S1: Today on bold steps, Mark Jobe asks the question, what
S1: are you dragging behind you?
S2: The moment that you get serious about your walk with God,
S2: then your delayed obedience, your unfinished business becomes a priority
S2: because he's saying, If I'm going to use you, then
S2: you have to deal with the issues that have been
S2: asking you to deal with for a long time.
S1: This is bold steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is the
S1: senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and
S1: president of Moody Bible Institute. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Mark, you
S1: have a burden for men, helping them know who they
S1: are in Jesus and their identity in him. And you
S1: had a chance to speak at a conference last spring
S1: called Walk Worthy. So over the next couple of days,
S1: we're going to hear one of these messages you gave
S1: last year called What Are You Dragging Behind? It's true
S1: that if we are carrying baggage and unfinished business, we
S1: will have a very hard time moving forward with purpose
S1: and calling.
S3: Yes. And Wayne, let me just say, I do have
S3: a strong burden to see men live out their calling.
S3: Walk in God and in the city of Chicago. I
S3: discovered years ago that there's so many broken men, so
S3: many passive men, so many men that really don't understand
S3: their identity and what it means to be a man
S3: of God. So that's a real passion of mine, to
S3: restore men to godliness. And so I was speaking at
S3: an event in canton, Ohio. Probably about a thousand men
S3: were there. We had a phenomenal time. And if you've
S3: never checked out a walk worthy conference, we do it
S3: every year up in that area. And so I would
S3: encourage you to check it out. But that's where this
S3: message was preached.
S1: I hear such great reports from it. All right. Let's
S1: jump into the message. It's titled, what are you dragging behind?
S2: Today I want to talk to you about. What are
S2: you dragging behind? What are you dragging behind? You know,
S2: I live in the city of Chicago, and, um, you know,
S2: we'll probably. It's like Ohio a bit. I'm assuming that
S2: right after the cold winter months and ice and snow. Uh,
S2: we have these jolting, awakening spots on our highways that
S2: we call potholes. I'm pretty sure we've lost a few
S2: people there for a few weeks in the potholes that
S2: we have in Chicago. I mean, they're huge sometimes, and
S2: you have to kind of drive avoiding those potholes. Well, um,
S2: I hit a pothole, uh, just a few months ago. And, uh,
S2: you have to know this about my car. My wife
S2: keeps telling me, why are you driving that car? And
S2: I say, because it works. It's got 205,000 miles on it.
S2: And she says to me, aren't you embarrassed to drive
S2: that car? I say, no, it's hijack proof in Chicago.
S2: No one wants to hijack it. I mean, it's hijack proof. Seriously.
S2: But I was driving my my nice, reliable car, and
S2: I hit a pothole and on the expressway on I-55.
S2: And then right after I hit the pothole, I started
S2: hearing this, uh, screeching noise under my vehicle like I
S2: was dragging something, and it sounded like I was dragging metal.
S2: And so I pulled off after driving for a while,
S2: thinking I would release it. Or maybe I ran over something.
S2: I didn't know what it was. I pulled off to
S2: the side of the road and sure enough, I don't
S2: know what it was. Under my car, a big piece
S2: of metal had come down and I was dragging something
S2: that caused me to slow down, that caused me to
S2: have to get off this highway that had that caused
S2: me to have to stop. And then I got under,
S2: and I'm tugging at this piece of metal that's there.
S2: And finally I pulled it off. I don't know what
S2: it is, what it what it does. So I put
S2: it in the trunk of the car just in case
S2: I have to use it later. Um, and that gave
S2: my wife a little bit more ammunition. Why are you
S2: driving that junk? But. But I was dragging something that
S2: slowed me down. That made me stop. Because anytime that
S2: we drag something, anytime that we drag something for a
S2: long period of time, it tends to slow us. It
S2: tends to eventually stop us in our journey. And that's
S2: what I want to talk to you about, because I
S2: believe that as I talk to men across this nation.
S2: I run into many men that are dragging things behind,
S2: that they have unfinished business, that they have baggage that
S2: they're dragging. I run into men all over this country
S2: that are neutralized, that are not living out their call.
S2: They have the Spirit of God inside of them. They've
S2: yielded themselves to God. They said yes to the lordship
S2: of Jesus. But when I talked to them about their
S2: life and what they're doing and how they're living, oftentimes
S2: I get this sense that they are not living their
S2: call out as they were designed to live their call out.
S2: They're not living in the fullness of what Jesus has
S2: called them to. In fact, oftentimes feeling like I'm kind
S2: of missing it, I'm neutralized. I'm not engaged in significant purpose.
S2: I know God is God. I've heard that God has
S2: a purpose for my life, but I don't feel like
S2: I'm really living it out. And if I were to
S2: have those of you that feel like that today, raise
S2: your hand. I believe that we'd have a lot of
S2: hands go up in this auditorium today. In Exodus chapter three,
S2: you know the story. We have the story of a
S2: burning bush experience. God is calling Moses at the age
S2: of 80, by the way, to make a major shift
S2: in his direction. And you remember the story when he
S2: was young and full of fire. He tried to pursue
S2: the calling of God on his Life in a fleshly way.
S2: When he started to awaken to the fact that God
S2: was calling him to be a liberator in the power
S2: of the flesh, and how many of you know we
S2: can try to do the work of God and the
S2: power of the flesh? So he if you remember the story,
S2: he killed an Egyptian. And why? Because the the heart
S2: was right. Set my people free. But the way he
S2: was doing it was wrong. It was in anger and
S2: in the flesh. And God used his mistake. And how
S2: many of you know that God uses our mistakes? And
S2: God used the mess up, actually, to drive him out
S2: of Egypt into the land of Midian? And so later
S2: on we will discover that God was actually used his
S2: mess up to take him into the middle of his calling.
S2: And he finds himself now in Midian. And you know
S2: the story. To make a long story short, short, he
S2: becomes a shepherd. and long have gone these ideas of
S2: I will be a liberator. God is going to use me.
S2: I'm going to be someone that sets my people free,
S2: and the power of God is going to be upon me.
S2: He's left those ideas now. He's embraced the life of
S2: a shepherd. He's comfortable with sheep. He likes the ordinary.
S2: He's got two kids, he's got a wife, and he's
S2: got a job that is pretty passive. So he's out there.
S2: The Bible tells us in Exodus chapter three that he's
S2: out in the mountains. He's feeding the sheep, and at
S2: a distance he sees this sight that attracts his attention.
S2: And can I tell you that often times that God
S2: will invade the ordinary with the extraordinary and unexpected moments?
S2: Some of you came to this conference just not expecting
S2: very much. Maybe because someone pressured you. Maybe because a
S2: friend was going. Maybe because you just had a Saturday off.
S2: Maybe because I don't know why you came here, but
S2: can I just say that sometimes in our ordinary, God
S2: can interrupt the ordinary with extraordinary when his presence is there,
S2: and suddenly Moses becomes aware that there's a bush not
S2: too far away. And so he draws closer to that sight.
S2: And then God speaks to him out of the bush.
S2: And this is a bush that's not consumed, the Almighty
S2: God of the universe, the powerful. I am the Alpha,
S2: the Omega, the God that has no beginning, the God
S2: that has no end, the God that the God that
S2: spoke and launched the stars into the universe and created
S2: the orbit of the sun and the world. This God,
S2: this God that is never learned because he's always known.
S2: The God that's immutable and never changes because you cannot
S2: improve upon perfection. The God that's always present. He's omnipresent.
S2: The God that's omniscient. The God that has all power. Omnipotent.
S2: The God that's sovereign. So he controls the order of
S2: the universe. This God, he shows up in a burning bush.
S2: It seems a little trite that this extraordinary God would
S2: meddle with the bush. But there's something about this bush.
S2: The bush is not consumed. It burns, but it doesn't consume.
S2: It burns, but it doesn't seem to crackle. It burns,
S2: but there's no smoke because it's not consumed. And it
S2: keeps burning and it's bright. It's the extraordinary working in
S2: the ordinary. And as Moses begins to approach this book,
S2: then the the sound and voice of God comes from
S2: this bush and says, Moses, take off your shoes. Listen,
S2: he's in a place that he's walked in many times.
S2: He's in the pasture lands of. He's not on Mount Sinai,
S2: he's in Midian, he's in a pagan territory. And God
S2: says to Moses, take off your sandals because you're on
S2: holy ground. It's the extraordinary invading the ordinary. Listen. Look
S2: up at me right now, man. I want to tell
S2: you something. The God of the universe is present right now.
S2: The God that has the power to transform your life. He's.
S2: He's here in this moment, in the ordinary place, with
S2: his extraordinary presence. And he does what God does. He
S2: challenges Moses. He reroutes Moses life. He says, Moses, I'm
S2: going to use you. I'm calling you. Moses has this
S2: battle with God, like we always do in a calling.
S2: There is no calling without battle. There is no calling
S2: without a struggle. Do I fit in? Can I do it?
S2: Is it really me? Do I have the power? Do
S2: I have the ability? And finally, Moses capitulates to the
S2: call of God upon his life. And the very first
S2: thing that he does is he goes and, well, he's
S2: got to talk to his father in law because his
S2: father in law owns the business. And he basically tells
S2: his father in law, hey, um, he makes up a story.
S2: He doesn't tell him I'm going to set people free.
S2: He basically says, I'm going to go visit family. Will
S2: you release me to take your daughter Zafira, and your
S2: two grand boys back to, uh, back to the land
S2: of Egypt? And that's where we pick up the story.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Today's message
S1: is titled what are you dragging behind? Mark, before we
S1: return to the message, I want to encourage our listeners
S1: to reach out to us with their testimonies and comments,
S1: Bible questions even. We love getting to hear what's on
S1: your mind, and sometimes we even read what you've sent
S1: us on the radio. And I want to share a
S1: bit of a heavy note we received Mark. I think
S1: it touches on some of the themes of today's message.
S1: It's a letter from a listener named Gary who says,
S1: I listened to the teachings on Joseph on an earlier
S1: broadcast called Dare to Dream Again, and for a short
S1: time I was encouraged. But then I remembered how, even
S1: as a servant and in prison, God blessed everything Joseph
S1: put his hand to do. He says Joseph walked upright,
S1: made all the right choices. And then he goes on
S1: with a very personal note, doesn't he?
S3: Yeah. He goes on to tell us that he was
S3: saved 50 years ago when he was 17, and as
S3: a young boy he was molested, which led to some
S3: of his own struggle with sexual Addictions and thought he
S3: was going to die two years ago. But God started
S3: to work in his life, and he spent a lot
S3: of sleepless nights weeping for his own soul and realized
S3: that after 50 years, he had been a rebellious and
S3: carnal Christian. But Gary goes on to say, you know,
S3: he thought that there was room for revival in his heart,
S3: that God was going to change him around. And he
S3: heard the story of Joseph and he thought, yes, God,
S3: maybe you can do that in my life. But he says,
S3: but then I realized that Joseph had been faithful to
S3: God and done everything right, but I had not. Instead
S3: of God's blessing, I feel like God is against me
S3: to frustrate my life. Thank you for listening.
S1: Very honest, isn't he?
S3: Yeah, that was honest. So, Gary, let me just say this.
S3: Thank you for being honest. And I believe that God
S3: has done an awakening of sorts. After 50 years. You've
S3: come to the realization, hey, I've been living rebellious and carnal,
S3: and I want you to know, Gary, you're not alone.
S3: Sometimes we come to Christ, but we allow our own
S3: will our own way. And God has to. We wrestle
S3: with God. But here's what I want to remind you about, Gary.
S3: God is not against you. God is for you. You
S3: may be reaping the consequences of your rebellion. You've lived
S3: for many, many years sowing seeds, and so you're reaping
S3: a bad harvest. But I believe that God can turn
S3: that around. I believe that God can take our mess
S3: and turn it into a message for others. And I know,
S3: without a shadow of a doubt, that when you turn
S3: to God, Gary, that God is for you. In fact,
S3: I know that God wants to restore your soul. Amen.
S3: That God wants to start to rebuild you. And I
S3: believe that God, just as he used Joseph, wants to
S3: use you as well.
S2: That doesn't mean that everything in your life is going
S2: to be smooth, that the problems are going to go away.
S2: It just means that, you know, the presence of God
S2: is in the midst of it. So I want to
S2: encourage you, Joseph, to rebuke those lies the accuser tells
S2: you you're no good. God is against you. Look at
S2: what you've done. How could you expect God to love you?
S2: That is straight from the pit of hell. The Bible
S2: tells us if we confess our sins, he is faithful
S2: and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
S2: us from all unrighteousness, and that there is no condemnation,
S2: no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. And
S2: so I want to pray for you right now, Gary.
S2: But I do believe, I do believe that God can
S2: use even our years of rebellion to become a story
S2: that inspires and touches other people as well. So, father,
S2: I pray for Gary. You know how he feels like
S2: so much in his life is going wrong. And father,
S2: I'm sure that he's reaping years of bad seed sowing
S2: and he's reaping the harvest. But I pray in a
S2: special way that you would step into Gary's moment of darkness.
S2: I pray that he would feel the presence of your love.
S2: I pray God that you would wipe away the confusion
S2: about his future. I pray that you would dispel condemnation
S2: and guilt coming from himself and from the accusation of
S2: the enemy. And I pray God that today he would
S2: sense in a fresh new way hope for his life
S2: God and Father. I pray that he would begin to
S2: walk in his calling, not in a life that's free
S2: from problems, but in a life that has your presence
S2: in him. I pray that you would use Gary beyond
S2: what he could ever have imagined or fathomed, and I
S2: pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
S1: Amen. That's powerful encouragement, Mark. Thank you and you have
S1: your own story to tell. We'd love to hear it.
S1: And if you'd like to get in touch with us,
S1: just use our website Bold Steps. Org or give us
S1: a call and leave your message on a recorded line
S1: by dialling 312329 2011. 312329 2011. We listen to all
S1: of them. We read all of them. Some of them
S1: we get to talk about on the air. But we
S1: really would appreciate you contacting us. All right. Now back
S1: to our message for today. It's titled, what are you
S1: dragging behind? Here's Mark.
S2: And the Bible tells us in Exodus chapter four that
S2: Moses says, okay, I'm listening to God. I'm going to
S2: do what God has called me to do. I'm on
S2: my way to Egypt. God is going to use me
S2: in this powerful way. And so I've said yes to
S2: the call. I've picked up my family, I'm leaving my security.
S2: I'm taking my wife. I'm taking my kids. I'm on
S2: a journey in faith to say, God, I'm saying yes
S2: to you. I'm reengaging in my call. And the Bible
S2: says in verse 18, Then Moses went back to Jethro.
S2: His father in law said to him, let me return
S2: to my own people in Egypt to see if any
S2: of them are still alive, Jethro said. Go. I wish
S2: you well. And the Bible goes on to tell us
S2: that Moses gathered his stuff. He started to go on
S2: to Israel, and in verse 24 it says, at a
S2: lodging place on the way the Lord met Moses and
S2: was about to kill him. But Zafira took a knife,
S2: a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin, touched Moses
S2: feet with it, and said, surely you are a bridegroom
S2: of blood to me. And she said, so the Lord
S2: let him go. At that time she said, you are
S2: a bridegroom of blood. If you're taking notes, I want
S2: you to write this down. If you're dragging baggage behind
S2: number one, write this down. Your baggage or unfinished business
S2: will hold you back on the way to your higher
S2: calling or on the way to you re-engaged calling. It
S2: just seems wrong to me that after Moses says yes
S2: to God, that when he's on his journey of faith,
S2: that when he's starting to follow God, that he stops
S2: at this cheap motel on the way and the Bible
S2: says at the lodging place, the Lord met Moses and
S2: was about to kill him. And I think to myself, God,
S2: why are you so angry at Moses, who just said
S2: yes to you? Why is it that you are about
S2: to take out the life of the vessel that had
S2: just said, I surrender, I'm rerouting my life. I'm going
S2: to follow you. Are you have to dig a little
S2: bit to understand this, But it becomes very apparent in
S2: this scripture that Moses had baggage. Unfinished business. Listen. Delayed obedience.
S2: Procrastinated action that God had spoken to him and spoken
S2: to him, and confirmed in his word and spoken clearly
S2: in his word, and convicted him. And they had dialogued it.
S2: It becomes evident they had dialogued about it with his
S2: wife before, but they had failed to take action on
S2: that which God had been clear about. And you know
S2: what happens. Is that sometimes our future destiny can be
S2: sabotaged by baggage of unfinished business that we refuse to
S2: deal with before God when he's been asking us to
S2: deal with it. What was the problem? Well, it becomes
S2: clear in this passage that Moses has a father. Moses
S2: has a Jew. Moses has part of the called out
S2: people that it was clear back in Genesis, through Abraham,
S2: that it was very clear that when a boy male
S2: was born that they needed to be circumcised. Moses knew it.
S2: We don't know exactly why Moses didn't circumcise his sons,
S2: but he had refused to circumcise his male child. And
S2: it wasn't a problem. It wasn't a problem when he
S2: was just leading sheep. It wasn't a problem when he
S2: was not engaged in a higher call. but as soon
S2: as he was called to his higher call, then suddenly
S2: his delayed obedience became a big issue to God.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, the start
S1: of a lesson titled what are You Dragging Behind? We'll
S1: continue with the second part at this time tomorrow, so
S1: be listening then. And if you ever have trouble joining
S1: us for these daily messages, there are plenty of ways
S1: for you to catch up on your own time. Wherever
S1: you are with your phone or smart device, you can
S1: download the Bold Steps app or subscribe to the Bold
S1: Steps podcast to listen on the go. You can even
S1: hear Mark's program directly from our website. Bold steps.org. And
S1: while you're online, you'll also have a chance to request
S1: our latest bold step gift. This month, we're featuring a
S1: book that will equip you to navigate the challenging, modern
S1: changes we face as Christians. In today's age. Leading through
S1: change is challenging enough. Leading through chaos can feel impossible.
S1: And for many believers today, our world seems full of chaos.
S1: But in the book titled A Non-anxious Presence, author Mark
S1: Sayers reveals how periods of disruption often prepare the way
S1: for a spiritual breakthrough. He helps us recognize the signs
S1: of renewal that are popping up all around us, and
S1: the opportunities we have to not only navigate the changing
S1: landscape of our culture, but to take the lead in
S1: our own local communities. Request your copy of this hope
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S1: to the Ministry of Bold Steps. Just give us a
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S1: I'm Wayne Shepard signing off, but we'll see you tomorrow
S1: when we continue. Mark's message titled what are you dragging Behind?
S1: That's coming up Tuesday on Bold Steps with Mark John.
S1: Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry
S1: of Moody Bible Institute.