S1: Today on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe explains how we can
S1: walk worthy of our calling.
S2: Because we have a call. We need to live what
S2: our calling is. You already have everything that you need
S2: to live up to that call, so do it. You
S2: already have everything that you need to be able to
S2: raise to the level of expectation that God has upon
S2: your life, so rise up.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe, senior pastor
S1: of New Life Community Church and president of Moody Bible
S1: Institute in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Well, living up to
S1: your God given calling and purpose. And Mark, today you're
S1: going to show us how, no matter what we're going through,
S1: we need to walk worthy, don't we?
S3: Wayne, some people believe that there are some believers that
S3: are called and others that are the non called I guess.
S3: But this is written to the Ephesian believers and he
S3: says to all of them, all of them including us,
S3: walk worthy of your calling. And then he goes on
S3: to unpack what it means to walk worthy of our calling.
S3: And so I just want you to know, if you're
S3: listening today, you are called. Now listen to this message
S3: so that you understand how to live out your call.
S1: Yeah, it is a high calling, isn't it? It is. Yeah.
S1: All right, let's get started. The message comes from the
S1: book of Ephesians chapter four. And here's Mark job.
S2: I don't know if you've ever walked out of your house.
S3: Some.
S2: Morning, and your wife looks at what you're wearing and
S2: she says, uh, uh, doesn't match. There's something about when
S2: you see someone wearing something that obviously doesn't match, that
S2: draws your attention in a negative way because it seems incongruent.
S2: It's like, whoa, Who put that together? It just doesn't match.
S2: It doesn't go together. I grew up in a many
S2: of you know, I grew up in the country of Spain,
S2: and I came one year to the US when I
S2: was in high school and I was 15 to go
S2: to a school, and they happened to have a special event,
S2: a prom or something of that nature. And in order
S2: to go to this event, you needed a suit. And
S2: I didn't own a suit. I didn't want to own
S2: a suit. I didn't like suits. But my grandfather said,
S2: you need to wear a suit to this event. So
S2: he dragged me out to the store and I bought
S2: myself a suit, uh, for the event that I was
S2: going to. But I just was kind of dragging my
S2: feet on it, and, um, I decided I wore a suit, but.
S2: But I wore my, um, my white gym socks. with, uh,
S2: you know, with red stripes on the side there. And
S2: that that's what I wore with my suit. And I
S2: was sitting there at this event, and my friend looked
S2: over and said, hey, bro, you can't wear those kind
S2: of socks with that suit, man. It just doesn't match.
S2: It doesn't match. It brought his attention right away. Like,
S2: you know, you can't do that now if you're in
S2: a gym outfit, you can wear that. But if you're
S2: in a suit outfit, you have to wear that which
S2: matches with it because it just doesn't seem to go together.
S2: And what the Apostle Paul is saying is that you
S2: have a calling upon your life and that your walk,
S2: the way you live your life, needs to match your calling.
S2: And if it doesn't match your calling, then people around
S2: you will notice you not because they're attracted to the
S2: message that you're proclaiming, but they'll notice you because they'll
S2: notice you in a negative way. They'll notice you in
S2: a way that says, hey, they claim to be this,
S2: but their lifestyle is that it just doesn't match. Do
S2: you realize that most people aren't as impressed by what
S2: we say we are as by how we live our life?
S2: Most people don't notice the label that you wear. You
S2: can call yourself a Christian, and most people don't really
S2: care that much about what you call yourself. But what
S2: impacts people is if your life is different, if it's
S2: lived different, if your life is different than the norm,
S2: then it makes sense to them. And many non-believers tend
S2: to be turned off by people that claim to be Christians,
S2: but their lifestyle doesn't match at all their claim of Christianity.
S2: Now when Paul says, I urge you to live according to.
S2: To live worthy of the calling that you have received.
S2: I want to clarify that, because many people seem to
S2: think that there are people that are called and people
S2: that are not called. Uh, some people think that only
S2: those people that are going to be missionaries in Africa
S2: are going to be pastors or going to be evangelists,
S2: or have some sort of ministry that those are the
S2: called ones and that everybody else. Yeah, they're believers, but
S2: they're not really called that. There's a division between those
S2: that are called and those that are not called. And
S2: I want you to understand that that is a huge
S2: misrepresentation of the gospel, because what the gospel teaches is
S2: that every one that names the name of Jesus Christ
S2: as Lord and Savior is called everyone that we're all called.
S2: If you have proclaimed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,
S2: if you consider yourself a Christian, call yourself a follower
S2: of Jesus Christ, that you have a calling on your
S2: life and it's a high calling. So why don't you
S2: turn to the person beside you and tell you I'm called?
S2: Go ahead. Turn to the person on the other side
S2: and say I'm called. Alright, I want you to know
S2: you're called. Now that you know you're called. I want
S2: you to understand that you're calling oftentimes determines the expectations.
S2: I have an 11 year old son. He's in sixth
S2: grade right now. His calling is to be a sixth
S2: grader in my house. So my expectations of him are
S2: a little bit lower than they would be someone older,
S2: because that's his calling right now, right? And so I
S2: don't expect that he gets a job and helps pay
S2: the light bill. I've been tempted to move in that direction,
S2: but no, I don't expect that of him. I don't
S2: expect that he drive a car right now. I don't
S2: expect that he know how to fill out his tax
S2: return forms. I don't expect that he know how to
S2: do trigonometry. Why? Because he's 11 years old and he's
S2: in sixth grade. So my expectation go along with his calling.
S2: His calling right now is at a sixth grade level.
S2: So I have expectations of a sixth grade level upon
S2: his life. Now, when someone is in office, for example,
S2: the president of the United States and the highest political
S2: office that you can hold in this land, we have
S2: higher expectations of someone like that. Why? Because the calling
S2: determines the expectations that we have on someone. When someone
S2: is living out the calling of being a married man
S2: and has kids and is raising them, then I have
S2: a different set of expectations upon that man than I
S2: would upon a single man, a single young man. Why?
S2: Because he's living out his calling. Part of his calling
S2: is to be a husband and a father. And so
S2: the expectations are different. Why? Because the calling determines the expectations.
S2: And in the same way, Paul is reminding the believers
S2: that we have a calling on our life. And it's
S2: a high calling. And since our calling is high, then
S2: our expectations need to be high. We don't have a
S2: low calling. We have a high calling. Now, what he's
S2: not saying is that you have to try to be
S2: worthy of the call, because you are already worthy of
S2: the call. Because we have a call, we need to
S2: live what our calling is. You already have everything that
S2: you need to live up to that call, so do it.
S2: You already have everything that you need to be able
S2: to raise to the level of expectation that God has
S2: upon your life. So rise up. You have all that
S2: it takes within you. He just told us in our
S2: previous verses that we read last week in the previous chapters,
S2: that you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, that you
S2: have everything that you need, all the power of God,
S2: that you need to be what God has called you
S2: to be. So now be it. So live worthy of
S2: the call that you have received. And then he goes
S2: on to explain what it means to live worthy of
S2: the call that we have received. And he In essence,
S2: he tells us that there are two tests that make
S2: us that help us understand whether or not we're living
S2: worthy of the call that we have received. One has
S2: to do with our character, uh, how we live, our attitude.
S2: And the other has to do with whether we are
S2: peacemakers or divisive people, whether we're bridge builders or whether
S2: we tear bridges down. So the first one, I'll categorize
S2: it as this. It's the attitude towards leadership or what
S2: I call servant leadership. He tells us in verse two
S2: what it means to live worthy of our call. And
S2: he says this. He says, verse two, be completely humble
S2: and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love.
S2: Aren't there certain verses you just wish you could kind
S2: of scratch out of the Bible. This is one of them.
S2: This is tough. A verse he gives us for attitudes
S2: that every person that's called by Jesus Christ should have.
S2: And these are not easy attitudes. Believe me, these are
S2: some hard attitudes he's calling us to live up to.
S2: I'm going to give them to you. And again, these
S2: are not optional. These are required of people that are
S2: called by God to live up to your calling.
S1: Mark will be back to explain these attitudes in just
S1: a moment. So please keep listening to Bold Steps with
S1: Mark job. But right now we want to take a
S1: moment to tell you how much we appreciate that we
S1: get to hear from you.
S2: Yeah. And Wayne, we love hearing from our listeners. And
S2: by the way, we read every comment. We pray for
S2: the prayer request. It's just so great to know what
S2: God is doing in your life. But you can reach
S2: out to us via our website. Bold. Oh, that's bold steps.
S2: You can share a Bible question, a prayer request, and
S2: we'd love to hear testimonies as well. If you have
S2: a testimony of what God is doing in your life,
S2: especially related to this ministry, we would love to hear it.
S2: So remember go to our website or you can call
S2: by dialing (312) 329-2011. That's 312329 2011.
S1: Thanks for mentioning that, Mark. Here's a question a serious
S1: question that comes from Dan. He says it's a question
S1: that's been troubling me. Why did God make us? Since
S1: God is complete and needs nothing, why did he make
S1: a creature that he knew would reject him ahead of time,
S1: resulting in eternal punishment? For example, I wouldn't get a
S1: pet that I knew wouldn't be obedient and then punish
S1: it for eternity. This is on my mind because I
S1: have a parent who died recently not knowing if they
S1: were saved. Thank you.
S2: Yeah, Dan, thank you for your question. And you're right
S2: in the fact that God is self-contained. God did not
S2: create us because he needed us. He was self-contained. Uh,
S2: has no need. He's, uh, not like us human beings
S2: that we have needs. He doesn't. He's immutable, so he
S2: never changes. And it's a bit of a mystery exactly
S2: why God did. However, theologians down through the centuries have
S2: said that, you know, God, uh, just like a parent
S2: has children. In the same way, God uniquely created us
S2: as his children. We're different than angels. Uh, we're different
S2: than animals. We are made in the image of God.
S2: And so God made us unique. He took a risk
S2: with that. And there's a unique love that God has
S2: for us as well, just like a parent would have
S2: for a child. And I guess, Dan, I would answer
S2: the question about if God knew we were going to
S2: blow it and fall, why did he create us? You know,
S2: I have three children, and my wife and I knew
S2: that when we had our three children that they would
S2: not be perfect children, that they would disappoint us, that
S2: there would be heartache sometimes. But that's part of the
S2: risk of loving God could have created robots and pre
S2: wired them to only do what he wanted, but he didn't.
S2: He created us in his image and he gave us
S2: free will. The free will part is our ability to
S2: choose to serve and love him without being predetermined or
S2: wired to do so. It's a risk that a loving
S2: God took, but he took that risk on us and
S2: we've blown it. But he's also redeemed us. And so
S2: it makes the story of our creation even more compelling
S2: that the God of the universe would know that we
S2: would hurt him, disappoint him, but yet he would love
S2: us to redemption and restore us into his presence. And, um,
S2: there are certain things that are hard to understand. Isaiah
S2: 55 says that God's thoughts are way above our thoughts,
S2: and his ways are way above our ways. And there
S2: are certain things that only in glory will fully understand.
S2: But God is too good to be unkind, and he's
S2: too wise to be confused. So if I cannot quite
S2: understand his hand. Spurgeon had said, I can always trust
S2: his heart.
S1: God is love. Thank you Mark. Well, once again, go
S1: to our website, npr.org. If you'd like to contact us,
S1: you can also email your question or comment to mark
S1: bold steps at Moody's, or give us a call and
S1: leave your message on that line that Mark mentioned. (312) 329-2011.
S1: Now let's get back into today's Bold steps message walking worthy.
S1: Once again here's Mark job.
S2: Number one he says be humble. Be completely humble. Now,
S2: when I say humble, most of you aren't really excited
S2: to be humble. Most of us do not really value
S2: the attitude of humility highly. It's not something that that
S2: fathers often tell their sons. They don't say, son, I
S2: want you to be humble. It's not something that coaches
S2: tell their athletes, hey, I want you to be humble.
S2: It's not. In fact, in the Greek and Roman culture,
S2: it was looked down upon to be humble. And I
S2: think part of our reticence to accepting humility and celebrating
S2: humility is that we don't really understand what true humility is.
S2: For example, some people think that being humble means that
S2: you have an inferiority complex. That being humble means that
S2: you're going to be Like a mat that people sort
S2: of dust their feet off of. Uh, some people think
S2: that humble means that you can't look someone in the eye,
S2: that you kind of walk around hunched over, looking at
S2: the ground all the time. And when someone greets you,
S2: you kind of look up at them and kind of
S2: shy away. Uh, some people think humility means being shy
S2: or being timid or not being able to voice your
S2: opinion or not being assertive or not being able to
S2: to speak. And some people think if I'm humble, I'm
S2: going to be someone's doormat. If I'm humble, I'm going
S2: to be stepped on. If I'm humble, I'm going to
S2: be taken advantage of because we have not quite understood
S2: what humility means. Jesus was humble. And yet, do you
S2: remember when Jesus entered into the temple? He turned over
S2: the tables of the money changers. He got a whip
S2: and he drove everybody out of the temple. And he said,
S2: my house, My house shall be called a house of prayer.
S2: But was he humble? Yeah. He acted in humility. The
S2: Bible tells us that Moses was one of the most
S2: humble people on the face of this earth. Yet Moses
S2: challenged an entire nation, and he brought the most powerful
S2: man in the world at the time, whose name was
S2: who was a pharaoh. He brought him to his knees.
S2: He challenged the powers and authorities that were there. And
S2: he led almost 2 million people out of slavery into
S2: to look to a new promised land. And yet he
S2: was a humble man. You see, humility has to do
S2: with you understanding your proper worth before God and before
S2: men having a proper view of yourself before God and
S2: before men is the definition of humility. You don't think
S2: more highly of yourself than you should, and you don't
S2: think more lowly of yourself than you should. You understand
S2: who you are, and you're comfortable and confident in who
S2: you are. You see what happens when. When you do
S2: not understand who you are and you're not humble, then
S2: you have to try to project an image. Uh, when
S2: someone is proud, they're not humble. And oftentimes what happens is,
S2: if you don't understand who you are and are confident
S2: who you are, you have to try to make sure
S2: that people know who you are. You walk into a
S2: room and you think, oh, people don't really know what
S2: I've done or who I am. So you're Impulsively driven
S2: to hand out business cards with big titles on them.
S2: And when you talk, you have to tell people who
S2: you know and what you've done and what you've accomplished. Why? Because, well,
S2: they don't really know. I need to. And you want
S2: to sit at the best place in the front. Place
S2: where everybody can acknowledge you. That the seats of importance. Why?
S2: Because you have to make sure that everybody knows who
S2: you are and what you've done and how you are. Why?
S2: Because you're you're not confident in who you are. You're
S2: not comfortable with understanding who you are. You see, when
S2: you're humble, you're not driven to try to show everybody
S2: that you have value. When you're humble, you know you
S2: have value. When you're humble, you already know who you are.
S2: You don't have to prove that you're somebody because you
S2: know that you're somebody already in God. When you're humble,
S2: you don't have to take credit for everything because you
S2: can share the credit. Why? Because you're already you already
S2: know that you're somebody in God. You're comfortable with who
S2: you are. You're not trying to secure a name. You
S2: already know your value because you're humble. You understand that.
S1: Learning what true humility looks like. That's the takeaway from
S1: today's message with Mark Jobe. You're listening to Bold Steps,
S1: and if you missed any of the messages from his
S1: series called When You Believe. Let me invite you to
S1: catch up right now by visiting Bold steps.org. And we
S1: have a special bold step gift available for our listeners.
S1: It's a book titled envy a Big problem you Didn't
S1: know You Had. I love that title written by our guest,
S1: pastor Mike Fabros.
S2: Yeah. And by the way, many of you are familiar
S2: with pastor Mike because he's on the radio. He's written
S2: several books. He's a graduate from Moody Bible Institute and
S2: actually on the board of directors as well. And so
S2: love pastor Mike and his ministry. I was, uh, thinking
S2: about this topic of envy and how oftentimes we just
S2: don't consider ourselves envious. Pastor Mike, if you were to
S2: help someone self-diagnose whether they have envy, what would you
S2: point to? What should they be looking for?
S4: Well, I would start by saying, are there any people
S4: in your everyday world that you just find yourself erring
S4: on the side of being critical when you really shouldn't
S4: be and you think, well, why am I not happy
S4: applauding their success? Right. This is hard, but we need
S4: to look at the people that we are critical of.
S4: And if you look hard enough, you often find it's
S4: because I'm really envious of what they get that I
S4: don't have what they've accomplished, that I haven't been able
S4: to accomplish, that they make so much money, so much
S4: more money than I make. There's a lot of reasons
S4: that we, um, just spring into gossip and criticism and
S4: just talking behind people's back in a negative way, and
S4: usually we can start to realize what's happened. Is something
S4: really between me and God. It's really not between me
S4: and them.
S1: Pastor Mike, are envy and jealousy interchangeable?
S4: Not really. Um, there's a kind of jealousy that's appropriate
S4: in the Bible, right? God says he's a jealous God
S4: in Exodus 34. There's a time for you right to
S4: rightly in your marriage. Be jealous if there's something threatening
S4: that relationship. But envy is always seen as something wrong
S4: in Scripture, and we're never to envy anyone. And what
S4: envy is, is taking a jealous feeling when I have
S4: no right to feel jealous. And now I start to
S4: have a a bitterness toward that person for accomplishing or
S4: achieving or securing something that I haven't been able to.
S4: And Jesus tells parables about this. You've got to be
S4: careful in your own heart to guard your heart against
S4: this kind of envy, because it is different than jealousy,
S4: because sometimes jealousy can be appropriate.
S2: That's great. So there you have it, pastor Mike Fabares.
S2: We would love to get this book into your hand.
S2: It's called a big problem.
S5: You didn't know you had. Envy. Thank you, pastor Mike.
S4: Of course. Thank you.
S1: His book is available to you when you make a
S1: donation of any amount to support bold steps, just call
S1: us at 800 D.L. Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. Or give online
S1: at Bold Steps, or send your financial gift in the
S1: mail by writing to us at bold steps. 820 North
S1: LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. Today, we also want
S1: to say we're truly grateful for our bold partners by
S1: committing to giving a monthly gift. You're not only investing
S1: in this generation, but in the generations to come. When
S1: you partner with us, we'll also send you some special
S1: perks and bonuses, like access to our Bold partner. Post
S1: an engaging and inspirational bi weekly email, a copy of
S1: Mark's book unstuck, and a series of weekly video messages
S1: from Mark that will help equip and encourage you. Sign
S1: up today at Bold Steps. Org And if you're looking
S1: for a simple way to stay grounded in God's Word
S1: throughout the week, make sure you sign up for The
S1: Bold Stepper Weekly, a free devotional from pastor Mark that's
S1: designed to kick start your week with biblical truth and
S1: practical encouragement. Each edition delivers a timely insight from Scripture,
S1: straight from Mark's desk to help you walk boldly in
S1: faith and, of course, apply God's Word to everyday life.
S1: It's a great way to stay connected, inspired, and focused
S1: on the path God has for you. Sign up today
S1: at bird-stamps.org. I'm Wayne Shepherd, thanks for joining us today.
S1: Be sure to come back next time when Mark addresses
S1: the next three points on Walking Worthy. The message comes
S1: from our series when you believe everything changes and you
S1: will hear it right here Monday on Bold Steps with
S1: Mark John. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio,
S1: a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.