WEBVTT - Getting the Big Picture 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:02.880 Today on bold steps with Mark job, we're getting a 0:00:02.880 --> 0:00:04.760 glimpse at God's big picture. 0:00:05.720 --> 0:00:09.640 It changes our perspective. God, you have placed me here 0:00:09.640 --> 0:00:13.360 at this place, at this time, at this moment, because 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:16.439 you have a purpose and a plan for me at 0:00:16.440 --> 0:00:17.280 this time. 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:33.559 Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark job. Mark is the 0:00:33.560 --> 0:00:36.440 senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and 0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:39.800 president of Moody Bible Institute. And with all that's happening 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:43.120 in our world today, we need real peace now more 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:46.440 than ever. And as the Bible teaches, peace in your marriage, 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:49.800 your family, your community, and this world is possible. Mark, 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:52.880 peace is contagious. It's like a good virus, isn't it? 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.160 It is contagious. And boy, if you have peace these 0:00:56.160 --> 0:01:00.520 days and operate with peace, you are the exception. And 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:04.240 this is a great message because no matter where you live, 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:08.839 whether it's a big urban center or a small rural community, 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:11.360 I think that God has placed all of us in 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:15.000 the place that we're at in the season that we're 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:19.080 at for a purpose, and that purpose involves influencing where 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:19.480 we live. 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:20.959 Let's see it as an opportunity. 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:24.160 Absolutely. And by the way, living in the city of 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:27.919 Chicago and ministering here in the city of Chicago more 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:32.080 than ever before, we're aware of God really needs to 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:35.600 work and move in places like Chicago all over this country. 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:39.000 Let's be agents of peace. Here's Mark with today's message. 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:44.640 Peace and lack of stress or learning how to cope 0:01:44.640 --> 0:01:48.280 with stress is not just a personal thing, but it 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:52.960 also is a contagious thing that should splash into other 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:58.960 people's lives. In fact, your peace should be able to 0:01:59.000 --> 0:02:03.810 splash into your marriage and should splash into your family 0:02:04.410 --> 0:02:07.970 and should splash into your community and should splash onto 0:02:07.970 --> 0:02:12.970 your block, and ultimately should splash onto our city and 0:02:13.130 --> 0:02:17.650 our country. It's contagious, and the peace of God was 0:02:17.650 --> 0:02:20.970 never meant just to stay within our lives. It's something 0:02:20.970 --> 0:02:25.369 that spreads like a good virus all around us. And 0:02:25.370 --> 0:02:27.490 so today, I want to talk to you a little 0:02:27.530 --> 0:02:30.329 bit about that, not just your personal peace, but our 0:02:30.330 --> 0:02:37.529 responsibility to help generate peace around us in whatever environment 0:02:37.530 --> 0:02:39.450 God has placed us in order to do so, I'd 0:02:39.450 --> 0:02:41.690 like for you to take your Bibles and turn to 0:02:41.730 --> 0:02:49.210 Jeremiah chapter 29. Jeremiah the 29th chapter. This is a 0:02:49.210 --> 0:02:54.130 great chapter because it talks about how to view the city. Uh, 0:02:54.130 --> 0:02:56.889 what is our responsibility towards this great city that we 0:02:56.889 --> 0:02:59.810 live in, and how do we view our responsibility towards 0:02:59.810 --> 0:03:01.730 the city? And I want to give you a little 0:03:01.770 --> 0:03:05.010 bit of a background so that you can understand what 0:03:05.010 --> 0:03:08.769 the prophet is talking about. This book is written by Jeremiah. 0:03:08.770 --> 0:03:12.330 Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet. He was called the 0:03:12.330 --> 0:03:16.610 Weeping prophet because he had a message that he knew 0:03:16.650 --> 0:03:19.770 that no one would listen to. So he spent a 0:03:19.770 --> 0:03:22.650 lot of time weeping. Uh, he knew that he had 0:03:22.650 --> 0:03:24.810 a message to give, but he also knew that very 0:03:24.810 --> 0:03:26.929 few people would listen to the message that he had 0:03:26.930 --> 0:03:29.450 to give. It's kind of a tough thing to have 0:03:29.450 --> 0:03:31.650 a message and know that no one's going to respond 0:03:31.650 --> 0:03:34.450 to your message, right? Uh, they actually put him in 0:03:34.450 --> 0:03:39.330 a well, they arrested him. They ostracized him. They ridiculed 0:03:39.330 --> 0:03:42.170 him because his message was not a popular message that 0:03:42.170 --> 0:03:47.290 he was presenting and speaking. But Jeremiah was writing to 0:03:47.330 --> 0:03:53.410 a group of people that had been taken from Jerusalem. Uh, 0:03:53.410 --> 0:03:59.410 Jerusalem had an it was about 600 BC. Uh, Jerusalem 0:03:59.410 --> 0:04:04.900 had been invaded by their rivals Babylon and the people 0:04:04.900 --> 0:04:07.940 from Babylon, which is modern day Iraq. The people from 0:04:07.940 --> 0:04:12.100 Babylon invaded Jerusalem. They tore the city apart. They burned 0:04:12.100 --> 0:04:18.580 the temple. They, um, desecrated. They stole items from the temple. 0:04:18.580 --> 0:04:22.860 They left the city in ruins. And they confiscated or 0:04:22.900 --> 0:04:27.979 took captive 3000 men and women that they carried back 0:04:28.020 --> 0:04:31.580 to Babylon. That was hundreds of miles away from where 0:04:31.580 --> 0:04:35.099 they lived. So these 3000 people were in a city 0:04:35.540 --> 0:04:39.979 that they did not like, in a culture that they 0:04:39.980 --> 0:04:44.660 did not understand, and they were dreaming about going back home. 0:04:45.380 --> 0:04:48.059 Why do we have to be in Babylon? Our heart 0:04:48.060 --> 0:04:52.780 is in Jerusalem. That song that was made popular years 0:04:52.779 --> 0:04:57.060 ago by the rivers of Babylon. They sat down and 0:04:57.060 --> 0:05:00.140 remembered Zion. This is. This is right there. They're talking 0:05:00.140 --> 0:05:03.779 about that they were longing for Jerusalem, and they were 0:05:03.779 --> 0:05:07.260 living in a city that they really didn't like, and 0:05:07.260 --> 0:05:09.140 a culture that they really didn't want to be a 0:05:09.140 --> 0:05:13.539 part of. And Jeremiah writes to them about what attitude 0:05:13.540 --> 0:05:16.900 they're supposed to have towards the city that they live in. 0:05:18.140 --> 0:05:19.900 Some of you have come to. Some of you were 0:05:19.900 --> 0:05:22.940 raised in Chicago all your life. You've lived in the 0:05:22.940 --> 0:05:25.340 same neighborhood. Maybe you're still in the house that you 0:05:25.380 --> 0:05:28.140 grew up in. And so you live in Chicago because 0:05:28.140 --> 0:05:30.340 that's what you know. That's what you like. Your family 0:05:30.339 --> 0:05:35.140 members are here. Your kids, your cousins, your uncles, your aunts, uh, 0:05:35.260 --> 0:05:38.580 you know, the neighborhood you grew up in, Chicago. You've 0:05:38.580 --> 0:05:41.940 been eating Al's beef on Taylor Street since you were 0:05:41.940 --> 0:05:45.220 a little kid. You remember when Connie's pizza was just 0:05:45.220 --> 0:05:47.860 a little hole in the wall restaurant before they went 0:05:48.140 --> 0:05:51.820 big time and started franchising? I mean, you have been 0:05:51.820 --> 0:05:55.420 around for a long time. You eat and breathe. Chicago. 0:05:56.260 --> 0:05:59.299 There's others of you that you moved to Chicago because 0:05:59.300 --> 0:06:03.349 of school or because of your business, or because you 0:06:03.390 --> 0:06:06.110 came to school and went to college, and then you 0:06:06.110 --> 0:06:09.030 realize you had $60,000, you had to pay off. So 0:06:09.029 --> 0:06:11.469 you had to work somewhere and you got a job 0:06:11.470 --> 0:06:14.029 and you're still trying to pay off your college bill. 0:06:14.029 --> 0:06:16.270 But you came here and you live here. Some of 0:06:16.270 --> 0:06:20.470 you migrated from another country because Chicago and America was 0:06:20.470 --> 0:06:24.070 the land of opportunity. And so you, your parents or 0:06:24.070 --> 0:06:27.830 your grandparents migrated to Chicago. And you're in this in 0:06:27.870 --> 0:06:30.950 this city, some of you love being in the city. 0:06:31.230 --> 0:06:34.710 Some of you have developed. Some of you live with 0:06:34.710 --> 0:06:39.990 a suitcase mentality. You know what a suitcase mentality is? 0:06:40.470 --> 0:06:45.990 I'm here for now, but I'm not staying long. I 0:06:45.990 --> 0:06:49.590 have a suitcase that I have not completely unpacked because 0:06:49.589 --> 0:06:53.710 my heart's not here. One of these days I'm going 0:06:53.710 --> 0:06:58.670 back to Texas. It always seems to be warmer weather 0:06:58.670 --> 0:07:01.430 that we're going back to, I don't know, Everybody dreams 0:07:01.430 --> 0:07:04.190 about going back. I run into some people. They talk 0:07:04.230 --> 0:07:07.349 about the old country and and almost like their hearts 0:07:07.350 --> 0:07:10.590 in the old country. But they lived here for 30 years, right? 0:07:10.590 --> 0:07:14.710 But still, uh, the idea is, I'm not going to 0:07:14.750 --> 0:07:19.390 stay here. This is only. I'm only passing by. Uh, 0:07:19.390 --> 0:07:21.510 this is really not my home. This is really not 0:07:21.510 --> 0:07:24.550 my city. I live here for now, but I'm really 0:07:24.550 --> 0:07:32.150 just passing through, going somewhere else. Jeremiah is speaking a 0:07:32.150 --> 0:07:35.030 word from God to the people that lived in Babylon, 0:07:35.070 --> 0:07:38.310 a huge city, and he's telling them how to have 0:07:38.310 --> 0:07:41.430 a proper view to the city that they live in. 0:07:41.430 --> 0:07:43.390 And I want to give you just a couple principles 0:07:43.390 --> 0:07:45.430 that I think are really important for you and I 0:07:45.470 --> 0:07:50.429 to grasp today. Number one, in verse four, he starts 0:07:50.430 --> 0:07:54.150 by telling them, this is what the Lord Almighty, the 0:07:54.230 --> 0:07:58.110 God of Israel, says to all those I carried into 0:07:58.110 --> 0:08:05.280 exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Notice God is saying, I 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:10.040 carried you into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. The first 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.400 thing to have a proper view of this city, write 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:16.800 this down is a proper view of the city, acknowledges 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.800 that God has placed us in our city and our 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:24.720 communities at the right time. You are here, living in 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:29.120 this city or in this great metropolis because God wanted 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:32.679 you here. You need to acknowledge it's the will of 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:35.719 God that I live in this city. It's the will 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:39.640 of God that he brought me here. You may think, well, no, pastor. 0:08:39.640 --> 0:08:42.920 You see, I got a job offer, and I knew 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:44.880 a cousin that knew a cousin that helped me get 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.400 this job. And so it's a series of coincidence that 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:49.240 brought me here. And I want you to know that 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:54.080 God is the master of connecting the points of coincidence 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:58.720 to get us where he wants us to be. These 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:02.280 3000 people were raising their hands up to God, saying, 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:05.760 when will we leave this city? And Jeremiah is writing 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:09.640 them and saying, God brought you to this city. He's 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:13.040 the one that brought you to this place at this time, 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:16.800 at this season, for this moment. Because God has a 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:21.600 purpose and God has a plan for you in this city. 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:28.080 And I want you to notice that our our circumstances 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:30.400 in life, you live on the block that you live 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:34.480 on because God brought you to that block with those neighbors. 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:38.720 You live in the community that you live in right 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:42.040 now because God wants you in that community right now. 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:47.360 And he brought you there, and he orchestrated for you 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:50.560 to be there. And you say, well, I wish I 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:53.080 could have chosen because I really don't like my neighbors. 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:58.160 And what you're there though. And I'm trying to sell 0:09:58.200 --> 0:10:02.850 the house market slow. Hey, you're stuck now, but you 0:10:02.850 --> 0:10:05.490 need to acknowledge it's God that brought you there. You 0:10:05.490 --> 0:10:08.290 need to understand that it's God that has a purpose 0:10:08.290 --> 0:10:11.450 and a place for us. God is sovereign, which means 0:10:11.450 --> 0:10:15.250 that he pulls the strings of humanity, that he placed 0:10:15.250 --> 0:10:17.890 you in your job and in your neighborhood and in 0:10:17.890 --> 0:10:20.090 the place that you're at, because he's got a purpose 0:10:20.090 --> 0:10:23.610 and a plan for that. When we acknowledge it, it 0:10:23.610 --> 0:10:27.610 changes our perspective. God, you have placed me here at 0:10:27.610 --> 0:10:31.250 this place at this time, at this moment, because you 0:10:31.250 --> 0:10:35.050 have a purpose and a plan for me at this time. 0:10:36.010 --> 0:10:40.730 And Jeremiah is telling these people, reminding these people that 0:10:40.730 --> 0:10:43.690 God has brought them there for that moment in that season. 0:10:44.090 --> 0:10:46.490 The second thing I want you to remember, when we 0:10:46.490 --> 0:10:49.170 have a proper view of the city, Jeremiah says to 0:10:49.170 --> 0:10:55.090 them in verse five, build houses and settle down, plant 0:10:55.090 --> 0:11:00.090 gardens and eat what they produce. Marry, have sons and daughters. 0:11:00.250 --> 0:11:03.650 Find wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, 0:11:03.650 --> 0:11:06.970 so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase 0:11:06.970 --> 0:11:10.770 the number there and do not decrease. The second thing 0:11:10.770 --> 0:11:12.130 we need to keep in mind when we have a 0:11:12.130 --> 0:11:15.449 proper view of this city, is that a proper view 0:11:15.450 --> 0:11:18.570 of the city empowers us to get rid of an 0:11:18.570 --> 0:11:26.490 alien mentality mentality and settle in long term. He says 0:11:26.490 --> 0:11:30.130 build houses and live in them. How many of you 0:11:30.130 --> 0:11:33.370 know there's a difference between a renter's mentality and an 0:11:33.370 --> 0:11:38.329 owner's mentality? How about it? Hey, when you rent somewhere, 0:11:38.330 --> 0:11:42.209 it's a landlord's job to fix it, right? If the 0:11:42.210 --> 0:11:46.570 paint is chipping, it's not really your responsibility. If the 0:11:46.570 --> 0:11:49.370 yard is a little bit off, you don't. Hey, that's 0:11:49.370 --> 0:11:52.890 someone else's responsibility. If the neighborhood is starting to get 0:11:52.890 --> 0:11:55.570 bad or someone's not taking care of the house, you 0:11:55.570 --> 0:11:58.290 just think to yourself, I'm just going to pick up 0:11:58.290 --> 0:12:01.940 and move if I don't like the neighborhood because you 0:12:01.940 --> 0:12:05.700 have a renters mentality and there's nothing wrong with renting. 0:12:05.700 --> 0:12:08.819 And if you're renting today, I've rented at seasons of 0:12:08.820 --> 0:12:13.059 My life. But there's something that changes when you buy. 0:12:14.140 --> 0:12:19.380 When you invest money into a property, now you're concerned 0:12:19.380 --> 0:12:22.699 about the graffiti on the light post and you're scrubbing 0:12:22.700 --> 0:12:26.020 it off. Now you're going to the Caps meetings in 0:12:26.020 --> 0:12:31.020 the neighborhood. Now you are concerned about the property values 0:12:31.020 --> 0:12:34.540 of your block and your community. Now, if someone turns 0:12:34.540 --> 0:12:37.740 their music up loud and is making a lot of noise, 0:12:37.740 --> 0:12:40.300 you call the police because you want to. Hey, this 0:12:40.300 --> 0:12:45.260 is your neighborhood. This is your house. This is your block. 0:12:45.300 --> 0:12:49.260 Because why? You have a vested interest in the place 0:12:49.260 --> 0:12:52.380 that you live in. Your mentality has changed from a 0:12:52.380 --> 0:12:56.700 renter to an owner, to someone that has vested interest 0:12:56.700 --> 0:13:04.020 where you live. What Jeremiah is saying. Build houses. Don't 0:13:04.020 --> 0:13:09.060 have a suitcase mentality or renter's mentality. Vest yourself in 0:13:09.059 --> 0:13:13.340 where you're living. Build your houses, build a house and 0:13:13.340 --> 0:13:18.060 settle in. Establish the stake and say this is my home. 0:13:22.980 --> 0:13:25.820 This is bold steps. The Bible teaching of Mark, job 0:13:25.820 --> 0:13:28.540 and Mark will continue this message in a moment. Stay 0:13:28.540 --> 0:13:31.380 with us. Before we continue the lesson, though, we want 0:13:31.380 --> 0:13:33.540 to remind you that you can always find these daily 0:13:33.540 --> 0:13:35.700 teachings and catch up on anything you've missed on the 0:13:35.700 --> 0:13:40.100 radio by simply going to our website. Bold Steps. You 0:13:40.100 --> 0:13:43.060 can even have these messages downloaded automatically to your phone 0:13:43.059 --> 0:13:46.460 or mobile device by subscribing to the Bold Steps podcast. 0:13:46.700 --> 0:13:49.340 Open up your podcast app and search for Bold steps 0:13:49.340 --> 0:13:52.720 with doctor Mark Jobe. And there's also a special one 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:55.780 minute feature that you can easily hear anytime, no matter 0:13:55.780 --> 0:13:58.579 what your schedule looks like, by subscribing to the Bold 0:13:58.580 --> 0:14:02.910 Steps minute. Add this convenient 62nd Bible teaching to your 0:14:02.910 --> 0:14:05.790 podcast lineup, and get your daily dose of encouragement and 0:14:05.790 --> 0:14:08.630 wisdom right where you are any time of the day. Again, 0:14:08.670 --> 0:14:13.230 that's the bold steps minute. To learn more, visit Bold Steps. Org. 0:14:14.390 --> 0:14:17.230 Here's Mark Jobe with more on today's bold steps. 0:14:24.470 --> 0:14:26.390 Now the second thing that he says, he gives him 0:14:26.390 --> 0:14:29.670 another mandate. It's not only the real estate mandate, it's 0:14:29.670 --> 0:14:33.550 the business mandate. He says plant gardens and eat their produce. 0:14:33.590 --> 0:14:36.390 In other words, learn to make money where you live. 0:14:37.790 --> 0:14:40.630 You can work for someone else, and that's good. But 0:14:40.630 --> 0:14:43.870 some of you are going to start your own businesses. Uh, 0:14:44.110 --> 0:14:47.230 in those days, uh, the way someone started their own 0:14:47.230 --> 0:14:49.830 business is they'd get a plot of land and they 0:14:49.830 --> 0:14:53.790 would begin to, uh, so in that plot of land 0:14:53.790 --> 0:14:56.670 and they would harvest it, and they would eat for themselves, 0:14:56.670 --> 0:14:58.670 and they would take some of what they harvested, and 0:14:58.670 --> 0:15:01.120 they would sell it to other people. In other words, 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:05.440 he's saying, hey, don't be afraid to make business ventures. 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:09.040 Don't be afraid to find ways of doing business that 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:11.840 will supply the needs of your family and live off 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:15.640 the business that you do. The thing is, when you 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:20.960 own a business, you're more rooted because the people in 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:25.160 that community are your clients. When you own a business, 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:29.360 you you pay property taxes into that area. You hire 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:32.440 people from that area. You make your money off of 0:15:32.480 --> 0:15:35.040 that area. You care a little bit more of what's 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:38.920 happening in that area. Why? Because you have a vested 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:44.120 interest there. So he says build houses, start businesses. The 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:51.000 third mandate, he says, is marry and have sons and daughters. 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:56.360 So the third mandate is start families. When someone's just 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:59.520 passing through somewhere, they don't want to get involved in 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:04.520 any long term relationships because they're just passing through. They 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:06.720 don't want to settle down. They don't want to marry, 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:09.119 they want to date, but they don't want to marry. 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:11.600 They want to have fun, but they don't want to 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:16.400 have a household. They. Why? Because they have a temporary mentality. 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:20.280 I'm not here for long. And what Jeremiah says is, hey, 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:24.160 don't be afraid of long term commitments. Don't be afraid 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:29.400 to put that, that that that long term commitment. Find 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:33.320 a wife, start a family, get married. And so Jeremiah 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:36.280 is telling these people, hey, don't be afraid of taking 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:40.600 on that kind of responsibility, because ultimately a city is 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:45.360 made up by the fabric of its families. Then he 0:16:45.400 --> 0:16:47.760 not only gives them the family mandate, he gives them 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:52.200 the heritage mandate. Not only should they marry and have 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:56.680 sons and daughters, it says, find wives for your sons 0:16:56.840 --> 0:16:59.840 and give your daughters in marriage so that they too 0:16:59.880 --> 0:17:03.600 may have sons and daughters, increase their number and do 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:08.719 not decrease. I have a ten year old son, my youngest. 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:12.800 His name is Grant and he's ten. When he was 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:16.240 about 5 or 6 years old, we were talking and 0:17:16.240 --> 0:17:20.200 for some reason he was concerned about how he was 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:24.560 going to pick his wife in the future. And it 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:26.920 really was bothering, like, how will I know she's the 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:29.920 right one, dad? And it was kind of concerning him 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:32.320 a little bit this, you know, how he would pick 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:35.560 the right wife. And I said to him, son, I'll 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.520 make a deal with you. Listen, I know you well, 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:41.560 and I think I have a pretty grasp of a 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:45.040 good grasp of women's personality and who they are. I 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:48.119 tell you what I said. I will pick your wife 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:52.000 for you. Okay. It seemed to relieve him a little bit. 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:54.000 He said, okay, dad. I said, let's shake on it. 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:57.760 So we shook on it. And, um, now that he's 0:17:57.800 --> 0:18:00.130 ten years old, he's he's trying to get out of 0:18:00.130 --> 0:18:02.170 the deal a little bit. He's kind of pushing back 0:18:02.170 --> 0:18:04.370 on it. And I tell him, son, a deal is 0:18:04.369 --> 0:18:06.570 a deal. You said I could pick your wife. I'm 0:18:06.570 --> 0:18:09.730 planning on picking your wife. No getting out of this deal. 0:18:09.730 --> 0:18:12.290 So it's a done thing. We shook on it. So 0:18:12.290 --> 0:18:15.090 it's a done thing. But in essence, what he says is, 0:18:15.290 --> 0:18:18.130 you know, be involved in the process of helping your 0:18:18.130 --> 0:18:22.330 sons and daughters get married, uh, establish a heritage in 0:18:22.369 --> 0:18:26.209 that city. Uh, don't be afraid of planting your roots 0:18:26.210 --> 0:18:30.410 in a place and having sons and daughters and grandsons 0:18:30.530 --> 0:18:34.170 in that city. Uh, because it's a good thing. Establish 0:18:34.170 --> 0:18:38.170 and grow. What he's talking about is not having a 0:18:38.170 --> 0:18:42.649 temporary mentality, not being afraid to do life in the 0:18:42.650 --> 0:18:45.970 place that God has called us to, to say, this 0:18:45.970 --> 0:18:48.770 is our city, this is our community, and this is 0:18:48.770 --> 0:18:51.970 where we will do life. And then he says something 0:18:51.970 --> 0:18:55.129 very powerful. The third thing, in a proper view of 0:18:55.130 --> 0:18:58.409 our city, look at what he says in verse seven. 0:18:58.770 --> 0:19:04.139 He says also seek. And in our English Bible it 0:19:04.140 --> 0:19:08.980 says the peace and prosperity. But this the Old Testament 0:19:08.980 --> 0:19:11.820 was written in the Hebrew language. And in the Hebrew 0:19:11.859 --> 0:19:16.460 it's just one word, and the word is seek the shalom. 0:19:18.300 --> 0:19:21.980 Have you ever heard that word shalom? If you're around 0:19:21.980 --> 0:19:26.580 the Jewish culture, they'll say shalom as a greeting. The 0:19:26.580 --> 0:19:30.419 word shalom is an interesting word because the word peace 0:19:30.420 --> 0:19:33.740 doesn't quite describe it. It's just part of it's peace, 0:19:34.300 --> 0:19:39.980 part of it's justice, part of it's prosperity. Other places 0:19:39.980 --> 0:19:44.300 it's translated seek the good of the city. It means 0:19:44.300 --> 0:19:49.700 the favor, the well-being, the blessing of the city. So 0:19:49.700 --> 0:19:52.260 he says to these people that are in a city 0:19:52.260 --> 0:19:54.820 that they don't like, in a big city that they 0:19:54.820 --> 0:19:57.420 don't really feel is their city, that they came from 0:19:57.420 --> 0:20:01.020 another place that they feel like they're just temporarily there. 0:20:01.020 --> 0:20:04.820 He says, I want you, you 3000 that are there, 0:20:04.859 --> 0:20:09.900 establish yourselves, settle yourselves in, and seek the good of 0:20:09.900 --> 0:20:13.940 the city that God has placed you in. I love that. 0:20:14.619 --> 0:20:19.580 And then he tells them, why. Listen, he says, which I, 0:20:19.820 --> 0:20:23.020 the city to which I have carried you into exile. 0:20:23.220 --> 0:20:26.300 Pray to the Lord for it. For what? For the 0:20:26.300 --> 0:20:31.659 peace of this city. Listen. Because if it prospers, you 0:20:31.700 --> 0:20:37.700 too will prosper. Do you hear what he's saying? What 0:20:37.700 --> 0:20:41.699 Jeremiah is saying is that even though you weren't born 0:20:41.700 --> 0:20:44.740 in this city, since you live in this city, this 0:20:44.740 --> 0:20:49.460 is now your city, and you are to seek that 0:20:49.460 --> 0:20:54.780 means intentionally and aggressively pursue something. You are to seek 0:20:54.780 --> 0:20:57.780 the good of this city, and you are to pray 0:20:57.980 --> 0:21:00.100 for the peace of the city and the good of 0:21:00.100 --> 0:21:04.739 this city. Because your destiny is tied in to the 0:21:04.740 --> 0:21:10.340 destiny of this city. Because if it prospers, you also prosper. 0:21:11.540 --> 0:21:16.420 This is huge. You see, I believe that as followers 0:21:16.420 --> 0:21:18.980 of Jesus Christ, as a community of faith, God has 0:21:18.980 --> 0:21:23.900 placed us in this, in this city. And oftentimes, the 0:21:23.900 --> 0:21:28.180 church gathers within four walls of its own buildings and 0:21:28.220 --> 0:21:32.260 worships and has a relationship with God. But then almost 0:21:32.260 --> 0:21:35.340 feels like if we go out into that big, bad city, 0:21:35.980 --> 0:21:41.180 it's not our problem. It's not our issues. Uh, that 0:21:41.220 --> 0:21:45.580 that's not our concern. But in reality, what God is saying. 0:21:45.740 --> 0:21:47.940 I love what it says in in Romans it says 0:21:47.940 --> 0:21:50.459 the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in 0:21:50.460 --> 0:21:53.780 the Holy Spirit. We are people of the kingdom of God. Therefore, 0:21:53.780 --> 0:21:56.980 our values need to be the values of righteousness, peace, 0:21:56.980 --> 0:22:00.630 and joy. And wherever we go, we help bring the 0:22:00.630 --> 0:22:04.270 values of the Kingdom of God. That means that as 0:22:04.270 --> 0:22:07.550 a community of faith and as as people that embrace 0:22:07.550 --> 0:22:10.870 the kingdom of God, that we are to be praying. 0:22:11.109 --> 0:22:14.030 Part of our mandate is that we are to pray 0:22:14.030 --> 0:22:17.990 for the shalom, the peace, the goodwill of Chicago. That 0:22:17.990 --> 0:22:20.470 should be a part of our daily prayer. Oh God, 0:22:20.470 --> 0:22:37.470 we pray for this city. So this isn't just for Chicagoland. 0:22:37.470 --> 0:22:40.630 If you live in the East Coast or West Coast 0:22:40.630 --> 0:22:44.830 or down in Florida, if you're in Ohio, or if 0:22:44.830 --> 0:22:49.429 you're in Indianapolis area, or maybe internationally, you're in Malawi, 0:22:49.470 --> 0:22:53.869 Africa listening to this, or maybe you're in Nigeria or Niger, 0:22:53.950 --> 0:22:59.110 or maybe you're in Mozambique or Ghana, or maybe you're 0:22:59.270 --> 0:23:03.550 in Singapore listening to this message. Listen, this is for you. 0:23:03.550 --> 0:23:06.869 Bring the shalom of God to wherever you live. 0:23:06.910 --> 0:23:09.469 All right. Thank you. Mark. You're listening to Bold Steps 0:23:09.470 --> 0:23:12.070 with Mark Jobe. And the end of a message today 0:23:12.109 --> 0:23:15.430 titled Getting the Big Picture. As you know, we're able 0:23:15.430 --> 0:23:18.270 to bring these Bible teaching programs to your community and 0:23:18.270 --> 0:23:21.070 others around the world thanks to the donations of friends 0:23:21.070 --> 0:23:23.949 like you who share our vision. And today, we invite 0:23:23.950 --> 0:23:26.110 you to give a one time gift, or maybe sign 0:23:26.109 --> 0:23:28.470 up to become a bold partner and commit to giving 0:23:28.470 --> 0:23:31.470 a monthly donation of any amount. Whether you're ready to 0:23:31.470 --> 0:23:34.190 make a partnership with this Bible teaching ministry or give 0:23:34.190 --> 0:23:37.070 a one time donation, just click on the donate button 0:23:37.070 --> 0:23:40.550 at our website bold steps. Org or call us at 0:23:40.550 --> 0:23:48.430 800 Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. And when you give today, we'll 0:23:48.430 --> 0:23:50.670 say thanks by sending you a copy of our limited 0:23:50.710 --> 0:23:54.270 Bold Step gift. Let's talk about that gift. It's ironic 0:23:54.270 --> 0:23:57.229 that in today's age of cell phones and social media 0:23:57.230 --> 0:23:59.919 and video calls, so many of us are struggling to 0:23:59.960 --> 0:24:04.080 find real relationships and community. Did you know that research 0:24:04.080 --> 0:24:07.760 shows that a lack of social connection heightens health risks 0:24:07.760 --> 0:24:11.479 as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day? It's a 0:24:11.480 --> 0:24:15.600 scientific fact that real relationships are key to a healthy life, 0:24:15.880 --> 0:24:18.960 and that's why we're passionate about this month's resource, a 0:24:18.960 --> 0:24:23.400 book by doctor Heather Holloman titled The Six Conversations. This 0:24:23.400 --> 0:24:27.080 book shows you exactly how to build intimate, authentic relationships, 0:24:27.280 --> 0:24:32.280 offering practical strategies for meaningful communication and connection. This bold 0:24:32.280 --> 0:24:36.080 step gift will help you transform surface level interactions into 0:24:36.080 --> 0:24:39.680 life giving relationships, no matter where you are. And we'll 0:24:39.680 --> 0:24:41.640 be happy to send it to you when you give 0:24:41.640 --> 0:24:44.600 a gift of any amount to support this ministry to 0:24:44.680 --> 0:24:48.120 give right now, just go online to Bold steps.org or 0:24:48.119 --> 0:24:52.359 call us today at 800 Moody. You can even send 0:24:52.359 --> 0:24:54.640 your check in the mail when you address an envelope 0:24:54.640 --> 0:25:01.000 to bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois. 606 0:25:01.040 --> 0:25:03.960 ten and by the way, you can also mail any 0:25:03.960 --> 0:25:07.160 questions or feedback you have for Mark to that same address. 0:25:07.520 --> 0:25:10.160 We always appreciate hearing from our audience, and we encourage 0:25:10.160 --> 0:25:12.960 you to reach out today, especially if you've never done 0:25:12.960 --> 0:25:15.959 so before. You can send a handwritten letter through the 0:25:15.960 --> 0:25:20.000 mail or use the Ask a Question link on our website. 0:25:20.000 --> 0:25:24.400 And again, that's bold steps. Well, that's our time today 0:25:24.400 --> 0:25:27.280 I'm Wayne Shepherd. Tomorrow we'll begin a special lesson gearing 0:25:27.280 --> 0:25:31.080 up for Good Friday and this coming Easter celebration. Mark 0:25:31.080 --> 0:25:33.040 will offer us a picture of the time around the 0:25:33.040 --> 0:25:35.960 death of Jesus and help us understand why we call 0:25:35.960 --> 0:25:39.040 it good. We really should perhaps be calling it bad. 0:25:39.440 --> 0:25:42.560 Don't miss the start of this powerful message Wednesday on 0:25:42.560 --> 0:25:47.360 Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production 0:25:47.359 --> 0:25:50.720 of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.