WEBVTT - Increasing Your Credit -- Part 2 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:03.800 Today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. We're learning what 0:00:03.800 --> 0:00:06.640 happens when we focus on giving instead of getting. 0:00:07.280 --> 0:00:09.119 All of us here have the potential to make a 0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:12.640 big difference. But not all of us understand how much 0:00:13.080 --> 0:00:16.520 significant impact your gift can make. As you begin to 0:00:16.560 --> 0:00:20.280 use your gift to the max, then God pours grace 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:22.320 to the max in your life to use it more. 0:00:22.480 --> 0:00:24.160 God doesn't need to pour more in you if you're 0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:26.120 not using what you already have. Hello. 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:43.080 Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is founding 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:46.920 pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago. I'm Wayne Sheppard. 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:49.840 This week we've been learning how to press on when 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:53.200 the pressure is on in our series called relentless. While 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:55.880 many sources in our culture today are encouraging a mindset 0:00:55.920 --> 0:00:59.720 of victimhood and neediness, the Bible teaches us something very different. 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:02.400 And in these past few programs, we've seen how God 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:05.000 has already given us more than enough to overcome our 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:08.680 obstacles and to help others do the same. In today's message, 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:11.360 we're learning what it means to start increasing your credit 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:14.840 in spiritual terms. So let's join pastor Mark Jobe for 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:17.399 a lesson from the book of Philippians chapter four. 0:01:19.240 --> 0:01:20.640 How many of you know there's a lot of people 0:01:20.640 --> 0:01:23.280 out there that look at who you are, look at 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:25.640 where you're coming from, and they look at and they 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:30.720 despise the small. Amen. You'll never be able to help anybody. 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:34.480 You need help yourself. You'll never be able to be 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:38.399 a leader because you just don't have the potential. You'll 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:40.959 never be able to make it out. You're going to 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:43.600 need to receive all your life and never be a 0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:46.600 giver in your life. And I was reading scripture and 0:01:46.600 --> 0:01:49.840 I said, God, I refuse to believe that you can, 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:53.520 that you can't do something out of small beginnings. I 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:55.920 refuse to believe that we will have to be a 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:59.840 receiver church, because when I read the Bible, I see 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:03.010 a giver church, not a receiver church. The Apostle Paul 0:02:03.010 --> 0:02:05.570 was talking to the Philippians, and I believe that everyone 0:02:05.570 --> 0:02:07.850 has a choice in this place, and you may be 0:02:07.890 --> 0:02:10.690 at a low place in your life, and you may 0:02:10.730 --> 0:02:13.650 be a single mother with 4 or 5 kids and thinking, 0:02:13.650 --> 0:02:16.090 I don't know how I'm going to survive this next week. 0:02:16.090 --> 0:02:18.650 I don't know if I can make it from paycheck 0:02:18.650 --> 0:02:21.889 to paycheck, but the moment that you start thinking that 0:02:21.889 --> 0:02:24.570 you have nothing to give, the moment that you start 0:02:24.570 --> 0:02:27.889 embracing the fact that you will be destined for poverty, 0:02:27.889 --> 0:02:30.609 that you have no gifts and know that you have 0:02:30.610 --> 0:02:33.850 no compassion, no mercy, no gifts, no talent, that you 0:02:33.850 --> 0:02:36.010 are needy and other people have to meet your need. 0:02:36.010 --> 0:02:38.290 But you are on the end of receiving and you 0:02:38.290 --> 0:02:40.610 have nothing to give is the moment the enemy has 0:02:40.610 --> 0:02:43.370 you where he wants you, because you will stay forever 0:02:43.370 --> 0:02:45.769 in that place until you say no, no. I may 0:02:45.770 --> 0:02:48.850 have needs, but I refuse to be needy in Jesus name. 0:02:48.850 --> 0:02:55.010 I will let God use me. The Philippians had learned 0:02:55.010 --> 0:02:58.290 the power of this. They. They understood this. They had 0:02:58.290 --> 0:03:01.250 learned the power of it. And this is what the 0:03:01.250 --> 0:03:05.010 Apostle Paul says you are the only ones that gave. 0:03:05.250 --> 0:03:08.290 Even in the beginning, you were the only ones that gave. 0:03:08.330 --> 0:03:11.610 You learned the power of giving. And I love this phrase. 0:03:11.610 --> 0:03:13.810 Look at what he says to them. Not that I 0:03:13.850 --> 0:03:18.489 am looking for a gift, but I am looking for 0:03:18.490 --> 0:03:23.889 what may be credited. Say it together. Maybe. What credited 0:03:23.889 --> 0:03:28.210 to your account. The apostle Paul is saying, I'm not 0:03:28.210 --> 0:03:33.490 looking for a gift. I'm in jail. But when you 0:03:33.490 --> 0:03:38.290 realize that you have something to give it credits, something 0:03:38.330 --> 0:03:45.970 to your account, your count increases as you release. The 0:03:46.010 --> 0:03:50.170 less you release, the less credit is in your account. 0:03:50.450 --> 0:03:55.010 The more you learn to give, the more your account increases. 0:03:55.530 --> 0:03:58.490 And what is a credit account? A credit means that 0:03:58.490 --> 0:04:02.020 when you need it, it's there that you have greater 0:04:02.020 --> 0:04:05.780 line of credit in time of need because you're increasing 0:04:05.780 --> 0:04:08.540 the credit to your account. Well, the apostle Paul is 0:04:08.540 --> 0:04:12.660 saying is that believers, we need to learn the power 0:04:12.660 --> 0:04:16.500 of releasing and increasing our account. In fact, I love 0:04:16.500 --> 0:04:19.779 the way that Randy Alcorn says it. He says, you 0:04:19.779 --> 0:04:23.060 can't take it with you, but you can send it ahead. 0:04:23.100 --> 0:04:25.620 I love that. Yeah, you can't send it with you, 0:04:25.620 --> 0:04:28.260 but you can send it ahead. And what he's talking 0:04:28.260 --> 0:04:31.659 about is he's talking about spiritual riches. He's talking about 0:04:31.660 --> 0:04:36.140 increasing the credit that's that's given to our account. He's 0:04:36.140 --> 0:04:39.060 talking about the stewardship that we have here on earth, 0:04:39.060 --> 0:04:42.780 that as we release, we increase credit in times of need. 0:04:42.779 --> 0:04:45.099 And that's not just credit in glory, but I believe 0:04:45.100 --> 0:04:52.419 it's credit here on earth. Never underestimate the power of 0:04:52.420 --> 0:04:56.180 what God has given you to steward. God has given 0:04:56.180 --> 0:05:03.140 all of us something. I think the most Undervalued. Forced. 0:05:03.660 --> 0:05:07.979 On the face of this earth is the power and 0:05:07.980 --> 0:05:13.180 influence of the church of the Living God. Do you 0:05:13.180 --> 0:05:16.180 realize that there's no other institution on earth that Jesus 0:05:16.180 --> 0:05:21.260 Christ founded, started, empowered, and put a stamp on than 0:05:21.260 --> 0:05:26.300 the church? Jesus Christ could have done a lot of things, 0:05:26.300 --> 0:05:28.620 but he started what he called the church. And here's 0:05:28.620 --> 0:05:30.779 what he says about the church. And the gates of 0:05:30.779 --> 0:05:34.300 hell will not be able to prevail against the church 0:05:34.300 --> 0:05:42.740 of the Living God. I have to be honest with you. 0:05:42.779 --> 0:05:44.380 Sometimes I look at the church and say, oh Lord, 0:05:44.380 --> 0:05:46.779 help us. If this is our hope for humanity, we're 0:05:46.779 --> 0:05:52.620 in trouble. We can be broken and dysfunctional. We have 0:05:52.620 --> 0:05:56.420 our issues. But what I love about it is that 0:05:56.420 --> 0:05:59.580 God is in deposited in every single person that's part 0:05:59.580 --> 0:06:01.870 of the church. He's given us the Holy Spirit, and 0:06:01.870 --> 0:06:04.029 with the Holy Spirit comes the gifts of the spirit. 0:06:04.029 --> 0:06:05.909 And with the gifts of the spirit comes the power 0:06:05.910 --> 0:06:07.750 of the spirit. And with the power of the spirit 0:06:07.750 --> 0:06:11.750 comes the ability to make a difference. Amen. That God 0:06:11.750 --> 0:06:21.029 has given us faith, prayer, power, gifting, stewardship. We are 0:06:21.070 --> 0:06:26.150 a powerhouse for change. Why? Because we're something know because 0:06:26.150 --> 0:06:29.469 God in us is something incredible. Because when the Holy 0:06:29.470 --> 0:06:32.950 Spirit comes inside of, we are a powerhouse for change. 0:06:33.029 --> 0:06:37.589 When we discover that we have something to give. If 0:06:37.589 --> 0:06:39.550 we spend all our days saying, oh, bless me, Lord, 0:06:39.550 --> 0:06:41.750 bless me, I just don't have anything, I'm needy. Oh 0:06:41.750 --> 0:06:44.990 God help me. Oh, if someone would just help me out. 0:06:44.990 --> 0:06:47.350 I'm just so struggling. I'm so. And you spend your 0:06:47.350 --> 0:06:49.470 life like that. Then all you do is you look 0:06:49.470 --> 0:06:52.430 for something to pour into you. But you don't look 0:06:52.430 --> 0:06:57.910 for opportunities to pour out. Not only does he say, 0:06:58.029 --> 0:07:00.230 I'm not looking for a gift, but I'm looking for 0:07:00.230 --> 0:07:04.150 what is credited to your account. Giving is just the 0:07:04.150 --> 0:07:08.630 means by which the credit increases. God doesn't need what 0:07:08.630 --> 0:07:11.750 we have to give, but we need to give so 0:07:11.750 --> 0:07:15.230 that God can fill up again and release more. There's 0:07:15.230 --> 0:07:19.670 something powerful about us releasing. Some of us have this 0:07:19.670 --> 0:07:22.870 idea that God needs us. Let me tell you something. 0:07:23.030 --> 0:07:26.150 God can use you, but God doesn't need you and 0:07:26.150 --> 0:07:31.390 he doesn't need me. God doesn't need you or I. 0:07:31.390 --> 0:07:34.070 And if I were to drop dead tomorrow, the work 0:07:34.070 --> 0:07:37.110 of God would continue. Because it's not dependent on a man. 0:07:37.110 --> 0:07:39.390 It's dependent on the power of the Spirit of God. 0:07:39.510 --> 0:07:42.870 God doesn't need you and I. We have the privilege 0:07:43.270 --> 0:07:49.470 to cooperate with what God is doing. And so. So 0:07:49.750 --> 0:07:51.990 I used to think that, oh God, here I am, 0:07:51.990 --> 0:07:55.190 and God, I believe that God says, no, you have 0:07:55.190 --> 0:07:58.950 the privilege to be used of me. And so when 0:07:58.950 --> 0:08:02.400 you give and when you release, then God can fill 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:06.680 you to give more and release more. Here's the way 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:12.680 it works. Whatever you don't use tends to atrophy. The 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:15.000 more you use it, the stronger it becomes. The less 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:21.480 you use it, the more it atrophies. Another way of 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:25.520 saying it is use it or lose it. Now, I 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:27.480 don't believe that you lose the gifts that God has 0:08:27.480 --> 0:08:29.400 given you, because the gifts of God, the gifts and 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:32.559 call of God are irrevocable, which means they cannot be 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:34.600 taken away. I believe that you have the gifts not 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:36.840 because you earned it or deserved it, and I don't. 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:38.520 I don't believe you can lose a gift, but I 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:41.880 believe you can weaken a gift unless you use it. 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:46.559 I believe if you don't use your gifts, your spiritual gifts, 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.760 if you're not releasing, if you're not pouring out, then 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:53.040 you start getting weaker and weaker at managing those gifts 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:55.520 and using those gifts. I believe that the more you 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:58.160 use them, the stronger you become, and the more God 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:03.760 pours grace into you to use them even more. All 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:06.120 of us here have the potential to make a big difference, 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:10.439 but not all of us understand how much significant impact 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:14.679 your gift can make. As you begin to use your 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:18.360 gift to the max, then God pours grace to the 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:21.960 max in your life to use it more. God doesn't 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:23.600 need to pour more in you if you're not using 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:27.400 what you already have. Hello? Oh, give me more. Why 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:29.040 should I give you more? You're not using what I 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:35.760 already gave you. Wow. The Apostle Paul says, I'm asking 0:09:35.760 --> 0:09:40.040 you to give. And I believe this principle applies not 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:43.400 only just to our finances, but a spirit of generosity 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:46.520 around the board. I'm asking you to give, not because 0:09:46.520 --> 0:09:49.000 I need it, but because you need to release it. 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:52.800 When you give, there's something powerful that happens to your 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:56.880 spiritual credit account and you need to give for you. 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:00.199 You need to give because something happens inside of you 0:10:00.290 --> 0:10:03.410 when you start giving. Listen, there's some of you here 0:10:03.410 --> 0:10:06.089 that are sitting in a pew, and you've been sitting 0:10:06.090 --> 0:10:08.490 in this pew for a long time and you say, well, 0:10:08.490 --> 0:10:10.809 I come to this church because I get a lot 0:10:10.850 --> 0:10:14.730 out of this. But when it comes to giving, serving, 0:10:14.730 --> 0:10:16.850 helping you look at yourself and say, well, I don't 0:10:16.850 --> 0:10:21.250 think I have anything to give. I just need to 0:10:21.250 --> 0:10:23.809 sit here for three more years, and maybe in three 0:10:23.809 --> 0:10:25.330 more years I'll have something to give. Let me tell 0:10:25.330 --> 0:10:26.890 you what's going to happen in three more years. You're 0:10:26.890 --> 0:10:31.450 going to get stagnant because the way you grow is 0:10:31.450 --> 0:10:34.730 by starting to use your gifts. No matter where you're at. 0:10:34.730 --> 0:10:37.450 And then you're going to find that the more you give, 0:10:37.490 --> 0:10:40.490 the more you increase you need to give so that 0:10:40.490 --> 0:10:44.610 you can start to receive and gain more and grow more. 0:10:44.890 --> 0:10:49.330 So don't sit around, hey, don't wait around until you're 0:10:49.330 --> 0:10:51.650 perfect before you let God use you because then you'll 0:10:51.650 --> 0:10:55.370 never be used. We'll all be sitting on the sidelines 0:10:55.370 --> 0:10:58.170 if we're waiting to be perfect before God uses us. 0:11:00.010 --> 0:11:03.210 The Apostle Paul says, you need to give for your. 0:11:03.250 --> 0:11:09.010 For your sake. Number two giving releases worship acceptable to God. 0:11:10.130 --> 0:11:14.410 Do you know that your giving has a smell? Yeah, 0:11:15.250 --> 0:11:19.650 you're giving has a certain smell to it. That's what 0:11:19.650 --> 0:11:22.730 it says. Look at it. I've received full payment and 0:11:22.730 --> 0:11:26.970 even more. Paul says I'm amply supplied now that I've 0:11:26.970 --> 0:11:30.170 received from Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus was the one that carried the 0:11:30.210 --> 0:11:32.890 gift of Paul when he was in prison. Gifts that 0:11:32.890 --> 0:11:36.050 the Philippians they had collected in Philippi. Out of their 0:11:36.050 --> 0:11:39.290 own initiative, they had collected and said, hey, let's give 0:11:39.290 --> 0:11:42.530 a gift towards Paul, who's in prison. He said, I've 0:11:42.610 --> 0:11:46.530 received the gift that Epaphroditus, the gifts sent from you. 0:11:46.970 --> 0:11:54.490 They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice. Pleasing to whom? 0:11:55.370 --> 0:11:59.010 To God. Paul wasn't saying, oh, this is a nice gift, 0:11:59.010 --> 0:12:04.500 pleasing to me. Your gift has a fragrance before God. 0:12:05.740 --> 0:12:10.500 Your giving has a smell before God. In revelations. If 0:12:10.500 --> 0:12:13.979 you read the last book of the the entire Bible, 0:12:13.980 --> 0:12:17.500 it talks about the prayers of the saints rising before 0:12:17.500 --> 0:12:21.460 God with a certain fragrance. I believe that our worship 0:12:21.460 --> 0:12:23.940 has a smell before God. I think sometimes we worship 0:12:23.980 --> 0:12:31.860 and he says, oh, that stinks. Oh man. When our 0:12:31.860 --> 0:12:41.540 worship is self-indulgent, not God centered, half hearted, hypocritical. But 0:12:41.540 --> 0:12:45.780 I think there's a kind of worship that, well, it 0:12:45.780 --> 0:12:50.780 has the. And it's got this Calvin Klein smell before 0:12:50.780 --> 0:12:56.780 the heavens. What kind of worship is it? It's the 0:12:56.780 --> 0:12:58.860 sacrifice of worship. 0:13:04.700 --> 0:13:07.860 And we'll hear more about this sacrifice of worship in 0:13:07.860 --> 0:13:10.260 just a moment. But first, a word of thanks to 0:13:10.300 --> 0:13:13.860 the faithful and forward thinking listeners who make bold steps possible. 0:13:13.860 --> 0:13:17.620 Mark, we really want to thank our bold partners who 0:13:17.660 --> 0:13:22.540 join every month and have decided to donate a gift 0:13:22.540 --> 0:13:25.579 every month. It really helps us out, and it helps 0:13:25.580 --> 0:13:29.100 us reach places that are harder to reach, not only 0:13:29.100 --> 0:13:32.660 in the U.S., but in places like Malawi, Africa. 0:13:32.660 --> 0:13:34.420 We know we have a lot of listeners there, new 0:13:34.420 --> 0:13:36.860 listeners to bold steps. And this blows my mind, Mark, 0:13:36.860 --> 0:13:39.420 because we take radio for granted. We jump in the 0:13:39.420 --> 0:13:41.420 car and turn the radio on or the radios in 0:13:41.420 --> 0:13:45.380 the kitchen. In Malawi, they listen in groups. Our friends 0:13:45.380 --> 0:13:48.699 get together in listening groups, and sometimes they don't even 0:13:48.700 --> 0:13:50.939 have a radio. But we're able to help them get 0:13:50.940 --> 0:13:53.100 a radio, a wind up radio, because they don't have 0:13:53.100 --> 0:13:56.140 electricity there in many cases to use. So this is 0:13:56.140 --> 0:13:58.380 just one thing that your gift accomplishes. 0:13:58.380 --> 0:14:04.070 That's right. So imagine a village in Malawi without running water, electricity, 0:14:04.429 --> 0:14:09.390 and a wind up radio given by our partners in 0:14:09.429 --> 0:14:15.710 Febc to a group, and they sit around in seven, eight, nine, 0:14:15.710 --> 0:14:17.950 ten people listening to the messages. 0:14:18.070 --> 0:14:18.750 A Bible study. 0:14:18.790 --> 0:14:22.150 Like a Bible study, but through a wind up radio. 0:14:22.470 --> 0:14:25.670 And it's so exciting when we hear back from them. 0:14:25.670 --> 0:14:28.030 A lot of them don't have the technology to respond 0:14:28.030 --> 0:14:32.270 very quickly. But from our people that have, uh, boots 0:14:32.270 --> 0:14:35.510 on the ground, we know that there's a lot of 0:14:35.510 --> 0:14:39.430 these listening groups happening in very remote villages. So exciting 0:14:39.470 --> 0:14:42.150 to hear the gospel getting to people that way. 0:14:42.190 --> 0:14:45.390 Well, we just got the report that 120 new groups 0:14:45.390 --> 0:14:48.470 have just been established. So it's growing every day. And 0:14:48.470 --> 0:14:52.110 thank the Lord for our bold step partners. Um, we've 0:14:52.150 --> 0:14:54.630 talked about the benefits before, but the main benefit I 0:14:54.630 --> 0:14:56.590 want to focus on, Mark, is we're giving these gifts 0:14:56.590 --> 0:14:58.910 each month for the benefit of others to hear the word. 0:14:58.950 --> 0:15:03.400 Yes. So you are partners in spreading the gospel. In fact, 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:07.720 you are key partners in spreading the gospel. So many 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:09.360 of you have been thinking about it. Some of you 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:12.280 have been giving single gifts. I want to challenge you today, 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:16.240 especially as you think about missions in Malawi especially. So 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:18.440 I want to challenge some of you, even right now, 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:21.960 to go online and sign up to be a bold 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:25.880 step partner. It really helps others hear the gospel. 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:27.480 And I'll also give a phone number at the end 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:29.360 of the program. You can call to partner with us, 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:33.360 but go to bold steps.org. All right, back into today's message. Now, 0:15:33.360 --> 0:15:36.520 the second half of increasing your spiritual credit. 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:48.720 Is he worship is not just a big karaoke operation 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:54.000 on Sunday morning. And now singing together praising to God 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:59.080 is part of worship. But worship does not just extend 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:03.400 to a half hour of songs on Sunday. Worship is 0:16:03.400 --> 0:16:09.360 giving worship to God by how we live, how we function. 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:14.560 Our lifestyle is an act of worship. Our speaking gives 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:17.920 worship to God. Our attitude is an act of worship 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:21.720 to God, because worship means giving worth to God in 0:16:21.720 --> 0:16:25.640 the way that we operate and live our lives. And 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:28.320 the Apostle Paul says, one of the greatest ways of 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:32.240 of bringing a fragrant offering to God is the way 0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:36.920 that we give. Hebrews 1315 says, through Jesus, therefore let 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:41.160 us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise the 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:43.720 fruit of our lips that confess his name. And do 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:47.520 not forget to do good and to share with others. 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:55.920 For with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Uh, what 0:16:55.920 --> 0:17:01.720 is a fragrant sacrifice to God? It's not only giving 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:07.520 and praising God, but it's also. Sharing with others is 0:17:07.520 --> 0:17:12.000 a powerful sacrifice to God that it tells us to embrace. 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:18.480 So when we give, it increases our account before God. 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:21.720 When we learn that we have something to give of our, of, 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:24.239 of our tithes, of our offerings, of our gifts, of 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:26.800 our compassion, of our love, of our as we look 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:30.000 out to our community and we start giving words of encouragement, 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:33.399 whatever it may be, whatever source God has given you 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:35.840 and you start sharing with others out of what God 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:39.240 has given you. It comes before God as a fragrant 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:46.160 sacrifice before him. And number three, giving releases provision beyond 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:50.119 our own needs. Look at what the Apostle Paul continues 0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:54.640 to say, and he says, and my God. Oh, some 0:17:54.640 --> 0:17:58.920 of you need to hear this verse. This is going 0:17:58.920 --> 0:18:00.890 to be worth the whole message for some of you. 0:18:01.410 --> 0:18:08.970 And my God will meet all your needs according to 0:18:09.010 --> 0:18:15.450 his riches, in his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To 0:18:15.490 --> 0:18:28.450 God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Now, 0:18:28.450 --> 0:18:33.570 what's happening here? What the Apostle Paul is saying is, 0:18:33.570 --> 0:18:38.130 as you understand the power of giving some people, as 0:18:38.130 --> 0:18:40.410 they start giving, start to think, the more I give, 0:18:40.450 --> 0:18:43.290 the less I'll have. The more I give love, the 0:18:43.290 --> 0:18:45.449 less love I'll have. The more compassion I give, the 0:18:45.490 --> 0:18:48.890 less compassion I have. The more I give up my finances, 0:18:48.890 --> 0:18:51.370 the less I'll have of my finances. So I don't 0:18:51.369 --> 0:18:54.770 want to give because if I give, I'm going to 0:18:54.770 --> 0:19:00.700 run out. I can't really give of myself because I'm 0:19:00.700 --> 0:19:06.500 going to run out. I'm going to run dry. I 0:19:06.500 --> 0:19:14.619 really don't believe this myth of. Because I'm giving. I 0:19:14.660 --> 0:19:19.699 burn out. I don't believe in burnout because of giving. 0:19:19.980 --> 0:19:24.460 I don't believe in that. Here's what the apostle Paul 0:19:24.460 --> 0:19:27.060 is saying. The apostle Paul is saying, for those of 0:19:27.060 --> 0:19:29.379 you that that feel like I have very little to 0:19:29.420 --> 0:19:31.379 give or that I'm going to run out of things 0:19:31.380 --> 0:19:35.419 to give, he says, hey, remember that our God will 0:19:35.420 --> 0:19:40.380 meet all of your needs. Now, does he say once, okay, 0:19:40.380 --> 0:19:42.980 let's just be clear about that. My God will give 0:19:42.980 --> 0:19:46.300 you all of your needs. Not all of your wants 0:19:47.420 --> 0:19:51.260 according to his. According to his glorious riches. The question 0:19:51.260 --> 0:19:56.180 I have is how rich is God? What he's what 0:19:56.180 --> 0:19:59.980 he's saying. It's in the context of people that are 0:19:59.980 --> 0:20:04.100 being encouraged to give and to release. What he's saying is, 0:20:04.100 --> 0:20:08.420 don't live with fear as you give. Feeling like, Will 0:20:08.420 --> 0:20:11.820 I help these people? I'm going to get burned out 0:20:11.820 --> 0:20:13.540 and I'm not going to have anything to give. So 0:20:13.540 --> 0:20:15.860 I'd rather not help because I don't want to be 0:20:15.859 --> 0:20:19.139 burned no help. And let God fill you with the 0:20:19.140 --> 0:20:21.980 grace that you need. Oh, I'm not going to use 0:20:21.980 --> 0:20:24.899 my talents because what if I use my talents and 0:20:24.900 --> 0:20:27.860 and I don't have enough to give, and I don't 0:20:28.380 --> 0:20:30.300 know how to teach well enough. I don't know how 0:20:30.300 --> 0:20:32.500 to help. Well, well enough. What if I don't have 0:20:32.500 --> 0:20:35.939 enough knowledge? No, no, no. Start releasing it and letting 0:20:35.940 --> 0:20:38.980 God fill you with what you lack. Because my God 0:20:38.980 --> 0:20:42.139 shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory. 0:20:42.140 --> 0:20:45.100 As you begin to release and give and be used 0:20:45.100 --> 0:20:48.060 of God, it is God that will fill you to 0:20:48.100 --> 0:20:50.620 be able to continue to fulfill the mission that God 0:20:50.619 --> 0:20:55.899 has called you to. What I've discovered is that the 0:20:55.900 --> 0:21:03.740 more you release, the more you increase in God's time. Oh, 0:21:03.740 --> 0:21:06.020 I don't want you to say, well, pastor, next week 0:21:06.020 --> 0:21:07.859 I'm going to give $1,000 in the offering. I expect 0:21:07.859 --> 0:21:09.379 10,000 to come back to me. No, no, no, no, 0:21:09.380 --> 0:21:14.340 that doesn't work that way. Don't be making shady deals 0:21:14.340 --> 0:21:20.820 with God. God's got. The point is, though, that when 0:21:20.820 --> 0:21:24.699 you begin to release and let go, that God begins 0:21:24.700 --> 0:21:27.420 to fill up so that you can release and let 0:21:27.420 --> 0:21:32.380 go more. When we first started raising money for this building, 0:21:33.020 --> 0:21:35.660 we had met from building to building to building. Our 0:21:35.660 --> 0:21:37.780 motto was, if you can find us, you can meet 0:21:37.780 --> 0:21:40.260 with us. Because we were meeting from place to place. 0:21:40.660 --> 0:21:43.020 And finally we decided that it was time to raise 0:21:43.020 --> 0:21:45.859 money for a building. We didn't have a plot of land. 0:21:45.859 --> 0:21:47.699 We didn't even know what neighborhood we were going to 0:21:47.700 --> 0:21:51.180 buy the building in. But we we knew that it 0:21:51.180 --> 0:21:54.300 would have to be a pretty significant building. And so 0:21:54.300 --> 0:21:57.219 we were shooting to raise $1 million to put a 0:21:57.260 --> 0:22:00.550 down payment on a building. And so we started raising 0:22:00.550 --> 0:22:02.910 that money. All the people that consulted us said, you 0:22:02.910 --> 0:22:05.869 can't do that. You can't raise money without having a 0:22:05.869 --> 0:22:08.350 plot of land, not a neighborhood. You just don't do 0:22:08.350 --> 0:22:10.750 it that way. But we did it that way. I'll 0:22:10.750 --> 0:22:13.230 never forget, as we were raising struggling, we hadn't had 0:22:13.230 --> 0:22:17.669 a building for a long time. We were raising and struggling, sacrificing. 0:22:17.670 --> 0:22:20.190 I got a part time job so that I could 0:22:20.190 --> 0:22:24.630 pay my building fund campaign money and, and I was working, 0:22:24.670 --> 0:22:27.270 teaching at a, at a college some part time just 0:22:27.270 --> 0:22:30.189 because I wanted to contribute as much as I could. And, 0:22:30.190 --> 0:22:33.630 and other people, they sold cars. I mean, this was sacrificial. 0:22:33.630 --> 0:22:38.350 We were going to throw ourselves into this. And about 0:22:38.350 --> 0:22:42.429 a year or so into this campaign, we get a 0:22:42.430 --> 0:22:45.270 call from someone on the north side of Chicago, and 0:22:45.270 --> 0:22:49.310 someone called me up and said, hey, Pastor Job heard 0:22:49.310 --> 0:22:52.629 what you're doing. I'd like to have a meeting with you. 0:22:53.590 --> 0:22:57.790 And the end of that conversation, basically the, the, the 0:22:57.830 --> 0:23:00.870 group of people that were there said, we want to 0:23:00.869 --> 0:23:11.270 give you for free, give you free. A church building 0:23:11.950 --> 0:23:23.790 worth $3.5 million. Give us. All I'm saying, never, never 0:23:23.790 --> 0:23:28.830 underestimate the power of what God has placed into your hands. 0:23:33.150 --> 0:23:34.629 Look at the person beside you and say. I have 0:23:34.630 --> 0:23:39.110 something worth giving. Come on, tell someone else I have 0:23:39.109 --> 0:23:42.870 something worth giving. I want you to say it like 0:23:42.869 --> 0:23:46.550 you believe it. I have something worth giving. 0:23:53.390 --> 0:23:56.750 Well, that concludes a series from Mark Jobe called relentless 0:23:56.750 --> 0:23:59.520 here on Bold Steps. And if you missed any message 0:23:59.520 --> 0:24:01.720 from this study, feel free to catch up online by 0:24:01.720 --> 0:24:05.879 visiting our website, Bold steps.org. In addition to that website, 0:24:05.880 --> 0:24:08.840 you can also find these messages on our daily podcast. 0:24:08.840 --> 0:24:11.639 Open up your favorite podcast app and search for Bold 0:24:11.640 --> 0:24:14.480 steps with doctor Mark Jobe. And be sure to tap 0:24:14.480 --> 0:24:16.680 the subscribe button so you can have these daily biblical 0:24:16.680 --> 0:24:20.600 messages downloaded straight to your mobile device. Today's message is 0:24:20.600 --> 0:24:23.159 a beautiful lead in to this month's bold Step gift, 0:24:23.160 --> 0:24:26.520 because Paul's whole point in Philippians four is that what 0:24:26.520 --> 0:24:29.560 we give goes ahead of us. It's an investment in 0:24:29.560 --> 0:24:32.960 something eternal. And the most eternal investment you can make 0:24:33.000 --> 0:24:36.159 is a faith that is unshakable. That's what this month's 0:24:36.160 --> 0:24:38.879 resource is all about. It's a book called The Case 0:24:38.880 --> 0:24:41.800 for Faith by Lee Strobel, and it takes the eight 0:24:41.800 --> 0:24:46.639 Toughest Objections to Christianity, the hardest questions about suffering, science, 0:24:46.640 --> 0:24:49.760 hell and doubt, and meets every one of them with honest, 0:24:49.800 --> 0:24:54.200 research backed and deeply reassuring answers. Whether you're walking through 0:24:54.200 --> 0:24:57.040 a season of questions yourself, or you want to be 0:24:57.040 --> 0:25:00.440 better equipped to walk alongside someone, who is. This book 0:25:00.440 --> 0:25:03.439 will strengthen your convictions and deepen your confidence in the 0:25:03.480 --> 0:25:06.000 God you serve. We'll send you a copy when you 0:25:06.000 --> 0:25:08.439 give a donation of any amount to support this ministry. 0:25:08.680 --> 0:25:14.600 Give online at bold steps.org/give or call us at 800 D.L. Moody, 0:25:14.600 --> 0:25:20.560 that's (800) 356-6639. And then if you'd rather send your donation 0:25:20.560 --> 0:25:22.719 and request the book in the mail, you can do that. 0:25:22.960 --> 0:25:28.119 Write to us at Bold Steps, 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois. 0:25:28.160 --> 0:25:31.960 606 ten. And that's our time for today. Be sure 0:25:31.960 --> 0:25:34.359 to come back tomorrow when Mark begins a series called 0:25:34.359 --> 0:25:37.840 Under the Influence, asking the question, what does it truly 0:25:37.840 --> 0:25:40.880 mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Find out 0:25:40.880 --> 0:25:46.600 Friday on Bold Steps with Mark Joe. Bold steps is 0:25:46.600 --> 0:25:50.440 a production of Moody Radio, a Ministry of Moody Bible Institute.