January 11, 2025 • 26 mins
Today on Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe, you'll learn how to become a giver. You'll discover why it is better to be a giver than a receiver. This message is from a study in Hebrews chapter 5 verse 11. Mark will also expand on how to seek the truth as you grow and learn.
Donate to Moody Radio: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/boldsteps
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:00):
Today on Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe. We're learning
how to become givers.
S2 (00:05):
God wants to begin to mobilize the entire body of
Christ so that no one is staying the same. No
one is stagnant. Everybody is growing and they're mobilized to say, God,
use me. I have my issues, but God use me.
Imagine the impact.
S1 (00:34):
Welcome to Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe, president of
Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New Life
Community Church in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Today, as we
move forward in this two part mini series on growth
and change, we're going to be discovering why it's better
to be a giver than a receiver. Now, Mark started
this discussion last week, so if you missed part one,
(00:55):
you can catch it online at boldsystems.org. Right now, let's
jump into today's message from a study in Hebrews chapter
five verse 11. Mark will be explaining on points three
and four. Learning how to seek the truth as we
grow and learn. And the message starts right now.
S2 (01:13):
How many of you know people can sit under the
teaching of a church and go to a church for
a long time and look nothing like Jesus? They have
a lot of knowledge, but they don't have a lot
of character. Why? Because they're a swamp. They're not giving.
They're not being refreshed in God. Receiving. You see, you
grow the most as you give the most. You grow
the most as you release, as you give, as you pray,
(01:35):
as you say, here I am, God, use me. And
so the people that are here that are the freshest,
the most renewed are the people that are here that
are serving. You found a ministry, you found a place
and you're serving. Somehow, someway, you're in a home group.
You're encouraging. You're a prayer partner. You're discipling someone. You're.
(01:57):
You're helping out in Sunday school. You're you're Wherever you're
just saying, God, here I am. Use me, use me
to pray, use me. Whatever talents I have, God use
me as God gives into you. Then you pour out
and God starts using you, and you start feeling more
and more refreshed because that's the way it works in
(02:18):
the body of Christ. So people that grow are people
that they take in, but they give out. They're used
of God. And by the way, it tells us in
in first Corinthians chapter three, verses one and two brothers,
I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly.
This is Paul speaking to the Corinthians, mere infants in Christ.
(02:40):
I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were
not ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready
for it. And number four, lastly, they grow because the
fourth characteristic is this they grow because they seek to
practice the truth They are learning, they grow because they
(03:04):
seek to practice the truth. They are they are learning.
Look what it says in verse 13. Anyone who lives
on milk, being still an infant is not acquainted with
the teachings about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature,
who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good
from evil. How many of you know you can be
(03:28):
in Christ 15 years and still be immature, and still
be a baby in Christ? You see, let me be
honest with you. On a typical Sunday morning, I mean Sunday, summertime,
it dips a little bit. But on a typical Sunday
morning at all of New Life, there's between 3500 to
4000 people that worship at a new life celebration. Close
(03:52):
to 4000 people that call New Life their home on
a regular Sunday. There's probably close to 6000 people. Not
everybody's going to show up all at once on Sunday,
but there's probably close to 6000 people that call New
Life their home. If you say, hey, what church? What
church is your church? Well, new life is. And maybe
new life North or new life South or midway or
(04:13):
Nueva Vida. So close to 6000 people. I would venture
to say that out of those 6000 people that call
New Life their home, that the amount of people that
the percentage of people that are actually engaged in growing,
(04:35):
in giving, in staying refreshed would be, would be a
much smaller percentage than the overall number of people that attend.
What God wants to do is God wants to take
his church, his people, and God wants to begin to
mobilize everyone to be fresh in him, everyone to grow
(05:00):
in him. God wants to begin to mobilize the entire
body of Christ so that no one is staying the same.
No one is stagnant. Everybody's growing. Everybody's moving to the
next level. Imagine 6000 people that all of them are growing.
All of them are saying, God, I don't want to
stay the same. I want to go to the next level. God,
(05:20):
I want to change. I want to be more like
Jesus Christ. And they're mobilized to say, God, use me.
I have my issues, but God use me. Imagine the impact.
Imagine that. But many. What happens is many of us
get stuck in the stagnant mode, and we're not able
to go to the place that God wants us to go.
(05:42):
We get stale and we get stagnant. Now here's what.
Here's what the writer of the Hebrews says. The way
you grow and and and go beyond being a baby
is that you have to be acquainted with the teachings
of righteousness, for solid food is for the For the mature,
who by constant use listen, have trained themselves to distinguish
(06:07):
good from evil. A baby has very little discernment between
that which is nutritious and that which is junk. Do
you remember when you had a little baby? Some of
you may have still a little baby. Everything in the
house they put in their mouth right there, like human
vacuum cleaners. So these little latches on the kitchen, behind
(06:32):
the kitchen so the babies can't get in there. And
if you leave anything on the floor, they crawl around,
they see it in their mouth, you know, whatever it is,
a dead fly in their mouth, a Lego in their mouth,
you know, whatever. They choke on things. You have to
make sure they're not around because babies have very little discernment.
They can't distinguish between a carrot and a roach, you know,
(06:52):
they just don't. They can't tell the difference. They'll put
anything in their mouth, right? They don't know what's nutrition
and what's not because they're Are immature. They have no distinction.
They have no discernment between what's good or they'll just
put anything in their mouth, eat anything because they lack discernment.
My mother tells me that when I was about, uh,
probably about 7 or 8 months old, uh, they, they
(07:15):
were living in Costa Rica and I became deathly ill
as a little baby. And she thinks her theory is
they were on an all church picnic, and they had
gone out to some field where there was cows and
other animals out there, and they had put me on
the grass there. And her theory is that I put
(07:38):
some who knows animal droppings in my mouth. And for
24 hours straight, I almost died. I was thrown up.
The doctor didn't know if I was going to make it. Why?
Because the baby has no discernment. It will put anything
in its mouth. Even things that are bad for it
won't put in its mouth because it has no discernment. Listen,
(07:59):
the Word of God says this. The writer of the
Hebrews says this. He says the mature develop because of
constant use. They develop a sense of discernment between good
and evil. Why? Because they constantly use the word in
their life. They're putting it into practice, constantly applying the word.
(08:20):
They become good at discerning what is right and what
is wrong. If you if you lack discernment, then you'll
put this doctrine into your life and this teaching into
your life. And you can't tell the difference between heresy
and paganism and bad stuff that you shouldn't be believing.
You just put it in your mouth because you have
no discernment. You take it, you eat it. Oh, I
(08:41):
guess this is good. That sounds good. I'll take that.
But people that practice the word that put it into practice,
they distinguish between good and evil. They make right decisions
from wrong decisions. They understand. No, God says no to this.
Yes to this. They avoid a lot of mistakes in
life because they're discerning about things, because they're mature in life,
(09:02):
because they've been putting in practice the word, the word,
the word, the word, the word, the word, the word
they've been taking and giving out, taking and giving out.
And they're mature, strong. They can feed other people, help
other people. They are growing in the likeness of Christ.
Their character starts looking like Jesus. Their faith is strengthened.
(09:23):
They understand their convictions because they've been around the word
and put it into practice. Listen, your greatest challenge. Your
greatest challenge is not your wife. No, it's not your husband.
(09:44):
Your greatest challenge is not your boss. Your greatest challenge
is not your oldest son. Your greatest challenge is not
your landlord. No, it's not your neighbor. Your greatest challenge
is not your home group leader? No. Your greatest challenge
(10:07):
to your progress. Listen is yourself. You are your greatest challenge.
You cannot blame other people for your lack of growth.
You need to stand before God and say, God, I
(10:27):
take responsibility for my growth. I refuse to stay stagnant.
I do not want to be the same person I
was three years ago. I want to grow. I want
to change. I want to press in and be more
(10:49):
like Jesus or my character to be different. I want
to know more about God. I want to be hungrier
for God. I want to want to discern more. No
more of the word have a greater impact. God use me.
Are you hearing me? Hungry for God. Hungry for God.
(11:15):
Hungry for more of God. Hungry to grow. Hungry to change.
It starts with that. When you say I refuse to
stay the same. And the. The writer of the Hebrews
is saying you need to grow. You need to grow.
You become dull of hearing. You should be teachers, but
(11:37):
you're not. You're still drinking milk and you should be
beyond milk. You should be growing beyond that, getting to
the next phase, going to the next level. So I
made a determination. I want this church to be a
place that is constantly Challenging people to grow. I want
(12:03):
to make it hard for you to stay the same.
S1 (12:12):
Learning that maturity in Christ Jesus comes from more than
just warming a seat. That's our takeaway so far from
today's message from Mark Jobe on Bold Steps weekend, and
he'll continue in just a moment. But we're pausing here
at the midpoint to remind you that we'd love to
hear from you today. Every card, letter, email, and social
media comment we get. Mark, it really is greatly appreciated.
S2 (12:33):
It really is. I got a post from a man
by the name of Fred, a father by the name
of Fred, this week that encouraged me and he said this.
He said I listened to Bold Steps every day during
my lunch break. So Fred and I do lunch together.
I live in Florida, and I introduced my son, Caleb,
(12:53):
who lives in Oklahoma, to Bold Steps. Now we listen
every day and talk about the broadcast. Wow. It has
been a great blessing to me and I'm constantly being
challenged in my walk with Jesus, thank you, Pastor Joe,
from the bottom of my heart. And Fred, I want
to say thank you. I love the fact that you
connected with your son who's in Oklahoma, and you guys
(13:14):
are connecting over spiritual things. That really encouraged me, Fred. Yeah, I.
S1 (13:18):
Would as a father of sons, you know what it's
like to connect with these guys?
S2 (13:21):
Absolutely. I have a son that's 22 and a son
that's 27. And, you know, just a reminder, by the way,
that you may be listening to this on the radio
right now. We don't have a broadcast in Oklahoma, but
I'm assuming the son is listening online. So just a reminder,
you can share this program and people can access it online. Sure.
S1 (13:42):
Don't forget about the smartphone app as well. Many ways
to listen to Bold Steps Radio, including turning back to
Mark's message right now here on today's broadcast.
S2 (13:56):
My prayer is the Spirit of God move in this place.
So every single one of us. Hey, we're feeling like
I got to grow. I got to grow. I can't
stay back. I can't hide anymore I'm trying to hide.
And by the way, hey, I can see all the
way to the back rows. Don't think just because you're
sitting way in the back that I can't see. But
I want everybody to grow. I want everybody to feel
(14:19):
this push to grow. This push to say I need
to be more like Jesus. This conviction of the Spirit
of God flowing among us to say we will be
more like Jesus. We say to God, God, fill us
with your Holy Spirit. We refuse to say the same God,
we're not going to drink spiritual milk. I will not
(14:39):
be a baby Christian after 15 years in God. I
refuse to be immature. God help me to be more
like Jesus. And that's my goal as we enter into
(15:00):
this season. Everybody growing. Stretching. And by the way, hey,
I'm at the front of the line saying, God, I
want to grow. Help me to constantly grow. I don't
want to stay the same. I don't want to live
off of yesterday's oil. I don't want to live off
of yesterday's teaching understanding. I need to grow now, understand
(15:22):
more about Jesus, know more of his heart, grow more
in his character. Want to be more like him. The
moment you stop growing is the moment you start dying.
The question I'm asking you to ask yourself is this God,
am I stagnant or am I growing? In my motivated
(15:46):
to grow, how much do I want to grow? It
aggravates me to see people that. Have walked in God
a while, but are making decisions in life like baby
(16:08):
Christians are. I want to say we should be beyond that,
shouldn't we? Hey, shouldn't we be beyond that? And that
was okay when you were a baby, Christian. But hey,
five years into it, are you still making decisions like
a baby Christian? Do I still have to explain to
(16:31):
you the whole basics of, you know, don't start dating
a non-believer and sleeping with her on the weekends? I mean, really,
do we still have to go there? So if that's it,
sit down with you and have a conversation about not
cussing out your wife. And raising any physical hand to
(16:58):
hit her. Do I really have really have to talk
to you after six years in Christ? Do I really
have to even have that conversation with you? Really? After
four years of being in Jesus, do I really have
to talk to you about the importance of fellowship and
being together in the Body of Christ? Of coming and
(17:19):
hearing the word. Of being faithful to be here. Do
we still have to talk about why you're not around
and and how come you're not making worship a priority?
Do we really have to have that conversation, or should
we be beyond that? Come on. Do I still, after
ten years of being in Christ, have to sit down
(17:40):
and explain tithing to you? Do I have to sit
down and explain what God says about giving and making
that a priority? And and investing in the kingdom of God?
Do we really have to have that conversation after ten
years of being in Christ? Do I have to sit
down and say that again? Hey, after 11 years of
being in Christ, do I really need to sit down
(18:02):
and explain to you that the Word of God is
the word, not just another book, that it doesn't just
contain truth, that it is truth, that it's not an
amalgamation of truth and principles, but it's that the living,
powerful Word of God and every single part of it
needs to be considered and obeyed and evaluated. Do I
really need to go there? Come on. You've been a
(18:26):
believer for four years now. Four years? Do we really
need to talk about still talk about that. There's not
multiple ways to God, but that there's one way. His
name is Jesus. One mediator to the father. That's Jesus,
that we don't live, that the Bible doesn't teach pluralism,
(18:49):
that there's not multiple ways, and that not all the
ways are the same. Do I really have to go
there after four years of studying the word? Do you
really have to understand once again that there's not multiple
ways to God, but only one way through Jesus Christ.
He is the way, the truth, and the life. And
no man comes to the father but through him. Do
we need to address that again? You see, I'm always
(19:14):
going to be addressing the basics here because we always
have new people. Always. The day we stop having new people,
the day we stop leading people to Christ, we might
as well shut down. Go home. Right. That's what we're
called to do. And so every Sunday that I get
up to preach or teach, I understand there's new people here,
people that, that, that, that walk in and I say, hey,
(19:36):
open your Bibles. They say Bible. Okay. Go to chapter
four of John. John chapter. What's that? See, I understand that,
and I'm perfectly fine with that. And so what I
like to do is I like to go slow and
(19:56):
try to explain things as we go along, because some
people are people are intimidated. They come to a church
like this and they feel like, well, I'm not a,
you know, I don't know, a Bible. I don't own
a Bible. I don't know chapters, I don't know verses.
And that's okay. I try to coach them along, explain
things along. But, you know, listen, I'm not doing it
for you that have been a believer for seven years.
I hope that you already have some of that stuff down.
(20:18):
I'm doing it for the new people that are just
coming that basically don't know anything about God yet. I'm
re-explaining things. But for those of you that have been
in Christ for a while, for those of you that
have been around for a while, listen, some of you
should be teachers by this point in time. Some of
you should be leading Bible studies. By this time. You
(20:38):
should be mentoring, discipling, leading Sunday school, helping with the youth,
coaching people, praying at the altar. You should be. Some
of you should be pastors by now. Some of you
should have ministries by now. Some of you should be
running your own businesses with God value character by now.
Some of you should be married by now some of
(21:00):
you should be married and godly men by now. Some
of you should be leading your kids in devotions by
now and praying over them. Some of you should be
beyond where you're at in God. And I say this
not to discourage you, but to exhort you.
S1 (21:27):
Yes. Amen. Thanks, Mark, for reminding us that it is
time to grow and change. You're listening to Mark Jobe,
and this is Bold Steps Weekend. Mark, when Jesus told
his disciples to follow me, he wasn't inviting them to
pray some special prayer or learn some secret handshake to
get into heaven. He was calling them to pursue him
with everything they had.
S2 (21:47):
Yes, Wayne. And you've heard this message and some of you. Well,
you're under conviction right now, realizing, boy, I should be
a lot further along in my walk than I am.
And so I don't want you to leave this time
feeling guilty, discouraged. I want to put a little fire
(22:09):
under you. If you're listening to me right now and
you realize, yeah, I should be praying over my children
if you're married or, hey, I've been dating this girl
for a long time, or hey, I'm speaking to you, guy.
Maybe even worse. I've been living with my girlfriend for
all this time, and it's time that I, you know,
get things right with God. Marry this girl. It's a time.
(22:31):
It's time for me to take some spiritual leadership in
my household. So I want to pray for you right now.
If you've gotten stuck and you haven't stepped up to
that place of maturity that you would get out of
that slump that you're in and say, okay, it's time. Father,
I pray even right now for that father that's under conviction,
(22:54):
that young lady that is choosing right now to make
some Make some decisions about the purity in her life. God,
I pray, father, for growth, not stagnation, not being the
same way we were three years ago. But I pray
for Holy Spirit inspired, driven growth. And I pray, father,
(23:17):
that we would rise to what you've called us to be,
not slump to what our flesh asks us to be.
And I ask this in Jesus name.
S1 (23:24):
Amen. Thank you Mark. And if you've been touched by
today's message and feel drawn to know more about Christ,
let me invite you to learn more by taking your
next step with Jesus. Just visit us online at Bold Steps.
Hit the connect tab and click on my Next step
in Faith. Mark has prepared a personal message for you there,
going deeper into what it means to truly know Jesus
(23:46):
and what makes this relationship so life changing. We'd love
to be a part of your journey, so follow up
with us there. Again, that all starts at bold steps.
When you click the connect tab and then with just
a few moments remaining, let me invite you invite you
to request a copy of this month's Bold Step gift,
a best selling book titled Winning the War in Your Mind,
written by Craig Rochelle. Through relatable stories and examples, Craig
(24:08):
exposes some of the biggest lies that lead to toxic thinking.
Things like I'm not good enough or there's something wrong
with me, but he doesn't leave you stuck there. Instead,
he equips you to replace those lives with God's empowering,
life giving truth. It's so important to make sure our
thoughts are rooted in this kind of truth, because what
we think directly impacts how we live. Our emotions, relationships, work,
(24:32):
even our walk with God. By aligning your mind with
God's way of thinking, you'll experience greater joy, confidence, and
spiritual vitality in every area of your life. And that's
why we want to get you a copy of Winning
the War in Your Mind. We'll send it straight to
your door when you make a donation of any amount
to Bold Steps. Just go online to Bold steps.org or
(24:54):
give us a call at 800 D.L. Moody. That's 803 3566639.
You can also write to us to Bold Steps. Weekend
820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60,610. And before you go,
let me remind you there are a variety of ways
you can catch this program while on the go, but
(25:16):
the easiest might be the Bold Steps app. It's available
from your app store, or you can also have these
weekly lessons downloaded automatically to your phone or mobile device
by subscribing to the Bold Steps Weekend podcast. Open up
your podcast app and search for Bold Steps Weekend with
doctor Mark Jobe. That's all the time we have today,
but be sure to join us again next weekend, where
(25:37):
we'll learn about how to remember God's faithfulness when forgetting
can be so easy. Our message is titled 12 stones,
and you'll hear it next time on Bold Steps Weekend
with Mark Jobe. Bold Steps Weekend is a production of
Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
Today on Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe. We're learning
how to become givers.
S2 (00:05):
God wants to begin to mobilize the entire body of
Christ so that no one is staying the same. No
one is stagnant. Everybody is growing and they're mobilized to say, God,
use me. I have my issues, but God use me.
Imagine the impact.
S1 (00:34):
Welcome to Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe, president of
Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New Life
Community Church in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Today, as we
move forward in this two part mini series on growth
and change, we're going to be discovering why it's better
to be a giver than a receiver. Now, Mark started
this discussion last week, so if you missed part one,
(00:55):
you can catch it online at boldsystems.org. Right now, let's
jump into today's message from a study in Hebrews chapter
five verse 11. Mark will be explaining on points three
and four. Learning how to seek the truth as we
grow and learn. And the message starts right now.
S2 (01:13):
How many of you know people can sit under the
teaching of a church and go to a church for
a long time and look nothing like Jesus? They have
a lot of knowledge, but they don't have a lot
of character. Why? Because they're a swamp. They're not giving.
They're not being refreshed in God. Receiving. You see, you
grow the most as you give the most. You grow
the most as you release, as you give, as you pray,
(01:35):
as you say, here I am, God, use me. And
so the people that are here that are the freshest,
the most renewed are the people that are here that
are serving. You found a ministry, you found a place
and you're serving. Somehow, someway, you're in a home group.
You're encouraging. You're a prayer partner. You're discipling someone. You're.
(01:57):
You're helping out in Sunday school. You're you're Wherever you're
just saying, God, here I am. Use me, use me
to pray, use me. Whatever talents I have, God use
me as God gives into you. Then you pour out
and God starts using you, and you start feeling more
and more refreshed because that's the way it works in
(02:18):
the body of Christ. So people that grow are people
that they take in, but they give out. They're used
of God. And by the way, it tells us in
in first Corinthians chapter three, verses one and two brothers,
I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly.
This is Paul speaking to the Corinthians, mere infants in Christ.
(02:40):
I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were
not ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready
for it. And number four, lastly, they grow because the
fourth characteristic is this they grow because they seek to
practice the truth They are learning, they grow because they
(03:04):
seek to practice the truth. They are they are learning.
Look what it says in verse 13. Anyone who lives
on milk, being still an infant is not acquainted with
the teachings about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature,
who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good
from evil. How many of you know you can be
(03:28):
in Christ 15 years and still be immature, and still
be a baby in Christ? You see, let me be
honest with you. On a typical Sunday morning, I mean Sunday, summertime,
it dips a little bit. But on a typical Sunday
morning at all of New Life, there's between 3500 to
4000 people that worship at a new life celebration. Close
(03:52):
to 4000 people that call New Life their home on
a regular Sunday. There's probably close to 6000 people. Not
everybody's going to show up all at once on Sunday,
but there's probably close to 6000 people that call New
Life their home. If you say, hey, what church? What
church is your church? Well, new life is. And maybe
new life North or new life South or midway or
(04:13):
Nueva Vida. So close to 6000 people. I would venture
to say that out of those 6000 people that call
New Life their home, that the amount of people that
the percentage of people that are actually engaged in growing,
(04:35):
in giving, in staying refreshed would be, would be a
much smaller percentage than the overall number of people that attend.
What God wants to do is God wants to take
his church, his people, and God wants to begin to
mobilize everyone to be fresh in him, everyone to grow
(05:00):
in him. God wants to begin to mobilize the entire
body of Christ so that no one is staying the same.
No one is stagnant. Everybody's growing. Everybody's moving to the
next level. Imagine 6000 people that all of them are growing.
All of them are saying, God, I don't want to
stay the same. I want to go to the next level. God,
(05:20):
I want to change. I want to be more like
Jesus Christ. And they're mobilized to say, God, use me.
I have my issues, but God use me. Imagine the impact.
Imagine that. But many. What happens is many of us
get stuck in the stagnant mode, and we're not able
to go to the place that God wants us to go.
(05:42):
We get stale and we get stagnant. Now here's what.
Here's what the writer of the Hebrews says. The way
you grow and and and go beyond being a baby
is that you have to be acquainted with the teachings
of righteousness, for solid food is for the For the mature,
who by constant use listen, have trained themselves to distinguish
(06:07):
good from evil. A baby has very little discernment between
that which is nutritious and that which is junk. Do
you remember when you had a little baby? Some of
you may have still a little baby. Everything in the
house they put in their mouth right there, like human
vacuum cleaners. So these little latches on the kitchen, behind
(06:32):
the kitchen so the babies can't get in there. And
if you leave anything on the floor, they crawl around,
they see it in their mouth, you know, whatever it is,
a dead fly in their mouth, a Lego in their mouth,
you know, whatever. They choke on things. You have to
make sure they're not around because babies have very little discernment.
They can't distinguish between a carrot and a roach, you know,
(06:52):
they just don't. They can't tell the difference. They'll put
anything in their mouth, right? They don't know what's nutrition
and what's not because they're Are immature. They have no distinction.
They have no discernment between what's good or they'll just
put anything in their mouth, eat anything because they lack discernment.
My mother tells me that when I was about, uh,
probably about 7 or 8 months old, uh, they, they
(07:15):
were living in Costa Rica and I became deathly ill
as a little baby. And she thinks her theory is
they were on an all church picnic, and they had
gone out to some field where there was cows and
other animals out there, and they had put me on
the grass there. And her theory is that I put
(07:38):
some who knows animal droppings in my mouth. And for
24 hours straight, I almost died. I was thrown up.
The doctor didn't know if I was going to make it. Why?
Because the baby has no discernment. It will put anything
in its mouth. Even things that are bad for it
won't put in its mouth because it has no discernment. Listen,
(07:59):
the Word of God says this. The writer of the
Hebrews says this. He says the mature develop because of
constant use. They develop a sense of discernment between good
and evil. Why? Because they constantly use the word in
their life. They're putting it into practice, constantly applying the word.
(08:20):
They become good at discerning what is right and what
is wrong. If you if you lack discernment, then you'll
put this doctrine into your life and this teaching into
your life. And you can't tell the difference between heresy
and paganism and bad stuff that you shouldn't be believing.
You just put it in your mouth because you have
no discernment. You take it, you eat it. Oh, I
(08:41):
guess this is good. That sounds good. I'll take that.
But people that practice the word that put it into practice,
they distinguish between good and evil. They make right decisions
from wrong decisions. They understand. No, God says no to this.
Yes to this. They avoid a lot of mistakes in
life because they're discerning about things, because they're mature in life,
(09:02):
because they've been putting in practice the word, the word,
the word, the word, the word, the word, the word
they've been taking and giving out, taking and giving out.
And they're mature, strong. They can feed other people, help
other people. They are growing in the likeness of Christ.
Their character starts looking like Jesus. Their faith is strengthened.
(09:23):
They understand their convictions because they've been around the word
and put it into practice. Listen, your greatest challenge. Your
greatest challenge is not your wife. No, it's not your husband.
(09:44):
Your greatest challenge is not your boss. Your greatest challenge
is not your oldest son. Your greatest challenge is not
your landlord. No, it's not your neighbor. Your greatest challenge
is not your home group leader? No. Your greatest challenge
(10:07):
to your progress. Listen is yourself. You are your greatest challenge.
You cannot blame other people for your lack of growth.
You need to stand before God and say, God, I
(10:27):
take responsibility for my growth. I refuse to stay stagnant.
I do not want to be the same person I
was three years ago. I want to grow. I want
to change. I want to press in and be more
(10:49):
like Jesus or my character to be different. I want
to know more about God. I want to be hungrier
for God. I want to want to discern more. No
more of the word have a greater impact. God use me.
Are you hearing me? Hungry for God. Hungry for God.
(11:15):
Hungry for more of God. Hungry to grow. Hungry to change.
It starts with that. When you say I refuse to
stay the same. And the. The writer of the Hebrews
is saying you need to grow. You need to grow.
You become dull of hearing. You should be teachers, but
(11:37):
you're not. You're still drinking milk and you should be
beyond milk. You should be growing beyond that, getting to
the next phase, going to the next level. So I
made a determination. I want this church to be a
place that is constantly Challenging people to grow. I want
(12:03):
to make it hard for you to stay the same.
S1 (12:12):
Learning that maturity in Christ Jesus comes from more than
just warming a seat. That's our takeaway so far from
today's message from Mark Jobe on Bold Steps weekend, and
he'll continue in just a moment. But we're pausing here
at the midpoint to remind you that we'd love to
hear from you today. Every card, letter, email, and social
media comment we get. Mark, it really is greatly appreciated.
S2 (12:33):
It really is. I got a post from a man
by the name of Fred, a father by the name
of Fred, this week that encouraged me and he said this.
He said I listened to Bold Steps every day during
my lunch break. So Fred and I do lunch together.
I live in Florida, and I introduced my son, Caleb,
(12:53):
who lives in Oklahoma, to Bold Steps. Now we listen
every day and talk about the broadcast. Wow. It has
been a great blessing to me and I'm constantly being
challenged in my walk with Jesus, thank you, Pastor Joe,
from the bottom of my heart. And Fred, I want
to say thank you. I love the fact that you
connected with your son who's in Oklahoma, and you guys
(13:14):
are connecting over spiritual things. That really encouraged me, Fred. Yeah, I.
S1 (13:18):
Would as a father of sons, you know what it's
like to connect with these guys?
S2 (13:21):
Absolutely. I have a son that's 22 and a son
that's 27. And, you know, just a reminder, by the way,
that you may be listening to this on the radio
right now. We don't have a broadcast in Oklahoma, but
I'm assuming the son is listening online. So just a reminder,
you can share this program and people can access it online. Sure.
S1 (13:42):
Don't forget about the smartphone app as well. Many ways
to listen to Bold Steps Radio, including turning back to
Mark's message right now here on today's broadcast.
S2 (13:56):
My prayer is the Spirit of God move in this place.
So every single one of us. Hey, we're feeling like
I got to grow. I got to grow. I can't
stay back. I can't hide anymore I'm trying to hide.
And by the way, hey, I can see all the
way to the back rows. Don't think just because you're
sitting way in the back that I can't see. But
I want everybody to grow. I want everybody to feel
(14:19):
this push to grow. This push to say I need
to be more like Jesus. This conviction of the Spirit
of God flowing among us to say we will be
more like Jesus. We say to God, God, fill us
with your Holy Spirit. We refuse to say the same God,
we're not going to drink spiritual milk. I will not
(14:39):
be a baby Christian after 15 years in God. I
refuse to be immature. God help me to be more
like Jesus. And that's my goal as we enter into
(15:00):
this season. Everybody growing. Stretching. And by the way, hey,
I'm at the front of the line saying, God, I
want to grow. Help me to constantly grow. I don't
want to stay the same. I don't want to live
off of yesterday's oil. I don't want to live off
of yesterday's teaching understanding. I need to grow now, understand
(15:22):
more about Jesus, know more of his heart, grow more
in his character. Want to be more like him. The
moment you stop growing is the moment you start dying.
The question I'm asking you to ask yourself is this God,
am I stagnant or am I growing? In my motivated
(15:46):
to grow, how much do I want to grow? It
aggravates me to see people that. Have walked in God
a while, but are making decisions in life like baby
(16:08):
Christians are. I want to say we should be beyond that,
shouldn't we? Hey, shouldn't we be beyond that? And that
was okay when you were a baby, Christian. But hey,
five years into it, are you still making decisions like
a baby Christian? Do I still have to explain to
(16:31):
you the whole basics of, you know, don't start dating
a non-believer and sleeping with her on the weekends? I mean, really,
do we still have to go there? So if that's it,
sit down with you and have a conversation about not
cussing out your wife. And raising any physical hand to
(16:58):
hit her. Do I really have really have to talk
to you after six years in Christ? Do I really
have to even have that conversation with you? Really? After
four years of being in Jesus, do I really have
to talk to you about the importance of fellowship and
being together in the Body of Christ? Of coming and
(17:19):
hearing the word. Of being faithful to be here. Do
we still have to talk about why you're not around
and and how come you're not making worship a priority?
Do we really have to have that conversation, or should
we be beyond that? Come on. Do I still, after
ten years of being in Christ, have to sit down
(17:40):
and explain tithing to you? Do I have to sit
down and explain what God says about giving and making
that a priority? And and investing in the kingdom of God?
Do we really have to have that conversation after ten
years of being in Christ? Do I have to sit
down and say that again? Hey, after 11 years of
being in Christ, do I really need to sit down
(18:02):
and explain to you that the Word of God is
the word, not just another book, that it doesn't just
contain truth, that it is truth, that it's not an
amalgamation of truth and principles, but it's that the living,
powerful Word of God and every single part of it
needs to be considered and obeyed and evaluated. Do I
really need to go there? Come on. You've been a
(18:26):
believer for four years now. Four years? Do we really
need to talk about still talk about that. There's not
multiple ways to God, but that there's one way. His
name is Jesus. One mediator to the father. That's Jesus,
that we don't live, that the Bible doesn't teach pluralism,
(18:49):
that there's not multiple ways, and that not all the
ways are the same. Do I really have to go
there after four years of studying the word? Do you
really have to understand once again that there's not multiple
ways to God, but only one way through Jesus Christ.
He is the way, the truth, and the life. And
no man comes to the father but through him. Do
we need to address that again? You see, I'm always
(19:14):
going to be addressing the basics here because we always
have new people. Always. The day we stop having new people,
the day we stop leading people to Christ, we might
as well shut down. Go home. Right. That's what we're
called to do. And so every Sunday that I get
up to preach or teach, I understand there's new people here,
people that, that, that, that walk in and I say, hey,
(19:36):
open your Bibles. They say Bible. Okay. Go to chapter
four of John. John chapter. What's that? See, I understand that,
and I'm perfectly fine with that. And so what I
like to do is I like to go slow and
(19:56):
try to explain things as we go along, because some
people are people are intimidated. They come to a church
like this and they feel like, well, I'm not a,
you know, I don't know, a Bible. I don't own
a Bible. I don't know chapters, I don't know verses.
And that's okay. I try to coach them along, explain
things along. But, you know, listen, I'm not doing it
for you that have been a believer for seven years.
I hope that you already have some of that stuff down.
(20:18):
I'm doing it for the new people that are just
coming that basically don't know anything about God yet. I'm
re-explaining things. But for those of you that have been
in Christ for a while, for those of you that
have been around for a while, listen, some of you
should be teachers by this point in time. Some of
you should be leading Bible studies. By this time. You
(20:38):
should be mentoring, discipling, leading Sunday school, helping with the youth,
coaching people, praying at the altar. You should be. Some
of you should be pastors by now. Some of you
should have ministries by now. Some of you should be
running your own businesses with God value character by now.
Some of you should be married by now some of
(21:00):
you should be married and godly men by now. Some
of you should be leading your kids in devotions by
now and praying over them. Some of you should be
beyond where you're at in God. And I say this
not to discourage you, but to exhort you.
S1 (21:27):
Yes. Amen. Thanks, Mark, for reminding us that it is
time to grow and change. You're listening to Mark Jobe,
and this is Bold Steps Weekend. Mark, when Jesus told
his disciples to follow me, he wasn't inviting them to
pray some special prayer or learn some secret handshake to
get into heaven. He was calling them to pursue him
with everything they had.
S2 (21:47):
Yes, Wayne. And you've heard this message and some of you. Well,
you're under conviction right now, realizing, boy, I should be
a lot further along in my walk than I am.
And so I don't want you to leave this time
feeling guilty, discouraged. I want to put a little fire
(22:09):
under you. If you're listening to me right now and
you realize, yeah, I should be praying over my children
if you're married or, hey, I've been dating this girl
for a long time, or hey, I'm speaking to you, guy.
Maybe even worse. I've been living with my girlfriend for
all this time, and it's time that I, you know,
get things right with God. Marry this girl. It's a time.
(22:31):
It's time for me to take some spiritual leadership in
my household. So I want to pray for you right now.
If you've gotten stuck and you haven't stepped up to
that place of maturity that you would get out of
that slump that you're in and say, okay, it's time. Father,
I pray even right now for that father that's under conviction,
(22:54):
that young lady that is choosing right now to make
some Make some decisions about the purity in her life. God,
I pray, father, for growth, not stagnation, not being the
same way we were three years ago. But I pray
for Holy Spirit inspired, driven growth. And I pray, father,
(23:17):
that we would rise to what you've called us to be,
not slump to what our flesh asks us to be.
And I ask this in Jesus name.
S1 (23:24):
Amen. Thank you Mark. And if you've been touched by
today's message and feel drawn to know more about Christ,
let me invite you to learn more by taking your
next step with Jesus. Just visit us online at Bold Steps.
Hit the connect tab and click on my Next step
in Faith. Mark has prepared a personal message for you there,
going deeper into what it means to truly know Jesus
(23:46):
and what makes this relationship so life changing. We'd love
to be a part of your journey, so follow up
with us there. Again, that all starts at bold steps.
When you click the connect tab and then with just
a few moments remaining, let me invite you invite you
to request a copy of this month's Bold Step gift,
a best selling book titled Winning the War in Your Mind,
written by Craig Rochelle. Through relatable stories and examples, Craig
(24:08):
exposes some of the biggest lies that lead to toxic thinking.
Things like I'm not good enough or there's something wrong
with me, but he doesn't leave you stuck there. Instead,
he equips you to replace those lives with God's empowering,
life giving truth. It's so important to make sure our
thoughts are rooted in this kind of truth, because what
we think directly impacts how we live. Our emotions, relationships, work,
(24:32):
even our walk with God. By aligning your mind with
God's way of thinking, you'll experience greater joy, confidence, and
spiritual vitality in every area of your life. And that's
why we want to get you a copy of Winning
the War in Your Mind. We'll send it straight to
your door when you make a donation of any amount
to Bold Steps. Just go online to Bold steps.org or
(24:54):
give us a call at 800 D.L. Moody. That's 803 3566639.
You can also write to us to Bold Steps. Weekend
820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60,610. And before you go,
let me remind you there are a variety of ways
you can catch this program while on the go, but
(25:16):
the easiest might be the Bold Steps app. It's available
from your app store, or you can also have these
weekly lessons downloaded automatically to your phone or mobile device
by subscribing to the Bold Steps Weekend podcast. Open up
your podcast app and search for Bold Steps Weekend with
doctor Mark Jobe. That's all the time we have today,
but be sure to join us again next weekend, where
(25:37):
we'll learn about how to remember God's faithfulness when forgetting
can be so easy. Our message is titled 12 stones,
and you'll hear it next time on Bold Steps Weekend
with Mark Jobe. Bold Steps Weekend is a production of
Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!