WEBVTT - Choosing to Walk in the Light – Part 3 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:03.640 Today on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe shows us how to 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:06.440 live in contrast to the dark world around us. 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:12.440 There is no such thing as a spirit filled follower 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:17.320 of Jesus Christ that is continuing on and on and 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:22.040 on to live in a lifestyle that's inconsistent with what 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:25.560 it means to be a follower of Jesus. 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:40.840 The moon has no light source of its own, yet 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:43.879 it shines bright in the evening skies because it reflects 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:46.560 the sun's light. And that's how we should be living 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:50.720 as believers, too, reflecting the sun s light and love 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:54.400 into the world around us. Welcome to Bold Steps with 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:57.440 Mark Jobe. Mark is senior pastor of New Life Community 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:00.560 Church in Chicago and president of Moody Bible Institute. I'm 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:04.200 Wayne Shepherd. As we conclude our message titled Choosing to 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:05.960 Walk in the light will be turning back to the 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:08.319 book of Ephesians, chapter five to pick up where we 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:10.960 left off. Mark has reminded us that we need to 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:14.840 watch our words and guard our relationships, and in today's message, 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:17.200 he'll show us how to live in contrast to the 0:01:17.200 --> 0:01:20.320 dark world around us. This will be an encouraging yet 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:23.520 challenging talk, so let's jump in. The message comes from 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:27.320 our series when you believe everything changes and it starts now. 0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:33.119 He says, if you live this way, you have no 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:37.760 inheritance in the kingdom of God and of Christ. Now 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:40.360 what is he not saying? He's not saying that you're 0:01:40.360 --> 0:01:42.520 a believer or follower of Jesus Christ. You're living for 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.800 God and that you stumble, fall, and have a failure 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:49.160 and you've lost your salvation. He's not saying that, okay? 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:53.360 For someone to be an immoral person, someone can fall 0:01:53.360 --> 0:01:58.160 into immorality and not be an immoral person. It says 0:01:58.160 --> 0:01:59.680 if this is the way you live, is this is 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:02.730 what you're engaging in, Then you have no inheritance in 0:02:02.730 --> 0:02:05.850 the kingdom of God. Why? Because you have not made 0:02:05.850 --> 0:02:08.970 God the God of your life. You've made something else, 0:02:08.970 --> 0:02:11.210 the God of your life. And it dominates you, and 0:02:11.210 --> 0:02:14.090 it controls you and it and it. It is the 0:02:14.090 --> 0:02:17.290 master of your life. So you have to choose who 0:02:17.290 --> 0:02:21.250 is going to be the master of your life. I 0:02:21.250 --> 0:02:25.090 told you, I'm going to step on some toes. The 0:02:25.090 --> 0:02:29.930 Word of God is hard. Some of you right now, 0:02:29.930 --> 0:02:31.370 I'm feeling like I want to get up and walk 0:02:31.370 --> 0:02:35.610 out of this place. That's okay. We won't be staring 0:02:35.610 --> 0:02:39.250 at you. Just kidding. So what I'm saying is that 0:02:40.770 --> 0:02:44.410 if you call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, a Christian, 0:02:45.210 --> 0:02:52.089 and you continue to consistently engage in sexual immorality as 0:02:52.090 --> 0:02:55.010 a married person, adultery as a single person, fornication, and 0:02:55.010 --> 0:02:58.930 that's your lifestyle you engage in that you consistently, regularly 0:02:58.930 --> 0:03:01.970 engage in that. Then the Bible is saying, you know what? 0:03:01.970 --> 0:03:03.890 You need to take another look at your life and 0:03:03.889 --> 0:03:06.609 make sure that you're even a follower of Jesus Christ. 0:03:07.169 --> 0:03:10.810 Because we cannot have there is. There is no such 0:03:10.810 --> 0:03:17.250 thing as a spirit filled follower of Jesus Christ that 0:03:17.250 --> 0:03:22.010 is continuing on and on and on to live in 0:03:22.010 --> 0:03:26.290 a lifestyle that's inconsistent with what it means to be 0:03:26.330 --> 0:03:32.769 a follower of Jesus. Strong words. And then he goes 0:03:32.770 --> 0:03:38.250 on to say, let no one deceive you with empty words, 0:03:38.490 --> 0:03:40.290 because some people will say, well, don't make such a 0:03:40.290 --> 0:03:43.170 big deal about it. I mean, it's pretty much happening everywhere. 0:03:43.210 --> 0:03:45.130 I mean, isn't it the norm? I mean, it's kind 0:03:45.130 --> 0:03:48.130 of in the culture. I'm not that bad. Let no 0:03:48.130 --> 0:03:51.450 one deceive you with empty words, for it's because of 0:03:51.450 --> 0:03:54.730 such things. What kinds of things? Immorality, impurity and greed. 0:03:54.730 --> 0:03:58.250 It's because of such things that God's wrath comes on 0:03:58.250 --> 0:04:03.420 those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. 0:04:03.580 --> 0:04:06.940 What he's saying is that our culture may minimize it. 0:04:06.980 --> 0:04:10.540 Our culture may accept it, but it's not accepted in 0:04:10.540 --> 0:04:13.980 God that it's not something that God says, oh, no 0:04:13.980 --> 0:04:17.460 big deal. I mean, it's not ah, you know, don't 0:04:17.460 --> 0:04:19.900 worry about it. We all have our little sins. No, no, 0:04:19.900 --> 0:04:23.740 God's not saying that. God doesn't just take it as, oh, 0:04:23.779 --> 0:04:25.779 it's a little sin. No big deal. I mean, we 0:04:25.779 --> 0:04:28.980 all sort of. We all go over the speed limit 0:04:28.980 --> 0:04:30.500 once in a while. No, no, no, no, he's not 0:04:30.500 --> 0:04:35.460 saying that. God is saying it's a huge deal. Now 0:04:35.460 --> 0:04:37.460 you wonder why that God makes a big deal about 0:04:37.460 --> 0:04:40.380 sexual sin. Let me let me just explain that for 0:04:40.380 --> 0:04:43.060 a minute. Because sexual sin is one of the few 0:04:43.060 --> 0:04:49.300 sins that involves your in the entirety of your person, 0:04:49.339 --> 0:04:52.820 your body, your soul, and your spirit. You say, well, 0:04:52.820 --> 0:04:54.420 I thought it was just a physical thing. No, it's 0:04:54.420 --> 0:04:59.260 never just a physical thing. It's a spiritual thing. And 0:04:59.260 --> 0:05:02.860 it's and it's a soul thing. The Bible says that 0:05:02.860 --> 0:05:05.580 if a man engages in sexual activity with a prostitute, 0:05:05.620 --> 0:05:08.539 he becomes one with her. In other words, there's no 0:05:08.540 --> 0:05:12.260 such thing as casual sex. No such thing. There's just 0:05:12.260 --> 0:05:15.420 no such thing as casual sex. Just casual doesn't mean anything. No, 0:05:15.420 --> 0:05:19.300 it always means something. And it always affects your soul. 0:05:19.660 --> 0:05:23.540 And it always affects your spirit. And as a believer, 0:05:23.700 --> 0:05:27.820 your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I mean, 0:05:27.860 --> 0:05:31.620 God dwells inside of you. The Holy Spirit dwells inside 0:05:31.620 --> 0:05:34.820 of you, and you are taking the temple of God 0:05:34.820 --> 0:05:37.980 and engaging in sexual activity with the temple of God. 0:05:37.980 --> 0:05:41.420 God says, it is a big deal to me because 0:05:41.420 --> 0:05:44.820 it affects you almost like no other sin can affect you. 0:05:44.860 --> 0:05:48.980 It involves two individuals. It involves a violation of purity. 0:05:48.980 --> 0:05:52.340 It affects your soul. It affects your spirit. It creates 0:05:52.339 --> 0:05:56.100 soul ties to another individual that are unhealthy. There is 0:05:56.100 --> 0:05:59.460 no such thing as casual sex. It's a huge deal 0:05:59.620 --> 0:06:03.510 because it affects you like almost no other sin can 0:06:03.510 --> 0:06:07.150 affect you. That's why it's really important, by the way, 0:06:08.070 --> 0:06:12.190 that you start at a young age, beginning to shape 0:06:12.190 --> 0:06:19.350 the minds of your children about sexuality. Some people say, well, pastor, 0:06:19.350 --> 0:06:24.670 what age do you have the talk? I'm not sure 0:06:24.670 --> 0:06:28.870 what age I should have the talk. I don't view 0:06:28.910 --> 0:06:32.230 it that way. I don't have the talk. I have 0:06:33.029 --> 0:06:39.990 the ongoing conversations. Most parents wait way too late to 0:06:39.990 --> 0:06:45.349 have the talk. Your son's 25. He's about to get married, 0:06:45.390 --> 0:06:51.630 and you go. Come here. We're going to talk about 0:06:51.630 --> 0:06:56.270 some stuff. Explain kind of the, you know, the birds 0:06:56.270 --> 0:07:00.310 and the bees stuff. And you're wondering why, like, your 0:07:00.430 --> 0:07:03.150 son's rolling his eyes and, like, you're kind of, you know, 0:07:03.190 --> 0:07:05.950 by the time he's 25, he knows the birds and 0:07:05.950 --> 0:07:07.950 the bees and the flies and the bees and the 0:07:07.950 --> 0:07:10.110 little bees. I mean, he could tell you more about 0:07:10.110 --> 0:07:14.550 it probably, than you have. So don't wait till they're 25. Listen, listen. 0:07:14.590 --> 0:07:16.790 Don't wait till they've learned everything. They have to learn 0:07:16.790 --> 0:07:20.030 about sexuality from their friends, from the internet, from the 0:07:20.030 --> 0:07:23.510 chat rooms. Don't. Don't wait till their mind has been 0:07:23.510 --> 0:07:28.790 distorted and shaped by society, man. You start molding their 0:07:28.790 --> 0:07:32.910 mind about sexuality when they're young. Now I'm talking about 0:07:32.910 --> 0:07:36.910 appropriate youngness and conversations. But when when a child is 0:07:36.910 --> 0:07:39.510 young and has questions, as soon as my kids start 0:07:39.510 --> 0:07:42.750 asking questions, I answer those questions and I try to 0:07:42.750 --> 0:07:46.630 be as as upfront and honest with them as possible 0:07:46.630 --> 0:07:51.150 without being, of course, graphic or crass at depending on 0:07:51.150 --> 0:07:53.990 their age level. But I try to be very upfront 0:07:53.990 --> 0:07:57.989 with them. Engage in a conversation. There's no like one conversation. 0:07:57.990 --> 0:08:03.520 It's this ongoing conversation About sexuality, emphasizing the fact that 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:07.080 I believe sex is a gift from God, that it's great, 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:10.760 that it's something that you celebrate, that it's something that's good, 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:12.800 that it's something that I hope one day they will 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:15.400 enjoy and celebrate. So I want them to know this 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:18.080 is a good gift, but I also want them to 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:22.680 early on discover that this is a potent, powerful thing that, 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:26.520 if misused, can really affect their life in a wrong way. 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:33.280 The funniest conversation I had was with my son when 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:36.840 he was young, and he was just kind of getting 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:42.640 the grasping this whole thing. We were defining sex. He 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:45.240 was at a young age. He was he was figuring out. 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:47.560 So he when we're in this conversation, we're listening to radio. 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:51.160 Dobson had a program and he says to me, okay, 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:56.640 so sex like driving. Yeah. I said, well, you know 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:58.960 what that means, right? We've talked a bit about it. 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:02.600 We had talked about it, but not so sex. So 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:08.440 naked man, naked woman together, you know he. So he's 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:12.319 going down this road talking about it. He's young, so 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:14.440 he's kind of going ooh, a little bit, you know, 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:17.520 that age. I said, well, you know, the age will 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:20.400 come or you won't say, ooh, you'll say, ah. So. 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:27.840 And so he did the math. You know, he kind 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:32.520 of connected the fact that sex leads to procreation sometimes too. 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:36.000 And so he says to me, so you and mom 0:09:36.000 --> 0:09:47.520 did it three times. Like, yeah, sort of. I'm not 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:49.000 going to get it. I'm not going to get in 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:50.199 the numbers. I said, I'm not going. 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:53.319 To get into the numbers with you. But and he 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:55.200 really respected Pastor Asa. 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:59.320 So he says, and Asa has four kids and Uncle 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:04.130 Asa four times. She's like, yeah, yeah, I thought to myself. 0:10:04.130 --> 0:10:07.290 From then on, whoever he would seek families with kids. 0:10:07.290 --> 0:10:09.130 He was like, yeah, I know, I know how many 0:10:09.130 --> 0:10:14.809 times I know how many times pastor Paco has seven kids. 0:10:14.809 --> 0:10:17.890 So I'm thinking, whoa, he's thinking, whoa, man, I know 0:10:17.890 --> 0:10:26.250 what's happening in that house. But the point is, I 0:10:26.250 --> 0:10:29.250 think you shouldn't avoid those conversations. It should be healthy. 0:10:29.250 --> 0:10:32.370 And they should be. They should be conversations that you 0:10:32.410 --> 0:10:36.370 that you help shape how your sons and daughters view 0:10:36.370 --> 0:10:39.490 the whole issue of sexuality. I know it's uncomfortable for 0:10:39.490 --> 0:10:42.569 parents to engage them, but don't let don't hey, don't 0:10:42.610 --> 0:10:45.890 let it up to your school to teach them about 0:10:45.890 --> 0:10:49.690 sexual behavior. The school is going to give them condoms 0:10:49.690 --> 0:10:52.610 and say, be careful not to get her pregnant, and 0:10:52.610 --> 0:10:55.969 careful that you don't get a sexually transmitted disease, but 0:10:55.970 --> 0:11:00.450 they're not going to teach morality. That's our job. Parents, 0:11:00.970 --> 0:11:04.730 not the school's job. Don't say, well, I hope they 0:11:04.730 --> 0:11:07.170 had sex ed in their class and explained all that stuff. 0:11:07.210 --> 0:11:09.290 And they're not going to teach you morality. They're going 0:11:09.290 --> 0:11:10.890 to teach them how to not get pregnant, how not 0:11:10.890 --> 0:11:14.689 to get sexually transmitted disease. You teach them morality. 0:11:20.010 --> 0:11:22.690 You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe will continue 0:11:22.690 --> 0:11:25.570 today's message in a moment. Mark, there's something I've been 0:11:25.570 --> 0:11:27.450 noticing lately that I think many of our listeners are 0:11:27.450 --> 0:11:30.770 thinking about with so many voices competing for our attention. 0:11:30.890 --> 0:11:34.890 There's social media news cycles, workplace demands. It's easy to 0:11:34.929 --> 0:11:37.530 lose sight of what matters eternally. And I find myself 0:11:37.530 --> 0:11:40.490 wondering how many Christians today are investing their best resources 0:11:40.490 --> 0:11:42.730 in things that won't ultimately last. 0:11:42.970 --> 0:11:45.810 You know, Wayne, I remember when my youngest son was 0:11:45.809 --> 0:11:49.370 playing football in high school. It was a big game 0:11:49.650 --> 0:11:52.090 and I went there. I was cheering him on and 0:11:52.090 --> 0:11:53.810 I got a phone call and I thought, well, let 0:11:53.809 --> 0:11:55.690 me pick up this phone call just for a moment. 0:11:55.690 --> 0:11:58.250 So I went down and I got on the phone call, 0:11:58.410 --> 0:12:01.660 and it was right at that time that my son, 0:12:01.980 --> 0:12:07.180 he intercepted a pass and afterwards he said, dad, did 0:12:07.179 --> 0:12:09.540 you see that? And I had to say I missed 0:12:09.540 --> 0:12:13.020 the moment I was distracted by something. And in the end, 0:12:13.020 --> 0:12:16.380 it wasn't an urgent phone call. Listen, right now, there's 0:12:16.420 --> 0:12:20.819 a lot of distraction. The political environment in our country. 0:12:20.820 --> 0:12:26.020 There's a drama every day. There's a lot that's happening internationally. 0:12:26.260 --> 0:12:31.060 There's wars, there's natural disasters. It feels like we are 0:12:31.059 --> 0:12:34.660 just sucked into it. But I want to say, don't 0:12:34.660 --> 0:12:39.340 miss the moment. I believe that we are seeing more 0:12:39.340 --> 0:12:42.979 people come to Christ at this season of time, especially 0:12:42.980 --> 0:12:46.020 under the age of 35, than I have ever seen 0:12:46.020 --> 0:12:50.020 in our lifetime. It's happening in Africa, in Europe, it's 0:12:50.020 --> 0:12:52.980 happening in the United States of America. We at Bold 0:12:52.980 --> 0:12:58.260 Steps are committed to not get distracted, but to make 0:12:58.300 --> 0:13:01.460 sure that we are proclaiming the gospel of Jesus at 0:13:01.460 --> 0:13:04.780 a time of uncertainty so that people can come to 0:13:04.820 --> 0:13:08.380 know him in this window of opportunity that we have. 0:13:08.660 --> 0:13:12.420 So we want to encourage you. Pray. Don't miss the moment. 0:13:12.460 --> 0:13:14.980 Such an important word, Mark. Thank you. And if you 0:13:14.980 --> 0:13:17.059 would like to become part of this eternal work today 0:13:17.059 --> 0:13:20.179 by visiting us, you can do that at bird-stamps.org and 0:13:20.179 --> 0:13:27.500 make a gift or call us at 800 Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. 0:13:27.700 --> 0:13:29.540 And when you do, we'll send you a special gift 0:13:29.540 --> 0:13:31.420 as a way of saying thanks for partnering with us 0:13:31.420 --> 0:13:35.660 and sharing God's truth that will last eternally. More on 0:13:35.700 --> 0:13:38.179 that later. But let's get back to the message now. Again, 0:13:38.179 --> 0:13:39.220 here's Mark Jobe. 0:13:44.700 --> 0:13:50.420 Thirdly. It tells us in verse eight, for you were 0:13:50.420 --> 0:13:53.739 once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. 0:13:53.940 --> 0:13:57.980 Live as children of light, for the fruit of the 0:13:57.980 --> 0:14:01.070 light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth and find 0:14:01.070 --> 0:14:05.589 out what pleases the Lord. So number three. Change has 0:14:05.590 --> 0:14:07.230 to do with change. I'm talking about what it means 0:14:07.230 --> 0:14:11.750 to be children of light, children of our father. Embrace 0:14:11.750 --> 0:14:14.189 your new identity and allow the new you to produce 0:14:14.190 --> 0:14:17.070 the fruit of light. He says, hey, you were once 0:14:17.070 --> 0:14:20.030 in darkness, and when you lived in darkness, I expected 0:14:20.030 --> 0:14:24.510 you to live like darkness. But now you're light. He 0:14:24.510 --> 0:14:27.310 doesn't say, now you're in the light. He says, now 0:14:27.310 --> 0:14:32.870 you actually are the light. Do you realize that I 0:14:32.870 --> 0:14:35.950 just went to the planetarium, uh, last week or a 0:14:35.950 --> 0:14:38.350 week and a half ago with my with my boys, 0:14:38.990 --> 0:14:43.830 and it. Fascinating. They have some some cool exhibits there. 0:14:44.310 --> 0:14:47.910 But do you realize, for example, that the moon. Sometimes 0:14:47.910 --> 0:14:50.230 you can walk out into Chicago when the moon is 0:14:50.230 --> 0:14:53.230 full and bright? It's like it's you can see everything. 0:14:53.230 --> 0:14:55.430 Have you ever been one of those nights where like, wow, 0:14:55.470 --> 0:15:00.680 is it bright out tonight? Why? Because the moon is 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:04.760 giving light to our world. Now, of course, you know 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:07.520 that the moon has no light of its own. The 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:10.680 moon reflects the light of the sun, but as it 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:13.480 reflects the light of the sun, it becomes a light 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:17.120 to us. So it is in our lives. We have 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:19.920 no light of our own. But when we have the 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:23.560 presence of God clear, when our mirror is really clean 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:28.720 and washed, then suddenly we become light. And wherever we go, 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:32.200 we manifest the light of God. We generate a light 0:15:32.240 --> 0:15:34.680 of our own. Why? Because the light of God is 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:37.840 reflecting on us. And so he says, but now you 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:41.720 are light in the Lord. So live as children of light, 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:45.240 and children of light have a certain fruit that they produce, 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.840 and that is goodness and righteousness and truth. It's the 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:53.520 opposite of in. It's the opposite of sexual immorality, impurity, 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:57.800 and greediness. We're goodness, righteousness and truth, and we're looking 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:00.560 at how we can please God and find out what 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:03.760 pleases the Lord. Why? Because now that we're walking in 0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:06.680 the light, we're looking at God, and we want to 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:10.360 please God. You were darkness. It says, hey, we were 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:14.520 all darkness. But remember, you're not darkness anymore. That's what 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:17.880 you were. That's not who you are now. You are 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:22.040 a new creation. You say, well, pastor, I don't know. 0:16:22.040 --> 0:16:23.840 I just I just did a lot of my old life, 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:27.160 had a lot of partners. I was just sexually really irresponsible. 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:30.800 And I just really had a crazy life out there. Listen, listen. 0:16:31.400 --> 0:16:37.080 That's the old you. Why? Can't erase it? Listen, you 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:38.520 may not be able to erase it, but God has 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:43.240 erased it. You start new when you come to God. 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:48.040 All that stuff, it's washed. All that stuff is clean. 0:16:48.760 --> 0:16:52.040 All that stuff is under the blood of Jesus Christ. 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:56.080 And all of it is part of your past. Washed 0:16:56.080 --> 0:17:01.600 and clean. Listen, you don't come as a woman who 0:17:01.600 --> 0:17:05.800 has had a past with multiple partners. You come as 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:09.760 a daughter of God, washed and cleaned with a new slate, 0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:14.160 ready to live for God, manifesting the radiance of your 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:17.480 father who looks at you as a pure woman walking 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:22.360 in dignity and righteousness. I don't want you to bring 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:25.200 the shame of your old life into your new life, 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:28.000 because if you live in shame, then you start acting 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:30.359 in shame. And I want you to act as a 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:33.480 daughter and a son of the light, not a daughter 0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:37.000 or son of shame. And then lastly, and I'll close 0:17:37.000 --> 0:17:43.120 with this. Listen. Verse four. Have nothing to do with 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:46.359 the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Number four, 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:49.200 if you take writing notes down, write this down. Don't 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:52.360 get entangled again with darkness, but instead let your walk 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:56.800 be a living contrast. This is about contrast. Have nothing 0:17:56.800 --> 0:17:59.159 to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather 0:17:59.330 --> 0:18:02.330 expose them, for it's shameful even to mention what the 0:18:02.330 --> 0:18:05.969 disobedient do in secret. Here's the thing. And now that 0:18:05.970 --> 0:18:10.609 you've come to the light, disassociate yourself with the deeds 0:18:10.609 --> 0:18:15.010 of darkness. I run into too many people that are 0:18:15.010 --> 0:18:17.130 living on the edge. And then you keep falling off 0:18:17.130 --> 0:18:20.250 the edge and wondering why you're struggling in your walk 0:18:20.250 --> 0:18:23.649 with God. You've come to the light, but you still 0:18:23.650 --> 0:18:30.490 hang out. Really hang out in dark places. He says, 0:18:30.490 --> 0:18:34.170 don't have anything to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. 0:18:35.170 --> 0:18:37.690 You know, I talked about this not too long ago, 0:18:37.690 --> 0:18:42.090 but you know how many 20 something year olds, late 18, 19, 0:18:42.090 --> 0:18:44.290 20 early 20 year olds I talked to that are 0:18:44.290 --> 0:18:47.209 struggling in their life. They came to Christ. They consider 0:18:47.210 --> 0:18:51.490 themselves believers, but they keep falling up, getting up, falling down, 0:18:51.530 --> 0:18:54.810 can't seem to walk straight. They keep struggling. And then 0:18:54.810 --> 0:18:57.010 when I really get down to talking to them about 0:18:57.010 --> 0:18:59.489 what's happening in their life, they finally admit, well, you know, 0:18:59.540 --> 0:19:01.140 on the weekends I like to have fun. Well, tell 0:19:01.180 --> 0:19:03.060 me about your fun. Well, you know, I like to, 0:19:03.100 --> 0:19:04.500 you know, go out and have fun. I don't want 0:19:04.540 --> 0:19:06.580 to hurt anybody, do anything bad. I just like to 0:19:06.580 --> 0:19:08.460 have fun like I used to have fun. Well, let's 0:19:08.460 --> 0:19:10.300 define your fun to me. Well, you know, I go 0:19:10.300 --> 0:19:13.420 to the, you know, nightclub. Define the nightclub to me. Well, 0:19:13.460 --> 0:19:16.179 you know, it's just I don't go to do anything bad. 0:19:16.180 --> 0:19:19.340 I just go just to have fun and dance a 0:19:19.340 --> 0:19:23.139 little bit. And it's not a real bad environment. After 0:19:23.140 --> 0:19:24.780 talking to them, it seems like I want to take 0:19:24.780 --> 0:19:26.979 my that my 11 year old could go with them. Oh, 0:19:26.980 --> 0:19:28.300 you want to take my 11 year old with you? 0:19:28.300 --> 0:19:31.100 And it sounds like just a good old hey, no 0:19:31.140 --> 0:19:35.460 choo choo choo like this kind of thing. But let's 0:19:35.460 --> 0:19:39.980 be honest. Seriously, be honest about that environment. What happens? 0:19:39.980 --> 0:19:46.260 Dark places, loud music. Late at night. Everybody's drinking, popping pills, 0:19:46.300 --> 0:19:51.820 a little ecstasy. Music is blaring. Bump and grind. Music 0:19:51.820 --> 0:19:56.980 going skirts up to here. Low tops down to there. 0:19:57.140 --> 0:20:00.820 Guys with suave looks going. Looking at the girls. Girls 0:20:00.820 --> 0:20:03.820 checking out the guys. Guys checking out the girls. The 0:20:03.820 --> 0:20:07.060 heat is hot. The hormones are high. People end up 0:20:07.060 --> 0:20:11.100 in someone else's bed the next morning. Everybody's looking to 0:20:11.100 --> 0:20:13.820 get hooked up. There's a bunch of singles out there 0:20:13.820 --> 0:20:18.540 with inebriated, a little bit hormones flying high. And you 0:20:18.580 --> 0:20:25.620 wonder why you're struggling. Well, pastor, I just really want 0:20:25.660 --> 0:20:28.020 to be a testimony. So I go to those places, 0:20:28.020 --> 0:20:36.500 talk to people about Jesus. Okay, I can just see 0:20:36.500 --> 0:20:41.180 it now. Music's blaring loud on the dance. Hey, what 0:20:41.180 --> 0:20:44.820 about Jesus? You want to come to church with me 0:20:44.820 --> 0:20:50.340 this morning? Tomorrow? This Sunday? I just don't see that 0:20:50.340 --> 0:20:53.220 happening very much. I'm not sure. You're getting a lot 0:20:53.220 --> 0:21:00.219 of very intense Jesus conversations out in that nightclub. What chances. 0:21:00.220 --> 0:21:02.820 What are happening is that you have come to the 0:21:02.820 --> 0:21:05.580 light and you're hanging out with some of the old friends, 0:21:05.580 --> 0:21:09.420 and that's how they have fun. And you go not thinking, 0:21:09.420 --> 0:21:12.180 I'm going to end up in someone's bed. I'm not 0:21:12.180 --> 0:21:15.020 going to get drunk. But you're around that environment. Everybody 0:21:15.020 --> 0:21:17.940 seems to be doing it. And suddenly, although you're walking 0:21:17.940 --> 0:21:20.580 on the edge and you do okay for a few times, 0:21:20.580 --> 0:21:23.980 then you find yourself keep slipping off and doing what 0:21:23.980 --> 0:21:27.179 they do and then feeling bad about it, praying to 0:21:27.180 --> 0:21:30.300 repent on Sunday morning and then two weeks you fall 0:21:30.300 --> 0:21:32.620 off again and you wonder why you can't be strong. 0:21:32.619 --> 0:21:35.100 I can tell you why you can't be strong because 0:21:35.100 --> 0:21:39.139 you're hanging out in dark places. The Bible says don't 0:21:39.140 --> 0:21:42.180 have anything to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. 0:21:48.700 --> 0:21:51.220 I really like to dance. Go to an aerobics class. 0:21:54.859 --> 0:21:56.060 I'm sure you're not going to get in a lot 0:21:56.060 --> 0:22:00.869 of trouble there. I like to couple, dance, take a 0:22:00.869 --> 0:22:07.790 dancing class with your partner. Seriously? But let's be honest. 0:22:07.790 --> 0:22:11.670 You hang out certain environments. It's like the guy that's 0:22:11.670 --> 0:22:13.950 got a gambling problem. Listen, don't tell me you're going 0:22:13.950 --> 0:22:17.590 to go and just spend $10. I know better than that. 0:22:18.070 --> 0:22:20.230 If you have a gambling addiction and it's been a 0:22:20.230 --> 0:22:22.149 struggle in the past, you go hang out in the 0:22:22.150 --> 0:22:24.469 boat for a while, and those $10 are going to 0:22:24.470 --> 0:22:26.629 go to another $10, another 15. Then you're going to 0:22:26.630 --> 0:22:29.110 spend a thousand and wonder how it happened. I know 0:22:29.109 --> 0:22:31.910 how it happened. You went there. Wrong place, wrong time, 0:22:31.910 --> 0:22:35.390 wrong environment, hung out and on the edge. And you 0:22:35.430 --> 0:22:38.750 keep falling off the edge and wondering why you're struggling. 0:22:38.750 --> 0:22:41.869 Christianity have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, 0:22:41.869 --> 0:22:44.710 but rather expose them. For it's a shame even to 0:22:44.710 --> 0:22:48.909 mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed 0:22:48.910 --> 0:22:51.830 by the light becomes visible, for it is light that 0:22:51.830 --> 0:22:54.670 makes everything visible. This is why it said, wake up, 0:22:54.710 --> 0:22:57.950 O sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine 0:22:57.950 --> 0:23:00.510 on you. What it's saying is that as Christians, we're 0:23:00.510 --> 0:23:03.670 not supposed to go around taking our Holy Spirit flashlight 0:23:03.670 --> 0:23:05.790 and saying, you're sinning. Look at what you're doing. No, 0:23:05.790 --> 0:23:08.270 that's not how we expose the light. We expose the 0:23:08.270 --> 0:23:12.710 light when we start living like the light. And people 0:23:12.710 --> 0:23:16.070 get around us and they know we're different. We don't 0:23:16.070 --> 0:23:19.270 do what they do. We don't engage in what they do. 0:23:19.430 --> 0:23:23.110 We love righteousness and we have fun a whole different way. Why? 0:23:23.150 --> 0:23:27.350 Because our joy has become different than just self-satisfaction. We 0:23:27.350 --> 0:23:30.350 live for a bigger cause. And when you start living 0:23:30.350 --> 0:23:33.149 that way and walking that way, people around you are 0:23:33.150 --> 0:23:36.030 going to know that you are in the light. 0:23:42.470 --> 0:23:45.710 Choosing to walk in the light. Thank you Mark. An 0:23:45.710 --> 0:23:49.430 important challenge in avoiding the entanglement of darkness. This is 0:23:49.430 --> 0:23:51.830 bold steps. We've been learning to walk as a living 0:23:51.830 --> 0:23:55.830 contrast with our Bible teacher, Mark Jobe. Messages like today's 0:23:55.830 --> 0:23:58.630 are always available for you to revisit or share by 0:23:58.670 --> 0:24:02.760 going to our website at Bold Steps dot on our website. 0:24:02.760 --> 0:24:04.800 I also want to direct you to a very special 0:24:04.800 --> 0:24:08.080 resource we have available this month. It's our unique, bold 0:24:08.080 --> 0:24:10.080 step gift, and I really feel that all of us 0:24:10.080 --> 0:24:13.520 could benefit from what's inside this special book. Have you 0:24:13.520 --> 0:24:17.280 ever looked at someone else's success or possessions or relationships 0:24:17.280 --> 0:24:21.119 and felt that subtle sting of resentment? That's called envy. 0:24:21.359 --> 0:24:24.800 And in his groundbreaking book titled envy, pastor Mike Fabares 0:24:25.040 --> 0:24:29.240 reveals how this hidden sin damages our hearts, relationships, and 0:24:29.240 --> 0:24:33.480 spiritual lives. It's interesting how we readily confess sins like 0:24:33.520 --> 0:24:36.400 anger or pride. But when was the last time you 0:24:36.400 --> 0:24:39.679 repented of envy? This bold step gift will help you 0:24:39.680 --> 0:24:42.119 recognize and root out one of the most dangerous and 0:24:42.119 --> 0:24:45.399 yet least acknowledged sins in your life. So reach out 0:24:45.400 --> 0:24:48.679 today and request your copy of Pastor Mike's book envy. 0:24:48.800 --> 0:24:50.440 And we'll be happy to send you a copy with 0:24:50.440 --> 0:24:53.920 your gift of any amount to support this ministry. Call 0:24:53.920 --> 0:25:01.840 us today at 800 Moody. That's 566639 or give online 0:25:01.840 --> 0:25:06.960 at org or send your financial gift in the mail 0:25:06.960 --> 0:25:10.440 when you write to us at Bold steps. 820 North 0:25:10.440 --> 0:25:16.200 LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. By the way, we'd 0:25:16.200 --> 0:25:18.040 love to hear from you and get you connected with 0:25:18.040 --> 0:25:21.960 our growing online community on our social media pages. You'll 0:25:21.960 --> 0:25:25.760 find us there on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Just 0:25:25.760 --> 0:25:28.440 log in, search for Bold Steps Radio and be sure 0:25:28.440 --> 0:25:31.919 to subscribe or follow when you get to our page. Well, 0:25:31.920 --> 0:25:33.600 I'm Wayne Shepherd and I want to let you know 0:25:33.600 --> 0:25:36.679 that on tomorrow's program, we'll have a special in-studio discussion 0:25:36.680 --> 0:25:39.239 with Mark one that you won't want to miss. So 0:25:39.280 --> 0:25:42.720 tune in tomorrow for a special Bold Steps program. That's 0:25:42.720 --> 0:25:47.600 Friday with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of 0:25:47.640 --> 0:25:50.760 Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.