S1: Today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, we'll learn how
S1: to face the issues that are holding us back.
S2: Do not live in stuckness. Deal with it now so
S2: that you can continue to go from glory to glory
S2: to glory. Deal with the issue that's holding you from
S2: the past. Let it go and say, by the power
S2: of God, I put on the new. I don't just
S2: repent of the old, but I put on the new.
S2: Today is the day.
S1: Nobody likes to be around and Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
S1: But why do we have such a hard time shaking
S1: our old man off? Welcome to Bold Steps with pastor
S1: Mark Jobe. Mark is the senior pastor of New Life
S1: Community Church and also president of Moody Bible Institute here
S1: in Chicago. And I'm Wayne Shepherd. Our current series is
S1: called When You Believe Everything Changes. And Mark is going
S1: to show us why we can't keep living in the
S1: past and holding on to our old lives if we've
S1: become a new man in Christ. Today's message from the
S1: book of Ephesians chapter four is titled putting on the
S1: New You. And it starts now.
S2: He's basically saying, listen, your old life. Maybe you were
S2: a taker when the boss wasn't looking. You would take
S2: things from your job. Uh, I heard when revival struck
S2: in Wales years ago, the great Welsh revival, it was
S2: a mining community, and they talked about people getting things right.
S2: And if they had stolen, making restitution, so many miners
S2: had stolen tools from the mining place that they all
S2: started returning the tools they had stolen. And the bosses
S2: finally had to say, stop returning the tools, because they
S2: had piles of tools from the miners who had been
S2: stealing them from their mining jobs. Hey, you know, there's
S2: a lot of ways of stealing. Oh, maybe you're not
S2: a shoplifter, But you know what? You can steal at
S2: your job with a time card. You could steal cable
S2: with a little black box you figure out that your
S2: cousin gave you. I'm not hurting anybody. I mean, hey,
S2: you're really stealing. It's illegal. Well, I wouldn't call it stealing, pastor.
S2: I mean, I'm just kind of borrowing. You know, I'm
S2: just borrowing, you know, television stations and. No, no, you
S2: call it what it is. Come on. We allow stuff
S2: to get into our house. We allow the compromises to
S2: start getting into our our system and start taking. Stealing
S2: is taking that which doesn't belong to us. And we
S2: take it, and we use it and act like it's
S2: our own. That that's that's called stealing. Now, Paul says, listen,
S2: you used to be like that. You used to look
S2: for opportunities to take which was not your own and
S2: use it, But now you belong to God, so therefore
S2: you still no longer. In fact, you know what you do.
S2: You get a job. Yeah, you get a job and
S2: you get a job. Why not just so that you
S2: can meet the needs of your yourself and your family,
S2: but you get a job in order so that you
S2: can actually give to other people that are in need.
S2: You see, I take off my stealing, I get a job,
S2: and now I become a giver. I'm not just taking
S2: stuff off, I'm putting it on. And I went, you
S2: go from stealer to giver. You go from the person
S2: that was trying to put their hand in the offering,
S2: take and take some out to someone that's putting it in.
S2: You go from someone that was trying to figure out
S2: how you could take tools away from your cousin. You
S2: would borrow them on an unlimited basis, and now you're
S2: looking to to figure out how you can give things
S2: to people. Why? Because now you've taken off the old
S2: and you're putting on the new. You're starting to walk
S2: like God. Talk like God. You're starting to walk like
S2: a new person, a new believer. Uh, people can trust
S2: you now. Why? Because now you've you've you've begun to change.
S2: The Bible says that that you do something useful with
S2: your hands. That you may have something to share with
S2: those in need. Verse 29. Well, if I haven't gotten
S2: to you yet, now this is really going to get
S2: to you here. Do not let any unwholesome talk come
S2: out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for
S2: building others up according to the needs, that it may
S2: benefit those who listen. Now Paul starts messing with the
S2: way we talk. He's saying, in your old life, a
S2: lot of unwholesome words used to come out of your mouth.
S2: You would cut people down. You would gossip about people.
S2: You would tell dirty jokes. You would laugh at the
S2: expense of others to build yourself up. You would call
S2: people names that hurt them. You would use your tongue
S2: and cutting ways. That was the old Jew. A lot
S2: of stuff used to come out of your mouth and
S2: cussing and dirty jokes and and just talk. That was
S2: rude and, and and crass kind of talk that would
S2: come out of your mouth. But now it's a new you.
S2: And what God has begun to do is begun to
S2: clean up your talk. He's taken that away from you.
S2: And now he says, and some people learn, I can't
S2: talk that way anymore. But some of you, if that's
S2: the truth, if that's so, you would have just lost
S2: about 70% of your vocabulary. Come to Christ and people say,
S2: can't say much. Doesn't tell you not to talk anymore.
S2: It's telling you now I want you to talk. But
S2: when you talk, build people up. Use your tongue to encourage,
S2: to be positive, to speak truth, to speak goodness. Listen,
S2: husbands and wives, sometimes we we've been in the old
S2: world so long that we are used to cutting and
S2: being negative and critical. What would happen if your husband
S2: came back from work sometime and you said, hey, it's
S2: so good to see you, and how was your day?
S2: And have I told you recently that I really appreciate you?
S2: You know, he would say, like, what are you hiding? Huh?
S2: What'd you spend now? Tell me. What would happen if
S2: you if you got back to your house and saw
S2: your wife and you said, hey, you're looking great today.
S2: Is that a new dress? Have I told you recently
S2: how beautiful I think you are? And what would happen
S2: if you began to encourage and speak into her life
S2: and encourage her about things? And, hey, I know you're
S2: trying to do this, and and you're doing a great
S2: job at doing that, and and have I told you
S2: I appreciate how you work with the kids in their
S2: homework and man, this meal is so good. And how
S2: what would happen if you began to change your lingo
S2: and if you became an encourager, rather than looking for
S2: something to cut down and discourage about? What if you
S2: began to use your tongue and your words to speak
S2: into the life and destiny of your children in a
S2: positive way so that they don't just hear what they're
S2: bad at, but they begin to hear what they're good at,
S2: and they begin to hear that they could do something,
S2: and they don't hear just negativity, but they begin to
S2: hear that they can do something that you believe they
S2: can do something, and that they have it in them,
S2: and that you are praising them when they do well
S2: and you are encouraging them to go forward, it could
S2: change the atmosphere of your household if you began not
S2: just to not say the bad stuff you used to say,
S2: but if you begin to use your words to build
S2: people up because that's what it says, he says. So
S2: that you will build others up according to the needs,
S2: that it may benefit those who listen. You understand what
S2: Paul is doing. He's not only saying, take off the old,
S2: he's saying, put on the new, take off the old
S2: and put on the new. There's power in our words.
S2: There's power in our words. It affects people when we
S2: speak certain ways into their life. And many of us
S2: have gotten so used to speaking negativity that there is
S2: very little encouragement and positive reinforcement that actually comes out
S2: of our mouth, and we wonder why we walk in
S2: our household, and it's full of complaining and and sadness
S2: and bickering and fighting. We wonder, because what's coming out
S2: of the mouths of the people that are in that household.
S2: Ask you that question what is coming out of the
S2: mouths in that household? You want to change that household?
S2: Start speaking something different into that household. Start speaking other
S2: words into that household. Start changing the words that are
S2: that are reverberating from the walls of that household. Start
S2: changing the environment by the way you speak in that house.
S2: And then lastly he says in verse 31. Verse 30,
S2: and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with
S2: whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Do
S2: not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. You see, the
S2: Holy Spirit is not a power. He's not a force.
S2: He's a person and you can grieve the person of
S2: the Holy Spirit. You can make the Holy Spirit sad.
S2: Have you ever gone to visit a friend that you
S2: haven't seen in a while? And when you hang out
S2: with that person, their life's a mess. They're doing bad
S2: and you remember what they were, and you remember what
S2: they could be. But they're living way beneath their potential.
S2: And so it makes you sad to be around them
S2: because you think, why are they living this way? They
S2: could live such a such a different life. Why are
S2: they choosing this way? And so being around them just
S2: makes you sad. Have you ever been in that situation
S2: because you realize that they could live a different way,
S2: and it grieves you to be around them? Listen, the
S2: Holy Spirit is inside of you and the Holy Spirit
S2: grieves when you are living way beneath your calling. The
S2: Holy Spirit is saddened when he knows what you could be,
S2: but you live down here when he knows you could
S2: live up here. The Holy Spirit is grieved inside of
S2: you when you live like the old Jew, when you've
S2: been given the power to be become a new you,
S2: the Holy Spirit grieves inside. And here's the thing about
S2: the Holy Spirit. Listen, when the Holy Spirit grieves, you
S2: cannot be full of joy because the Holy Spirit is
S2: the transporter of joy.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. We'll continue
S1: today's message in a moment. But first, Mark, I want
S1: to talk about something that's become a growing concern within
S1: Christian leadership circles. Our world is going through a whirlwind,
S1: pretty dramatic developments and changes, not just here in America,
S1: but around the globe. And we need to remind ourselves,
S1: as Christians, we have a much higher calling than any
S1: political movement, don't we.
S2: Wayne? Turn on the news. And there is drama all
S2: over the place.
S3: From rumors of wars to economic crisis to actualization to
S3: actual wars that are happening to bombings, and it is
S3: easy to get distracted by all this, worried by it,
S3: anxious by it, sort of sucked into it. But here's
S3: what I want to say. This is a great time
S3: for the good news of Jesus Christ and the hope
S3: of the gospel.
S1: Amen.
S3: There are a lot of people coming to Christ throughout
S3: the world, and you may not hear about it, because
S3: there's other news that is prominent and is taking people's attention.
S3: But there is an undercurrent of a harvest evangelism. And
S3: that's what we're all about right now, is a moment
S3: where people are shaken, where there's concern. But there are
S3: so many people that are turning to the heavens, and
S3: we at Bold Steps have determined we will not miss
S3: that moment. And so we are asking you to partner
S3: with us, help us out, because right now is a
S3: great time to be calling people to Jesus.
S1: We urge you to give online at Bold Steps. Org
S1: or you can call us. The number is 800 Moody.
S1: And that works out to be (800) 356-6639. And when you
S1: do give, we'll be sure to send you a special
S1: gift which will tell you more about later in the
S1: program today. Well, thank you for that, Mark. But let's
S1: go back to your message now here on Bold Steps.
S2: The Bible tells us that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace,
S2: and joy in the Holy Spirit. Joy comes through the
S2: Holy Spirit. So when the Holy Spirit is grieving, you
S2: cannot be full of joy. So when you are living
S2: your life in a way that's grieving the spirit, then
S2: it robs you of your joy and you start living
S2: your life when you have no joy. You have no energy.
S2: The joy of the Lord is my strength. It tells
S2: us in the Old Testament, so when you have joy,
S2: you have energy. When you have energy, you have joy.
S2: When you have joy, you're not grieving the Holy Spirit.
S2: When you start grieving the Holy Spirit, you lose your
S2: joy and you lose your energy. Listen, when you begin
S2: grieving the Holy Spirit and you lose your joy, then
S2: you lose the energy to tackle life, and you find
S2: yourself in a state where you are just surviving in life.
S2: Ever been there? Hard to get out of bed? Drag
S2: yourself just one more day. I don't know if I
S2: can do this another day. You just dragging yourself through,
S2: forcing yourself to get up, forcing yourself to go to work,
S2: forcing yourself to just handle basic existence in life. Listen,
S2: there could be there could be a lot of things
S2: that bring that about. But spiritually, you could be bringing
S2: that about because you are grieving the Holy Spirit and
S2: the Holy Spirit is is not producing joy in your life.
S2: And when you don't have joy in your life, then
S2: you don't have energy in life. And when you don't
S2: have energy in life, you lose the strength to do
S2: the things you know you need to do. So do
S2: not grieve the Holy Spirit by whom you've been sealed
S2: unto the day of redemption. He sealed you. He lives
S2: inside of you. You can't take him out. We've talked
S2: about this before. Listen, you can't go to the nightclub
S2: on Saturday night. The Holy Spirit is. You can't check
S2: the Holy Spirit out at the coat hanger checkout counter.
S2: You can't say, Holy Spirit. I'm going in. Can I
S2: check you here? Hey, you wouldn't like the music anyway.
S2: The words are bad and the dancing would really grieve you. Listen,
S2: I'll catch you on the way out, okay? Go do
S2: your thing and then. Hey, come on, Holy Spirit. I'm
S2: ready to go. No, no, no, no, you're sealed with
S2: the Holy Spirit. You take the Holy Spirit wherever you go.
S2: He's inside of you. When you grieve the Holy Spirit,
S2: you can't check him out and check him in and
S2: then say, hey, I'm going to take you to church, man.
S2: You're going to love it. No, no, no, no. He
S2: goes with you wherever you go all the time. The
S2: Holy Spirit. So here's what happens. How do you grieve
S2: the Holy Spirit? Listen, you are grieving the Holy Spirit.
S2: If right now there is bitterness, rage, anger, a contentious
S2: or brawling, slanderous kind of spirit, or if there's any
S2: kind of malice or evil intent in your heart, you
S2: are grieving the Holy Spirit. If right now there's someone
S2: that is you've locked in the jail of unforgiveness, you're
S2: grieving the Holy Spirit. If you are bitter right now,
S2: you're grieving the Holy Spirit. If you're full of rage
S2: right now, you're grieving the Holy Spirit. If inside of
S2: you there is a contentiousness, a critical spirit inside of you,
S2: you are grieving the Holy Spirit. And if you're grieving
S2: the Holy Spirit, you will not have joy. And if
S2: you do not have joy, you will not have energy.
S2: And you're going to drag through life trying to do
S2: the things you're called to do. There's something that's released
S2: inside of you. When the joy of the Holy Spirit
S2: comes upon you. You're living right in God and there's energy. Oh, listen.
S2: I think some of you know what I'm talking about.
S2: When you are living right in God and you are
S2: fueled by the energy of God, there's a joy in
S2: your heart and you have this zeal and this power. Oh,
S2: it doesn't mean that life is easy, but it means
S2: that you have the strength to do what is right,
S2: because there's a joy of God inside of you, and
S2: you have this energy that faith gives. And though life
S2: may be hard at times, you know that he's in control.
S2: You worship and you thank him and you praise him.
S2: Then he goes on to tell us this. But instead
S2: of this kind of bitterness, rage, anger, brawling inside of you,
S2: verse 32, be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving
S2: each other just as in Christ, God forgave you. So
S2: instead of rage and anger and bitterness, there's compassion. There's forgiveness.
S2: There's a willingness to release people just the same way
S2: that God has released you. That's why I'm I am so,
S2: so strong. And I emphasize it so much. This whole
S2: issue of not living your life with bitterness or unforgiveness
S2: in your life. Because here's what I know that if
S2: you are, if you get that in your heart and
S2: if you don't release it, it will do damage to
S2: your spiritual life. It will bring you down. It will
S2: clog up your spiritual arteries. It will it will put
S2: a a stop on the spiritual funnel of God's grace
S2: and goodness into your life, and you'll find yourself drying
S2: up spiritually if there's anger, bitterness, unforgiveness in your life
S2: towards someone in your life. What is the new you?
S2: Let me close with this. I believe that we are
S2: all on a journey of transformation. From now until the
S2: day you die. You will be going from glory to glory,
S2: to glory, to glory, to glory, to glory, to glory,
S2: to glory. Some of you are going to get stuck.
S2: When you're unwilling to let go of the old and
S2: you stop going from glory to glory and you get
S2: stuck in just one glory. I believe until the day
S2: you die, they're going to be stuff from the old
S2: that you're putting away and you're putting on the new.
S2: I don't believe it ever stops. I don't believe anybody
S2: ever on this life ever arrives to a point where
S2: they don't need to change anymore. I don't believe that
S2: you ever reach a point of perfection or holiness where. Hey,
S2: I'm there. Nothing needs to change. I think I've arrived.
S2: Nothing needs to be worked on. I don't think. I
S2: think when you're 91 years old. You're going to be saying, alright,
S2: from glory to glory, I'm taking off the old and
S2: putting on the new. That's what it means to continue
S2: to grow in our spiritual life. You get stuck when
S2: you're unwilling to let go. And if you're stuck today,
S2: here's what I want to say. Hey, we all reach
S2: points that are things that are hard for us to release.
S2: But if you're stuck today, I want to challenge you.
S2: Inspire you by the Holy Spirit of God. I want
S2: to urge you in Jesus, whatever you know you are
S2: stuck in, do not do not leave this place without
S2: dealing with it before God. Do not live in stuckness.
S2: Do not say, well, I'm just going to put it
S2: off for another month. Hey, if you are stuck today,
S2: then deal with it now so that you can continue
S2: to go from glory to glory to glory. Deal with
S2: the issue that's holding you from the past. Let it
S2: go and say, by the power of God, I put
S2: on the new. I don't just repent of the old,
S2: but I put on the new. Today is the day.
S1: Mark job with bold steps. Mark. You said that when
S1: you put on the new man, God is putting you
S1: on a path that takes you from glory to glory.
S1: Give us a final word of encouragement on this, if
S1: you would.
S2: Yeah. So I want to encourage you, if you're a
S2: believer right now and you know, there's stuff you have
S2: to take off, there's elements of your life that God
S2: has been convicting you about, and maybe steps of obedience
S2: that you need to take to put on. I want
S2: to pray with you, and there may be some that
S2: are listening. And you say, you know what? I have
S2: a whole new person I need to take off and
S2: put on. We call that being born again. And maybe
S2: you're not born again yet. Maybe you've never taken that complete,
S2: powerful step to surrender your life to Jesus and say,
S2: change me from the inside out. I'd like to pray
S2: for you right now. And then afterwards, if you need
S2: to grow and understand more about what it means to
S2: be born again, we'd love to give you some resources
S2: and direct you to a place where you can get
S2: more information. Father, I pray right now for that person
S2: that's struggling with taking off the old. They know what
S2: they have to take off, but it's so hard to
S2: let go. I pray, Holy Spirit right now that you
S2: would give them a boost of power, a gentle conviction,
S2: but a powerful urge forward. And I pray, father, for
S2: that person that right now is realizing I need to
S2: be born again. I don't know God. I need to
S2: transform my entire person. I pray in Jesus name that
S2: you would lead them to a realization that that can
S2: only be done through the sacrifice of Jesus when they repent, believe,
S2: and invite you to be Lord of their life. And
S2: so I pray God that you would lead them down
S2: that path, even right now in Jesus name. Thank you
S2: for the decisions that are being made today. Not being
S2: procrastinated on, but today I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.
S1: Amen. Thank you Mark. And if you would like to
S1: learn more about taking your next step with Christ, even
S1: your first step, we'd love for you to go to
S1: our website and explore the video Mark put together to
S1: help you discover who Jesus is and why. Having a
S1: relationship with him is the most important thing you can do.
S1: You'll find the video online by clicking the connect tab
S1: at bird-stamps.org. Then look for the button that says my
S1: Next Step in Faith. And when you send us your
S1: name and address, we'll not only pray for you, we'll
S1: also send you a personalized letter from Mark, a New
S1: Testament Bible, and the latest edition of Moody's newsletter Devotional
S1: Today in the word. Speaking of valuable resources, let me
S1: remind you that we have a new bold step gift
S1: available that we recommend. In a world of social media
S1: and constant comparison, the temptation of envy has never been
S1: more prevalent. That's why pastor Mike Fabares of Focal Point
S1: Ministries took the time to write an entire book about
S1: the unique issue of envy, specifically how to identify this
S1: destructive emotion and find freedom through Christ. Pastor Mike makes
S1: some great distinctions on where this sin often creeps into
S1: our lives, and what we can do today to start
S1: living with authentic joy. The book is titled envy A
S1: Big Problem You Didn't Know You Had and a copy
S1: is yours is our way of saying thanks for your
S1: gift of any amount to support bold steps to give
S1: a donation today. Just give us a call. The number
S1: is 800. D.L. Moody that's (800) 356-6639 or give online at
S1: Bold steps.org. And that's our time today I'm Wayne Shepherd
S1: inviting you to join us again tomorrow. Mark will show
S1: us what it means to be choosing to walk in
S1: the light. Learn how you can reflect the goodness of
S1: God's love. Tuesday on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold
S1: steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of
S1: Moody Bible Institute.