WEBVTT - The Power of the Blessing – Part 2 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:04.880 Today on Bold Steps, Mark and Josiah Jobe continue their 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:08.000 powerful Father's Day message by speaking the blessing into the 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:09.040 lives of others. 0:00:09.600 --> 0:00:12.039 Part of the power of the blessing is to look 0:00:12.039 --> 0:00:14.760 at your children and to remind them that God has 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:18.040 a future for them that you see in them what 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:21.760 they don't see in themselves. Yet we can choose today 0:00:21.920 --> 0:00:25.600 to allow everybody that's around us to experience the blessing 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:28.440 from our life, as we're filled with the love from 0:00:28.440 --> 0:00:29.840 Jesus Christ. Amen. 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:45.599 Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is president 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:48.239 of Moody Bible Institute, and he's the senior pastor of 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:52.839 New Life Community Church in Chicago. My name is Wayne Shepherd. Yesterday, 0:00:52.840 --> 0:00:55.440 we began a special Father's Day message, where Mark was 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:58.720 joined by his son, Josiah, to explore the biblical concept 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:02.480 of blessing, particularly the The powerful impact of father's words 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:05.440 and actions can have on their children. We learned about 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:08.520 the importance of meaningful touch and affection as the first 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:12.120 component of conveying blessing. If you miss that first segment, 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:16.199 I encourage you to visit our website, npr.org, to catch up. 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:19.920 But right now, to continue the message and discover the 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:23.680 similarity between Mark and his son Josiah's voices, here's the 0:01:23.680 --> 0:01:25.880 power of the blessing on bold steps. 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:31.720 And we see here in Genesis chapter 27 that Isaac 0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:35.440 blesses his son as an example to us. And it says, 0:01:35.440 --> 0:01:38.880 Isaac said, surely the smell of my son is like 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:40.840 the smell of a field. I've never said that to 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:46.720 my son. Which the Lord has blessed. Let people serve you, 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:49.800 and nations bow down to you. You know what Isaac 0:01:49.800 --> 0:01:52.080 was saying to his son and modeling to us here 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:54.720 as parents and and anyone that can use the power 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:59.400 of blessing, he was conveying value and security to his 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:01.970 son when he says, A blessed field. This is the 0:02:01.970 --> 0:02:05.290 idea of someone that has tremendous life and reward. He's saying, 0:02:05.290 --> 0:02:07.330 he's saying, he's basically saying, hey, you're going to be 0:02:07.330 --> 0:02:10.810 so successful, you'll smell like money. My dad has never 0:02:10.810 --> 0:02:15.250 said that to me either. He's saying, nations don't just 0:02:15.250 --> 0:02:17.530 bow down to anyone. Hey, my son, I want you 0:02:17.530 --> 0:02:23.049 to know that you are someone of worth and value. 0:02:23.050 --> 0:02:25.370 I don't want you to guess all throughout life, or 0:02:25.410 --> 0:02:27.970 be chasing it from all these other things in life. 0:02:28.010 --> 0:02:31.770 My responsibility as a parent is to bless you and 0:02:31.770 --> 0:02:35.090 fill in that blank with words of life, to empower 0:02:35.090 --> 0:02:38.730 you to live a life of blessing. And so this 0:02:38.730 --> 0:02:41.810 is the responsibility of a parent. And, you know, in 0:02:41.810 --> 0:02:45.490 our home, um, you can my dad would many times 0:02:45.490 --> 0:02:48.329 do this verbally pull us aside and speak into our 0:02:48.330 --> 0:02:52.570 life words that were just so meaningful. But one of 0:02:52.570 --> 0:02:55.290 the practices that he showed us as well, and he 0:02:55.290 --> 0:02:57.970 did in our home, is he would write letters every 0:02:57.970 --> 0:03:00.570 once in a while to his children. And I actually 0:03:00.650 --> 0:03:04.970 brought one from my little collection I have here. This 0:03:04.970 --> 0:03:07.810 is a letter that was written when I was in 0:03:07.810 --> 0:03:11.170 high school. And he would type these out and he 0:03:11.169 --> 0:03:13.810 would write us personalized letters speaking it. And I want 0:03:13.810 --> 0:03:16.010 you to hear it because I want to model to 0:03:16.010 --> 0:03:18.410 you and show you a great example for my father 0:03:18.650 --> 0:03:21.890 of adding value and blessing your children if you weren't 0:03:21.889 --> 0:03:27.410 raised in a home like that. November 22nd, 2009. Dear Josiah, 0:03:28.370 --> 0:03:31.889 I have been praying for you more intensely lately. I 0:03:31.889 --> 0:03:34.169 know that life can be challenging in high school. That 0:03:34.169 --> 0:03:39.490 feels a long way away. This morning I preached about 0:03:39.490 --> 0:03:42.490 calling out the mighty warrior in our sons and daughters. 0:03:43.010 --> 0:03:46.090 I believe that God has some great things in store 0:03:46.090 --> 0:03:49.690 for your life. Do you hear it? Value from a parent. 0:03:52.250 --> 0:03:54.450 I believe that there will be a spiritual battle for 0:03:54.450 --> 0:03:57.930 your soul and destiny. I know that the enemy will 0:03:57.930 --> 0:04:01.500 try to derail your life from fulfilling God's purposes. He 0:04:01.500 --> 0:04:04.460 will attack you even stronger when you are young, because 0:04:04.460 --> 0:04:07.020 he knows that you are still forming your identity and 0:04:07.020 --> 0:04:10.980 are more vulnerable. I believe that you are a man 0:04:10.980 --> 0:04:14.220 of God in the making. I see in you the 0:04:14.220 --> 0:04:18.380 heart of passionate and sensitive worshipper like King David. You 0:04:18.380 --> 0:04:22.500 have a sharp mind and an intuitive heart. Great communication 0:04:22.500 --> 0:04:25.140 skills and a very disarming way of relating to people. 0:04:25.420 --> 0:04:29.100 One day God will use all your gifts and talents 0:04:29.220 --> 0:04:33.659 for his purpose and his glory. This is a father 0:04:33.660 --> 0:04:37.260 that got serious about saying, I'm going to bless my 0:04:37.260 --> 0:04:39.940 children in a biblical way, where they're not going to 0:04:39.940 --> 0:04:42.659 have any blanks, but they're going to know how their 0:04:42.660 --> 0:04:47.300 dad feels about them. And you say. 0:04:47.300 --> 0:04:49.900 Well, yeah, that's because you were raising Josiah and he 0:04:49.900 --> 0:04:51.540 was a good kid. But, you know, when your kids 0:04:51.540 --> 0:04:54.339 are teenagers, sometimes you think they're going to change the world. 0:04:54.339 --> 0:04:57.580 Other times you think they're going to end up in prison. So, uh, 0:04:57.660 --> 0:05:01.860 it depends on the day and their mood, But I 0:05:01.860 --> 0:05:06.180 do believe that as parents, and since it's Father's Day, 0:05:06.180 --> 0:05:09.940 let me just challenge the fathers. There is no one 0:05:09.940 --> 0:05:14.060 fathers that can speak the words of influence like you can. 0:05:14.100 --> 0:05:20.220 There's no substitute for you, fathers. Your words have impact. 0:05:20.540 --> 0:05:27.460 So we have the expression of physical affection. The second 0:05:27.460 --> 0:05:33.700 element of the blessing is words of affirmation. And the 0:05:33.700 --> 0:05:39.780 third aspect of the blessing is a picture of a 0:05:39.779 --> 0:05:43.380 special future. So not only are you letting them know 0:05:43.380 --> 0:05:46.100 that they're loved, not only are you saying letting them 0:05:46.100 --> 0:05:47.940 know the value that they have by the words that 0:05:47.940 --> 0:05:51.740 you speak into them, but you're also helping your children 0:05:51.740 --> 0:05:55.659 understand that you believe that they have a significant future, 0:05:55.900 --> 0:05:59.180 that they have a purpose in their life, that there 0:05:59.180 --> 0:06:03.230 is a forward momentum in their life. And you see 0:06:03.230 --> 0:06:09.430 it if you look at, uh, for example, Genesis chapter 48. 0:06:09.870 --> 0:06:16.550 Jacob named Israel. He's speaking over his two grandsons. And 0:06:16.550 --> 0:06:19.350 he says, May the people of Israel bless each of 0:06:19.350 --> 0:06:24.510 you by saying, God make you as prosperous as Ephraim 0:06:24.510 --> 0:06:28.110 and Manasseh. He was speaking into his grandsons, and he 0:06:28.110 --> 0:06:30.229 was saying, I want the world to look at you 0:06:30.230 --> 0:06:32.950 and say, I want to be like them. You're going 0:06:32.990 --> 0:06:35.790 to have such an impact that people are going to say, hey, 0:06:36.070 --> 0:06:38.910 Ephraim and Manasseh are the people that we want to 0:06:38.910 --> 0:06:41.789 be like. He was speaking into their future. They had 0:06:41.790 --> 0:06:46.150 not yet achieved, but he was seeing something in them 0:06:46.150 --> 0:06:50.349 that maybe they did not see in themselves. Uh, can 0:06:50.350 --> 0:06:54.710 I tell you that we live in a time right 0:06:54.710 --> 0:07:01.590 now that sociologists, psychologists are telling us that they've never 0:07:01.589 --> 0:07:14.070 seen a generation that is struggling so much with anxiety, loneliness, isolation, depression, 0:07:14.390 --> 0:07:21.390 and sometimes suicidal ideation. If you have a junior high, 0:07:21.870 --> 0:07:29.310 high school, or even college age, there is a pandemic 0:07:29.310 --> 0:07:35.190 of anxiety that exists, uncertainty about the future, doubting of 0:07:35.190 --> 0:07:39.670 their worth and value. And I think this word of 0:07:39.670 --> 0:07:44.510 blessing and affirmation is more important now, probably, than any 0:07:44.510 --> 0:07:52.470 generation before us, that it is vital, crucial, essential that 0:07:52.470 --> 0:07:55.790 we as parents are able to speak into the identity, 0:07:55.830 --> 0:08:01.840 destiny and the future of our children. You know, you 0:08:01.840 --> 0:08:04.920 can't dictate what your children are going to be, but 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:08.240 you can't speak into the fact that you see qualities 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:11.960 in them that you believe are going to do something. 0:08:12.560 --> 0:08:15.080 I heard of a doctor that was taking their, uh, 0:08:15.640 --> 0:08:20.680 second grader. Uh, they were going to drop them off at, uh, school, 0:08:21.280 --> 0:08:26.280 and they had left their stethoscope in the backseat. And 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:30.360 so they saw their daughter pick up the stethoscope and 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:33.680 start playing with it. And immediately they thought, hey, she's 0:08:33.679 --> 0:08:36.320 going to follow my footsteps. Be a doctor as well. 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:38.920 Until the little girl in the back seat said, okay, 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:43.520 this is McDonald's. What is your order? And so I 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:47.679 don't think that you can I don't think that you 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:50.560 can dictate what your children are going to be, but 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:54.640 you can let your children know that what you see 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:57.719 in them before they see it in themselves. You know, 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:02.800 that's the nature of God, For example, Gideon in judges. 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:06.600 He had never done anything, never accomplished anything yet. And 0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:11.000 when God meets Gideon, he says, mighty warrior. He wasn't 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:13.960 a mighty warrior. He was hiding in a cave from 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:17.559 the enemy. But God saw something in him before he'd 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:21.559 ever accomplished anything. Can I tell you something? Listen. God 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:25.040 sees your potential. Not just what you've done, but who 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:28.199 you are, what you can do. He speaks value into 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:32.880 your destiny. Value into your future. He speaks that which 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:36.880 is not yet as though it were. And I believe 0:09:36.920 --> 0:09:38.600 you say, pastor, you don't know my kid. No, I 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:42.640 don't know your kid. But here's what I know that 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:45.880 every child is made in the image of God, and 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:49.480 there's dignity and value in each of them, regardless of 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:53.120 what difficulty they may be going through at the time. 0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:58.040 Part of the power of the blessing is to look 0:09:58.040 --> 0:10:01.130 at your children and to remind them that God has 0:10:01.130 --> 0:10:05.290 a future for them, that that that you see in 0:10:05.330 --> 0:10:09.970 them what they don't see in themselves yet. I used to. 0:10:12.170 --> 0:10:15.530 Tell my boys, hey, you're a man of God in 0:10:15.530 --> 0:10:18.410 the making. I repeat that over to them. Hey, one 0:10:18.410 --> 0:10:20.770 day you're a man of God. I see it already 0:10:20.770 --> 0:10:23.130 in you. I would tell my daughter you're a woman 0:10:23.170 --> 0:10:26.450 of worth and value. A godly young lady, that God. 0:10:26.490 --> 0:10:28.770 And they were just young. But I would speak it 0:10:28.770 --> 0:10:32.370 into them, see it in their lives. My. I remember 0:10:32.370 --> 0:10:35.570 one day my son Grant, who's 25 now, he's probably 0:10:35.570 --> 0:10:38.690 about six years old at the time. I would pray 0:10:38.690 --> 0:10:42.170 for them and I would say, I would say to Grant, hey, 0:10:42.210 --> 0:10:44.490 one day you're going to marry a woman, you're going 0:10:44.530 --> 0:10:46.969 to be a great husband, and you're going to be 0:10:46.970 --> 0:10:49.810 a father. You're going to raise some children. And he 0:10:49.809 --> 0:10:51.690 would look at me like, I'm going to raise children. Yeah, 0:10:51.690 --> 0:10:54.050 one day you're going to raise children. You're going to 0:10:54.090 --> 0:10:56.890 lead them well, you're going to speak into their destiny. 0:10:56.929 --> 0:10:58.929 One day. I could see it in you already that 0:10:58.929 --> 0:11:01.329 you're going to be a good father and a good 0:11:01.370 --> 0:11:04.130 and a good husband as well. And I'll never forget, 0:11:04.130 --> 0:11:05.530 as a six year old, he kind of looked at 0:11:05.530 --> 0:11:08.890 me a little scared, and he said, I said, I'm 0:11:08.890 --> 0:11:10.810 praying for your wife. And he said, how am I 0:11:10.809 --> 0:11:13.170 going to know who she is? There's so many women 0:11:13.170 --> 0:11:18.969 out there. And I said to him, well, son, do 0:11:18.970 --> 0:11:21.610 you trust me? He said, yeah. I said, can I 0:11:21.650 --> 0:11:25.689 choose her for you? He said, yeah. I said, let's 0:11:25.690 --> 0:11:27.449 shake on this. I'm going to remind you later. So 0:11:27.450 --> 0:11:29.650 we shake on it and I remind him now, hey, 0:11:29.650 --> 0:11:33.090 we shook on it. So that's a done deal. But, 0:11:33.090 --> 0:11:35.610 but but why am I speaking into them? Because a 0:11:35.610 --> 0:11:39.010 little boy needs to have a vision of themselves in 0:11:39.010 --> 0:11:41.650 the future. Can I tell you something, fathers? Let me 0:11:41.650 --> 0:11:45.290 just be clear about this. If the message that your 0:11:45.290 --> 0:11:48.890 sons and daughters are getting from you is a message 0:11:48.890 --> 0:11:53.130 of disappointment, constantly a message of you're going to fail, 0:11:53.250 --> 0:11:56.010 how come you're not this? Why aren't you this? You 0:11:56.010 --> 0:11:58.770 need to do this. You're never going to amount to anything. 0:11:58.770 --> 0:12:01.380 You're just like your uncle that ended up in jail. 0:12:01.380 --> 0:12:04.260 You're going to. If that is the constant message that 0:12:04.260 --> 0:12:07.179 you're speaking into your sons and daughters, then the image 0:12:07.179 --> 0:12:10.060 that they have of their future is one of doom, 0:12:10.100 --> 0:12:13.180 of failure. The image that they have of their future 0:12:13.179 --> 0:12:18.820 is one of already disaster. You are shaping their future 0:12:18.820 --> 0:12:22.020 destiny by how you speak into their lives. 0:12:25.980 --> 0:12:28.900 This is bold steps. And before we continue today's message 0:12:28.900 --> 0:12:31.900 with both Mark and Josiah Jobe, I want to take 0:12:31.900 --> 0:12:34.100 a moment to talk about the blessing that you, the listener, 0:12:34.100 --> 0:12:36.660 can share today with your neighbors and strangers across the 0:12:36.660 --> 0:12:39.740 globe by partnering with this ministry. Mark, we call them 0:12:39.740 --> 0:12:40.860 bold partners. 0:12:41.260 --> 0:12:44.939 We do call them bold partners. And some of you 0:12:44.940 --> 0:12:47.500 are already part of this team and we want to 0:12:47.500 --> 0:12:51.820 say thank you. If you're interested in helping us really 0:12:51.820 --> 0:12:55.220 get this message to the nations, then I want to 0:12:55.220 --> 0:12:59.020 encourage you to become a bold partner. This is a 0:12:59.620 --> 0:13:02.459 Specifically a great time of the year to do so 0:13:02.460 --> 0:13:05.500 because we're in the final month of our fiscal year. 0:13:05.820 --> 0:13:09.060 So whether you become a gold partner or decide to 0:13:09.059 --> 0:13:12.020 give a year end gift, our fiscal year in this 0:13:12.020 --> 0:13:14.820 would be great to do it before July hits us. 0:13:14.820 --> 0:13:18.740 So thank you once again for helping this ministry, coming 0:13:18.740 --> 0:13:23.260 alongside of us and really being significant partners in getting 0:13:23.260 --> 0:13:24.620 the gospel to the nations. 0:13:24.660 --> 0:13:26.500 Yeah. Let me invite you to sign up today. It's 0:13:26.500 --> 0:13:29.059 easy to set up a monthly investment in this ministry. 0:13:29.059 --> 0:13:34.780 You can do that online through our website. Or call 0:13:34.780 --> 0:13:38.700 our team and become a gold partner by dialing 800 D.L. Moody. 0:13:38.940 --> 0:13:44.900 That's (800) 356-6639. All right. Now back to the message again. 0:13:44.900 --> 0:13:48.100 Here's Mark with today's lesson, the power of the blessing. 0:13:53.820 --> 0:13:57.179 I remember sitting down with my wife years ago when 0:13:57.700 --> 0:14:02.550 our kids were in high school, feeling like our interaction 0:14:02.550 --> 0:14:05.950 with our kids was always correcting. Clean up your room. 0:14:05.990 --> 0:14:08.069 Do this. Do your homework. How can you turn down 0:14:08.070 --> 0:14:10.710 the music? Why aren't you doing this? Your room's a mess. 0:14:12.110 --> 0:14:14.429 My daughter would say. We would say, honey, how could 0:14:14.429 --> 0:14:16.230 you live in such a messy room? She says, as 0:14:16.230 --> 0:14:21.630 long as I have a path. And I remember sitting 0:14:21.630 --> 0:14:23.270 down with my wife and saying, you know, I feel 0:14:23.270 --> 0:14:25.870 like a lot of our interaction is just negative. It's 0:14:25.870 --> 0:14:28.350 just doo doo. How come you're not? And I said, 0:14:28.390 --> 0:14:30.790 you know, we need to make sure that we're speaking 0:14:30.990 --> 0:14:33.230 in a positive way to our children. We need to 0:14:33.230 --> 0:14:35.390 speak into their life and into their future. And so 0:14:35.390 --> 0:14:39.670 we deliberately decided every day we're going to find something 0:14:39.710 --> 0:14:42.750 to affirm, find something to speak into their life. They're 0:14:42.750 --> 0:14:45.670 at a difficult time, the teenage years. But let's make 0:14:45.710 --> 0:14:48.470 sure that we speak into their destiny and in their life. 0:14:48.510 --> 0:14:52.390 And parents, sometimes you're there to correct, you're there to instruct, 0:14:52.390 --> 0:14:56.510 but you're also there to inspire and shape their minds 0:14:57.390 --> 0:15:01.840 who they will be in the future. When I was 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:08.000 21 years old, I had started to pastor and I remember. 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:13.120 Shortly into it, I was a little bit frustrated with 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:15.760 it and I was doubting whether I was called. I 0:15:15.760 --> 0:15:18.640 was doubting whether I was wired to be a pastor. 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:22.040 I wasn't sure I could do this or if I 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:25.200 had the gifting to do it. And I sat down 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:27.560 and I talked to my father, who had been a missionary, 0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:31.440 trained and raised many, many leaders. And I expressed to him, 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:33.280 I don't know if this is what I'm good at. 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:35.480 I don't know if I really have the ability to 0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:38.960 do this. And I'll never forget, I was doubting myself, 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:43.120 doubting my calling, wondering about this. And my father, the 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:46.040 seasoned man who'd raised a bunch of leaders who I 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:49.840 respected deeply. He looked at me and he said, are 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:54.320 you kidding me, Mark? He said, you're a man of God. Oh, 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:57.480 I see integrity in you. I've seen the call of 0:15:57.480 --> 0:16:01.000 God in your life for years. I've raised a lot 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:03.640 of men, and I could see when someone has a 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:05.920 call of God upon their life. And he said to me, 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.680 he said this to me. He said, I would be 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:13.120 honored to be under your pastoral leadership. To be honest 0:16:13.120 --> 0:16:16.320 with you, I don't know if it'd be a pastor 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:20.000 if I hadn't had that conversation at a key moment 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:23.400 in my life where I needed someone that saw something 0:16:23.400 --> 0:16:27.040 in me that at the moment I couldn't see in myself. 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:29.320 Let me tell you something. Fathers look up at me. 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:34.840 Never underestimate the power of your words. Never underestimate the 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:40.400 power of your affirmation. Never just assume. Will they know already. 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:44.600 Speak into their identity. Speak into the future what you 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:48.000 see in them. Make sure that they know not just 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:52.760 what they fall short in, but make sure they know clearly, powerfully. 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:56.360 What you see in them may be that they don't 0:16:56.360 --> 0:17:00.720 even see in themselves. It's the power of the blessing. 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:04.440 As you leave this place and you, you go, um, 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:07.320 you know, to your gatherings and to your dinners and lunches, 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:08.880 you know, I pray that some of you would take 0:17:08.880 --> 0:17:12.160 it serious and you'd find someone that that you really love, 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:15.600 that you've never blessed before. Or maybe you haven't blessed 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:16.959 in a long time, and you'd go up to them 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:20.280 and you'd give them a hug. I mean, a tight embrace. 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:22.359 And then you would take time to say, I want 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:24.320 you to know the value that I see, and fill 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:27.160 in those blanks and then speak into their future with 0:17:27.160 --> 0:17:29.520 the power of the words that you have. I hope 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:32.680 you're serious about that. But can I tell you that 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:35.320 as we finish with this final step, that if you 0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:37.520 do all that one time, you'll miss out on the 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:40.919 reality of all the power that can have from doing it, 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:43.359 not just once, but living a lifestyle of doing it. 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:47.840 And the final essence, or essential here to the blessing, 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:53.080 is an active commitment to seeing the blessing fulfilled. This 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:56.040 is not just checking the box off one time, but 0:17:56.040 --> 0:17:59.770 living a life style of coming alongside those people that 0:17:59.770 --> 0:18:03.530 you value and love the most, and embracing the fullness 0:18:03.530 --> 0:18:05.889 of the blessing in their life, not just one moment. 0:18:05.890 --> 0:18:09.449 They point back to maybe that's the defining, the starting moment, 0:18:09.730 --> 0:18:12.850 but they can say, I lived a life where, you know, 0:18:12.890 --> 0:18:16.370 I was loved in this type of way by my 0:18:16.369 --> 0:18:18.810 father or my mother. They they didn't do it my 0:18:18.810 --> 0:18:22.450 whole life, but they started speaking it into my story 0:18:23.250 --> 0:18:26.530 and not just repeatedly living the lifestyle of it, but 0:18:26.530 --> 0:18:29.770 allowing your words to match your actions. Let me be clear. 0:18:30.250 --> 0:18:32.210 If you go to one of your children or someone 0:18:32.210 --> 0:18:34.450 that you love today and tell them how much they 0:18:34.450 --> 0:18:37.210 mean to you and how much value they have and 0:18:37.210 --> 0:18:41.290 how much how special they are to you, but then 0:18:41.330 --> 0:18:44.730 your life does not align with your words. You rob 0:18:44.730 --> 0:18:47.690 the blessing of its power. You tell your children how 0:18:47.690 --> 0:18:49.409 much they mean to you, but you're not there at 0:18:49.450 --> 0:18:52.890 their games and how special they are. But you're not 0:18:52.890 --> 0:18:55.330 present in the house and how important marriage is. But 0:18:55.330 --> 0:18:58.330 you don't love your spouse. Those words don't bless your 0:18:58.330 --> 0:19:01.620 child because they're not backed up by the reality of 0:19:01.619 --> 0:19:04.020 a life that you believe in, a life that you're living. 0:19:05.180 --> 0:19:08.620 But I want to say this as we conclude that 0:19:08.619 --> 0:19:12.619 one of the probably the biggest reason why most people 0:19:12.619 --> 0:19:16.780 withhold part of the blessing is that their parents never 0:19:16.780 --> 0:19:20.020 gave it to them. So it's hard to give what 0:19:20.020 --> 0:19:24.260 you never received. But I want to just encourage you 0:19:24.300 --> 0:19:28.580 with this, that even though you may have never received 0:19:28.580 --> 0:19:32.100 those blanks filled in in your life, by your father 0:19:32.100 --> 0:19:34.940 or by your mother, that doesn't mean that you can't 0:19:34.940 --> 0:19:38.060 be a blessing to people around you. Because if you've 0:19:38.100 --> 0:19:40.540 trusted in Jesus Christ and the work that he's done 0:19:40.580 --> 0:19:43.139 on the cross, you've been adopted into a new family 0:19:43.140 --> 0:19:46.460 with a new calling, and you have a Heavenly Father 0:19:46.460 --> 0:19:49.780 who's declared a lot about you in the Bible about 0:19:49.780 --> 0:19:52.380 the value and the worth and how you chose you 0:19:52.380 --> 0:19:55.580 before the foundation of the world. And he speaks the 0:19:55.580 --> 0:19:58.780 value that maybe your earthly father was never able to 0:19:58.780 --> 0:20:02.660 speak into you. God Almighty, the Heavenly Father speaks those 0:20:02.660 --> 0:20:07.140 words of life into you. Listen to second Corinthians 517, 0:20:07.140 --> 0:20:10.820 which speaks to the reality of a Christian. This means 0:20:10.820 --> 0:20:15.700 that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. 0:20:16.180 --> 0:20:20.940 The old life is gone and a new life has begun. 0:20:21.780 --> 0:20:24.900 Paul wants us to understand that maybe you weren't raised. 0:20:24.900 --> 0:20:28.140 Maybe these words weren't spoken into your life. Maybe you 0:20:28.140 --> 0:20:31.060 never received the blessing from your parent, but you are 0:20:31.060 --> 0:20:32.860 now living a new life in Christ, and you need 0:20:32.859 --> 0:20:34.780 to pave a new life and a new way for 0:20:34.780 --> 0:20:37.060 your family and all of those around you. You are 0:20:37.060 --> 0:20:42.300 called by God Almighty Himself to be a person that blesses, 0:20:42.300 --> 0:20:45.100 that your life would be a river to all that 0:20:45.100 --> 0:20:48.380 that are around you. And so we have a choice. 0:20:48.380 --> 0:20:53.100 Today is what Deuteronomy says today. I have given you 0:20:53.100 --> 0:20:58.580 a choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. 0:20:58.980 --> 0:21:01.620 Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the 0:21:01.619 --> 0:21:07.419 choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life so 0:21:07.420 --> 0:21:10.540 that you and your descendants might live. And so each 0:21:10.540 --> 0:21:12.820 and every one of us has a choice to walk 0:21:12.820 --> 0:21:16.580 away with today. Do we want to choose to walk 0:21:16.580 --> 0:21:18.340 out of the new nature that we have and the 0:21:18.340 --> 0:21:20.980 new reality because of what Jesus is on the cross? 0:21:21.540 --> 0:21:23.260 That even though we may have not lived a life 0:21:23.260 --> 0:21:26.580 of blessing so far, that we can choose today to 0:21:26.619 --> 0:21:30.980 allow everybody that's around us to experience the blessing from 0:21:30.980 --> 0:21:34.980 our life as we're filled with the love from Jesus Christ. Amen. 0:21:38.940 --> 0:21:43.260 Yeah. There you go. Well, that was Josiah Jobe, my son, who's. 0:21:43.260 --> 0:21:45.899 Sometimes hard to tell the difference between the two of you. 0:21:45.940 --> 0:21:48.580 It is sometimes. That's what my wife says when she's 0:21:48.580 --> 0:21:51.859 walking through the halls of the church. But, you know, 0:21:51.900 --> 0:21:56.340 you may be listening to this message and thinking, you know, 0:21:56.340 --> 0:22:01.310 pastor Mark, I don't think I've ever received the blessing 0:22:01.310 --> 0:22:05.070 from my father, or what it means to walk in blessing. 0:22:05.590 --> 0:22:07.630 And so I want to take a moment and just 0:22:07.630 --> 0:22:11.790 pray blessing over you, if that's okay. Father, I pray 0:22:12.790 --> 0:22:15.630 for that person that has never heard from the lips 0:22:15.630 --> 0:22:22.750 of their father words of encouragement, of affirmation, of destiny, 0:22:23.070 --> 0:22:28.149 of worth, of value spoken unto them, Father God. There's, um, 0:22:28.310 --> 0:22:31.750 a dryness, a vacuum, a longing. And I pray in 0:22:31.750 --> 0:22:34.830 Jesus name that they would hear from you, God, their 0:22:34.830 --> 0:22:41.110 heavenly Father, their real, authentic heavenly Father, that they would 0:22:41.150 --> 0:22:45.389 hear the blessing spoken over them. And so, God, I, 0:22:45.390 --> 0:22:48.670 I thank you for their destiny. I thank you for 0:22:48.670 --> 0:22:52.070 their worth. I thank you for that. They they're made 0:22:52.070 --> 0:22:56.230 in the image of you, their father. I thank you, father, 0:22:56.230 --> 0:22:59.870 that you have a purpose and a plan for their life. 0:23:00.070 --> 0:23:03.990 I thank you, father, that they are uniquely gifted and 0:23:03.990 --> 0:23:07.790 crafted by you. Father, I thank you that you've known 0:23:07.790 --> 0:23:10.590 their name since the day that they were born. That 0:23:10.590 --> 0:23:12.790 there's never been a day that you have not cared 0:23:12.790 --> 0:23:15.429 about their life. I thank you, father, that even in 0:23:15.430 --> 0:23:20.590 the brokenness and difficulty of life, father, that you were there, 0:23:20.670 --> 0:23:24.429 and that you have used the chapters of pain to 0:23:24.470 --> 0:23:28.470 help form and them character that equips them even for 0:23:28.470 --> 0:23:31.750 what they're doing today. Father. So I pray blessing and 0:23:31.750 --> 0:23:35.869 goodness in your favor in Jesus name. Amen. 0:23:36.190 --> 0:23:39.310 Amen. Thank you. Mark. You're listening to Bold Steps with 0:23:39.310 --> 0:23:41.430 Mark Jobe in the end of a special Father's Day 0:23:41.430 --> 0:23:44.350 message and the power of the blessing. We encourage you 0:23:44.350 --> 0:23:46.790 to revisit any part of this message you might have missed, 0:23:46.790 --> 0:23:49.149 or share with someone you would like to hear it 0:23:49.150 --> 0:23:53.350 by going to our website Bold Steps. On our homepage. 0:23:53.350 --> 0:23:55.590 You can also check out an exclusive new resource we 0:23:55.590 --> 0:23:59.640 have available something special from Mark's desk. Introducing our new 0:23:59.640 --> 0:24:03.320 15 day devotional, more Than a Label Discovering Who You 0:24:03.320 --> 0:24:07.199 Are in Christ. In this transformative study, Mark guides you 0:24:07.240 --> 0:24:10.720 through Scripture to uncover the profound truth about your identity 0:24:10.720 --> 0:24:14.080 in Christ. You'll explore what God designed you to be 0:24:14.119 --> 0:24:17.639 and understand why knowing your true identity is so vital. 0:24:18.160 --> 0:24:21.159 This engaging devotional will help you recognize your God given 0:24:21.160 --> 0:24:24.560 purpose and calling as you engage with biblical truth and 0:24:24.560 --> 0:24:27.480 learn to embrace who you really are. This month, we're 0:24:27.520 --> 0:24:30.240 offering this powerful resource to you with any donation that 0:24:30.240 --> 0:24:34.560 supports our ministry. Don't allow society's definitions to limit who 0:24:34.600 --> 0:24:37.919 you are. Embrace the life and purpose God has specifically 0:24:37.920 --> 0:24:41.080 planned for you. Request your copy of More Than a 0:24:41.080 --> 0:24:44.200 label today, and begin the journey of discovering the extraordinary 0:24:44.200 --> 0:24:47.960 person God created you to be. Simply visit Bold steps 0:24:49.400 --> 0:24:52.880 to donate and request more than a label. Or call 0:24:52.880 --> 0:25:00.320 us at 800. D.L. Moody. That's 39 or mail your 0:25:00.359 --> 0:25:05.960 donation and request to bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, 0:25:06.000 --> 0:25:10.720 Illinois 606 ten. By the way, for daily inspiration and 0:25:10.720 --> 0:25:13.400 biblical wisdom on the go, be sure to follow Mark 0:25:13.400 --> 0:25:16.639 on social media, too. You'll find engaging content and a 0:25:16.640 --> 0:25:19.600 vibrant community of believers when you connect with bold steps 0:25:19.600 --> 0:25:23.919 on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Mark's YouTube channel is 0:25:23.920 --> 0:25:26.560 a great place to get exclusive video content. There are 0:25:26.560 --> 0:25:29.879 special messages there and updates from Mark. So just search 0:25:29.880 --> 0:25:32.560 for Bold Steps radio and hit that follow or subscribe 0:25:32.560 --> 0:25:36.160 button when you find us. I'm Wayne Shepherd, signing off. 0:25:36.160 --> 0:25:38.800 On Monday we begin a series called When You Believe 0:25:38.800 --> 0:25:42.199 Everything Changes. Don't miss the start of this faith building 0:25:42.200 --> 0:25:47.320 study Monday on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps 0:25:47.320 --> 0:25:50.159 is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody 0:25:50.160 --> 0:25:51.320 Bible Institute.