S1: It's obvious we're living in divided times. Today on bold steps,
S1: Mark Jobe has an important message about the church and unity.
S2: I don't think I've ever seen the amount of anger
S2: and volatility that I'm seeing today all the time in relationships,
S2: in marriages, among coworkers. And you know what Paul is
S2: telling us? Paul is saying you are different than that.
S2: That may exist in the culture. That is not who
S2: you are.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is president
S1: of Moody Bible Institute and serves as senior pastor of
S1: New Life Community Church in Chicago. My name is Wayne Shepherd,
S1: and you know, our attitude towards something can make or
S1: break it. And, Mark, I think you would agree that
S1: there's a lot of anger, division, strife in relationships today.
S1: And that's something you address recently to our students at
S1: Moody Bible Institute in Wayne.
S2: There was a guest speaker that was supposed to be
S2: preaching in chapel the night before he got sick.
S1: Oh, I didn't know that.
S2: And called me and said, I can't make it. So, uh,
S2: I spoke on this topic that I'd preached on not
S2: too long ago, but, you know, a lot of people
S2: came up to me afterwards and said that God really
S2: spoke to their heart. I was able to pray with
S2: some students and some faculty because this is a topic.
S2: I think that we're all right in the middle of.
S1: Well, we get to hear it now as we go
S1: to chapel at Moody Bible Institute. Here's Mark's message. Attitudes
S1: that divide us.
S2: You know, I'm shocked at the amount of anger that
S2: I see in our culture these days. It seems like
S2: people are on edge, ready for a fight. Just bump
S2: them and they're ready to explode. I walked into the
S2: mechanic mechanic's shop a couple of months ago, and there
S2: was a heated argument happened between happening between the guy
S2: that brought his car in and the mechanic's shop owner.
S2: And this argument started to escalate. I thought I was
S2: going to have to tackle the guy because I thought,
S2: this is going to get physical. Someone's going to get
S2: hurt here. It was over a car. And the mechanic
S2: not being able to do what the client wanted him
S2: to do on the car. But it almost got physical.
S2: The amount of volatility and anger and stress was amazing
S2: here in the city of Chicago. We hear news all
S2: the time of someone on the expressway that cuts someone
S2: else off, and someone pulls out a gun, and over
S2: a traffic disagreement, someone is shot and killed because there's
S2: a lot of volatility and anger Gallup did an annual
S2: survey of global emotions. Every year they do this, and
S2: they discovered that Americans experience stress, anger and worry right
S2: now at level largely surpassing those that have been seen
S2: in decades past. More than half of the United States.
S2: Of American respondents, 55% reported feeling highly stressed, while 45%
S2: said they felt worried a lot. Most of the time.
S2: So I just want you to know that we live
S2: in a culture where people are on edge, and we
S2: have not been spared in the Christian community from some
S2: of the volatility that exists in our culture. And I
S2: want to draw your attention to Ephesians chapter four, because
S2: Apostle Paul is talking to a group of believers that
S2: live in a very Secular environment, and the focus of
S2: this chapter is on growth and on unity, and on
S2: how to get along in tense relationships. And if you
S2: read the book of Ephesians, you'll realize that God is
S2: calling us and was calling them to live countercultural. I
S2: believe that one of the most powerful testimonies of the
S2: church in today's society is that people from different backgrounds
S2: and different color, skin and different ethnicities and different accents
S2: love each other in a way that astounds the world
S2: outside of us. Unfortunately, it is often not the case.
S2: I believe that we're called to live countercultural. I believe
S2: that one of the things that the world needs to
S2: see of the church now is a people that can
S2: be united in spite of differences. Is the united in
S2: Jesus Christ, and love each other in a way that
S2: causes the world outside to be confounded about what brings
S2: us together and keeps us together. At the front end
S2: of chapter four, the Apostle Paul expresses his desire for
S2: unity in the church, and he says, I therefore a
S2: prisoner for the Lord. He's writing this epistle from prison,
S2: urge you to walk in a manner worthy of your calling. Hey,
S2: you have a high calling. Every believer in Jesus has
S2: a calling. We're all called to follow him and to
S2: follow him on mission. And what the Apostle Paul is
S2: saying is you have a high calling, but some of
S2: you are not living to the measure of your calling.
S2: And he says, walk in a manner worthy of the
S2: calling to which you have been called. And then he
S2: gives some descriptions, Some of these would not be the
S2: words that we would gravitate towards. But he says, with
S2: all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another
S2: in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit
S2: in the bond of peace. There is one body and
S2: one spirit, just as you were called to one hope
S2: that belongs to your call. One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
S2: one God and Father of all, who is over all
S2: and through all and in all. You would think that
S2: he would use words like courage and boldness and risk
S2: taking when he talks about call, but he uses words
S2: like gentleness, humility, kindness because he's saying that our call
S2: is not just a call to be bold about our faith,
S2: but there's a calling also to learn. to get along
S2: with other people, especially the household of faith, especially of
S2: the body of believers. And I want to jump further
S2: down in the passage, because the Apostle Paul gives us
S2: the intention, but he gets real practical in verses 25
S2: through 32, and he basically tells us what we're to
S2: stop doing and start doing. And, um, I'm going to
S2: have to go through this fast because of our time
S2: constraints here. But there are five things. If you're going
S2: to have an attitude that brings people together instead of
S2: splits people apart that you need to stop doing, and
S2: five things that you need to start doing. Number one,
S2: he says, therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one
S2: of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we
S2: are all members of one another. The first thing he
S2: says is stop lying and start telling the truth. Stop lying.
S2: That's who you were in your old life. You were liars.
S2: You manipulated. You weren't truthful. You weren't vulnerable, transparent and real.
S2: You had mask and pretension, manipulation, deceitful half truths. That's
S2: how the world operates. Putting on a facade to make
S2: people think that we're something, that we're not deceiving. People
S2: with subtle forms of manipulation, distracting people with lies that
S2: really aren't truth. And he says that's who you were.
S2: That's not who you are. You are people of honesty
S2: and truth. You are the old way of deception that's
S2: gone the way of Jesus. The new you is real,
S2: is honest, is transparent. The real you is someone that
S2: operates without mask, uh, without manipulation, and allows us to
S2: have relationships that, uh, that are significant because we're not pretending.
S2: And then he says this, for we are members of
S2: one another. He says you need to operate with honesty
S2: and communication because you are actually connected to each other.
S2: He's talking to Christians that, that, that aren't operating honestly
S2: with one another. He uses the example of a body
S2: that were members of one another. Your head and your
S2: hands and your feet and your legs are part of
S2: one body, and they have to communicate honestly with one another.
S2: When members of your body don't communicate honestly, we call
S2: it a disease. If my hand does not respond to
S2: what my head is saying and does its own thing,
S2: that's a neurological disease. If my feet don't cooperate with
S2: my eyesight, I stumble. I fall a lot because there's
S2: not honest communication and I don't get somewhere. And he,
S2: in essence is saying, if you are to be the
S2: people of God, there has to be a different way
S2: of relating to each other that is not inculturated by
S2: who you were. There's a level of honesty, transparency, openness
S2: about our struggles and who we are that should characterize
S2: our new culture, the people of God. Number two, stop
S2: letting your anger fester and start dealing with it. Verse 26,
S2: he says, be angry and do not sin. Do not
S2: let the sun go down while you are angry, and
S2: do not give the devil a foothold. I love the
S2: wording of the message. It says, go ahead and be angry.
S2: You do well to be angry, but don't use your
S2: anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't
S2: go to bed angry. Don't give the devil that kind
S2: of foothold in your life. There is a lot of anger,
S2: a lot of anger in every part of our culture
S2: and society. I don't think I've ever seen the amount
S2: of anger and volatility that I'm seeing today all the
S2: time in families, in relationships, in marriages, among coworkers. Driving
S2: on the expressway, there's anger. Anger over politics. Anger over
S2: cultural issues. Anger over economics. Anger over a lot of
S2: things that divide us. Uh, there is a lot of
S2: volatility and anger these days. A lot of polarization. And
S2: you know what Paul is telling us? Paul is saying
S2: you are different than that. That is that may exist
S2: in the culture. That is not who you are.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. We'll continue
S1: with today's message in a moment. First, I want to
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S1: Now let's get back to today's message. Here again is
S1: Mark Jobe with more bold steps.
S2: I have to be honest with you, as a pastor
S2: in the city of Chicago, I feel like I often
S2: have to deal with stereotypes of Christians. Oh, you're those
S2: angry people always shouting, always against someone, always hateful. And
S2: I try to say, yeah, you know, there's some people
S2: like that. That's not necessarily who we are, because a
S2: lot of the world sees kind of what we're against.
S2: They oftentimes don't see what we're for. They see the anger,
S2: the veins popping, the screaming and the yelling very much
S2: like what I see political opponents doing, or teams that
S2: are against each other, or people that oppose each other.
S2: An anger volatility that really isn't the kind of stereotype,
S2: the image that I think reflects Jesus the best. Now,
S2: don't get me wrong, there are times to be angry.
S2: In fact, I want to say this anger is not
S2: a sin. Anger is an emotion. So we know it's
S2: not a sin because Jesus became angry. For example, in
S2: Mark chapter three verse five. Jesus looked around at what
S2: they were doing in the temple, and he said. He
S2: looked at around in anger. Deeply distressed at their stubborn heart.
S2: In Psalms chapter four, verse four, it says, in your
S2: anger do not sin. But when you go to your bed,
S2: search your hearts and be silent. God becomes angry. Anger
S2: is not a sin. But here's the thing Anger can
S2: lead to sinful behavior if it's not dealt with the
S2: right way. Uh, psychologists would say that anger is a
S2: secondary emotion. That means that typically, if you struggle with anger,
S2: it means that there's probably an undercurrent issue that is
S2: causing your anger to pop up. That undercurrent issue sometimes
S2: is sadness. Uh, people that are experiencing loss in their life,
S2: loss of a relationship, a friendship, uh, death of someone, uh, status,
S2: a job, whatever. Sometimes sadness can lead to anger. Uh,
S2: sometimes the root emotion is fear. Uh, show me people
S2: that are fearful a lot. And oftentimes that can explode
S2: into anger. Show me someone that's hurt. Uh, someone that's
S2: wounded internally. Someone that has experienced disappointment, disillusionment, abandonment, abuse
S2: of any kind. Oftentimes they lash out in anger. So
S2: I would say this if you're experiencing anger today, you
S2: need to treat it as a dashboard. In your car.
S2: You have a dashboard and there's a lot of lights.
S2: I know some of you ignore them all the time. Like, yeah,
S2: there's a light that's been going on. I don't know,
S2: I just don't pay attention to the lights. Let me
S2: say pay attention to the lights. Because that light is
S2: telling you you need to change the oil or you
S2: need to put oil in that car. It's just a light.
S2: All these lights just. And anger is like that. It's
S2: a dashboard in your life that tells you there's something
S2: in your life that's undealt with. If you are here
S2: today and you have anger, you explode at your roommates.
S2: You get ticked off very easy. You rant about things.
S2: You feel this simmering anger inside of you. You need
S2: to pay attention to that because it's telling you that
S2: there is some underlying Line emotions, some underlying root issue
S2: that you have not dealt with and you're going to
S2: excuse it. Ah, it's just the stress. It's my roommate.
S2: It's the pressure. It's the unfairness. It's the finances. It's
S2: whatever you blame it on. But listen, people around you
S2: know that you're angry. You need to pay attention to
S2: the dashboard. Why is it going off all the time?
S2: Because there's something at the root that you need to
S2: deal with. And here's what the Apostle Paul says. The
S2: apostle Paul says, hey, be angry, but don't sin. Anger
S2: can show up in explosiveness, stewing, irritability, hostility, aggression. And then, Paul,
S2: I don't have time to get way into this, but
S2: Paul gives us basically three rules for anger. Number one,
S2: don't let it turn. Be angry and don't sin. Anger
S2: can quickly turn into damaging destructive behavior if it's not channeled. Hey, yeah,
S2: you get angry at your roommate. That's normal. But when
S2: you start to become critical, demeaning, when you start to
S2: become abusive with your words, when you start to slander,
S2: you've crossed the line and let anger become sinful. Don't
S2: let anger turn. Feel the emotion, the urge, but don't
S2: let it turn to something destructive. And that's why the
S2: apostle Paul tells us, by the way, uh, he says,
S2: don't let the sun go down while you're angry. In
S2: other words, if you let it, if you let it
S2: stew without dealing with it, it turns. Let anger stew
S2: and don't deal with it. It'll turn to bitterness, resentment.
S2: It'll turn to revenge. It'll turn to hate. It'll turn
S2: to a critical spirit. It always turns. And so the
S2: rule that the apostle Paul gives is deal with it
S2: that day. In essence, what he's saying is you need
S2: to deal with it that day. So I've learned, if
S2: I want to have a really good fight with my
S2: wife and and have time to stew, I pick the
S2: fight early in the morning. That way I have all day.
S2: I'm just kidding. He's not really talking. It's not just
S2: about the 24 hour rule, but it is about do
S2: not wake up the next day not having dealt with
S2: your anger. And then number three, listen. He says, don't
S2: give the devil a foothold and give no opportunity to
S2: the devil. Can I tell you something? A foothold is
S2: when someone tries to close the door and you put
S2: your foot there and you can't close the door. You
S2: ever done that? Run around playing with your roommates or
S2: as kids? They try to close the door. You put
S2: your foot in there, and then you can yell in
S2: the door and you put your hand in there. Try
S2: to reach in. Do something. Throw something in there. That's
S2: called a foothold. And if you don't deal with this door,
S2: if you don't close this door, if you don't deal
S2: with that, what's at the root of it? Listen, if
S2: you have trauma in your heart, if you have. If
S2: you have scars in your soul, which a lot of
S2: us do, we live in a broken, messed up world.
S2: And a lot of you have been raised in families
S2: that were broken, dysfunctional, unhealthy, toxic. And if you had
S2: a healthy family and had good parents and had good investment,
S2: then you are the rarity and you better thank God
S2: for that. But the great majority have brokenness. A lot
S2: of brokenness. And a lot of times that brokenness is
S2: not dealt with. And at the core there's anger.
S1: This is bold steps with Mark Jobe, the start of
S1: a lesson titled Attitudes That Divide Us. We'll continue with
S1: part two on tomorrow's program, but until then, head over
S1: to our website at Bold steps.org and check out this
S1: month's special Bold Step gift. It's available for a limited time. Mark,
S1: let's talk about this special offer.
S2: You know, Wayne, today's young girls, they're just bombarded with
S2: messages that shape their beliefs, affect their identity. That's why
S2: I'm excited about this bold Steps gift this month. It's
S2: called Lies Girls Believe by Dana Gresh.
S1: And Dana is with us right now.
S2: Absolutely, Dana, great to have you with us. Tell us
S2: a little bit about why you wrote this book.
S3: Oh, well, my friend Nancy DeMoss, Wolgemuth wrote a book
S3: called Lies Women Believe. And over a million women read
S3: that book, and it helped them to really identify where
S3: they were in bondage to lies. And that was resulting
S3: in emotions that weren't working, that weren't healthy. That was
S3: one of the telltale signs, as well as sinful behaviors
S3: that they just couldn't stop. And when they identified the lies,
S3: they felt freedom. Well, those women said, these lies started
S3: when I was in my teen years and in my
S3: teen years. So Nancy and I worked together to write
S3: both Lies Young Women Believe for teens and then Lies
S3: Girls believe for the 8 to 12 year old girls.
S4: So this is for 8 to 12 year olds specifically,
S4: by the way, I just think this is so, so needed. Yes,
S4: especially in today's culture where young girls more than ever
S4: are bombarded about identity, lies about who they are, gender,
S4: where they fit into the world. What would you say
S4: are the top three lies? I know you have a
S4: list of quite a few lies. Can you identify what
S4: you'd say are the top say three lies?
S3: God is not enough. If we don't believe that God
S3: is enough, then that dismantles and affects everything else around us.
S3: And one of the ways that shows up is emotions,
S3: which I just addressed. Emotions are one of the telltale
S3: signs that we aren't believing God is who he says
S3: he is, and he will be in our lives who
S3: he says he will be. So we believe God isn't enough.
S3: I need the car, or the house or the job
S3: or whatever. But as as tweens, they tend to really
S3: believe the lie. God isn't enough. I need the friend
S3: and friends lead you down a road of believing all
S3: kinds of other lies. Peer pressure is either a great
S3: gift in our lives that leads us to Jesus, or
S3: it is a great dismantling of our faith and leads
S3: us away from Jesus to counterfeits. And so I think
S3: that's probably one of the big lies. And you mentioned
S3: identity so many times. If if that friend isn't from
S3: a source of biblical truth, a home that's grounded in
S3: biblical truth today, which of us feels good about ourselves?
S3: Our emotions are healthy in our in our middle school
S3: and pre-teen years. None of us. Well, today people are saying, okay,
S3: the reason you don't feel good is because and they're
S3: leading them down, these really lethal, dangerous roads of lies
S3: that lead to lots and lots of years of struggle
S3: and pain.
S1: Well, Dana, we are so happy to partner with you
S1: in getting this book into the hands of our listeners lives.
S1: Girls believe and the truth. Can't forget the subtitle, Marc,
S1: the Truth That Sets Them Free. Dana, thank you so much.
S3: My pleasure. Thanks, guys.
S1: And we'll be happy to send you a copy right away.
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S1: we have for today, but we'll see you again tomorrow
S1: when we continue with the final part of Mark's message
S1: about the attitudes that divide us. Don't miss Wednesday on
S1: Bold Steps with Mark John. Bold steps is a production
S1: of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.