S1: What do you do with the pains and problems of
S1: your past? The ones that you just can't seem to
S1: let go of? Find out today on Bold Steps with
S1: Mark Jobe.
S2: There are some people in this auditorium. You struggle because
S2: you've been born again. You have the Spirit of God
S2: inside of you. But you have a past where there's hurt.
S2: And if you haven't processed the hurt, that hurt can
S2: turn to unforgiveness and bitterness.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is president
S1: of Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New Life
S1: Community Church in Chicago. And I'm Wayne Shepherd. Yesterday we
S1: began exploring the destructive trap of unforgiveness and how it
S1: affects our spiritual health. Mark reminded us that harboring bitterness
S1: not only damages our relationships with others, but also grieves
S1: the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Today, we'll continue
S1: our journey through Ephesians chapter four, where Paul reminds us
S1: of an incredible truth that our bodies are the temple
S1: of God's Holy Spirit. So let's dive into part two
S1: of our message titled The Trap of Unforgiveness is here
S1: on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe.
S2: The address of God is your body. You are a
S2: temple of God. Your body is the dwelling place of God.
S2: Wherever you go, you bring God. Where you walk. God
S2: goes where you drive. God drives. When we dismiss today,
S2: we are dismissing thousands of people that go into every
S2: corner of Chicago. And if you're born again, you are
S2: taking the presence of God, the manifest presence of the
S2: Holy Spirit with you. We're going into every nook and
S2: cranny of Chicago because the church scatters, but God doesn't
S2: stay in the building. The manifest presence of God is
S2: with you via the Holy Spirit. And so wherever you go,
S2: you take God in a powerful way with you. Now
S2: that's a reminder, though. Your body is the temple of
S2: the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? Well, when you
S2: were born, you're born physically, but you have a soul,
S2: you have a spirit, and you have a body. Your spirit.
S2: Not not Holy Spirit, but your spirit is dead. Ephesians
S2: chapter two tells us that your spirit is dead because
S2: of sin. But when you come to God, he makes
S2: it alive. So the Holy Spirit interacts with your spirit.
S2: And as you live your life, when you sin, he
S2: brings you under conviction. He brings joy to your life.
S2: He guides you. He corrects you. He instructs you. He
S2: opens up your eyes to the Word of God. He's
S2: called the Paraclete, which means the coach, the trainer, the
S2: one that walks alongside of you. You have a personal
S2: coach living inside of you via the Holy Spirit in
S2: your body, that wherever you go, whatever you do, the
S2: Holy Spirit is there to guide you, push you, instruct you,
S2: help you worship. He cries, ABBA, father! When you worship today,
S2: when you are worshiping God, the Holy Spirit was saying,
S2: come on, worship the father. Come on, worship he's ABBA. Father,
S2: lift up your voice. Do you sense his presence? Do
S2: you feel him? It's the Holy Spirit. When you're tempted
S2: to sin, the Holy Spirit convicts you. You feel the
S2: guilt of sin. You feel the tug of the spirit saying,
S2: that's not who you are, that's who you were, but
S2: not who you are anymore. When you open up the
S2: Word of God and start reading, the Holy Spirit enlightens
S2: your mind and he starts teaching you about the Word
S2: of God. So your spirit is inflamed by the Holy Spirit.
S2: So he teaches you about the Word of God. You
S2: have God living inside of you. You say, well, pastor,
S2: I don't understand that. Well, we worship one God, but
S2: we worship one God in three persons. He's a triune God.
S2: It's hard to explain. It's the mystery of what theologians
S2: call the Trinity. But the essence of God is the
S2: same God the Father, God the Son, and God the
S2: Holy Spirit. He's the same. So he's got the same essence.
S2: He's got the same heart. He's got the same essence
S2: of his being, but yet three distinct persons. God has
S2: always existed that way. God the father never created the son.
S2: He's always existed as God the Father, God the Son,
S2: and God the Holy Spirit. Any teaching that teaches you otherwise,
S2: listen to me. It's heresy. Any teaching that devaluates the
S2: son or takes away from the Holy Spirit is not
S2: from the Word of God. And there's a lot of weird, uh,
S2: crazy doctrines about the Trinity or about the Godhead. But
S2: there is one God made up of three persons that
S2: have distinct functions. For example, when you pray, you pray
S2: to God the Father, but you pray through Jesus the
S2: Son that gives you access to God the Father. And
S2: it's the Holy Spirit that teaches you how to pray
S2: and what to pray. So it's one God operating in
S2: three distinct functions and three distinct ways helping you live
S2: out your walk in God. So the Bible tells us
S2: that when there is unforgiveness within our heart, we grieve
S2: the Holy Spirit. You say, well, why is that so important? Well,
S2: it's important because first Romans chapter 14, verse 17 says,
S2: the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating
S2: and drinking, but of righteousness, peace. And here it goes.
S2: And joy in the Holy Spirit. Galatians chapter five, verse
S2: 22 and 23 talks about the fruit of the spirit.
S2: What is fruit? Well, if you walk by a pear tree,
S2: a pear tree that's healthy has pears at the right
S2: season because the fruit is the natural production of a
S2: healthy pear tree. When you are healthy and the Spirit
S2: of God is living inside of you, you will have
S2: the fruit of love, of joy, of peace, of patience,
S2: of kindness, of goodness, of faithfulness, of gentleness, of self-control.
S2: You will have that fruit. That's the natural fruit of
S2: when the spirit is alive inside of you. Listen to
S2: me well. The kingdom of God is made up of
S2: joy in the Holy Spirit. Over and over in Scripture,
S2: joy in the Holy Spirit are tied into each other.
S2: The fruit of the spirit is joy. Hear me well.
S2: There is no such thing as a spirit filled church
S2: that doesn't have joy. Joy is part of the natural
S2: essence of God. Some of you were raised in churches
S2: that felt like funeral homes. In fact, the more sad
S2: you looked, the more holy you looked. I don't know
S2: about you, but when I look at these stained glass
S2: windows and some of the pictures of quote unquote, the saints,
S2: they always look like they just drank lemon juice. When
S2: you look at them, I don't think I ever see
S2: pictures of saints smiling. They're all like this. And it
S2: feels like the the the meaner or sadder you look,
S2: the holier you are. Listen, can I tell you something?
S2: If we have the Spirit of God, there's joy in
S2: this place. Some of you come from backgrounds and you
S2: actually come to church and people are clapping and laughing
S2: and smiling and raising their hands, and and you get
S2: all nervous like, hey, are we like, are we allowed
S2: to do that in church? Is is that okay? I mean,
S2: this is I don't know, people are kind of making
S2: a little bit too much noise and they're laughing and
S2: they're clapping. Listen, the fruit of the spirit is joy.
S2: Joy is part of who we are. Joy is a
S2: result of the spirit. It's the essence of the spirit.
S2: Joy should be part of what naturally emanates out of
S2: you when you're full of the spirit. In fact, a
S2: joyless believer is a believer. That's, uh, there's something wrong
S2: with your spirituality. And listen. Unforgiveness. We cannot be grieving
S2: the spirit and have the joy of the spirit at
S2: the same time. Let me say that again. When you
S2: are grieving the spirit, the spirit is who should be
S2: producing joy in your life. When you are grieving the
S2: spirit that is should be producing joy. You cannot have
S2: the joy of God when you're grieving the Spirit of
S2: God at the same time. Therefore, some of us who
S2: should be experiencing the joy of God do not have
S2: the joy of God because the Spirit of God is
S2: grieving inside of us. So you feel the grieving of
S2: God instead of the joy of the spirit.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, who again
S1: is a pastor and a president pastor of New Life
S1: Community Church in Chicago and president of Moody Bible Institute.
S1: We'll continue today's message in just a moment. But, Mark,
S1: we get so many encouraging messages and calls from listeners
S1: who are being helped by these powerful Bible lessons on
S1: bold steps. I wish we could play them all, but
S1: we don't have the time. But I do want you
S1: to hear a voice message we recently received.
S3: Hello. Greetings. My name is Molly, Doctor Joe. I just
S3: want you to know that in my walk with Christ,
S3: you've been very encouraging. I've been wavering, you know, in
S3: and out, in and out. Very lukewarm. But your. Your
S3: words have been encouraging, and it's helping me to to
S3: just get focused and stay focused. So I just wanted
S3: you to know that. Be blessed. Thank you so much.
S2: Molly. It's so encouraging to hear you say that God
S2: is using this. I don't know where you're from, but
S2: I love your accent, by the way. And, um, you know,
S2: God is using these messages in so many different places.
S2: We hear from people really all around the world. Thank
S2: you for letting us know that ultimately, it's the Holy
S2: Spirit taking these messages to challenge people to live for him.
S1: Yeah. Thank you for contacting us. I'll give the number
S1: in a moment where you can call and leave a
S1: message for us. But Mark, our bold partners make this possible,
S1: don't they?
S2: They really do. And I want you to know bold partners,
S2: that I've mentioned this before, but God is opening up
S2: so many doors around the world. And we are broadcasting
S2: now from LA area and California to the other side
S2: of the continent and.
S1: Coast to coast, as they say.
S2: And new Jersey and Pretoria, South Africa. Just started there,
S2: and Malawi and Singapore and just a lot of places
S2: that God is opening up doors for us. And so
S2: continue to pray as we seek to keep up with
S2: these open doors and some exciting open doors that are
S2: coming at us really quickly. So thank you for being
S2: bold partners. A bold partner is someone that says, I
S2: give monthly to help this ministry. You can choose the
S2: amount that you'd like to give monthly, but you're saying
S2: I'm going to give on a monthly basis. It really
S2: helps us budget, especially at this time of the year.
S1: We truly appreciate each and every gift you give, especially
S1: when you become a monthly supporter. So thank you for that. Now,
S1: when you do become a monthly supporter, you'll receive a
S1: copy of Mark's book, unstuck. There's access to our Bold
S1: Partner post, and for those who give $30 or more
S1: each month, a 50% discount on all items at the
S1: Moody Publishers online store. Signing up is simple and easy.
S1: Just visit Bold Steps and to leave your voicemail message,
S1: as our listener did a few moments ago. Call (312) 329-2011.
S1: Now let's return to our message titled The Trap of Unforgiveness.
S2: I believe to be sealed with the spirit means that
S2: it's permanent, that it implies ownership, and that you cannot
S2: be unsealed. I believe once you are born again to
S2: the Spirit of God, I believe in the assurance of
S2: believers that if you're born again, you cannot be unborn again.
S2: You are sealed unto the day of redemption. You may struggle,
S2: you may fall, you may come under discipline, but you
S2: are sealed unto the day of redemption. Number two unforgiveness
S2: This evolves always if it's undealt with into something destructive
S2: in our attitudes and our behaviors. Notice what he says
S2: after do not grieve the spirit. He says, get rid.
S2: That means get it out of your system. Be done
S2: with it. With what? With the fruit of unforgiveness. What's
S2: the fruit of unforgiveness? The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace,
S2: long suffering, gentleness, faith, meekness, temperance. The fruit of unforgiveness
S2: is bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander along with every form
S2: of malice. Now I want you to hear me well.
S2: Anger which is listed here. Anger is a secondary emotion.
S2: Counselors and and therapists would call it a secondary emotion.
S2: Anger is not a sin, it's an emotion. None of
S2: your emotions are sin. To be sad is not a sin.
S2: To be angry is not a sin. To be happy
S2: is not a sin. But it's what you do with
S2: your emotions that can become sinful. If in your anger
S2: you start to abuse someone that's sinful. If in your
S2: anger you start to verbally put someone down, that's sinful.
S2: So to have the emotions of anger is not sinful,
S2: but what you do with your anger can be turned sinful.
S2: So what the Apostle Paul is telling us is that
S2: you cannot grieve the Holy Spirit. The fruit of unforgiveness
S2: and he defines it bitterness. What is bitterness? Bitterness has
S2: been defined as the embittered or resentful spirit that refuses reconciliation.
S2: Rage is amped up. Anger that lashes out against the
S2: world and system and everybody. Anger can have multiple forms
S2: of expressions. It can simmer deep inside or it can
S2: explode on the outside. He talks about brawling, brawling. Is
S2: this this attitude in which you're always ready for a fight,
S2: always on the verge of altercation? Slander is when you're
S2: angry at someone. You speak ill of that person because
S2: you have anger or resentment inside of you. And malice
S2: is simply that desire to do evil against other people.
S2: Because you're so mad and angry at them that you
S2: want bad to happen to them. All of these are
S2: the fruit of unforgiveness. Now, there are some people in
S2: this auditorium that you struggle because You've been born again.
S2: You have the Spirit of God inside of you, but
S2: you have a past where there's hurt. And if you
S2: haven't processed the hurt, that hurt can turn to unforgiveness
S2: and bitterness. Look up at me. This is really important.
S2: Show me a 25 year old in this auditorium today
S2: that if when you were six or 7 or 8,
S2: you were verbally abused, physically abused, criticized, lived with an
S2: addict stepfather that maybe sexually abused you and you felt
S2: unwanted and demeaned by the time you're 25. If you
S2: have not dealt with it, you are an angry individual.
S2: There's rage, there's anger, there's slander, there's brawling. Why? Because
S2: there's a lot of pain inside that hasn't been processed.
S2: and your pain turns into undealt with anger. Explosive anger
S2: inside of you. People around you say, what's wrong with you? Ah,
S2: this world and you. If I didn't know. And you
S2: go off. Let me tell you, if you don't deal
S2: with the hurt of the past, if you haven't processed it,
S2: dealt with it before God gone through this process of forgiveness,
S2: then you let it simmer inside of you. And when
S2: it simmers inside of you, it turns into something that's
S2: toxic to you and to the people that are around you.
S2: In the city of Chicago. We hear about these crazy
S2: acts of violence. And one more time we'll hear on I-55,
S2: someone honked at someone. Someone gave him a dirty look.
S2: And before we know it, someone shot and killed on
S2: the expressway. And we say, wow, traffic is terrible in Chicago.
S2: Can I tell you it has nothing to do with traffic?
S2: This is not about the honk. This is not about
S2: the driving. This is about the guy that, at five
S2: years old, was physically abused, beaten up, and abandoned by
S2: a stepfather. And they haven't processed it. And they're full
S2: of anger and they're full of issues in their life
S2: that they haven't dealt with. And when you when you
S2: tip it, it spills out. If I had an opaque
S2: glass here, you wouldn't be able to tell what's inside
S2: of it. But if someone bumps me, whatever's inside is
S2: going to spill out. If I'm full of anger, rage, brawling, unforgiveness,
S2: then it takes a honk on the expressway and it
S2: spills out. And everything that's directed towards that stepfather that
S2: abused me now becomes the rage against the person that
S2: just honked at me. And people say, I don't know
S2: why I'm like this. I love my girlfriend or I
S2: love my wife and but I explode and I just
S2: call her things. I don't know what's wrong. I know
S2: what's wrong. What's wrong is you haven't dealt with your issues.
S2: What's wrong is you haven't gone to those hard places.
S2: What's wrong is you haven't processed your hurt, you haven't forgiven.
S2: You haven't gone to those places that are causing you
S2: to be an angry person. And until you deal with it,
S2: you may deal with the emotions. And you say, well, pastor,
S2: I know what I'm going to do. I'm just going
S2: to count to ten. When I'm angry. That's good. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six.
S2: I'm just going to go for a jog. Some of
S2: you are really good shape because you're you're angry so
S2: often you're going for a jog or I'm going to
S2: just breathe deeply. And you know what? I'm happy you're
S2: doing that because I don't want people around you to
S2: get hurt. But that will not deal with the core issue.
S2: The pressure cooker will still have pressure unless the flame
S2: is turned off, unless you deal with the root of
S2: your hurt, unless you deal with that unforgiveness. Unless you
S2: deal with the pain, unless you confront it and process
S2: it before God and deal with it, it will continue
S2: to surface. It will continue to boil up. So there
S2: are some people that are believers in this auditorium today.
S2: And you come to me, I know because you talk
S2: to me about it and you say, pastor, I don't
S2: know what happened. I was doing so good for three months,
S2: and then I fell, and then I did so good
S2: for five months, and then I fell again. And then
S2: I was doing really good for another four months. And
S2: then I fell again. Let me tell you what's happening.
S2: What's happening to a lot of people is that you
S2: do well until you get angry. And when you get angry,
S2: then suddenly all the old stuff, you, you go immediately
S2: back to whatever made you feel good in your old life.
S2: That's what it tells us earlier in this chapter, in
S2: Ephesians chapter four, verse 26 through 27, it says, be
S2: angry and do not sin. Listen. Do not let the
S2: sun go down while you are angry. Do not give
S2: the devil a foothold. When you become angry, you give
S2: the devil an opportunity and a foothold. You're doing really
S2: well fighting pornography. But when you got angry, you wanted
S2: something to make you feel better. And so you. You
S2: opened up that old pornography page that you go to,
S2: and you fell. You called up that old girlfriend and
S2: fell sexually. You went out and over drank. You lit
S2: up one more time that cannabis just to calm your
S2: nerves down. And you were doing so well. You know why? Anger.
S2: And so what the Apostle Paul is telling us is
S2: he's telling us that we have to deal with our anger.
S2: We have to get rid of this bitterness and rage
S2: and brawling and slander. It tells us in Matthew chapter six,
S2: verse 14, Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray, and
S2: at the end of the prayer he says, if you
S2: forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly father will
S2: forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your
S2: heavenly father will not forgive you your sins. What does
S2: this mean? It simply means that when you have unforgiveness
S2: in your heart, you're living in sin and God cannot
S2: release you from what you're continuing to do. You have
S2: to choose to get rid of it so God can
S2: release you from it. So the Apostle Paul is talking
S2: to these believers about walking in victory, and he's describing
S2: to them how they can overcome. And he ends up
S2: this passage with this last exhortation. Which leads me to
S2: my third point. Unforgiveness can only be overcome with Genuine forgiveness.
S2: So the Apostle Paul says in verse 32, be kind
S2: and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as
S2: in Christ, God forgave you. So the Apostle Paul really
S2: gets the root of the solution when he says, hey,
S2: you can't grieve the spirit by having unforgiveness that leads
S2: to the fruit of unforgiveness. Until you get to the
S2: point of saying, I gotta release, I gotta forgive, I
S2: gotta let go.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe in the
S1: middle of a three part message on the trap of unforgiveness.
S1: Make plans to join us tomorrow to hear the final segment.
S1: And if you can't tune in tomorrow, you simply want
S1: to find more content from Mark. Be sure to visit
S1: our website. Bold steps.org. We're nearing the end of today's program,
S1: but before we close, I want to tell you about
S1: an exclusive new resource we have available something special from
S1: the desk of Mark Jobe. It's a brand new 15
S1: day devotional called More Than a Label Discovering Who You
S1: Are in Christ. In this powerful study, Mark takes you
S1: deep into God's Word to explore the truth about your
S1: identity in Christ. You'll discover who God created you to
S1: be and why your identity truly matters. This devotional will
S1: help you uncover your purpose and calling as you open
S1: God's Word and learn to live out your true identity.
S1: And during this month, we're happy to make this special
S1: offer available to you for a gift of any size
S1: to support this ministry. Don't let the world define you
S1: by labels. Step into the life and purpose God has
S1: planned for you. Get your copy of More Than a
S1: Label today, and begin your journey toward discovering the incredible
S1: person God created you to be. Simply visit boldsystems.org to
S1: donate or request more than a label by calling 800
S1: de Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. Or you can mail your donation
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S1: that's our time for today. Join us again tomorrow and
S1: Mark concludes this lesson on the trap of unforgiveness. That's
S1: Wednesday on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is
S1: a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.