S1: Today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. We're learning how
S1: to use our full potential for the Lord.
S2: He has already shown us mercy. And so our service
S2: and gratitude and servitude and offering to him is not
S2: to gain favor with God. It's because we have favor
S2: with God. There's a big difference.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe, senior pastor
S1: of New Life Community Church and president of Moody Bible
S1: Institute here in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Well, we know
S1: everyone is uniquely and wonderfully made and everyone has something
S1: to contribute and offer to God. So, Mark, let's talk
S1: about the the concept that God calls us to something special.
S3: When I talked to so many people that have this
S3: idea that there's the called ones and then just regular people. Yeah, but,
S3: you know, that's such a fallacy because everyone that's a
S3: follower of Jesus is called, first of all, to live
S3: for him, but then called with some unique gifting.
S1: I believe that too. Yes.
S3: And purposes. And so Romans chapter 12 really highlights that
S3: Paul is telling us, hey, you are called now use
S3: your call, step into it. And I'm talking to someone
S3: today that you don't view yourself as a called person,
S3: but I want you to erase that image and I
S3: want you to embrace. You are a person with a
S3: purpose and a calling.
S1: Maybe this is the very issue you've been thinking about
S1: in your own life. Let's listen to God's Word now
S1: stepping up to your calling.
S2: I recently read that the shuttle Columbia made a discovery
S2: as a scientist took a new look at the Earth
S2: from a different perspective. They studied the topography of the land,
S2: and they made an amazing discovery. They Discovered that in
S2: the Sahara Desert, the Sahara Desert is part of northern Africa,
S2: right below Spain. And if you look at a map,
S2: what you'll see is just desert after desert after desert,
S2: just miles and miles of arid sand land. Nothing grows there.
S2: It's very dry. The people that live there are rugged
S2: and nomadic, and they are in desperate need of water.
S2: As a scientist studied the earth from the Columbia explorer,
S2: what they discovered through some of their new instruments of exploration,
S2: that they were 26 lakes underneath the Sahara desert. It's
S2: heartbreaking to think that there are people that are starving
S2: and famished when what they need is right beneath them.
S2: 26 lakes that could provide water, but they have not
S2: yet learned how to tap into the resources that are
S2: right beneath them. That's a great picture. I think of
S2: many of our lives. Many of our lives live or
S2: lived in practical dryness, scarcity, barely surviving, not realizing that
S2: beneath somewhere very close, there is an abundance of resources
S2: that we have much more than what we know we have.
S2: Many people spend a good portion of their lives talking
S2: about what they don't have. Just listening to a conversation
S2: at a bus stop or an office water cooler conversation
S2: and you'll hear a lot of talk about, I wish
S2: I had. I don't have enough. It would be nice
S2: to have what they have. One day, maybe I will.
S2: A lot of conversation seems to revolve around what we lack.
S2: The emphasis of Scripture is not on what we don't have,
S2: but the emphasis that God gives is on what we
S2: do have. God will never hold you responsible for what
S2: you've never had. God will only hold you responsible for
S2: what you have and what you do with what you have.
S2: Here's what I know. I know that the great majority
S2: of us here have enough intelligence to get ahead. I
S2: know that most of us here have enough love to
S2: be able to share with our our spouse and with
S2: our children. I know that most of us don't utilize
S2: the majority of our brain, that we under utilize our gifts,
S2: that we underestimate estimate our body, that we underutilize our faith,
S2: that we do not develop our vision, that we don't
S2: use to the max, our money and our finances. I
S2: know that the great majority of us here live well
S2: beneath our potential. And so today, as we look at
S2: Romans chapter 12, I'm going to talk to you about
S2: stepping up to understand what you have and to move
S2: from being a consumer that simply looks and says, I
S2: have need to be in a contributor to say I
S2: have something to give. And the apostle Paul, who wrote
S2: the book of Romans, was writing this letter to Rome,
S2: the believers that found themselves in the most powerful capital
S2: of the day, which was the city of Rome, that
S2: was that, the epicenter of the Roman Empire. He was
S2: writing to a church that was composed of people from
S2: all walks of life who had not discovered how much
S2: potential they had. And I'm going to begin reading in
S2: verse one of Romans chapter 12, and I'm going to
S2: ask that you simply stand for the reading of God's Word.
S2: It says, therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of
S2: God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
S2: holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act
S2: of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern
S2: of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
S2: your mind. Then you will be able to test and
S2: approve what God's will is his good, pleasing, and perfect will.
S2: For by the grace given me, I say to every
S2: one of you, do not think of yourself more highly
S2: than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment,
S2: in accordance with the measure of faith that God has
S2: given you the word of the Lord. You may be seated.
S2: So today, I want to talk to you about four
S2: steps to move you from consumer to significant contributor and
S2: understand the potential that every one of us has. The
S2: first thing I want you to know as you sit
S2: there and I sit in so many times in my life,
S2: have just sat there under-utilizing my potential. The first thing
S2: I want you to know from this passage is this
S2: we begin. We start out using our full potential for
S2: God by offering your whole person as an act of
S2: worship to God. Notice what it says in verse one.
S2: He says, therefore, anytime you see the word therefore in Scripture,
S2: you need to ask yourself, what is it there for?
S2: Therefore means I'm building on a previous thought. Therefore means
S2: I've talked to you about something, and now building on
S2: what I've talked to you about. I'm going into the
S2: next thought. This is chapter 12. The Apostle Paul has
S2: 12 chapters he's building on. What has he been talking
S2: about in the last 12 chapters? He's been talking about
S2: how good God is. He's been talking about how people
S2: have been changed and justified and given gifts. So he's therefore,
S2: I urge you, because all I've told you about God,
S2: I'm urging you now, brothers, in view of God's mercy,
S2: what Paul is telling them is this God has been
S2: so good to you because God has been so good,
S2: because God has done so much, because God has given
S2: us so many opportunities. Therefore, we need to look at
S2: serving him back. We need to look at giving back
S2: to God because he has been so good to us.
S2: What has God done? What are his mercies? Well, if
S2: you look at the previous 12 chapters in Romans, he
S2: talks about justification. In other words, how all of us
S2: have sinned. And he made the way through Jesus to
S2: justify us before God. He talks about adoption in Jesus,
S2: that when we were slaves and on our own road,
S2: Jesus came and we've been adopted in God as sons
S2: and daughters of God. He talks about his grace instead
S2: of the law. We are no longer under the law
S2: that brings condemnation, but we're under grace, the favor of God.
S2: He talks about the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
S2: You have been given God Himself to dwell inside of
S2: you as an incredible gift. He talks about how he
S2: helps us in the middle of our trials and afflictions. Uh,
S2: he talks about how God has chosen us before we
S2: chose him. He talks about the certainty that Christ is
S2: coming back again. And he talks about in in Romans
S2: chapter eight, the confidence that nothing or no one can
S2: separate us from this incredible love of God. So he's
S2: been talking to the believers about how much God has done.
S2: And he says, therefore, because God has done so much,
S2: because God has shown so much mercy. I challenge you
S2: to give back to God because he's given so much
S2: to us. I want you to notice he does not say,
S2: I want you to give to God so that God
S2: will be good to you. He says, God has already
S2: been good to you, and because God has been good
S2: to you, We are using our gifts to serve him,
S2: not to earn credit before God, but because God has
S2: already given us credit. Do you understand the difference? Many
S2: people spend their entire lives trying to gain God's favor,
S2: feeling like if they do good works. Walk a little
S2: old lady across the street. Give to charity once in
S2: a while. Listen to Christian music on the radio. Throw
S2: a couple quarters into the Salvation Army, can serve for some.
S2: Volunteer in some non-for-profit organization. They think, well, maybe if
S2: I do enough, God will look at me and have mercy.
S2: What Paul is saying is no God out of his
S2: own generosity, out of his own goodness, out of his
S2: own heart, out of his own love. He's already shown
S2: us mercy. We didn't earn it. We didn't deserve it.
S2: We didn't merit it. We didn't gain favor. He has
S2: already shown us mercy. And so our service and gratitude
S2: and servitude and. Offering to him is not to gain
S2: favor with God. It's because we have favor with God.
S2: We serve him because he's first loved us. We give
S2: back to him not to gain favor, but because we
S2: already have favor. There's a big difference.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Today's message
S1: is called Stepping up to Your Calling. We will continue shortly.
S1: But you know, if you are looking for ways to
S1: help reach your full potential for God each week, be
S1: sure to sign up for Mark's encouraging email devotional, The
S1: Bold Stepper Weekly. It's absolutely free, delivered right to your
S1: inbox Monday mornings, and it will help you get to
S1: stepping in your walk with Christ. Mark, thanks for doing this.
S3: Absolutely. When our team comes together and we're trying to
S3: think through ways where we can just help people live
S3: in this, sometimes very challenging world without missing a step
S3: in their walk with God. And so The Bold Stepper
S3: Weekly is just one of those tools. It's an email
S3: with resources that comes out every Monday morning. Again, I've
S3: said it before, let me say it again. It's free.
S3: It includes a devotional thought. Um, there's some links to
S3: like a one minute bold step. There's you can listen
S3: on audio if you're driving or working out. We also
S3: have it in Spanish in a written form. And so
S3: this is just our way of saying, hey, we want
S3: to make sure that you're getting a good start to
S3: your week and that you are keeping in step with
S3: the spirit.
S1: We are a full service ministry, aren't we? That's right.
S1: All right. Well, let me invite you to sign up
S1: for The Bold Stepper Weekly today. Visit our website at
S1: Bold Steps. Org and if you are already receiving the
S1: Bold Stepper weekly, here's an idea why don't you share it?
S1: Forward on to someone else. The link is right at
S1: the bottom there. You can easily copy that link and
S1: send it to someone else that you think might be
S1: interested in receiving it. So check that out. The Bold
S1: Stepper Weekly from Bold Steps. Now getting back to our
S1: message for today. It's titled Stepping Up to Your Calling.
S1: And here's Mark Jobe again.
S2: So he says, in view of God's mercy, I challenge
S2: you to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy
S2: and pleasing to God. This idea of offering our bodies
S2: as a living sacrifice. The Jewish people understood what a
S2: sacrifice was because in the Old Testament, and even during
S2: the times of Jesus, when people approach God in the
S2: Jewish temple, they would have to offer an animal sacrifice.
S2: They would kill a lamb or slaughter a dove, and
S2: they would offer it on a sacrifice and burn it
S2: before God. And and it was their way of interceding
S2: for their sins. It was their way of making a
S2: live offering for their sins. In those cases, there would
S2: be a a rock altar, the blood would be spattered
S2: on the altar, and the animal would be killed, of course.
S2: Paul is using a different imagery. He's using the imagery
S2: of an altar, but he's saying, I don't want a
S2: dead sacrifice. I want a living sacrifice. I want you
S2: to visually place yourself on that altar and say to God,
S2: I'm not offering a pigeon or a lamb, because we
S2: don't do that anymore. That was Old Testament. We're in
S2: New Testament, but now we are offering ourselves before God,
S2: and we're saying, God, I belong to you, and I'm
S2: going to live my life as though I'm consecrated to you,
S2: as though, as though I'm a living sacrifice unto you
S2: and who I am and what I am. I belong
S2: to you, God. Now Paul says, offer your bodies. In
S2: other words, your whole person. That's fill in the blank.
S2: Offer your whole person as a living sacrifice unto God.
S2: Notice what he says a living sacrifice that is holy
S2: and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship.
S2: Some people think that they go to a Sunday service
S2: to worship. Maybe you've used that expression. I'm going to
S2: a worship service. Uh, some. Sometimes even in church bulletins,
S2: they'll say worship starts at 11. But really, if you
S2: understand worship, worship is not an activity you engage in.
S2: It's a lifestyle that you engage in. Uh, worship is
S2: about how you live your life. Do you realize that
S2: it's not just coming into a service and having the
S2: songs going and raising your hands to God and saying
S2: how good you are, God. But do you realize that
S2: worship is worship is any act of service you do
S2: to God. Anything that you dedicate to God is an
S2: act of worship. Do you know that you could be
S2: washing dishes as an act of worship? You're washing dishes
S2: and say, Lord, I do this unto you. That's an
S2: act of worship. You're offering whatever you're doing to God.
S2: Do you know that you can drive your car as
S2: an act of worship? I need to work on that
S2: one still. Do you know that your job, whatever you
S2: do for a living, that as you offer the way
S2: you do your job, if you do it with integrity,
S2: if you do it with the right attitude, if you
S2: do it with the right heart, that you are worshiping
S2: God through your job, then pretty much anything in life
S2: that you do when you offer up to God and
S2: you do it for his honor and his glory, you
S2: are engaging in an act of worship. Worship. The word
S2: worship is from an Anglo-Saxon word. We get our English
S2: word worship from an Anglo-Saxon word that means worship, that
S2: you are giving someone worth and value. When I give
S2: God worth and value in what I do, I am
S2: giving him my worship. So therefore, you don't engage in
S2: worship on a half hour while you're singing on Sunday morning.
S2: Hopefully what Paul is saying is, I want you to
S2: see your whole life as an act of worship. When
S2: you get up in the morning. Good morning Lord. Let's
S2: do this day together. When you're making lunch for your
S2: sixth grader, that's on his way. Lord, I pray for
S2: my son, and I do this unto you. Whatever you do,
S2: you do as an act of worship unto God, you
S2: offer it to God. So therefore there's no dichotomy between
S2: the secular or the sacred. Some people make a big
S2: difference between the secular and the sacred. They think that
S2: praying is sacred. But, um. Hammering a nail at their
S2: work is secular. What God tells us and shows us
S2: is that praying is sacred. But if you hammer a
S2: nail and you're hammering, and you're doing your job with
S2: an attitude of trying to please God and doing everything
S2: you do for the glory of God, that hammering that
S2: nail can be as sacred as praying a prayer, because
S2: you're doing it for the glory of God. Are you
S2: tracking with me? This is really important. Some people have,
S2: they confuse. They think that certain things are holy and
S2: certain things are not holy. And I want to say
S2: that whatever you do in Jesus name with an attitude
S2: towards God to please him and offer it to God,
S2: you do it. It becomes holy. So your entire life
S2: becomes a living sacrifice of worship to God. That doesn't
S2: just kick in. When you enter into a building with
S2: a cross and a steeple on top, but that you
S2: are constantly engaging in worship, not just when you're singing,
S2: but whatever you're doing is an act of worship to God,
S2: because you've chosen to offer it to God and to
S2: show that you're doing whatever you're doing for God. You'll
S2: notice that in in verse two it says, do not
S2: conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but
S2: be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The second
S2: step in utilizing your potential is you need to renew
S2: your mind so that you can understand your new purpose
S2: and your calling in life. Many of us don't understand
S2: our calling because the world is pressuring us to live
S2: a certain way and to act a certain way, and
S2: we've bought into their mold, and we're peer pressured into
S2: what everybody else is doing without understanding that we have
S2: a unique call. Do not conform any longer to the
S2: pattern of this world. That word conform is the word
S2: to fashion, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
S2: Many of us, we come to Christ. You've opened up
S2: your heart and you say, God, I want you to
S2: come in and change my life and turn me around.
S2: And you start off with that new energy to turn
S2: your life around. But somewhere in the process, you get stuck,
S2: you stop changing, or sometimes you can revert to old patterns.
S2: Why not? Because God isn't faithful. Not because God isn't good.
S2: Not because Christianity doesn't work. Your spirit has been changed.
S2: But something more than your spirit has to change. Your
S2: mind has to be renewed so that your life continues
S2: to be changed. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
S2: In other words, you are thinking the way you process life.
S2: The truth, what your brain thinks about what your thoughts
S2: are about has to be transformed into the way that God,
S2: God's principles, and God's words in order for you to
S2: maintain the change that's happening in your life. So the
S2: Apostle Paul says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
S2: You can't renew your mind without getting into the Word
S2: of God. The Word of God is truth, and the
S2: truth of God renews our mind. We meditate on the word.
S2: We study the word. We allow the spirit to process
S2: the word in our life. We start changing old ways
S2: of thinking for new ways of thinking. Um, that takes time.
S2: It doesn't happen overnight. It says, then as your mind
S2: is renewed, then you will be able to test and
S2: approve what God's will is his good, pleasing and perfect will.
S2: As your mind is renewed, you start discovering the will
S2: of God, how to live for God, how to have
S2: what your purpose is, what your destiny is. As your
S2: mind is renewed, you start learning the will of God
S2: in your life. But it takes the renewing of our mind.
S1: Tomorrow we'll hear the exciting conclusion of this message about
S1: reaching your full potential. So please join us then. This
S1: is Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Have you really thought
S1: about how you can live out your true calling? That's
S1: what we've been talking about today. But if you're still
S1: a little fuzzy on the details, we'd love to send
S1: you a copy of our latest Bold Step gift, because
S1: the world seems more chaotic and unpredictable than ever. Did
S1: you know that throughout history, times of crisis have often
S1: preceded times of spiritual awakening? In the book titled A
S1: Non-anxious Presence, Mark Sayers reveals how today's challenges might actually
S1: be setting the stage for tomorrow's renewal? As leaders and believers,
S1: we often try to control what feels uncontrollable. But what
S1: if God is using this season of uncertainty to shape
S1: something new in your church, maybe in your community, and
S1: even your relationship with him? A Non-anxious presence offers a
S1: hopeful perspective on leading through turbulent times, requests this bold
S1: step gift and discover how to navigate change while maintaining
S1: spiritual steadiness. Just call us at 800 D.L. Moody. That's
S1: (800) 356-6639 or give online at bold steps. Org. Now to
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S1: Thank you for your generous investment in the media ministry
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S1: me remind you that all of these daily messages and
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S1: Mark Jobe. I'm Wayne Shepherd, inviting you to join us
S1: again tomorrow for the exciting conclusion of Mark's message. Stepping
S1: up to your calling. Learn how to use your unique
S1: abilities to fulfill your highest calling. Tuesday on Bold Steps
S1: with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio,
S1: a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.