S1: Today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Learn how you
S1: can reflect the identity of your Heavenly Father for all
S1: to see.
S2: If you can begin to live like Jesus and begin
S2: to imitate Jesus and what he did and how he
S2: walked and how he talked, then you can begin to
S2: live like God, imitators of God. And if you're going
S2: to really live like children of God, then there's a
S2: few things you need to understand and a few things
S2: you need to change.
S1: And welcome to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe. Mark
S1: is senior pastor of New Life Community Church and president
S1: of Moody Bible Institute here in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Well,
S1: we've come to Ephesians chapter five now in our series,
S1: and Paul gives us a seemingly difficult command. He doesn't
S1: go easy on us here, does he, Mark, be imitators
S1: of God? Now, what does that mean?
S2: Yeah, that feels very elusive. How do I imitate God?
S2: But then he goes on to explain. Be imitators of
S2: God and walk in love just as Christ loved us.
S2: And I think that's the key. It's hard to get
S2: Ahold of. How do how can I be like God?
S2: But when I look at Jesus, I know how God is.
S2: So be imitators of Christ.
S1: Well, let's get into this study now. Once again, we're
S1: in Ephesians chapter five. And here's Mark.
S2: Ephesians chapter five, verse one. Be imitators of God. Go ahead.
S2: You can read it. First phrase Ephesians chapter five, verse one.
S2: Be imitators of God. I don't know what goes through
S2: your mind when you think of imitating God. But it's
S2: a hard image to grasp, isn't it? Because you think, well,
S2: how can I imitate God? I mean, God is God.
S2: I mean, I don't even know how to start on that.
S2: I mean, he's so far up. I'm so far down.
S2: How can I even begin to imitate God? The word
S2: in the Greek is mimic. Uh, it comes from where
S2: we get our English word to mimic, to be like,
S2: to take on the pattern of something. Now, if we
S2: were just to stop there, it would seem like it
S2: would be too hard, too confusing, too big to grasp.
S2: But he clarifies it a little bit when he says,
S2: be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children. Ah ah. Okay,
S2: maybe now you can grasp the concept a little bit more.
S2: Just as a child would seek to grow up and
S2: be like their father or mother, so we as children
S2: of God imitate God because he is our father. I
S2: have three children of my own. I have an 18
S2: year old daughter. She's in her first year of college.
S2: I have my my son, who's a junior in high school.
S2: Then I have my 11 year old. He's in sixth grade.
S2: And as they've grown up, I've realized that children tend
S2: to imitate their parents in certain ways. Uh, whether you
S2: like it or not, they imitate the good. Hey, and
S2: they imitate the bad. And I'll never forget my daughter.
S2: When she was about two years old, she was sitting
S2: on a couch. Her legs wouldn't even hang over because,
S2: you know, she's small, her legs are sticking straight out.
S2: And she had a big catalog on her lap that
S2: she got somewhere. And she's looking through the pages of
S2: the catalog. And here's what she was doing. She was
S2: imitating her mom. She had seen her mom do it,
S2: so she was licking her finger. And with the other hand,
S2: she was turning the page. You know, she kind of
S2: had the idea, right? But it wasn't quite working for her. But,
S2: you know, she had seen it done. So she was
S2: imitating what she had seen done. And so it is
S2: with children. They begin to talk like their parents and
S2: use expressions that their parents have. And some people tell
S2: me that my daughter, they've seen my daughter walk and
S2: they said, she walks like you. And I'm not sure
S2: that's good or bad, but but she walks like now.
S2: I never told my daughter, hey, honey, here's how you walk.
S2: I want you to walk like dad, you know, throw
S2: your leg out this way. That. No, no, no, I
S2: never explained that just by being around. Just by her biology,
S2: just by being a part of the family, there are
S2: certain things that she just takes on because. Because she's imitating,
S2: because she's around. It's by it's by relationship that she
S2: begins to take on the characteristics of her father. My
S2: brother and I are about 22 months apart, and when
S2: I call up my mother now, he's an artist, independent filmmaker.
S2: So he's got if you've ever he's been here a
S2: few times, he's got like spiky hair and a couple
S2: earrings and so forth. He's he's the artist side of
S2: the family, but we sound a lot alike. And so
S2: when I call up my mother, who lives in Spain,
S2: she always asks the first question she asks, is this Bob,
S2: or is this Mark? Because our voices sound a lot alike. Why?
S2: We grew up in the same household. We use the
S2: same expressions. Um, we've been around each other a lot.
S2: We have the same father and mother, so therefore we
S2: develop those characteristics. This is what God is saying because
S2: you're a child of God and have been born again
S2: of God. Now live like a child of God. If
S2: he is your father, now start living like he's your father.
S2: Start imitating him in what he does and how he
S2: acts and his values and his characteristics. And if you say, well,
S2: it's too hard for me to imagine imitating God because
S2: I just don't know what that means, then it makes
S2: a lot more sense. If you can understand that Jesus
S2: is God, the manifestation of God. And so therefore he says,
S2: be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children, and
S2: live a life of love, just as Christ loved us
S2: and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering
S2: and sacrifice. You see, if you want to know how
S2: God would live here on earth, then all you have
S2: to look is at Jesus. Because Jesus is God made man,
S2: manifest in the flesh, living his life here on earth.
S2: That's where we get our little bracelets. Many of you
S2: have seen those bracelets that say w w JD, what
S2: would Jesus do? And it's a little bit that idea
S2: that if you can begin to live like Jesus and
S2: begin to imitate Jesus and what he did and how
S2: he walked and how he talked, then you can begin
S2: to live like God, imitators of God. And Paul says,
S2: be imitators of God, because your children of God, and
S2: live a life where you show concern for other people
S2: just like Jesus did, and who offered the ultimate sacrifice
S2: that raised up to God as a fragrant aroma. And
S2: then he goes on to describe to us, if you're
S2: going to be imitators of God, and if you're going
S2: to really live like children of God, then there's a
S2: few things you need to understand and a few things
S2: you need to change. And so we jump into this passage.
S2: I'm going to begin reading in verse three. If you're
S2: taking notes this morning, write this down. The first thing
S2: that helps us reflect God has to do with identity. Identity.
S2: Remember that your desires and speech should reflect your new
S2: identity and be consistent with your calling, your desires, and
S2: the way you talk. Your speech should be consistent with
S2: the new you. Some of us have a new have
S2: a new us in God, but we still have a
S2: little bit of the old way we talk and a
S2: little bit of the old desires. And what God is
S2: saying is you have a new you, so let the
S2: old leave the old behind and take on the new
S2: you who you are. Look what he says in verse three,
S2: but among you there must not even be a hint
S2: of sexual immorality or any kind of impurity or greed,
S2: because these are improper for God's holy people. Verse four.
S2: Nor should there be obscenity. Foolish talk, coarse, just joking,
S2: which are out of place, but rather giving thanks. So
S2: he says, hey, if you're going to be imitators of God,
S2: there's two things that you need to start working on
S2: in the beginning. One is your desires, and secondly is
S2: your speech. So let's talk first about our desires. He said,
S2: among you there must be no, not even a hint
S2: of sexual immorality. Let's talk about this for a second.
S2: What is sexual immorality? Well, first of all, let me
S2: clarify this. He's not talking about just sex. He's talking
S2: about sexual immorality. How many of you know there's a
S2: difference between sex and sexual immorality? Some people grow up
S2: in a setting where all they've heard is no, no.
S2: Know about sex. Bad, bad, bad about sex. Don't don't,
S2: don't about sex. And you kind of grow up thinking
S2: that it's a bad thing or that it's a dirty thing,
S2: or that it's something that shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't be celebrated
S2: or expressed. Let me just go on record here. I've
S2: told you this before. If you've been around for a while,
S2: you know that sex is a good thing. We are
S2: pro sex here at New Life Community Church. Absolutely. 100%
S2: made by God, engineered by God, designed by God to
S2: be celebrated and to be often engaged in. Here at
S2: New Life Community Church in the right setting. Okay, so
S2: I just want you to know that we're pro sex.
S2: Sex is not dirty. Sex is not bad. Sex is
S2: a great thing, a good thing, as long as it's
S2: in the boundaries of how God engineered it to happen
S2: and basically how God engineered it to work is that
S2: when a man and a woman commit themselves to one
S2: another for a lifetime and we call it marriage, engage
S2: in the act of marriage and say, I am committed
S2: to you. You are committed to me. We are in
S2: a monogamous, loving relationship until death do it part. Then
S2: let the party begin. Enjoy it often. Enjoy it as
S2: much as you can. Celebrate it. I know some husbands
S2: that say, I'm going to get that tape. I never
S2: get a tape. Where do I buy that CD? Now
S2: I'm going to get that one. I'm going to get
S2: that one. Um, seriously, I really believe that if if
S2: that that sexual intimacy is something that God engineered and
S2: God knows how it works. And actually, contrary to common myth,
S2: some people. Now, if you look at any TV sitcom,
S2: anytime it portrays a married couple, it's usually they're bored
S2: out of their minds with each other. They're they're unhappy,
S2: it's dysfunctional. And it seems like the people that are
S2: really enjoying their sexual life are the single 20 something
S2: that are out there clubbing, having one night stands and
S2: that's where the action is really happening. But married couples,
S2: it's boring. Nothing's happening. It's, you know, everybody's always got
S2: a headache and, you know, it's always that kind of thing.
S2: But contrary to public opinion, the truth is that in
S2: surveys done among 20 something singles that are living a
S2: party life, sleeping with whoever they want to sleep with,
S2: and monogamous married people that have been married for some time.
S2: They have done surveys, secular and Christian surveys that indicate
S2: that married people that have been married for some time
S2: are actually much more satisfied and enjoying their sexuality than
S2: those that are out there partying and clubbing and going
S2: from place to place. Aha! I bet you never see
S2: that on sitcoms, huh?
S1: This is Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe. We're pausing
S1: our message to thank our bold partners right now. Mark,
S1: these are these are friends of this ministry who are
S1: making a sacrificial gift to see this ministry continue.
S2: Yeah. Bold partners. If you don't know what that is,
S2: those are our partners that give monthly to support this ministry. And, uh,
S2: it may be $5 a month. It may be 30, 40,
S2: $50 a month. Whatever it is, we are very grateful
S2: for your monthly donations.
S1: And in return for becoming a bold partner, we want
S1: to offer you some things. First of all, you receive
S1: a bi monthly communication from Mark and exclusive greeting from Mark, actually.
S1: And then there's Mark's book, unstuck. Now let me say
S1: this about the book, Mark, because I read this comment
S1: recently from a friend, and I just want to share
S1: what he shared with us. He said, I just wanted
S1: to reach out to Mark and his ministry, and thank
S1: him so much for his faithfulness in writing this book, unstuck.
S1: He's really helped me realize how stuck I am. I
S1: received this book at a pastor's conference three years ago,
S1: and I kept it because I thought one day I'd
S1: find someone stuck. Little did I know that as I
S1: picked it up, I have been the one stuck struggling
S1: with depression and anxiety. This book has helped me realize
S1: some great areas to start to surrender to the Lord,
S1: and how to start moving out of my cave. An
S1: amazing book, one used by God in my life. Thanks
S1: so much! Joshua wrote that to us from California. So
S1: this is the book that we're going to send to
S1: our bold partners.
S2: Yeah. Thank you, Joshua, for sharing your heart. And so
S2: many people can relate with that being stuck. And we'd
S2: love to give you a book unstuck for all of
S2: our monthly partners. It's automatic. You don't even have to
S2: request it. We will give you an unstuck book for
S2: every monthly partner. Thank you.
S1: Sign up to be a bold partner at Bird-stamps.org. Alright,
S1: now we can return to Mark's message on bold steps.
S2: I want to make sure that we understand what we're
S2: talking about. God is he engineered sex. He created Sex.
S2: The fact that a young man is attracted to a
S2: young woman. Normal. Natural. The fact that a man desires
S2: to see the naked body of a woman. Normal. Natural.
S2: May it be his wife that he desires. That's. That's
S2: normally that's just engineered by God. When God created Adam,
S2: he created Eve. They saw each other and said the
S2: equivalent to wow, you know, great God. God. It was
S2: part of God's design. Now, outside of the parameters of marriage,
S2: when a single is engaging with sexual activity with another single,
S2: it's called fornication. When a married person is engaged with
S2: sexual activity outside of marriage, it's called adultery. And then
S2: there's all kinds of other things in between. The word
S2: here where it says, May there not be even a
S2: hint of immorality, sexual immorality. The word used in the
S2: Greek is the word porneia, which is where we get
S2: the word pornography Nography from so in other. In other words,
S2: what it's saying is there should be not even a
S2: hint of sexual activity outside of the confines of marriage
S2: when it's in marriage. Great. Enjoy it. Don't feel guilty. Listen,
S2: if you're in, if you're in a married relationship right
S2: now and you're not enjoying sexual intimacy and and you're
S2: not having sex together, and that's not happening in your marriage,
S2: you need to get help. Seriously? Because there's something that's
S2: broken down there. There's something that has happened. You've allowed
S2: something wall to break up. You've allowed something to to, uh,
S2: take away from what God engineered it to be. So
S2: get counseling. Figure out what are the barriers that need
S2: to be broken down. But but that's that's part of
S2: God's plan for your marriage. Seriously. It is. It's part
S2: of God's plan for your healthy marriage. However, it needs
S2: to happen within the confines of marriage. Anything outside of
S2: that is strictly forbidden by Scripture. Now, I know that
S2: when I say this, I am going absolutely 100% counterculture
S2: to what exists in our society today, where we live
S2: in a society that by and large accepts the the
S2: culture of friends with benefits more and more. If you
S2: go to a college campus today, if you go down
S2: to UIC, if you go down to northwestern, every college
S2: campus pretty much here in the US, and you talk
S2: to a college kid that's 22 years old, 21 years old,
S2: and you ask, what is the culture that exists in
S2: the campus? Pretty much the culture is this we can
S2: hook up sexually, even though we may. We're not dating,
S2: you know, I can I can give sexual favors to
S2: an individual. Doesn't mean I like them. Doesn't mean we're
S2: boyfriend girlfriend. doesn't mean we're dating. We can give each
S2: other sexual favors. Why? Because it feels good. And then
S2: we can walk away. Don't expect a letter. Don't expect
S2: that we're together. Don't expect that we're somehow involved each other.
S2: And I can do that for this person. I can
S2: do that for another person. It's pretty much the one
S2: night stands, the sexual favors pretty much accepted practice ingrained
S2: into the mainstream of our culture at a college level,
S2: at a high school level. And unfortunately, now more and
S2: more at a junior high level. It's the culture. It's accepted.
S2: It's not like our society is much different than the
S2: society that Paul was talking to. Paul was talking to
S2: the Ephesians in Ephesus. There was a big temple to Diana,
S2: the god of fertility. Part of the practice of the
S2: god of fertility is that there were priestesses in the
S2: temple of Diana. And in order to go and engage
S2: in a sexual experience in the temple of Diana, people
S2: would get drunk and basically have orgies with the priestesses
S2: of the Temple of Diana. And so sexual immorality and
S2: sexual playing around was rampant in the society that Paul
S2: was talking about as well. So it was counter the
S2: culture for Paul to say, now that you are children
S2: of God, there shouldn't even be a hint of sexual
S2: immorality among you or of any kind of impurity. Impurity
S2: has to do with anything. It's related to sexuality, but
S2: it could have to do with pornography. It could have
S2: to do with fantasizing. It could have to be with
S2: X-rated movies. It could have to be with it could
S2: have to do with, uh, the latest, uh, Sports Illustrated
S2: Swimsuit edition. It could have to do with a lot
S2: of issues out there that have to do with sexuality
S2: out there. So not even a hint of sexual immorality
S2: or any kind of impurity. And he says, or greed,
S2: you say, well, what does greed have to do with it? Well,
S2: greed is it's the word covetousness. Covetousness means I desire
S2: something that doesn't belong to me, that I can't have.
S2: But I still want it, even though it's not legitimate
S2: for me to have it. So you could be greedy
S2: towards money or towards things. You could see someone driving
S2: a car that's nicer than your car and say, man,
S2: why does he get to have that car? I want
S2: that car. I should have that car. And I'm kind
S2: of frustrated that he's got it and I don't. But
S2: it could also have to do with, um, it could
S2: have to do with sexuality. It could have to do
S2: with desiring another man's wife or desiring someone that's illegitimate
S2: for you to have. But you desire and covet something
S2: that is illegitimate for you to possess. And so basically
S2: what Paul says is, I know you live in a
S2: culture that is a sex saturated culture. We live in
S2: that kind of society. And the fact that people live together,
S2: the fact that people hook up together, the fact that
S2: people have multiple partners when they're in their 20s or 30s,
S2: it's pretty much just accepted by society. It's just the
S2: way it is. It's just kind of normal, right? Well,
S2: God says it may be normal for the world out there,
S2: but hey, you are the people of God. And it
S2: may be normal for society at large, but because you
S2: are children of God, it's not normal for you because
S2: you live by different standards.
S1: Well, if you had to give an assessment, how different
S1: are your values from the world around you? That's the
S1: takeaway today from a message titled Choosing to Walk in
S1: the light from Mark Jobe, and you're listening to Bold Steps. Well,
S1: we have a special bold step gift available for our
S1: listeners a book titled envy A Big Problem You Didn't
S1: Know You Had written by our guest, Mark. His name
S1: is pastor Mike Fabares.
S3: Yeah. And by the way, many of you are familiar
S3: with pastor Mike because he's on the radio. He's written
S3: several books. He's a graduate from Moody Bible Institute and
S3: actually on the board of directors as well. And so
S3: love pastor Mike and his ministry. I was thinking about
S3: this topic of envy and how oftentimes we we just
S3: don't consider ourselves envious. Pastor Mike, if you were to
S3: help someone self-diagnose whether they have envy, what would you
S3: point to? What should they be looking for?
S4: Well, I would start by saying, are there any people
S4: in your everyday world that you just find yourself erring
S4: on the side of being critical when you really shouldn't
S4: be and you think, well, why am I not happy
S4: applauding their success, right? This is hard, but we need
S4: to look at the people that we are critical of.
S4: And if you look hard enough, you often find it's
S4: because I'm really envious of what they get that I
S4: don't have what they've accomplished, that I haven't been able
S4: to accomplish, that they make so much money, so much
S4: more money than I make. There's a lot of reasons
S4: that we, um, just spring into gossip and criticism and
S4: just talking behind people's back in a negative way. And
S4: usually we can start to realize what's happened is something
S4: really between me and God. It's really not between me
S4: and them.
S1: Pastor Mike, are envy and jealousy interchangeable?
S4: Not really. There's a kind of jealousy that's appropriate in
S4: the Bible, right? God says he's a jealous God in
S4: Exodus 34. There's a time for you right to rightly
S4: in your marriage. Be jealous if there's something threatening that relationship.
S4: But envy is always seen as something wrong in Scripture,
S4: and we're never to envy anyone. And what envy is,
S4: is taking a jealous feeling when I'd have no right
S4: to feel jealous. And now I start to have a
S4: a bitterness toward that person for accomplishing or achieving or
S4: securing something that I haven't been able to. And Jesus
S4: tells parables about this. You've got to be careful in
S4: your own heart to guard your heart against this kind
S4: of envy, because it is different than jealousy, because sometimes
S4: jealousy can be appropriate.
S2: That's great. So there you have it, pastor Mike Fabares.
S2: We would love to get this book into your hand.
S2: It's called a Big problem. You didn't know you had envy.
S2: Thank you, pastor Mike.
S1: We'll send you a copy when you make a donation
S1: of any amount to support bold steps, just call us
S1: at (800) 800-3566 639 or a couple of other options you
S1: can give online at bird-stamps.org or send your financial gift
S1: in the mail. Write to us at bold steps. 820
S1: North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. Again, 820 North
S1: LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten and then don't forget,
S1: you can hear Mark's bold and passionate teaching anywhere you
S1: go when you download the app to your favorite smart device.
S1: Just look for the Bold Steps app in your app
S1: store and learn more by visiting Bold Steps. While you're online,
S1: let me remind you to sign up for Mark's weekly
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S1: free dose of inspiration and insight, delivered right to your
S1: inbox every Monday morning, and you won't want to miss it.
S1: Once again, you can sign up at Bold Steps org. Well,
S1: thanks for joining us today. I'm Wayne Shepherd, inviting you
S1: to come back again tomorrow. Mark will continue this message
S1: from our study of the book of Ephesians. Our message
S1: is titled Choosing to Walk in the light. So be listening.
S1: Wednesday for more bold steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps
S1: is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody
S1: Bible Institute.