WEBVTT - What You Know Will Change You – Part 1 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:03.800 Today on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe explains what it means 0:00:03.800 --> 0:00:06.680 to be a true and authentic follower of Jesus. 0:00:07.600 --> 0:00:13.039 They have incredible riches, spiritual riches that are theirs. They've 0:00:13.039 --> 0:00:17.079 been given a position in God, but oftentimes live their 0:00:17.079 --> 0:00:20.560 lives as though they were much less than who they 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:25.959 are because they have not quite understood how God sees 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:28.160 them and what God has given them. 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:44.760 Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is president 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:47.239 of the Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:50.559 New Life Community Church in Chicago. We're working our way 0:00:50.560 --> 0:00:52.879 through the book of Ephesians and exciting new series of 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:55.160 messages designed to show us what happens in the life 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:58.680 of someone who truly and authentically Mark believes in Jesus. 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:01.319 Yeah, and Wayne, the apostle Paul starts the book of 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:05.640 Ephesians with our identity, who we are. What is our position? 0:01:05.640 --> 0:01:08.840 How do we relate to God? And this is a 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:12.600 message that's so very important, because I believe that even 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:17.760 so many Christians don't really understand their position and what, 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:20.639 you know can really change you. 0:01:20.640 --> 0:01:23.160 That's the title of this message from our series. When 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:26.280 you believe Everything Changes, here's Mark Jobe. 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:33.880 His name was Victor. He felt like a loser. He 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:35.920 didn't do very well in school. In fact, when he 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:40.600 was about 16 years old, a teacher advised him that 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:42.720 it would be better for him to drop out of 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:47.600 high school and get a job. So he did. He 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:50.320 got one job and he lost it and got another 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:53.200 job and didn't do too well, got another job and 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:56.120 another job. By the time he was 32 years old, 0:01:56.440 --> 0:02:01.010 Victor had had 76 jobs and not done very well 0:02:01.010 --> 0:02:06.570 at any of those jobs. That was about to change. 0:02:08.010 --> 0:02:14.329 He applied for his 77th job. Part of the hiring 0:02:14.330 --> 0:02:19.530 process at the 77th job was that they required some tests, 0:02:19.570 --> 0:02:26.170 personality and IQ tests. Victor took an IQ test. The 0:02:26.169 --> 0:02:34.769 normal average IQ was about 100. Victor tested at 161, 0:02:35.850 --> 0:02:39.690 in the range where they consider it the range of 0:02:39.690 --> 0:02:44.730 a genius. When the results of the test came back, 0:02:44.770 --> 0:02:50.810 the the person giving the test said, you have just 0:02:50.810 --> 0:02:55.250 tested in a range that we call the range of genius. 0:02:56.690 --> 0:03:04.010 Victor was flabbergasted. Shot. Surprised it was a changing moment 0:03:04.010 --> 0:03:08.130 for him. He was never to be the same. In fact, 0:03:08.130 --> 0:03:11.450 it so altered the way he viewed himself. So changed 0:03:11.450 --> 0:03:17.410 the way he perceived himself. That Victor Serenko went on 0:03:17.450 --> 0:03:23.770 to become famous for his research in laser surgery and 0:03:23.770 --> 0:03:28.490 became the president of an organization called Mensa, an organization 0:03:28.490 --> 0:03:36.650 for geniuses. All because a test said that he was special. Oh, 0:03:36.650 --> 0:03:40.170 you see, Victor had always been a genius, but he 0:03:40.170 --> 0:03:46.490 did not know who he was until the revelation came. 0:03:48.050 --> 0:03:50.530 I went into so many Christians that are that way. 0:03:51.330 --> 0:03:56.930 They have a lot at their disposal. They have incredible riches, 0:03:56.930 --> 0:04:01.500 spiritual riches that are theirs. They've been given a position 0:04:01.500 --> 0:04:05.980 in God, but oftentimes live their lives as though they 0:04:06.020 --> 0:04:09.900 were much less than who they are, because they have 0:04:09.900 --> 0:04:15.100 not quite understood how God sees them and what God 0:04:15.100 --> 0:04:18.900 has given them. Well, I'm praying that for some of you, 0:04:20.060 --> 0:04:25.940 this passage in Ephesians will be what Victor Sancho's test 0:04:25.940 --> 0:04:30.300 was him an eye opening experience that kind of reveals 0:04:30.300 --> 0:04:33.740 to you who you really are in God. So are 0:04:33.740 --> 0:04:37.859 you ready this morning? Alright, we're going to be reading 0:04:37.860 --> 0:04:43.739 in Ephesians chapter one, beginning in verse 11. It says, 0:04:43.740 --> 0:04:49.380 In Him, in Christ we were also chosen, having been 0:04:49.380 --> 0:04:52.620 predestined according to the plan of him who works out 0:04:52.620 --> 0:04:56.380 everything in conformity to the purpose of his will. We 0:04:56.380 --> 0:04:58.859 saw this last week, but let me just reiterate it 0:04:59.620 --> 0:05:04.940 that you in Christ, you were chosen. Chosen before the 0:05:04.940 --> 0:05:09.060 foundation of the world. You are chosen even though God 0:05:09.100 --> 0:05:12.219 knew who you were and how you would be. God 0:05:12.220 --> 0:05:15.980 knew your character and your weaknesses. God knew your name 0:05:15.980 --> 0:05:18.700 and your middle name and your last name and the 0:05:18.700 --> 0:05:21.339 names they called you in school when you were growing up. 0:05:21.860 --> 0:05:26.620 God knew your blood pressure and God knew your heart rate. 0:05:26.620 --> 0:05:32.300 And God knew your genealogy. And God, who knew all 0:05:32.300 --> 0:05:37.580 things about you, chose you in advance to belong to him. 0:05:38.620 --> 0:05:42.500 He fully understood who you were, and he fully understood 0:05:42.500 --> 0:05:46.420 all of your weaknesses and your propensity to the failures 0:05:46.420 --> 0:05:50.060 that you have, and yet understanding all of that, God 0:05:50.060 --> 0:05:59.059 still chose you. Predestined you because God knew in his 0:05:59.060 --> 0:06:04.789 foreknowledge Knowledge that one day you also would believe and 0:06:04.790 --> 0:06:11.229 choose him in return. That's a powerful thought. Listen to 0:06:11.230 --> 0:06:17.310 what it says. Listen. Having been predestined according to the 0:06:17.310 --> 0:06:21.390 plan of him who works out everything in conformity to 0:06:21.430 --> 0:06:26.030 the purpose of his will, in order that we who 0:06:26.029 --> 0:06:29.070 were the first to hope in Christ may be for 0:06:29.070 --> 0:06:33.270 the praise of his glory. I like that God chose us, 0:06:33.270 --> 0:06:37.470 predestined us in advance, knew that we would be chosen 0:06:37.470 --> 0:06:40.390 because in his foreknowledge he knew also that we would 0:06:40.390 --> 0:06:43.429 in turn believe in him and choose him for the 0:06:43.550 --> 0:06:47.670 purpose of the praise of his glory. God understood that 0:06:47.670 --> 0:06:51.830 your transformation would lead people to praise him and say, 0:06:51.830 --> 0:06:55.430 look what God has done in him or her. Thank God. 0:06:56.670 --> 0:07:00.710 And it says, it tells us here, listen, verse 13. 0:07:01.230 --> 0:07:05.830 And you also were included in Christ when you heard 0:07:05.830 --> 0:07:11.670 the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having believed, 0:07:11.670 --> 0:07:15.230 you were marked in him with the seal. Here's how 0:07:15.230 --> 0:07:19.870 it works. God knew you before you were born. God 0:07:19.870 --> 0:07:22.670 knew who you would be and how you would be. 0:07:24.110 --> 0:07:27.910 God did not orchestrate that. You would sin even though 0:07:27.910 --> 0:07:32.470 he knew you would. Let me just clarify. There's a 0:07:32.470 --> 0:07:39.270 difference between foreknowledge. There's a difference between foreknowledge, in other words, 0:07:39.270 --> 0:07:48.550 that I know in advance, and the actual making someone 0:07:48.590 --> 0:07:53.630 do something. God knew that Adam and Eve would sin, 0:07:53.790 --> 0:07:59.350 but God was not the author of evil. How many 0:07:59.350 --> 0:08:00.760 of you are tracking with me? with me, just kind 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:04.800 of nod your head. Just because I know something doesn't 0:08:04.800 --> 0:08:08.720 mean I've made it happen. Some people believe that because 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:11.520 God knows it. He must be the author of it. 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:15.040 Because God knows that you will fall. Doesn't mean that 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:17.880 God wants you to fall, or makes you fall, or 0:08:17.920 --> 0:08:22.440 orchestrates your fall, or desires you to fall. He knows 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:26.120 the future, but he's not the author of evil in 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:29.520 any kind. He knows. He knew that Adam and Eve 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:32.920 would sin, but he was not the author of their sin. 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:36.960 He wasn't the creator of their sin. He wasn't the 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:40.800 planner of their sin. He wasn't. He did not desire 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:43.840 them to sin. But it doesn't preclude the fact that 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:47.439 he knew that it would happen. And for some people, 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:52.160 it's hard to understand the difference between foreknowledge and actually 0:08:52.160 --> 0:09:01.079 making something happen or responsibility for it. When God chose 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:04.560 you before the foundation of the world, he knew that 0:09:04.559 --> 0:09:08.920 one day, one day. Oh, I love this. That one 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:15.400 day you would choose him in return when you were 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:18.839 still raising your fist at God. And the only time 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:21.520 you use the name of Jesus was to as an 0:09:21.520 --> 0:09:29.440 expletive in your swearing when you, uh, criticize Christians, when 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:34.400 you laughed at holy rollers, God already knew that he 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:37.160 had chosen you. God already knew that one day you 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:40.600 would believe God already knew. He was just saying, oh wait, wait, 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:45.160 because yours is coming. God already knew in your hardness 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:48.400 that one day you would bow your knee and weep 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:52.560 and repent and say, I've had enough. Jesus, I need 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:55.680 you to be my Savior and my Lord. I repent 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:58.440 of my ways. I invite you to come into my heart. 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:01.929 You see, he already knew that it didn't catch him 0:10:01.929 --> 0:10:06.090 by surprise. Even when you were swearing at God, even 0:10:06.090 --> 0:10:08.930 when you were bitter at God, even when you were 0:10:08.929 --> 0:10:12.250 hard against God, God already knew that the day and 0:10:12.250 --> 0:10:16.170 time would come when you would bow your knee to 0:10:16.210 --> 0:10:19.810 his lordship and his sovereignty. Because God is a God 0:10:19.809 --> 0:10:26.650 that knows the future. So it says you were included 0:10:26.650 --> 0:10:30.329 in Christ. You were chosen before, but you were included 0:10:30.330 --> 0:10:33.890 in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the 0:10:33.970 --> 0:10:38.810 gospel of your salvation. And when you believed, you were 0:10:38.809 --> 0:10:43.250 marked in him with a seal the moment that you 0:10:43.250 --> 0:10:49.929 believed you were marked. You know, the problem with tattoos 0:10:50.970 --> 0:10:55.050 is that they just don't change. You change, but your 0:10:55.050 --> 0:10:59.730 tattoo doesn't change. When you're 16 years old and you're 0:10:59.970 --> 0:11:05.010 madly in love with Susie. And think she'll be the 0:11:05.010 --> 0:11:08.449 love of your life. And you'll never break up. And 0:11:08.450 --> 0:11:11.610 you can never love another woman. And you put a 0:11:11.610 --> 0:11:15.850 big heart and say, Susie on your arm. And when 0:11:15.850 --> 0:11:19.810 you're 18, you don't even know where Susie is. But 0:11:19.809 --> 0:11:22.530 let me tell you, you still have that tattoo because 0:11:22.530 --> 0:11:27.969 you have changed. But that tattoo doesn't change. I had 0:11:27.970 --> 0:11:31.370 a guy that I was mentoring, I was helping in 0:11:31.370 --> 0:11:35.170 a Bible study, and, um, one day I showed up 0:11:35.170 --> 0:11:36.770 at his house and it was kind of warm, and 0:11:36.770 --> 0:11:39.610 we were meeting for a Bible study, and he said, pastor, 0:11:39.610 --> 0:11:42.250 I got something to tell you. I really don't like this. 0:11:42.250 --> 0:11:45.010 I said, what, what? What's wrong? And he put out 0:11:45.010 --> 0:11:46.970 his leg and he had on his leg a big 0:11:46.970 --> 0:11:49.250 tattoo that ran up all the leg, and it was 0:11:49.250 --> 0:11:54.090 a tattoo of a naked woman. And he said, now 0:11:54.090 --> 0:11:56.970 that I'm a Christian, I just. I don't like it. 0:11:57.010 --> 0:12:00.939 It's a naked woman on my leg. He said, I 0:12:00.980 --> 0:12:03.500 got an idea though, pastor, I'm going to go back 0:12:03.500 --> 0:12:06.460 to that tattoo guy and have her dress her up. 0:12:08.140 --> 0:12:09.660 So he was going to make her a little bit 0:12:09.660 --> 0:12:13.179 more modest, put a little clothes on this woman and okay, whatever. 0:12:13.220 --> 0:12:16.900 You see, because the thing with the tattoo is you change. 0:12:17.140 --> 0:12:20.300 But but your tattoo doesn't change. It's a mark that 0:12:20.300 --> 0:12:25.740 doesn't change. Now, here's the thing. The moment that you 0:12:25.740 --> 0:12:30.540 believed in Christ, you were marked. It tells us you 0:12:30.540 --> 0:12:35.100 were marked. Now, what kind of marking is that? It 0:12:35.100 --> 0:12:38.860 says you were marked in him with a seal. 0:12:44.700 --> 0:12:47.420 You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark job. We'll continue 0:12:47.460 --> 0:12:50.300 today's message in a moment. Mark, there's something I've been 0:12:50.300 --> 0:12:52.219 noticing lately that I think many of our listeners are 0:12:52.220 --> 0:12:55.459 thinking about, with so many voices competing for our attention. 0:12:55.620 --> 0:12:59.580 There's social media news cycles, workplace demands. It's easy to 0:12:59.620 --> 0:13:02.380 lose sight of what matters eternally. And I find myself 0:13:02.380 --> 0:13:05.540 wondering how many Christians today are investing their best resources 0:13:05.540 --> 0:13:07.500 in things that won't ultimately last. 0:13:07.700 --> 0:13:08.220 You know, Wayne. 0:13:08.220 --> 0:13:11.580 I remember when my youngest son was playing football in 0:13:11.580 --> 0:13:15.180 high school. It was a big game and I went there. 0:13:15.179 --> 0:13:17.500 I was cheering him on, and I got a phone 0:13:17.500 --> 0:13:19.180 call and I thought, well, let me pick up this 0:13:19.179 --> 0:13:21.300 phone call just for a moment. So I went down 0:13:21.300 --> 0:13:23.740 and I got on the phone call, and it was 0:13:23.740 --> 0:13:29.340 right at that time that my son, he intercepted a pass. 0:13:29.900 --> 0:13:33.059 And afterwards he said, dad, did you see that? And 0:13:33.059 --> 0:13:35.260 I had to say I missed the moment I was 0:13:35.260 --> 0:13:38.420 distracted by something. And in the end, it wasn't an 0:13:38.420 --> 0:13:42.700 urgent phone call. Listen, right now, there's a lot of distraction. 0:13:42.980 --> 0:13:47.540 The political environment in our country, there's a drama every day. 0:13:47.540 --> 0:13:54.340 There's a lot that's happening internationally. There's wars, there's natural disasters. 0:13:54.340 --> 0:13:57.740 It feels like we are just sucked into it. But 0:13:57.740 --> 0:14:02.470 I want to say, don't Miss the moment. I believe 0:14:02.470 --> 0:14:06.030 that we are seeing more people come to Christ at 0:14:06.030 --> 0:14:09.310 this season at a time, especially under the age of 35, 0:14:09.390 --> 0:14:13.270 than I have ever seen in our lifetime. It's happening 0:14:13.270 --> 0:14:15.870 in Africa and Europe. It's happening in the United States 0:14:15.870 --> 0:14:21.110 of America. We at Bold Steps are committed to not 0:14:21.110 --> 0:14:24.510 get distracted, but to make sure that we are proclaiming 0:14:24.510 --> 0:14:27.990 the gospel of Jesus at a time of uncertainty so 0:14:27.990 --> 0:14:31.590 that people can come to know him in this window 0:14:31.590 --> 0:14:35.750 of opportunity that we have. So we want to encourage you. Pray. 0:14:35.990 --> 0:14:37.110 Don't miss the moment. 0:14:37.150 --> 0:14:39.670 Such an important word, Mark. Thank you. And if you 0:14:39.670 --> 0:14:41.790 would like to become part of this eternal work today 0:14:41.790 --> 0:14:44.710 by visiting us, you can do that at Bold steps.org 0:14:44.750 --> 0:14:48.350 and make a gift or call us at 800 Moody. 0:14:48.590 --> 0:14:53.630 That's (800) 356-6639. And when you do, we'll send you a 0:14:53.630 --> 0:14:55.830 special gift as a way of saying thanks for partnering 0:14:55.830 --> 0:14:59.790 with us and sharing God's truth that will last eternally. 0:14:59.960 --> 0:15:01.960 More on that later. But let's get back to the 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:03.920 message now. Again, here's Mark job. 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:11.400 Now let me talk about that for a minute, because 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:14.320 I want you to fully understand what's a mark and 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:19.960 what's a seal. The seal has to do with how 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:26.040 they sent correspondence and official letters. In those days. I 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:28.680 think it was. I was talking to a high school 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:32.200 student not too long ago, and they told me that 0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:34.680 one of their assignments in their class was they had 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:37.720 to write a letter, put it in an envelope, put 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:42.080 the address, put a stamp on and mail it. And 0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:46.320 these were juniors in high school. And the high school 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:48.360 student was telling me that a whole bunch of people 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:51.360 in the class didn't know how to do it. They 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:54.720 just didn't know how to send a letter. Because we 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:59.600 live in the age of text messaging, emails, Facebook, Book, 0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:03.840 and in their world, they never have to send a letter, right? 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:07.480 But in the world that Paul lived in, they had 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:10.440 to send letters often. And the way that they would 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:15.080 authenticate a letter is they would take a someone would 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:18.160 write a letter or an official document. They would put 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:21.360 it in a scroll, tie it, usually with the ribbon. 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:26.840 They would melt wax on the place where the the 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:30.400 paper would meet together. They would melt wax, and then 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:34.600 they would take a signature ring or an emblem, and 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:38.720 they would put the imprint of it on the soft wax. 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:43.360 So when someone received this note or this letter, this 0:16:43.360 --> 0:16:48.320 official document, they would look at the wax signature and 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:52.520 they would realize that this is an authentic document, not 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:58.320 a forgery, but this is the real thing. When you 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:02.360 came to Christ The moment that you bowed your knee 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:08.640 and came to Christ, you were marked. You were sealed. Uh, 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:12.520 you were given something that authenticates the fact that you 0:17:12.520 --> 0:17:18.000 are truly a follower of Jesus Christ. It's called the 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:22.600 Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the moment that you came 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:29.120 to Christ, the Holy Spirit is deposited in your being. 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:34.760 So that in the spiritual realm, when every when anybody 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:38.160 looks at you from the angels to the demonic to 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:41.680 God Himself, when he looks at you, he sees the 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:44.879 mark of God upon your life, which is the indwelling 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:48.560 of the Holy Spirit that cannot be raised, that cannot 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:52.240 be taken off, that cannot change because you may change, 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:56.159 but the mark never changes. It's the indwelling of the 0:17:56.160 --> 0:18:00.010 Holy Spirit of God. You were marked in him with 0:18:00.010 --> 0:18:05.010 a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. Now, I love this 0:18:05.010 --> 0:18:12.970 about this passage. Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy 0:18:12.970 --> 0:18:17.130 Spirit is the third person of the Triune God. Now, 0:18:17.130 --> 0:18:19.850 this is difficult for some people to understand. It's difficult, 0:18:19.850 --> 0:18:21.850 I think, for all of us to understand in one 0:18:21.850 --> 0:18:27.170 way or another. There's a lot of, uh, aberrations of 0:18:27.170 --> 0:18:32.530 Christianity that have developed out of a misunderstanding of the 0:18:32.570 --> 0:18:37.050 Triune God. But in essence, the way the Bible explains 0:18:37.050 --> 0:18:40.970 it is we. We worship one God, not three gods. 0:18:41.970 --> 0:18:45.609 We have one God that we worship, but that one 0:18:45.609 --> 0:18:49.570 God is manifest in three persons with the same essence 0:18:49.570 --> 0:18:55.290 and the same nature. And those three persons have different functions. 0:18:56.290 --> 0:19:00.180 They're not three different gods. They are three persons that 0:19:00.180 --> 0:19:07.659 exist in one God. So therefore, when we pray, we pray. Technically, 0:19:08.820 --> 0:19:11.740 I know you say Jesus when you pray, and that's okay. 0:19:12.140 --> 0:19:14.179 I know you may say Holy Spirit when you pray, 0:19:14.180 --> 0:19:18.540 and that's okay, but technically you are praying to God 0:19:18.540 --> 0:19:19.420 the Father. 0:19:27.580 --> 0:19:30.900 You're listening to Bold Steps, the Bible teaching of Mark job. 0:19:31.060 --> 0:19:34.100 Today's message was called what you know will Change You. 0:19:34.100 --> 0:19:36.300 And you can hear part two of this message tomorrow. 0:19:36.300 --> 0:19:39.500 So please keep listening. But before then, we want to 0:19:39.500 --> 0:19:42.020 invite you to request our new bold step gift. It's 0:19:42.020 --> 0:19:44.340 one that really speaks to the moms and dads of 0:19:44.340 --> 0:19:44.899 young boys. 0:19:44.900 --> 0:19:49.940 Mark Wayne. We have Jason and Aaron, their authors. They 0:19:49.940 --> 0:19:53.340 are a married couple and they have written a book 0:19:53.340 --> 0:19:58.620 called Lies Boys Believe and the Epic Quest for truth. 0:19:59.020 --> 0:20:01.260 And great to have you in the studio with us. 0:20:01.300 --> 0:20:03.540 And one of the lies you address in this book 0:20:03.540 --> 0:20:09.100 is that following Jesus is boring. And I think that's well, 0:20:09.100 --> 0:20:13.220 that's an important lie. Jesus is anything but boring, isn't it? Uh, 0:20:13.220 --> 0:20:16.140 so tell me why you think boys are susceptible to 0:20:16.180 --> 0:20:18.100 this particular deception? 0:20:18.580 --> 0:20:21.740 Well, a lot of times when boys are introduced to 0:20:21.780 --> 0:20:25.380 to faith and to Jesus, it involves a lot of 0:20:25.420 --> 0:20:29.460 sitting still, listening to a Bible story. If there is 0:20:29.460 --> 0:20:32.700 an activity, a lot of times, at least me growing up, 0:20:32.700 --> 0:20:37.700 it was like a flannel board with the story up there. And, uh. 0:20:37.740 --> 0:20:40.620 And Moses kept falling off the flannel board in my life. Yeah. 0:20:41.100 --> 0:20:45.540 That's right. And, uh, if if our modern boys are 0:20:45.540 --> 0:20:50.660 anything like I was, I had a real hard time appreciating, um, 0:20:50.700 --> 0:20:53.739 the stories when I had to sit still and be 0:20:53.740 --> 0:20:56.659 forced to hold my hands in my lap and, um, 0:20:56.820 --> 0:21:01.060 be super well behaved. But what we what we find 0:21:01.500 --> 0:21:05.020 in Scripture is that the life of Jesus was anything 0:21:05.020 --> 0:21:10.860 but boring. Uh, the things that boys yearn for in 0:21:10.900 --> 0:21:16.139 their innermost parts is the adventure of following a leader 0:21:16.140 --> 0:21:20.460 and leading other men. And that's exactly what we see 0:21:20.500 --> 0:21:23.900 in in The True Stories of Jesus, where he, uh, 0:21:23.900 --> 0:21:26.940 he went fishing. And when he was on adventure all 0:21:26.940 --> 0:21:30.619 the time, he was, uh, challenging people and encouraging them 0:21:30.619 --> 0:21:34.820 and healing them. And, uh, the people who follow Jesus, 0:21:34.820 --> 0:21:38.660 the disciples were anything but boring men. Um, they were 0:21:38.660 --> 0:21:43.460 very real, very active, very engaged. There were arguments. There 0:21:43.460 --> 0:21:47.540 were lots of challenges in their lives. And that's really 0:21:47.540 --> 0:21:50.980 part of the adventure that we kind of, I don't know, 0:21:51.020 --> 0:21:53.340 whitewash out of Jesus. A lot of times when we're 0:21:53.340 --> 0:21:57.180 telling Bible stories to our young men, following him is 0:21:57.180 --> 0:21:58.460 anything but boring. 0:21:58.660 --> 0:22:01.190 Aaron, I don't know about your four boys, but sometimes 0:22:01.190 --> 0:22:02.869 it can be hard to get boys to read. And 0:22:02.869 --> 0:22:04.869 I know this book is for parents to use with 0:22:04.869 --> 0:22:07.430 their boys. You had that in mind as you wrote 0:22:07.430 --> 0:22:08.750 and designed this book, right? 0:22:08.790 --> 0:22:11.869 Yeah. It's different. There's actually several books in the live series. 0:22:11.869 --> 0:22:14.590 Lies women believe lies, men Believe lies, Girls believe, which 0:22:14.590 --> 0:22:16.989 you mentioned. And this book is very different from the 0:22:16.990 --> 0:22:20.070 format of those. And yeah, our boys did not love 0:22:20.070 --> 0:22:22.469 to read. I remember being a little girl and if 0:22:22.470 --> 0:22:24.150 I had a free afternoon, I would spend it with 0:22:24.150 --> 0:22:26.910 a book. That's not how my boys operate. They want 0:22:26.910 --> 0:22:29.989 to be outside playing swords with sticks. So how do 0:22:29.990 --> 0:22:32.629 we get them in the content? So we were really intentional. 0:22:32.630 --> 0:22:35.270 It's a fiction book. The others are not. They're just 0:22:35.270 --> 0:22:37.910 straight trade books. And it follows a dad and his 0:22:37.910 --> 0:22:41.070 sons on this big adventure that actually models a trip 0:22:41.070 --> 0:22:43.790 that Jason and our boys have taken. They go out 0:22:43.790 --> 0:22:47.990 west and they encounter all kinds of excitement. Um, and 0:22:47.990 --> 0:22:50.270 there's also things that happen in the book. They're going 0:22:50.310 --> 0:22:52.790 to turn the book all different ways as they're reading it. 0:22:52.790 --> 0:22:54.750 They're going to there's things they're supposed to do with 0:22:54.750 --> 0:22:56.990 the corners of the book. There's quests they do within 0:22:56.990 --> 0:23:00.590 the book. There's cryptograms where they're trying to solve riddles, 0:23:00.590 --> 0:23:02.630 and none of that is an attempt to bait and 0:23:02.630 --> 0:23:04.950 switch them into the Bible. As Jason said, we think 0:23:04.950 --> 0:23:07.669 the Bible is the most exciting book in the world, 0:23:07.670 --> 0:23:11.149 and so this is to be in parallel with the Bible. 0:23:11.150 --> 0:23:13.469 And what we've heard from parents and boys over and 0:23:13.470 --> 0:23:16.070 over again is my boy couldn't put it down, and 0:23:16.070 --> 0:23:18.510 he hasn't done that with any other book. And that's 0:23:18.510 --> 0:23:23.110 because we intentionally invite him into this story with these 0:23:23.109 --> 0:23:25.869 other men and boys that are people they're going to 0:23:25.910 --> 0:23:28.870 want to be like, and they're encountering truth all along 0:23:28.869 --> 0:23:31.390 the way. And I actually think that models life pretty well. 0:23:31.750 --> 0:23:35.110 Life is an adventure, and we are encountering challenges, and 0:23:35.109 --> 0:23:38.710 Jesus is with us every step. And so, um, we 0:23:38.869 --> 0:23:41.149 we were excited to give it to boys in a 0:23:41.150 --> 0:23:43.710 format that we thought they would love, and our boys 0:23:43.710 --> 0:23:46.109 loved it. They're fiction readers. Our boys are. We toss 0:23:46.109 --> 0:23:49.030 a nonfiction book at them, they might roll their eyes 0:23:49.030 --> 0:23:50.950 and they might or might not read it, but a 0:23:50.950 --> 0:23:54.109 great fiction story with an epic adventure, they're going to 0:23:54.109 --> 0:23:56.550 read it. So we hope this book is that. Yeah. 0:23:56.590 --> 0:23:59.760 That's great. Well, there you have it. Jason and Aaron 0:23:59.760 --> 0:24:04.040 have written this book specifically for 6 to 12 year 0:24:04.119 --> 0:24:08.600 old boys. So if you are a grandparent, a parent, 0:24:08.600 --> 0:24:13.719 if you know someone that's raising boys in that category, listen, 0:24:13.720 --> 0:24:16.000 this is the book to get into their hands as 0:24:16.000 --> 0:24:17.280 soon as possible. 0:24:17.520 --> 0:24:20.119 Well, once again, it's written by Jason and Aaron Davis, 0:24:20.119 --> 0:24:21.880 and we'll be happy to send you a copy. This 0:24:21.880 --> 0:24:24.560 bold step gift today when you give a donation to 0:24:24.600 --> 0:24:28.760 support Bold Steps. So call us at 800. D.L. Moody. 0:24:29.320 --> 0:24:34.840 That's (800) 356-6639. Or give your gift online at Bold Steps. 0:24:37.040 --> 0:24:39.080 You can also send your gift and request the book 0:24:39.119 --> 0:24:41.520 Lies Boys Believe by writing to us in the mail. 0:24:41.760 --> 0:24:46.919 Just address your letter to Bold Steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, 0:24:46.960 --> 0:24:51.280 Illinois 606 ten. And then don't forget if you've missed 0:24:51.280 --> 0:24:53.520 any of these messages, you can listen to Mark's daily 0:24:53.520 --> 0:24:58.040 program online at Bold steps.org or catch Mark from the 0:24:58.040 --> 0:25:00.880 road no matter where you are, just download the Bold 0:25:00.880 --> 0:25:04.000 Steps app to your favorite smart device, or subscribe to 0:25:04.040 --> 0:25:07.560 the Bold Steps podcast wherever you listen. For more details 0:25:07.560 --> 0:25:09.600 on all the ways you can listen, just visit Bold 0:25:09.600 --> 0:25:13.040 Steps dot. One more thing before we leave today, why 0:25:13.040 --> 0:25:15.760 not sign up for The Bold Stepper Weekly? It's a 0:25:15.760 --> 0:25:18.840 free devotional from the desk of pastor Mark Jobe, designed 0:25:18.840 --> 0:25:21.400 to help you apply biblical truth to everyday life with 0:25:21.400 --> 0:25:25.159 clarity and purpose. Just visit bold steps to get it 0:25:25.160 --> 0:25:28.879 delivered to your inbox automatically. And that is our time 0:25:28.880 --> 0:25:31.480 for today. I'm Wayne Shepherd on behalf of Mark Jobe 0:25:31.480 --> 0:25:33.840 and the entire Bold Steps team. We invite you to 0:25:33.840 --> 0:25:36.960 join us again tomorrow. And Mark continues this message. It's 0:25:36.960 --> 0:25:40.080 part of our new series. When you believe Everything changes. 0:25:40.280 --> 0:25:42.840 And you can hear more Friday right here on Bold 0:25:42.840 --> 0:25:47.000 Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of 0:25:47.040 --> 0:25:50.240 Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.