S1: Today on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe shows us how to
S1: live in the expectation of Christ's return.
S2: Jesus has said, be ready because I could come at
S2: any moment, any time, any day. I believe that God
S2: tells us that because he wants us to live our
S2: life in constant readiness for the coming again of His Son,
S2: Jesus Christ.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe. Mark is
S1: senior pastor of New Life Community Church and president of
S1: Moody Bible Institute here in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Mark.
S1: Last week we began talking about the end times, and
S1: for some it can be a scary thought. But for
S1: the believer, when you look at the text, this should
S1: fill us with hope.
S2: It really should fill us with great hope. And you know,
S2: people get fixated on when? When is it going to happen?
S2: And periodically, Wayne, I'm sure you've seen it happen. Someone
S2: will predict a time of day a year.
S1: Just can't take that seriously.
S2: And there's this big commotion over it. But obviously, Scripture
S2: is very clear that Jesus doesn't want us to know
S2: the exact time of his return. He leaves it open,
S2: I think, so that we would be ready. I mean,
S2: if you knew the time, you'd wait until the last
S2: minute and say, okay, now's my time. I still have
S2: a couple of days.
S1: Yeah, there's some things he wants us to do in
S1: the meantime.
S2: He does not only about the spreading of the gospel,
S2: but also living with the continual readiness for his return.
S1: Well, the message title puts the question this way. How
S1: ready are you? Here's Mark Jobe.
S2: I have five people in my family. And let me
S2: tell you, to get ready for an event when all
S2: of us have to get ready at the same time.
S2: There's only five, but it's not that easy. Those of
S2: you that have young girls in your household know. Oh,
S2: it's not that easy. You're fighting for the bathroom. I
S2: don't know what it's like in your household, but when
S2: I say, hey, we're leaving in 15 minutes, I still
S2: have kids in their pajamas telling me they're almost ready.
S2: It's when I'm walking out the door saying, I'm getting
S2: in the car. Then I hear a scurrying a where's
S2: my jacket? I can't find my shoes. Hold on. Don't
S2: leave me. Because when I say, are you ready? People say, yeah,
S2: we're ready. But I know that doesn't quite mean they're ready.
S2: Anybody else experience that in their household or just me? Okay.
S2: I'm glad. Who? I thought I was the only one.
S2: In fact, I'm not going to mention any names of
S2: my children. But one day I said, are you ready?
S2: I'm leaving in the car. And one of them ran
S2: out real fast. And when we got here, he told
S2: me he forgot his shoes. Thankfully, I had my gym
S2: bag in the back and his foot fit my shoes
S2: so he didn't have to walk in the church barefoot.
S2: But when we say we're ready, it doesn't always mean
S2: we're ready. When we say, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm ready.
S2: Many of us believe that we're more ready than we
S2: really are. And some of us here, I believe, sitting
S2: in your chair today, you are very unprepared for the
S2: coming of Jesus Christ. And so this passage is all
S2: about preparing us. And I want you to notice how
S2: Jesus starts this passage. I'm going to begin reading in
S2: verse 36 of Matthew chapter 24. Jesus says, but about
S2: the day or the hour, no one knows, not even
S2: the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the father.
S2: As it was in the days of Noah. So will
S2: it be at the coming of the Son of Man?
S2: For in the days before the flood, people were eating
S2: and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the
S2: day that Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing
S2: about what would happen until the flood came and took
S2: them all away. That is how it will be at
S2: the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will
S2: be in the field, one will be taken and the
S2: other left. Two women will be grinding at a hand mill.
S2: One will be taken and the other left. Therefore, keep watch,
S2: because you do not know on what day your Lord
S2: will come. But understand this. If the owner of the
S2: house had known at what time of the night the
S2: thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would
S2: not have let his house be broken into. So you
S2: also must be ready, because the Son of Man will
S2: come at an hour when you do not expect him.
S2: Word of the Lord. So here's what I want to
S2: talk to you about today. I want to talk to
S2: you about three attitudes that you need to put on
S2: in order to be ready. How do I prepare for
S2: the day called the coming of the Lord? I believe
S2: that there's three key attitudes that this passage speaks about
S2: in order to be prepared for that day, that none
S2: of us know the time or the hour. Let's start
S2: with that. In fact, in Matthew chapter 24, verse 36,
S2: it says, but about the day or the hour? Who knows?
S2: Say it out loud. Who knows? No one knows. So
S2: if no one knows. Stop guessing. So here's what I know.
S2: When I hear a prediction that in October of 2020,
S2: on the 12th, Jesus is coming again and it's in
S2: the billboards and someone is predicting it. Guess what? I
S2: know it's definitely not going to happen on that day
S2: because the Bible says no one knows, so if someone
S2: predicts it, it's absolutely wrong. So I hope that you
S2: are trained enough and educated enough in this church to
S2: know that if someone is predicting a time, a date,
S2: a year, a month, that you know absolutely that that
S2: person is a false prophet or someone that has very
S2: little Bible education and knowledge, because the Bible tells us
S2: that no one knows except for the father. The angels
S2: in heaven don't know it. So if someone says, well,
S2: an angel came and told me the day and the time,
S2: I'm going to say it wrong. The angels don't even know.
S2: In fact, it says something shocking. And it says the
S2: son who's the son that the son doesn't even know.
S2: Hold on a second. Wait a second. Now, this is
S2: a pretty amazing statement that the say that the son
S2: doesn't know because God is made up of God the Father,
S2: God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are
S2: 3 in 1. They've always existed as God the Father, son,
S2: and the Holy Spirit. They will exist into eternity past
S2: that way. Jesus is not a created being. He's always
S2: existed with the father. And so as the father is omniscient,
S2: so the son is omniscient. So how can the son,
S2: who knows all things, not know the day that he's
S2: coming back? I believe there's a strategy in it. The
S2: Bible tells us that God in the Old Testament, He
S2: throws our sins as far as the East is from
S2: the West. And he remembers them no more. Have you
S2: read that passage? I love it. You mean what God
S2: has forgiven you for? He doesn't. Next time around, bring
S2: it up again. He doesn't say. You know, three years ago,
S2: you fell and you blew it. And you come to
S2: him and say, Lord, could you forgive me again? And
S2: remember when I fell through yours? No. When did you fall?
S2: He remembers our sin no more. Does that mean that
S2: God has amnesia? Does that mean he has a faulty memory?
S2: Does that mean he doesn't know? No. It means he
S2: chooses not to remember. So if God the Son chooses
S2: not to look at the date, it's not because he
S2: doesn't can't discover the date or know the date. He
S2: chooses to block the date out. when my wife and
S2: I were having our first child. We didn't want to
S2: know if it was a boy or a girl. And
S2: we went into the the specialist that did the sonogram.
S2: They put all that gooky yuck on her belly and
S2: kind of moved it around, and they discovered whether it
S2: was a boy or a girl. But we said, don't
S2: tell us. And they had in an envelope the images
S2: that would dictate definitely boy or girl, but we chose
S2: not to open the envelope, not because we couldn't know,
S2: because we did not want to know. We had a
S2: strategy in it. We wanted to be surprised by it.
S2: The Son of Man has a strategy as well. Jesus
S2: is coming back, but it's so top secret. The day
S2: and the time. Because I believe the reason that God
S2: did not reveal the day and the time, specifically the hour,
S2: although the father knows when it's going to happen, is
S2: that it would be A productive for you and I
S2: to know the exact day, time, and hour of his coming.
S2: Come on, think about it for a second. If it
S2: were extremely clear when Jesus was coming back, and you
S2: know that you had five years before the coming of Christ,
S2: what would that make you do? Oh, I know some
S2: of you would say I got five. I don't have
S2: to get serious yet. I could still party. I could
S2: still do my thing because now I have four years.
S2: I still got four, now I got three. I don't
S2: have to get too serious now. Now I got to. Okay,
S2: I got one year. Now I got to start getting serious.
S2: Now I got to start going to church I got.
S2: Because if you knew the time, you would measure how
S2: well you're doing by how much time you have. And
S2: it would be counterproductive to your spiritual life if you
S2: don't know the time. You don't know the date. But
S2: Jesus has said, be ready because I could come at
S2: any moment, at any time. We historically call that the
S2: imminent return of Christ. That means that at any moment,
S2: any time, any day, Jesus could come again. I believe
S2: that God tells us that because he wants us to
S2: live our life in constant readiness for the coming again
S2: of His Son, Jesus Christ. So here are the three
S2: attitudes that keep you ready. If you're taking notes, I
S2: want you to write this down. Number one, you need
S2: to stay ready by living with an expectant and informed
S2: attitude about his imminent return. Expectant and informed. Expectant means
S2: that you you're ready. Like it could happen at any time.
S2: Informed means that you are not ignorant of the fact
S2: that Jesus is coming again. That you know about it.
S2: You know about the times. You know about the seasons.
S2: You've read it in Scripture and so you are expectant,
S2: waiting for it to happen at any time and informed
S2: about what it would look like.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, and today's
S1: message is titled How Ready are You? We'll pause for
S1: a moment before continuing with Mark's teaching. If you've been
S1: touched by our programs, we'd love to hear from you.
S1: Your testimony and questions, perhaps. Maybe prayer requests means so
S1: much to us, and we occasionally share them right here
S1: on the broadcast. And Mark, today I do want to
S1: share one. This is a heartfelt prayer request from Trent,
S1: who wrote to us to say, please pray for me
S1: as a single parent father to a 16 going on
S1: 17 year old trying to navigate high school and liking herself.
S1: She is a bit of an edge and is struggling
S1: with identity issues. She's getting better, but I know God
S1: has more and something special specifically planned for her life.
S1: My prayer is that she comes to realize that she
S1: is uniquely made for a purpose, and that she can
S1: live out that purpose in the strong name of Jesus.
S1: Trent says, thank you.
S2: Yeah. So, Trent, let me just say, first of all,
S2: the fact that as a father, you care and are
S2: praying for her is already a big victory. But I
S2: want to just say this to you. Do not underestimate
S2: the power of the influence of a father speaking into
S2: the identity and destiny of your daughter. She may roll
S2: her eyes. You may think that she's not listening. You
S2: may think that her peers have much more influence than
S2: you do. But I want to say there's only one father.
S2: There's only one voice. You have more influence than what
S2: you know. So keep that bridge of relationship strong and
S2: just help her walk her through this difficult, challenging time. Father,
S2: we pray for this young lady. God, that you have
S2: a purpose and a plan for. I pray in Jesus
S2: name that your Holy Spirit would remind her of who
S2: she really is, not the labels that have been placed
S2: upon her. I pray that you'd bring Christians into her life,
S2: others that will be able to speak to her God.
S2: I pray that she would find a group that is
S2: helping her to walk towards God and not walk away
S2: from God. We pray for her along with her father
S2: in Jesus name, Amen. And by the way, uh, we also,
S2: if you are a parent and trying to speak into
S2: the life of your daughter, uh, our bold step gift
S2: this month is lies. Girls believe this is specifically for
S2: girls between the age of 8 to 12, but it
S2: tackles a lot of these issues about identity and how,
S2: as a mother or a father, you can speak into
S2: their lives.
S1: Once again, the title is Lies Girls Believe. It is
S1: available on our website and we'll tell you more about
S1: it and hear from the author herself after today's message.
S1: But before we continue, we encourage you to take a
S1: moment today to send us a letter or message online
S1: and share your story, maybe a question or prayer request
S1: with us at Bold Steps. Just go to our website,
S1: Bold steps.org or give us a call and leave your
S1: message on a recorded line by dialing (312) 329-2011. That's (312) 329-2011.
S1: Now let's get back to our message called How ready
S1: are you?
S2: Notice what it tells us in verse 37, as it
S2: was in the days of Noah. So will it be
S2: at the coming of the Son of Man? How was
S2: it in the days of Noah before the flood? Well,
S2: if you read in the book of Genesis you'll discover
S2: several things. Do you remember that Noah Up lived in
S2: a time in which the world had become extremely ungodly. Violence. Chaos. Dysfunction.
S2: Godlessness had increased. In fact, it had gotten so bad
S2: that as God looked at the world, it said he
S2: repented of making mankind. God looked at mankind, and his
S2: heart was sorry that he had made mankind, because so
S2: much of humanity had turned their back on God. But
S2: he found in Noah a righteous man. So most of
S2: society was godless. Some very few in society were godly.
S2: And by and large, most people did not believe that
S2: a flood was going to come, although most people were
S2: heavily affected by this flood. Notice what Jesus says. he says,
S2: for in the days before the flood, people were eating, drinking, marrying,
S2: and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah
S2: entered into the ark, and they knew nothing about what
S2: would happen until the flood came and took them away.
S2: That is how it will be at the coming of
S2: the Son of Man. Let's compare the days before the
S2: flood to the days before the coming of Jesus. Number one,
S2: look at this. God had told Noah that the flood
S2: was coming to build an ark. No one knew the
S2: flood was coming about to happen, but did not know
S2: the day or the hour. God had told Noah, I'm
S2: going to bring a destruction upon humankind that Will has
S2: not been seen since the beginning of time. Most of
S2: the people on earth will be destroyed. It's coming. Warn
S2: people about it. But you don't know when it's going
S2: to happen or exactly how it's going to happen. Imagine, Noah.
S2: God said, so build an ark. Do you know how
S2: big the ark was? About the size of a football field.
S2: Think about that. So here, Noah, imagine being his neighbor.
S2: Noah's laying wood in his backyard the size of a
S2: football field. A neighbor says to him. Hey, Noah. Hey. No.
S2: What are you building back there? A house, grain shed,
S2: building an ark. An ark. How big is it? About
S2: the size of a football field. Whoa! That's a big boat.
S2: How are you going to get it to water? Because
S2: there is no water anywhere close. Oh, no. The water
S2: is going to come from heaven. Oh, really? Mhm. And
S2: why is the ark so big? I mean, you only
S2: have about ten people in your family. Oh we're going
S2: to put animals in it. Animals. How many Of any animals. Well,
S2: two of every kind, really. A floating zoo. Hey. And
S2: when exactly is this going to happen? Oh, I don't know,
S2: but it's going to happen. Ah, okay. It took Noah
S2: a hundred years to build the ark. By the time
S2: Noah was finished with part of the ark, the other
S2: part was already a hundred years old. Think about that.
S2: That's quite a project. And you thought your basement was
S2: taken a long time. When the Ark was completed, most
S2: people thought Noah was a lunatic. A crazy man predicting
S2: the end of the world. Now, Jesus said that the
S2: people in the time of Noah did not know about
S2: the flood. But the Bible tells us that Noah was
S2: telling people about the flood. So if Noah was telling
S2: people about the flood, but the people did not know
S2: about the flood, what was the problem? Noah was telling people,
S2: but people were not listening. How many of you know
S2: you can tell people things that they don't necessarily hear
S2: because they don't either believe it or want to, or
S2: want to hear it. The days before the coming of
S2: Christ will be like the days of Noah. There will
S2: be a remnant of people that talk about the coming
S2: of Christ, but most people will ignore the message of
S2: the coming of Christ. Most people would not believe that
S2: there is a day like that that's coming. Most people
S2: will ignore the message. The great majority of humanity will
S2: be like it was in the days of Noah, where
S2: it says people were eating and drinking and marrying and
S2: giving in marriage. Is there anything wrong with those things? No.
S2: It's simply saying that most people in the days of
S2: Noah were going about life as usual, not expecting that
S2: anything dramatic would happen. It will be like that before
S2: the coming of Christ. Most people will be doing the
S2: usual things, completely oblivious to the fact that the Son
S2: of Man, the return of Christ, is about to happen.
S1: Addressing the three key attitudes you need to have in
S1: order to get ready for the Lord's return, you're listening
S1: to Mark Jobe right here on Bold Steps. You can
S1: learn more about Mark and his ministry when you visit.
S1: Bold steps dot. Earlier in the program, we mentioned a
S1: very special book for parents of tween girls, and it's
S1: called Lies, Girls Believe and Mark. Right now we've got
S1: the author of this powerful book to sit down with
S1: us in the studio.
S2: One of the most important things we can do for
S2: young girls is help them build their lives on truth.
S1: That's true. Yes.
S2: You know, I remember raising my one and only daughter
S2: and when she got into almost in the tween years.
S2: I was just so concerned because the pressures are amazing, insurmountable.
S2: It felt like and felt very protective. So I'm excited
S2: that our Bold Step gift this month tackles this vital topic.
S1: It's written by Dana Gresh. It's called Lies Girls Believe,
S1: and it follows up some earlier writing you've done Dana
S1: for women, but you've lowered the age group here, haven't you?
S3: Yeah, because the enemy has lowered the the the the
S3: target zone. Some of the things that today's 8 to
S3: 12 year old girls are grappling with. There are things
S3: that we didn't grapple with until we were in our
S3: well into our teens, 16, 17, 18 years old. And
S3: one of the things that's really concerning to me is
S3: how tweens, 8 to 12 year olds, that's the technical
S3: age group for tweens. They're like the guinea pigs in
S3: this gender experiment. They're really believing there's no difference between
S3: boys and girls. They believe that I surveyed 1500 Church
S3: going tween girls to write this book. And I did
S3: 11 focus groups across the country to talk to their moms.
S3: And they believe there's not a big difference between girls
S3: and boys, and that is just one stepping stone away
S3: from this can be a fluid thing in my life.
S3: They also, if they do believe there's differences, they have
S3: a hard time believing that it's great to be a girl.
S3: You know, they're like, well, you know, it's hard to
S3: be a girl because of the way our bodies work,
S3: or it's hard to be a girl because we don't
S3: have the same opportunities as boys, or it's hard to
S3: be a girl because I'm athletic and I can't shoot
S3: hoops with the guys, and that doesn't seem fair. So
S3: these are really important lies. When you look at the
S3: fact that going back to Genesis, God says in the
S3: image of God, he created us male and female. He
S3: created them. There are so many things about us that
S3: are God like. Why doesn't he mention our ability to
S3: compose sonnets? Or the fact that we're going to defy
S3: gravity and fly to the moon and then land rockets
S3: again on on planet Earth one day? Why doesn't he
S3: mention that? No. He mentions maleness and femaleness. It matters.
S3: It's a conversation we've got to have, and we've got
S3: to have it accurately with our kids. And this book
S3: is just one tool to help you do that.
S2: Boy, we could talk hours about this. And if you
S2: have a daughter, a granddaughter, uh, your son or daughter
S2: needs is raising a a girl. In today's society, we
S2: would love to put this book in your hands.
S1: Yeah. What a great gift to pass on, Dana. Thank you.
S3: My pleasure. Thank you for letting me be a part
S3: of your month.
S1: Again, the title is Lies Girls Believe. We'd love to
S1: send you a copy with a gift of any amount
S1: to support the Ministry of Bold Steps, you can give
S1: and request the book by calling 800 D.L. Moody. That's
S1: (800) 356-6639 or give online at Bold steps.org. And when you
S1: commit to becoming a bold partner today by giving a
S1: financial gift of $30 or more each month, we'll send
S1: you a link for a For 50% off any book, DVD,
S1: or Bible study in the entire Moody Publishers online store.
S1: So sign up today at boldsystems.org. And by the way,
S1: if you ever have trouble joining us for these daily messages,
S1: there are plenty of ways for you to catch up
S1: on your own time. Wherever you are with your phone
S1: or smart device, you can download the Bold Steps app
S1: or subscribe to the Bold Steps podcast to listen on
S1: the go. You can also hear Mark's program directly from
S1: our website. Bold Steps. That's all the time we have today.
S1: I'm Wayne Shepherd, inviting you to join us again tomorrow
S1: when Mark continues his lesson on how to ready ourselves
S1: for the end times. Our message is called How Ready
S1: Are You? And it's coming up next on the Wednesday
S1: edition of Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is
S1: a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.