: and you're not a taker. You bless. You don't use.
S2: That's the that's the value of the kingdom of God.
S2: Thou shalt not steal. You will never flow from a
S2: take mentality to a give mentality, unless you first of
S2: all understand what you have in God. If you view
S2: yourself as poor, if you view yourself as undeserving, If
S2: you view yourself as no identity. If you view yourself
S2: as having nothing inside, then you will have a need mentality.
S2: In every relationship you're in, every job that you're in,
S2: you will take more than you give. Every group that
S2: you're in, you will take more than you give. You'll
S2: look for opportunities to take advantage of people because that
S2: is built out of a need mentality. That's not who
S2: you are. Look me in the eyes. I want you
S2: just to see the whites of your eyes. That is
S2: not who you are. You're not a taker. You're a giver.
S2: Give the power to give. Spirit of God, the right
S2: to give. The obligation to give. The beauty to give.
S2: You're a giver, not a taker. Dads, you're a giver,
S2: not a taker. Moms, you're a giver, not a taker. Employees.
S2: You're a giver, not a taker. Employers. You're a giver,
S2: not a taker. That's that's your DNA. That's the Kingdom
S2: of God mentality. We live in a dog eat dog world.
S2: We live in a world that's taking, taking, taking. You're
S2: going to have to fight the culture and be a giver.
S2: You say, pastor, I don't want to be taken advantage of.
S2: Let me tell you, there'll be times that you will
S2: be taken advantage of. But you know what? I would
S2: rather err on the side of once in a while,
S2: being taken advantage of as a giver than err on
S2: the side of being consumed in the kingdom of darkness
S2: is simply a taker.
S1: This is bold steps, and you're listening to the Bible
S1: teaching of pastor, author and Moody Bible Institute president Mark Jobe.
S1: We've just begun a new series on rock solid living,
S1: and if you've missed any of the messages in this series,
S1: you can catch up online at Bold steps. Org. Well, Mark,
S1: there might be some people out there who say, pastor,
S1: I'm a violator of the eighth commandment. I take more
S1: than I give. What's your message to them right now?
S3: Yeah, I would say that our natural tendency in the
S3: flesh is to be takers. That's the nature of our
S3: dark side, so to speak.
S1: Let's be honest about that, huh?
S3: But the most famous verse in the Bible, John 316
S3: For God so loved the world that he gave. And
S3: I think when you embrace the kingdom of God, and
S3: the Spirit of God comes upon us and starts to
S3: transform us, he shifts us from, what can I get
S3: out of this? To how can I contribute and give
S3: to this? And so some of you are going wrestling
S3: through the old habits and nature and trying to put
S3: on the new self made in the image of God.
S3: And I want to say, hey, it is it's a process.
S3: I acknowledge it's a difficult process, but I'm so glad
S3: that you've engaged in it, willing to say, God, here
S3: I am. Change me into a giver more than a taker.
S1: And how thankful we are for the word that holds
S1: itself up like a mirror, so we can see these
S1: things in our life.
S3: Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes we don't like what we see in
S3: that mirror. But praise God that if we look intently
S3: and are willing to submit to God, it's a place
S3: of great transformation.
S1: Which leads me, Mark, to mention this brand new devotional
S1: you've put together called Discovering Who You Are in Christ.
S1: Sometimes we need to ask ourselves, who am I really?
S1: And this booklet can help us.
S3: You know, in so many people, especially younger people, struggle
S3: with identity issues like who am I really? And your
S3: identity affects how you walk talk, how you live, how
S3: you behave, how you think. If you have some labels
S3: on you that define you in a way that's not
S3: consistent with how God defines you, then it affects everything
S3: about your life. And I think some of you need
S3: to start ripping those labels off, and the only way
S3: to do that is through the renewing of your mind.
S3: And so this devotional helps you for 15 days start
S3: to think of who am I in Christ? What does
S3: God say about me? What does the Word of God say?
S3: What is my true identity? 15 days of starting to
S3: renew your mind.
S1: And 15 days will lead to a habit, won't it?
S3: That's our hope, is that you start down this road
S3: and that you'll start to develop that sense of, I'm
S3: going to start meditating, thinking and focused on who I
S3: am in Christ.
S1: Well, it's called more than a label discovering who you
S1: are in Christ. It's a powerful look at your identity,
S1: not through how the world sees you, but how God
S1: sees you. And Mark, I'm so glad that you've put
S1: this together. Thank you for doing this. I'll tell our
S1: listeners how to get a copy, but you see us
S1: using it every day for 15 days straight.
S3: 15 days in the morning. There's a little devotional thought,
S3: and then there's some questions right next to it that
S3: you can answer and fill out. But the idea here
S3: is that you would meditate every day on your new
S3: identity in Jesus.
S1: Sounds great. So if you've ever struggled with self-doubt, insecurity,
S1: or just wondered why am I here? This study is
S1: for you and we'd love to send you a copy
S1: as our way of saying thank you for your gift
S1: to Bold steps. Request your very own copy today of
S1: more than a label discovering who you are in Christ
S1: at Bold steps.org. Look for the devotional tab and click
S1: on that or call 800 Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. I'm Wayne
S1: Shepherd inviting you to join us again tomorrow. And Mark
S1: explains the important meaning of the ninth commandment. The message
S1: is called thou shalt not lie. And you'll hear it
S1: right here. Tuesday on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold
S1: steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of
S1: Moody Bible Institute.