S1: Today on Bold Steps with Mark job, we're learning how
S1: our biggest issues could be part of God's greater plan.
S2: Some of you have been given gifts by God, but
S2: you have been injured and because of your injury, some
S2: of you have put your gifts on hold. And so
S2: you put it aside and it shrivels up, so much
S2: so that it almost feels like you don't have a gift. Why?
S2: Because you haven't used it in so long that it
S2: shriveled up.
S1: And welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, president of
S1: Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New Life Community
S1: Church in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. You know, all of
S1: us have issues with dealing with things that make us
S1: feel broken or invisible may be inadequate. But, Mark, you're
S1: going to show us today how God can use even
S1: our greatest struggles for his divine purposes.
S2: And Wayne, what I love about Jesus as he stepped
S2: into people's brokenness and issues. He wasn't afraid to call
S2: them out, and even to ask people to bring to
S2: the light the things that maybe they were somewhat embarrassed about.
S2: And this story goes right to that place. I think
S2: it's going to minister to a lot of people.
S1: It's no accident you've tuned in today, so let's listen together.
S1: The message you have an issue here on bold Steps
S1: with Mark Jobe.
S2: My mother, bless her heart, she's 86 years old. She
S2: is one incredible woman. She lives in northern Spain, lives
S2: independently at 86 years old. She walks about four miles
S2: a day, and she prays while she walks. And she
S2: reads five chapters of the Bible a day. And, um,
S2: I don't know if I've ever heard her complain about anything. And, um.
S2: So she's just a real encouraging woman. I actually speak
S2: to her every Sunday on my way to church. I
S2: FaceTime her, uh, on the way to church and we
S2: have a little dialogue. Spain is seven hours ahead, so
S2: she's already been to church and she's ready to chat. But,
S2: you know, a few years ago, this, uh, overall healthy woman,
S2: 86 years old, uh, started to develop macular degeneration, which
S2: means that you start to lose your sight. And so
S2: although she's overall healthy, she's actually technically blind, officially blind. And, um,
S2: I was talking to her not too long ago, and
S2: I was saying, mom, how are you handling this blindness
S2: that you have? And she says, oh, Mark, I'm doing well.
S2: I can still see I'm walking. And, uh, she said, my,
S2: the only challenge I have is she says as I
S2: walk through the village, people recognize me. She's taught English
S2: for years, and so she's She literally taught hundreds of
S2: people English. And so they call out when they see
S2: her and they say, Susana. And she says, I say
S2: hi to them and they start talking. How you doing?
S2: You're looking great. What's going on? I was with her
S2: a while back and I said, mom, who's that? She says,
S2: I don't know. I said, mom, you don't know. She says,
S2: I can't see them, so I don't know who they are.
S2: And so I said, mom, we got to come up
S2: with a better strategy here. So her strategy now is
S2: when someone says, hey, Susana. She says to them immediately, hi.
S2: She says, I can't see you, so you need to
S2: tell me your name. And so they tell her. They
S2: they tell her her name, and then she's able to
S2: know who they are because she can't see them. Now
S2: she wants to see them, but they are unseen to
S2: her because of her lack of vision. Now, I just
S2: want to say today that there are many of you
S2: in this auditorium. In fact, we live in a day
S2: and age where there is a lot of people that
S2: feel unseen and unheard. Unseen and unheard. In fact, post Covid,
S2: this is even more exaggerated. The sense that I'm not
S2: sure if anybody sees me. I'm not sure if anybody
S2: hears me. I'm not sure if anybody really knows me. Listen.
S2: And I'm not sure if anybody even cares to know me.
S2: That is a massive sentiment by Buy a lot of
S2: people right now in this nation, in the state and
S2: in the city of Chicago. And so I want to
S2: talk to you today about that very topic. We're in
S2: a series called seen. And what happens when you have
S2: an issue in life and you don't feel like people
S2: see you, hear you, or even care about you. There's
S2: something about that that generate feelings of abandonment, helplessness, anger, resentment, hopelessness, loneliness,
S2: and even a sense of well, is this all worth it?
S2: Mother Teresa said one time, the most terrible poverty is
S2: loneliness and the feeling of being unloved. And so today,
S2: I want to take your attention to a scripture, a
S2: text and scripture found in Mark chapter three. Mark chapter three.
S2: I've entitled this message. You have an issue. Hey, let
S2: me just say you have an issue. You know, every
S2: person in this auditorium, we have issues. Go ahead. You
S2: know that person beside you that looks like they have
S2: it all together? I mean, they're dressed pretty good. They
S2: seem like they speak very properly. They seem like they
S2: have it all together. You know, can I just cue
S2: you in on something? They have an issue. In fact,
S2: they have multiple issues. I want you to turn to
S2: the person beside you. And just with a smile on
S2: your face, not a frown. Just say you have issues.
S2: Some of you have been wanting to tell that person
S2: for a long time. A long time. And some of
S2: you whispered, and I'm going to tell you what those
S2: issues are right after the service is over, some of
S2: you are way too excited to tell that person they
S2: have issues, so settle down now a little bit. This
S2: story is found in three of the Gospels. It's found
S2: in Mark chapter three, verses one through six. It's found
S2: in Luke chapter six, verses six through 11, and it's
S2: found in Matthew chapter 12, verses eight through 14. Now,
S2: for those of you that are just getting used to
S2: your Bibles, there's four four Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
S2: They're written by four different individuals, but oftentimes they'll tell
S2: the same story because they were there, and they're telling
S2: the story from different perspectives. Sometimes we'll get a few
S2: different details from one person to another, because it's three
S2: different people telling you the story from different angles. But
S2: when you see a story found in more than one
S2: of the Gospels, you realize, hey, this was a prominent
S2: story of those days. Uh, a story that was repeated
S2: to a lot of people. And this happens to be
S2: found in all of the Gospels except the Gospel of John.
S2: And I'm going to read you. Beginning in Mark chapter three,
S2: verse one, it says, another time Jesus went into the synagogue.
S2: The synagogue, for those of you not familiar with the
S2: Jewish culture, was the equivalent of what our church is today.
S2: It was a group of individuals that gathered together for
S2: studying of the Scripture, and they typically gathered on the Sabbath.
S2: And a man with a shriveled hand was there. Verse two.
S2: Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus,
S2: so they watched him closely to see if he would
S2: heal him on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a day
S2: of rest. And especially some of the Pharisees had put
S2: all kinds of rules about what you. Could or couldn't
S2: do on the Sabbath. And so some of them had
S2: the idea that even. Healing someone on the Sabbath was
S2: considered work, and so therefore it would be. Um, it
S2: would be a sin to heal on the Sabbath in
S2: their mind. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand,
S2: stand up in front of everyone. Then Jesus asked them,
S2: which is lawful on the Sabbath to do good or
S2: to do evil? To save a life or to kill it.
S2: But they remained silent. Then he looked around at them
S2: in anger and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts. And
S2: he said to the man, stretch out your hand. He
S2: stretched it out and his hand was completely restored. Then
S2: the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the
S2: Herodians how they may kill Jesus. If you're taking notes
S2: this morning, I want you to write this down. I'm
S2: talking about the fact that Jesus sees us even when
S2: we have issues. The first thing I want you to
S2: understand about issues is this. Our issue is often the
S2: battleground for a greater purpose in God's plan. The Bible
S2: tells us again that Jesus went into the synagogue, which
S2: he often did. He was considered a rabbi, which means
S2: a teacher by many of the Jewish people. He was
S2: vilified by some. He was adored by others. He was
S2: unusual because the Pharisees, which were more like lawyers of
S2: the Bible. They spoke in very demeaning, very stoic ways
S2: about the laws of God, almost like an attorney would
S2: speak about the laws of the land. But Jesus was different.
S2: The Bible says that Jesus spoke as one who had authority.
S2: He spoke as someone who had power. Yet at the
S2: same time, he showed a compassion and an empathy that
S2: they were not used to.
S1: You're listening to the Bible teaching of Mark job. We'll
S1: continue this bold steps message titled you have an issue
S1: right after this quick break. If you haven't been to
S1: our website yet, we encourage you to visit and see
S1: all the faith building resources, opportunities, and sermon series we
S1: have available. Just go to Bold Steps. You can even
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S1: if you'd like to get even more connected with us,
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S1: a message online at Bold steps.org, or give us a
S1: call and leave your message on a recorded line. And
S1: that number is (312) 329-2011. Again 312329 2011. Now let's get
S1: back into today's message. Here again is Mark Jobe.
S2: The synagogues were places where the Pharisees loved to be
S2: because they dressed in long robes and they were viewed
S2: as the experts. It tells us in this passage that
S2: the Pharisees were there, and more than likely it doesn't
S2: tell us in this passage, but more than likely the
S2: Sadducees were there as well, and the Sadducees and the
S2: Pharisees did not get along, because the Sadducees did not
S2: believe in the resurrection and the spiritual life. So they
S2: were at odds with the Pharisees. There was about 6000
S2: Pharisees that lived in Jerusalem, but he includes another group
S2: of people that you don't often hear about. It's the
S2: first time it's mentioned in the New Testament. The Herodians.
S2: The Herodians were a political group that were backers of
S2: King Herod and wanted him to rise to power. So
S2: you have the Pharisees, the Sadducees, you have the Sanhedrin,
S2: which were the priests of the of the temple at
S2: that time. And then you have the Herodians, which were
S2: a political group, and they're all mixed in in the synagogue.
S2: They all have their angle. They all listen. They all
S2: have their agenda. But when Jesus steps in, he sees people.
S2: Not agendas, not angles, but people. He sees people and
S2: he sees their issues. He sees their pain. He sees
S2: what causes them to be disabled. He sees what causes
S2: others to point fingers at them. And I want you
S2: to understand that what is happening here, because we don't
S2: always understand that oftentimes our issue that the healing of
S2: our issue or the dealing with our issue has bigger
S2: purposes in the plan of God. Let me say that again.
S2: Some of you, as I speak right now, you have
S2: issues in your life that are issues that bring shame
S2: to you. There are issues that you don't want other
S2: people to know about. There are issues that cause embarrassment
S2: to you. You try to cover it up, camouflage it,
S2: not talk about it, excuse it, minimize it, act like
S2: it doesn't exist in your life. I don't know what
S2: those issues are. You could have an issue with addiction,
S2: and you have to pop a pill every day, a
S2: few pills every day, just to keep going, just to
S2: keep what you consider to be the sanity of your mind.
S2: Maybe you have an eating disorder. You don't want anybody
S2: to know it, but you have to throw up every
S2: time that you have a meal because you have body
S2: dysphoria issues and you feel some way about your body
S2: or how people see you. Maybe you're addicted to some
S2: area in your life that causes you great shame. Maybe
S2: you have a pornography issue and it becomes your default
S2: place to go to. You're ashamed about it. You don't
S2: want your wife and kids to know about it. But
S2: you know what? If someone were to scroll down the
S2: history of your internet search, it would become very obvious
S2: that you have an addiction in that area. Maybe you
S2: have a chapter in your life that it's embarrassing to you.
S2: Maybe it's a disability that you try to hide because
S2: you feel like it causes people to look at you
S2: as an inferior individual. Maybe there's part of your history
S2: that causes you to walk in shame because of how
S2: you were raised. Maybe it has to do with sexual
S2: or emotional abuse that you were raised with, and it's
S2: a chapter of your life that you'd rather blot out.
S2: It surfaces. It affects you. It touches you. It causes
S2: you to have difficulty engaging in a healthy relationship. But
S2: it's there. We all have issues, and some of those
S2: issues are the issues that we want to hide. We
S2: don't want other people to see. We don't want other
S2: people to know about. In this synagogue, there was a man.
S2: The Bible tells us that had a withered hand. Now,
S2: the term in the Greek is in the passive verb,
S2: which indicates that this man more than likely was not
S2: born with a withered hand, but somehow had experienced an
S2: injury of some sort that had caused him to be
S2: incapacitated in that hand. Now some versions use the word withered.
S2: Some versions use the word shriveled. The idea is that
S2: at one time he had a functioning hand. But something happened.
S2: An accident. non-Biblical literature indicates, and we don't know how
S2: reliable it is, but non-biblical literature indicates that he was
S2: a stonecutter, that his job was to. Back in those days,
S2: they cut stone to build houses and so forth, and
S2: that he had experienced an injury, and so therefore it
S2: had left him unable to work and use his hand.
S2: He doesn't tell us in Mark, but in Luke it
S2: tells us that it was his right hand. The right
S2: hand in the Jewish culture was the hand that would
S2: bestow blessing upon the children. If you were to put
S2: your hands upon the heads of the children, you would
S2: put your right hand and you would bless them. The
S2: right hand was considered the clean hand. It was the
S2: hand that they ate with. It was the hand of blessing.
S2: It was the hand that most people worked with. And
S2: to have your right hand disabled and shriveled up was
S2: a sign of embarrassment, of inability to work. Of probably
S2: having to beg. Of not being able to bless. The
S2: Bible tells us that this man had a shriveled hand.
S2: You know you can hide a shriveled hand at first
S2: when you meet someone. In those days, they didn't shake
S2: people's hands. But you can cover it up. You can
S2: hide it. You don't want to draw attention to it.
S2: And I'm sure he sought to do so. But eventually,
S2: within a few moments of getting to know that person,
S2: if you got to know them well, it would become
S2: obvious that they had a shriveled hand. Shrivel means that
S2: it's injured to the point that because of an injury,
S2: it's been in disuse so long that I've lost the
S2: ability to continue to use it. I tell you what,
S2: I run into a lot of people with shriveled areas
S2: in their life. They've been injured. Sometimes it's emotional. Sometimes
S2: it's spiritual. Sometimes it's physical. They've been injured. And somehow,
S2: some way that causes them to feel like I can
S2: no longer use this. And so they stop using something
S2: that God intended them to use, and they go so
S2: long without using it that eventually they they become unable
S2: to use it. It shrivels. It atrophies. Years ago, when
S2: I was younger, I broke my arm twice. My right
S2: arm snapped the bone. I fell off a tree. Snapped
S2: the bone, they put a cast on it. Back in
S2: the day, they would put casts with, uh, you know,
S2: it would harden. And. And then I was riding on
S2: a bike with my friend, and we fell off a bridge.
S2: I know I caused my mother to pray a lot,
S2: and I broke my arm again. The arm that had
S2: been broken got broken again. And so they had to
S2: have a cast on my arm for a long time.
S2: And I'll never forget when they finally decided to take
S2: the cast off my arm and kind of with pliers
S2: back in the day, they'd cut it off and my
S2: arm and I compared my arms, and this one was
S2: this thin. It had shriveled up because I had not
S2: used it in so long, and I had to sort
S2: of regain the strength of that which had not been
S2: used for a long time. Man, I'm talking to someone
S2: here today.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe and his
S1: message titled You Have an issue. We'll continue our lesson
S1: at this time tomorrow. So join us again right here.
S1: But in case you ever want to revisit a previous
S1: message from Mark, or want to share one of these
S1: Bible teachings with a friend, just go to our website
S1: at Bold Steps. Well, Mark, we are honored to have
S1: Heather Holloman with us today. She's the author of the
S1: Six Conversations, our bold step gift.
S2: Yeah. And Heather, one of the really unique elements of
S2: your book, The Six Conversations, is how you connect the
S2: latest research on relationships with biblical principles. What does Scripture
S2: tell us about, say, the art of conversation?
S3: Well, really, you can learn so much from Philippians two,
S3: Romans 12, and Galatians six. All of those passages teach
S3: us how to be curious about other people, how to
S3: believe the best about them, express concern, and then share
S3: your own life. I love Galatians six about taking on
S3: other people's burdens. How do we know what they are
S3: if we're not interested in their lives and asking really
S3: good questions about our friends and loved ones and Heather.
S2: I know that you're this is not just a book about, uh,
S2: how to be a better communicator with people. You have
S2: an intention. And that is. Hey, conversation is the bridge
S2: way to really share spirituality and the gospel with people.
S2: Talk about that a minute.
S3: Well, that's right. So many people want to share their faith.
S3: They want to share these things that are so deeply
S3: personal to them, but they never know how to start
S3: the conversation. And what this book teaches is how to
S3: have a warm connection. So talking about Jesus never feels
S3: awkward or like you're selling something. You're just sharing your
S3: life with someone that you're having a great conversation with.
S2: I love it. The six conversations by doctor Heather Holloman. And, uh,
S2: you need to pick this up. We can't wait to
S2: put this in your hands so that you can start
S2: to have those conversations with your loved ones that you've
S2: been wanting to have.
S1: Thank you, Mark, and we'll be happy to send you
S1: a copy. This bold step gift today. When you give
S1: a gift of any amount to support bold steps, give
S1: us a call at 800 D.L. Moody or give online
S1: at Bold steps.org. You can also send your gift and
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S1: inviting you to listen again tomorrow when Mark continues this lesson.
S1: It's titled You Have an issue. Don't miss this redemptive
S1: lesson Friday on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps
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