March 22, 2025 • 26 mins
Today on Bold Steps Weekend, Mark Jobe shows you how to live in the expectation of Christ’s return. Taken from Matthew 24:36-51, this message should fill you with great hope.
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S1 (00:00):
Today on Bold Steps weekend, Mark Jobe shows us how
to live in the expectation of Christ's return.
S2 (00:06):
Jesus has said, be ready because I could come at
any moment, any time, any day. I believe that God
tells us that because he wants us to live our
life in constant readiness for the coming again of His Son,
Jesus Christ.
S1 (00:37):
Welcome to Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe. Mark is
president of Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of
New Life Community Church here in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Mark.
Last week we began talking about the end times, and
for some it can be a scary thought. But for
the believer, when you look at the text, this should
fill us with hope.
S3 (00:56):
It really should fill us with great hope. And you know,
people get fixated on win win. Is it going to happen?
And periodically, Wayne, I'm sure you've seen it happen. Someone
will predict a time, a day, a year.
S1 (01:11):
Just can't take that seriously.
S3 (01:12):
And there's this big commotion over it. But obviously, Scripture
is very clear that Jesus doesn't want us to know
the exact time of his return. He leaves it open,
I think, so that we would be ready. I mean,
if you knew the time, you'd wait until the last
minute and say, okay, now's my time. I still have
(01:33):
a couple of days.
S1 (01:34):
Yeah, there's some things he wants us to do in
the meantime.
S3 (01:36):
He does not only about the spreading of the gospel,
but also living with the continual readiness for his return.
S1 (01:44):
Well, the message title puts the question this way. How
ready are you? Here's Mark job.
S2 (01:51):
I have five people in my family, and let me
tell you, to get ready for an event when all
of us have to get ready at the same time.
There's only five, but it's not that easy. Those of
you that have young girls in your household know. Oh,
it's not that easy. You're fighting for the bathroom. I
(02:13):
don't know what it's like in your household, but when
I say, hey, we're leaving in 15 minutes, I still
have kids in their pajamas telling me they're almost ready.
It's when I'm walking out the door saying, I'm getting
in the car. Then I hear a scurrying a where's
my jacket? I can't find my shoes. Hold on, don't
leave me. Because when I say, are you ready? People say, yeah,
(02:35):
we're ready. But I know that doesn't quite mean they're ready.
Anybody else experience that in their house? Or just me? Okay.
I'm glad. Whew. I thought I was the only one.
In fact, I'm not going to mention any names of
my children. But one day I said, are you ready?
I'm leaving in the car. And one of them ran
out real fast. And when we got here, he told
(02:55):
me he forgot his shoes. Thankfully, I had my gym
bag in the back and his foot fit my shoes
so he didn't have to walk in the church barefoot.
But when we say we're ready, it doesn't always mean
we're ready. When we say, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm ready.
Many of us believe that we're more ready than we
(03:18):
really are. And some of us here, I believe, sitting
in your chair today, you are very unprepared for the
coming of Jesus Christ. And so this passage is all
about preparing us. And I want you to notice how
(03:39):
Jesus starts this passage. I'm going to begin reading in
verse 36 of Matthew chapter 24. Jesus says, but about
the day or the hour, no one knows, not even
the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the father.
(04:00):
As it was in the day of Noah. So will
it be at the coming of the Son of Man?
For in the days before the flood, people were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the
day that Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing
about what would happen until the flood came and took
them all away. That is how it will be at
(04:22):
the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will
be in the field, one will be taken and the
other left. Two women will be grinding at a hand mill.
One will be taken and the other left. Therefore, keep watch,
because you do not know on what day your Lord
(04:43):
will come. But understand this. If the owner of the
house had known at what time of the night the
thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would
not have let his house be broken into. So you
also must be ready, because the Son of Man will
come at an hour when you do not expect him.
(05:09):
Word of the Lord. So here's what I want to
talk to you about today. I want to talk to
you about three attitudes that you need to put on
in order to be ready. How do I prepare for
the day called the coming of the Lord? I believe
that there's three key attitudes that this passage speaks about
in order to be prepared for that day, that none
(05:32):
of us know the time or the hour. Let's start
with that. In fact, in Matthew chapter 24, verse 36,
it says, but about the day or the hour? Who knows?
Say it out loud. Who knows? No one knows. So
if no one knows, stop guessing. So here's what I
(05:55):
know when I hear a prediction that in October of 2020,
on the 12th, Jesus is coming again and it's in
the billboards and someone is predicting it. Guess what? I
know it's definitely not going to happen on that day
because the Bible says no one knows. So if someone
(06:18):
predicts it, it's absolutely wrong. So I hope that you
are trained enough and educated enough in this church to
know that if someone is predicting a time, a date,
a year, a month, that you know absolutely that that
person is a false prophet or someone that has very
(06:41):
little Bible education and knowledge, because the Bible tells us
that no one knows except for the father. The angels
in heaven don't know it. So if someone says, well,
an angel came and told me the day and the time,
I'm going to say it wrong. The angels don't even know.
(07:06):
In fact, it says something shocking. And it says the
son who's the son that the son doesn't even know.
Hold on a second. Wait a second. Now, this is
a pretty amazing statement that the say that the son
doesn't know because God is made up of God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are
(07:27):
3 in 1. They've always existed as God the Father, son,
and the Holy Spirit. They will exist into eternity past
that way. Jesus is not a created being. He's always
existed with the father. And so as the father is omniscient,
so the son is omniscient. So how can the son,
who knows all things, not know the day that he's
coming back? I believe there's a strategy in it. The
(07:57):
Bible tells us that God in the Old Testament. He
throws our sins as far as the East is from
the West, and he remembers them no more. Have you
read that passage? I love it. You mean what God
has forgiven you for? He doesn't. Next time around, bring
(08:21):
it up again. He doesn't say. You know, three years ago,
you fell and you blew it. And you come to
him and say, Lord, could you forgive me again? And
you remember when I fell? Three years? No. When did
you fall? He remembers our sin no more. Does that
mean that God has amnesia? Does that mean he has
(08:42):
a faulty memory? Does that mean he doesn't know? No.
It means he chooses not to remember. So if God
the Son chooses not to look at the date, it's
not because he doesn't can't discover the date or know
the date. He chooses to block the date Eight out.
When my wife and I were having our first child,
(09:03):
we didn't want to know if it was a boy
or a girl. And we went into the the specialist
that did the sonogram, and they put all that gooky
yuck on her belly and kind of moved it around,
and they discovered whether it was a boy or a girl.
But we said, don't tell us. And they had in
an envelope the images that would dictate definitely boy or girl,
(09:26):
but we chose not to open the envelope, not because
we couldn't. No, because we did not want to know
we had a strategy in it. We wanted to be
surprised by it. The Son of Man has a strategy
as well. Jesus is coming back. But it's so top
secret the day and the time, because I believe the
(09:50):
reason that God did not reveal the day and the time,
specifically the hour, although the father knows when it's going
to happen, is that it would be counterproductive productive for
you and I to know the exact day, time, and
hour of his coming. Come on, think about it for
a second. If it were extremely clear when Jesus was
(10:14):
coming back and you know that you had five years
before the coming of Christ, what would that make you do? Well,
I know some of you would say I got five.
I don't have to get serious yet. I could still party.
I could still do my thing because now I have
(10:34):
four years. I still got four, now I got three.
I don't have to get too serious now. Now I
got to. Okay, I got one year. Now I got
to start getting serious. Now I got to start going
to church. I got it because if you knew the time,
you would measure how well you're doing by how much
time you have. And it would be counterproductive to your
(10:55):
spiritual life if you don't know the time. You don't
know the date. But Jesus has said, be ready because
I could come at any moment, at any time. We
historically call that the imminent return of Christ. That means
that at any moment, any time, any day, Jesus could
(11:18):
come again. I believe that God tells us that because
he wants us to live our life in constant readiness
for the coming again of His Son, Jesus Christ. So
here are the three attitudes that keep you ready. If
(11:39):
you're taking notes, I want you to write this down.
Number one, you need to stay ready by living with
an expectant and informed attitude about his imminent return. Expectant
and informed. Expectant means that you you're ready, like it
(11:59):
could happen at any time. Informed means that you are
not ignorant of the fact that Jesus is coming again,
that you know about it. You know about the times.
You know about the seasons. You've read it in Scripture,
and so you are expectant, waiting for it to happen
at any time and informed about what it would look like.
S1 (12:25):
This is Bold Steps weekend. You're listening to Mark Jobe,
and we'll return to the second half of today's message
in just a moment. I'm Wayne Shepherd here with Mark.
Let's talk about The Bold Stepper weekly. Mark, this personal
communication that comes from your desk each Monday morning. A
lot of listeners have signed up for this.
S4 (12:40):
Yeah. We're so excited that so many of you are
signing up and taking advantage of the Bold Stepper, because
you get especially a devotional thought that will set you
up for the week.
S1 (12:53):
Mondays are important, aren't they?
S4 (12:54):
They are. You know, Mondays can set the tone for
the entire week. It can start off to be a
bad Monday with your mind worrying or thinking. Or you
can have a good Monday by focusing on the Word
of God and some truth from the Word of God.
And that's what we try to do with these devotionals.
We try to draw your attention to a thought of
(13:14):
the Word of God, something that will inspire you, something
that'll get you going in the right direction for the week.
S1 (13:20):
And they don't take long to read?
S4 (13:21):
No. They're short. Hopefully will capture your attention and will
feed your soul.
S1 (13:27):
Indeed. All right. The Bold Stepper Weekly is available to
anyone who's listening right now. If you're not receiving it
to your email inbox, you can sign up at boldsystems.org.
Look for The Bold Stepper weekly from Mark Jobe. Well,
let's return to the message now from Mark. How ready
are you?
S2 (13:47):
Notice what it tells us in verse 37, as it
was in the days of Noah, so will it be
at the coming of the Son of Man? How was
it in the days of Noah before the flood? Well,
if you read in the book of Genesis, you'll discover
several things. Do you remember that Noah lived in a
(14:10):
time in which the world had become extremely ungodly? Violence, chaos. Dysfunction,
godlessness had increased. In fact, it had gotten so bad
that as God looked at the world, it said he
(14:31):
repented of making mankind. God looked at mankind, and his
heart was sorry that he had made mankind, because so
much of humanity had turned their back on God. But
he found in Noah a righteous man. So most of
society was godless. Some very few in society were godly.
(14:56):
And by and large, most people did not believe that
a flood was going to come, although most people were
heavily affected by this flood. Notice what Jesus says. He says,
for in the days before the flood, people were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the
day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew
(15:19):
nothing about what would happen until the flood came and
took them away. That is how it will be at
the coming of the Son of Man. Let's compare the
days before the flood to the days before the coming
of Jesus. Number one, look at this. God had told
(15:41):
Noah that the flood was coming to build an ark.
No one knew the flood was coming about to happen,
but did not know the day or the hour. God
had told Noah, I'm going to bring a destruction upon
humankind that has not been seen since the beginning of time.
Most of the people on earth will be destroyed. It's coming.
(16:02):
Warn people about it. But you don't know when it's
going to happen or exactly how it's going to happen. Imagine, Noah.
God said so. Build an ark. Do you know how
big the ark was? About the size of a football field.
Think about that. So here, Noah. Imagine being his neighbor.
(16:24):
Noah's laying wood in his backyard the size of a
football field. A neighbor says to him. Hey, Noah. Hey. No.
What are you building back there? A house, a grain shed.
Building an ark. An ark. How big is it? About
the size of a football field. Whoa! That's a big boat.
(16:48):
How are you going to get it to water? Because
there is no water anywhere close. Oh, no. The water
is going to come from heaven. Oh, really? Mhm. And
why is the arc so big? I mean, you only
have about ten people in your family. Oh, we're going
to put animals in it. Animals? How many animals? Well,
(17:09):
two of every kind. Really? A floating zoo. Hey. And
when exactly is this going to happen? Oh, I don't know,
but it's going to happen. Ah, okay. It took Noah
100 years to build the Ark. By the time Noah
was finished with part of the ark, the other part
(17:30):
was already 100 years old. Think about that. That's quite
a project. And you thought your basement was taking a
long time. When the Ark was completed, most people thought
Noah was a lunatic. A crazy man predicting the end
of the world. Now, Jesus said that the people in
the time of Noah did not know about the flood.
(17:53):
But the Bible tells us that Noah was telling people
about the flood. So if Noah was telling people about
the flood, but the people did not know about the flood.
What was the problem? Noah was telling people, but people
were not listening. How many of you know you can
tell people things that they don't necessarily hear because they
(18:14):
don't either believe it or want to, or want to
hear it? The days before the coming of Christ will
be like the days of Noah. There will be a
remnant of people that talk about the coming of Christ,
but most people will ignore the message of the coming
of Christ. Most people will not believe that there is
(18:37):
a day like that that's coming. Most people will ignore
the message. The great majority of humanity will be like
it was in the days of Noah, where it says
people were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage.
Is there anything wrong with those things? No. It's simply
saying that most people in the days of Noah were
(18:59):
We're going about life as usual, not expecting that anything
dramatic would happen. It will be like that before the
coming of Christ. Most people will be doing the usual things,
completely oblivious to the fact that the Son of Man,
(19:21):
the return of Christ, is about to happen. And they
knew nothing about what was about to happen until the
flood came and took them away. And that is how
it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
First Thessalonians chapter four, verse 16 talks about what will
(19:41):
happen on that day, by the way. It says, for
the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a
loud command and the voice of an archangel. Do you
realize that when Jesus rose from the dead on the
third day, he lived and walked around earth for about
40 days and spoke with his disciples about the message
(20:02):
of the Kingdom of God. Over 500 people saw Jesus alive.
It is one of the most attested facts in history,
confirmed by individuals that saw him and talked with him,
ate with him, and then verified by the fact that
that quite a few people were willing to be crucified
(20:23):
upside down, boiled in hot oil heads, chopped off because
they knew they had seen Christ die, and they had
seen him rise again. And even though they were tortured
because of it, they affirmed, it's true, I saw it,
I believe it, I will not deny him. When, after
(20:45):
40 days, Jesus ascended, Jesus ascended as his disciples gathered
around and watched him. It's called the Ascension of Christ
as the disciples watched with their mouths wide open. an angel,
appeared to the disciples and said, why do you stand
there with your mouths wide open? Because the same way
(21:07):
that Jesus has left, he will come again. In other words,
the prediction of the coming of Christ was given that
the same way Jesus left, he will also come again.
In first Thessalonians it describes this event. It says that
the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a
loud command, and with the voice of the archangel, and
(21:28):
with the trump of God and the dead in Christ
will rise first. Those people that have those people that
have died in Christ believers, their bodies will rise first.
Their souls will already be gone, but their bodies will
rise first. And after that, we who are still alive
and are left will be caught up together with him
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
(21:50):
And so will we be with the Lord forever. Therefore
encourage one another with these words. It's speaking about the
return of Christ. Some people call it the rapture. What
would it be like if thousands and tens of thousands
upon people on earth suddenly disappeared, because they were taken
by the hand of God? There would be mass chaos
on Earth. Cars would go out of control. Airplanes would fall.
(22:14):
Executives would be taken. People in service, jobs would disappear. Uh,
a household would be there. A husband would go. A
wife would disappear. Two of one family would go. The
rest would be left behind. And the Bible says that
that ushers in, depending upon your view of the end times,
but that ushers in a time of great tribulation, that
(22:35):
those who are left behind, so to speak, will suddenly
have an opportunity also to realize that what was said
to them was true, and through much difficulty and tribulation
will have a time to turn back to God. But
it will be extremely hard for them to survive during
those difficult times. The coming of Christ. Not everybody who
(23:04):
claims to be a church going individual is necessarily someone
that's right with God. I believe churches will have tons
of people that are left behind because it's not about
joining a religion. It's not about attending a church. It's about,
are you someone that has given your life to Jesus Christ,
walking with him, filled with the Holy Spirit, and ready
(23:27):
for his return?
S1 (23:36):
Addressing the three key attitudes you need to have in
order to get ready for the Lord's return, you're listening
to Mark Jobe here on Bold Steps Weekend. You can
learn more about Mark and his ministry at Bold Steps.
Org when you get there, you'll also have a chance
to request your copy of this month's Bold Step gift.
Let's talk about that gift. Our world today seems more
(23:56):
chaotic and unpredictable than ever. But did you know that
throughout history, times of crisis have often preceded. Times of
spiritual awakening. In the book titled A Non-anxious Presence, Mark
Sayers reveals how. Today's challenges might actually be setting the
stage for tomorrow's renewal, as leaders and believers were often
trying to control what feels uncomfortable. But what if God
(24:19):
is using this season of uncertainty to shape something new
in your church, maybe your community, and even your relationship
with him? A Non-anxious presence offers a hopeful perspective on
leading through turbulent times, requests this bold step gift and
discover how to navigate change while maintaining spiritual steadiness. We'll
send you a copy when you make a generous donation
(24:41):
of any amount to Bold steps, just go online to
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820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 606 ten. Once again,
(25:07):
820 North LaSalle, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. And then before
we close today's program, we want to remind you that
the best way to catch up on these messages while
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(25:28):
Search for Bold Steps Weekend with doctor Mark Jobe and
click the subscribe button. I'm Wayne Shepherd, inviting you to
join us again next weekend when Mark concludes today's lesson
in Matthew 24 titled How Ready Are You? That's next
time right here on Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe.
(25:49):
Bold Steps Weekend is a production of Moody Radio, a
ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
Today on Bold Steps weekend, Mark Jobe shows us how
to live in the expectation of Christ's return.
S2 (00:06):
Jesus has said, be ready because I could come at
any moment, any time, any day. I believe that God
tells us that because he wants us to live our
life in constant readiness for the coming again of His Son,
Jesus Christ.
S1 (00:37):
Welcome to Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe. Mark is
president of Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of
New Life Community Church here in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Mark.
Last week we began talking about the end times, and
for some it can be a scary thought. But for
the believer, when you look at the text, this should
fill us with hope.
S3 (00:56):
It really should fill us with great hope. And you know,
people get fixated on win win. Is it going to happen?
And periodically, Wayne, I'm sure you've seen it happen. Someone
will predict a time, a day, a year.
S1 (01:11):
Just can't take that seriously.
S3 (01:12):
And there's this big commotion over it. But obviously, Scripture
is very clear that Jesus doesn't want us to know
the exact time of his return. He leaves it open,
I think, so that we would be ready. I mean,
if you knew the time, you'd wait until the last
minute and say, okay, now's my time. I still have
(01:33):
a couple of days.
S1 (01:34):
Yeah, there's some things he wants us to do in
the meantime.
S3 (01:36):
He does not only about the spreading of the gospel,
but also living with the continual readiness for his return.
S1 (01:44):
Well, the message title puts the question this way. How
ready are you? Here's Mark job.
S2 (01:51):
I have five people in my family, and let me
tell you, to get ready for an event when all
of us have to get ready at the same time.
There's only five, but it's not that easy. Those of
you that have young girls in your household know. Oh,
it's not that easy. You're fighting for the bathroom. I
(02:13):
don't know what it's like in your household, but when
I say, hey, we're leaving in 15 minutes, I still
have kids in their pajamas telling me they're almost ready.
It's when I'm walking out the door saying, I'm getting
in the car. Then I hear a scurrying a where's
my jacket? I can't find my shoes. Hold on, don't
leave me. Because when I say, are you ready? People say, yeah,
(02:35):
we're ready. But I know that doesn't quite mean they're ready.
Anybody else experience that in their house? Or just me? Okay.
I'm glad. Whew. I thought I was the only one.
In fact, I'm not going to mention any names of
my children. But one day I said, are you ready?
I'm leaving in the car. And one of them ran
out real fast. And when we got here, he told
(02:55):
me he forgot his shoes. Thankfully, I had my gym
bag in the back and his foot fit my shoes
so he didn't have to walk in the church barefoot.
But when we say we're ready, it doesn't always mean
we're ready. When we say, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm ready.
Many of us believe that we're more ready than we
(03:18):
really are. And some of us here, I believe, sitting
in your chair today, you are very unprepared for the
coming of Jesus Christ. And so this passage is all
about preparing us. And I want you to notice how
(03:39):
Jesus starts this passage. I'm going to begin reading in
verse 36 of Matthew chapter 24. Jesus says, but about
the day or the hour, no one knows, not even
the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the father.
(04:00):
As it was in the day of Noah. So will
it be at the coming of the Son of Man?
For in the days before the flood, people were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the
day that Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing
about what would happen until the flood came and took
them all away. That is how it will be at
(04:22):
the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will
be in the field, one will be taken and the
other left. Two women will be grinding at a hand mill.
One will be taken and the other left. Therefore, keep watch,
because you do not know on what day your Lord
(04:43):
will come. But understand this. If the owner of the
house had known at what time of the night the
thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would
not have let his house be broken into. So you
also must be ready, because the Son of Man will
come at an hour when you do not expect him.
(05:09):
Word of the Lord. So here's what I want to
talk to you about today. I want to talk to
you about three attitudes that you need to put on
in order to be ready. How do I prepare for
the day called the coming of the Lord? I believe
that there's three key attitudes that this passage speaks about
in order to be prepared for that day, that none
(05:32):
of us know the time or the hour. Let's start
with that. In fact, in Matthew chapter 24, verse 36,
it says, but about the day or the hour? Who knows?
Say it out loud. Who knows? No one knows. So
if no one knows, stop guessing. So here's what I
(05:55):
know when I hear a prediction that in October of 2020,
on the 12th, Jesus is coming again and it's in
the billboards and someone is predicting it. Guess what? I
know it's definitely not going to happen on that day
because the Bible says no one knows. So if someone
(06:18):
predicts it, it's absolutely wrong. So I hope that you
are trained enough and educated enough in this church to
know that if someone is predicting a time, a date,
a year, a month, that you know absolutely that that
person is a false prophet or someone that has very
(06:41):
little Bible education and knowledge, because the Bible tells us
that no one knows except for the father. The angels
in heaven don't know it. So if someone says, well,
an angel came and told me the day and the time,
I'm going to say it wrong. The angels don't even know.
(07:06):
In fact, it says something shocking. And it says the
son who's the son that the son doesn't even know.
Hold on a second. Wait a second. Now, this is
a pretty amazing statement that the say that the son
doesn't know because God is made up of God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are
(07:27):
3 in 1. They've always existed as God the Father, son,
and the Holy Spirit. They will exist into eternity past
that way. Jesus is not a created being. He's always
existed with the father. And so as the father is omniscient,
so the son is omniscient. So how can the son,
who knows all things, not know the day that he's
coming back? I believe there's a strategy in it. The
(07:57):
Bible tells us that God in the Old Testament. He
throws our sins as far as the East is from
the West, and he remembers them no more. Have you
read that passage? I love it. You mean what God
has forgiven you for? He doesn't. Next time around, bring
(08:21):
it up again. He doesn't say. You know, three years ago,
you fell and you blew it. And you come to
him and say, Lord, could you forgive me again? And
you remember when I fell? Three years? No. When did
you fall? He remembers our sin no more. Does that
mean that God has amnesia? Does that mean he has
(08:42):
a faulty memory? Does that mean he doesn't know? No.
It means he chooses not to remember. So if God
the Son chooses not to look at the date, it's
not because he doesn't can't discover the date or know
the date. He chooses to block the date Eight out.
When my wife and I were having our first child,
(09:03):
we didn't want to know if it was a boy
or a girl. And we went into the the specialist
that did the sonogram, and they put all that gooky
yuck on her belly and kind of moved it around,
and they discovered whether it was a boy or a girl.
But we said, don't tell us. And they had in
an envelope the images that would dictate definitely boy or girl,
(09:26):
but we chose not to open the envelope, not because
we couldn't. No, because we did not want to know
we had a strategy in it. We wanted to be
surprised by it. The Son of Man has a strategy
as well. Jesus is coming back. But it's so top
secret the day and the time, because I believe the
(09:50):
reason that God did not reveal the day and the time,
specifically the hour, although the father knows when it's going
to happen, is that it would be counterproductive productive for
you and I to know the exact day, time, and
hour of his coming. Come on, think about it for
a second. If it were extremely clear when Jesus was
(10:14):
coming back and you know that you had five years
before the coming of Christ, what would that make you do? Well,
I know some of you would say I got five.
I don't have to get serious yet. I could still party.
I could still do my thing because now I have
(10:34):
four years. I still got four, now I got three.
I don't have to get too serious now. Now I
got to. Okay, I got one year. Now I got
to start getting serious. Now I got to start going
to church. I got it because if you knew the time,
you would measure how well you're doing by how much
time you have. And it would be counterproductive to your
(10:55):
spiritual life if you don't know the time. You don't
know the date. But Jesus has said, be ready because
I could come at any moment, at any time. We
historically call that the imminent return of Christ. That means
that at any moment, any time, any day, Jesus could
(11:18):
come again. I believe that God tells us that because
he wants us to live our life in constant readiness
for the coming again of His Son, Jesus Christ. So
here are the three attitudes that keep you ready. If
(11:39):
you're taking notes, I want you to write this down.
Number one, you need to stay ready by living with
an expectant and informed attitude about his imminent return. Expectant
and informed. Expectant means that you you're ready, like it
(11:59):
could happen at any time. Informed means that you are
not ignorant of the fact that Jesus is coming again,
that you know about it. You know about the times.
You know about the seasons. You've read it in Scripture,
and so you are expectant, waiting for it to happen
at any time and informed about what it would look like.
S1 (12:25):
This is Bold Steps weekend. You're listening to Mark Jobe,
and we'll return to the second half of today's message
in just a moment. I'm Wayne Shepherd here with Mark.
Let's talk about The Bold Stepper weekly. Mark, this personal
communication that comes from your desk each Monday morning. A
lot of listeners have signed up for this.
S4 (12:40):
Yeah. We're so excited that so many of you are
signing up and taking advantage of the Bold Stepper, because
you get especially a devotional thought that will set you
up for the week.
S1 (12:53):
Mondays are important, aren't they?
S4 (12:54):
They are. You know, Mondays can set the tone for
the entire week. It can start off to be a
bad Monday with your mind worrying or thinking. Or you
can have a good Monday by focusing on the Word
of God and some truth from the Word of God.
And that's what we try to do with these devotionals.
We try to draw your attention to a thought of
(13:14):
the Word of God, something that will inspire you, something
that'll get you going in the right direction for the week.
S1 (13:20):
And they don't take long to read?
S4 (13:21):
No. They're short. Hopefully will capture your attention and will
feed your soul.
S1 (13:27):
Indeed. All right. The Bold Stepper Weekly is available to
anyone who's listening right now. If you're not receiving it
to your email inbox, you can sign up at boldsystems.org.
Look for The Bold Stepper weekly from Mark Jobe. Well,
let's return to the message now from Mark. How ready
are you?
S2 (13:47):
Notice what it tells us in verse 37, as it
was in the days of Noah, so will it be
at the coming of the Son of Man? How was
it in the days of Noah before the flood? Well,
if you read in the book of Genesis, you'll discover
several things. Do you remember that Noah lived in a
(14:10):
time in which the world had become extremely ungodly? Violence, chaos. Dysfunction,
godlessness had increased. In fact, it had gotten so bad
that as God looked at the world, it said he
(14:31):
repented of making mankind. God looked at mankind, and his
heart was sorry that he had made mankind, because so
much of humanity had turned their back on God. But
he found in Noah a righteous man. So most of
society was godless. Some very few in society were godly.
(14:56):
And by and large, most people did not believe that
a flood was going to come, although most people were
heavily affected by this flood. Notice what Jesus says. He says,
for in the days before the flood, people were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the
day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew
(15:19):
nothing about what would happen until the flood came and
took them away. That is how it will be at
the coming of the Son of Man. Let's compare the
days before the flood to the days before the coming
of Jesus. Number one, look at this. God had told
(15:41):
Noah that the flood was coming to build an ark.
No one knew the flood was coming about to happen,
but did not know the day or the hour. God
had told Noah, I'm going to bring a destruction upon
humankind that has not been seen since the beginning of time.
Most of the people on earth will be destroyed. It's coming.
(16:02):
Warn people about it. But you don't know when it's
going to happen or exactly how it's going to happen. Imagine, Noah.
God said so. Build an ark. Do you know how
big the ark was? About the size of a football field.
Think about that. So here, Noah. Imagine being his neighbor.
(16:24):
Noah's laying wood in his backyard the size of a
football field. A neighbor says to him. Hey, Noah. Hey. No.
What are you building back there? A house, a grain shed.
Building an ark. An ark. How big is it? About
the size of a football field. Whoa! That's a big boat.
(16:48):
How are you going to get it to water? Because
there is no water anywhere close. Oh, no. The water
is going to come from heaven. Oh, really? Mhm. And
why is the arc so big? I mean, you only
have about ten people in your family. Oh, we're going
to put animals in it. Animals? How many animals? Well,
(17:09):
two of every kind. Really? A floating zoo. Hey. And
when exactly is this going to happen? Oh, I don't know,
but it's going to happen. Ah, okay. It took Noah
100 years to build the Ark. By the time Noah
was finished with part of the ark, the other part
(17:30):
was already 100 years old. Think about that. That's quite
a project. And you thought your basement was taking a
long time. When the Ark was completed, most people thought
Noah was a lunatic. A crazy man predicting the end
of the world. Now, Jesus said that the people in
the time of Noah did not know about the flood.
(17:53):
But the Bible tells us that Noah was telling people
about the flood. So if Noah was telling people about
the flood, but the people did not know about the flood.
What was the problem? Noah was telling people, but people
were not listening. How many of you know you can
tell people things that they don't necessarily hear because they
(18:14):
don't either believe it or want to, or want to
hear it? The days before the coming of Christ will
be like the days of Noah. There will be a
remnant of people that talk about the coming of Christ,
but most people will ignore the message of the coming
of Christ. Most people will not believe that there is
(18:37):
a day like that that's coming. Most people will ignore
the message. The great majority of humanity will be like
it was in the days of Noah, where it says
people were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage.
Is there anything wrong with those things? No. It's simply
saying that most people in the days of Noah were
(18:59):
We're going about life as usual, not expecting that anything
dramatic would happen. It will be like that before the
coming of Christ. Most people will be doing the usual things,
completely oblivious to the fact that the Son of Man,
(19:21):
the return of Christ, is about to happen. And they
knew nothing about what was about to happen until the
flood came and took them away. And that is how
it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
First Thessalonians chapter four, verse 16 talks about what will
(19:41):
happen on that day, by the way. It says, for
the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a
loud command and the voice of an archangel. Do you
realize that when Jesus rose from the dead on the
third day, he lived and walked around earth for about
40 days and spoke with his disciples about the message
(20:02):
of the Kingdom of God. Over 500 people saw Jesus alive.
It is one of the most attested facts in history,
confirmed by individuals that saw him and talked with him,
ate with him, and then verified by the fact that
that quite a few people were willing to be crucified
(20:23):
upside down, boiled in hot oil heads, chopped off because
they knew they had seen Christ die, and they had
seen him rise again. And even though they were tortured
because of it, they affirmed, it's true, I saw it,
I believe it, I will not deny him. When, after
(20:45):
40 days, Jesus ascended, Jesus ascended as his disciples gathered
around and watched him. It's called the Ascension of Christ
as the disciples watched with their mouths wide open. an angel,
appeared to the disciples and said, why do you stand
there with your mouths wide open? Because the same way
(21:07):
that Jesus has left, he will come again. In other words,
the prediction of the coming of Christ was given that
the same way Jesus left, he will also come again.
In first Thessalonians it describes this event. It says that
the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a
loud command, and with the voice of the archangel, and
(21:28):
with the trump of God and the dead in Christ
will rise first. Those people that have those people that
have died in Christ believers, their bodies will rise first.
Their souls will already be gone, but their bodies will
rise first. And after that, we who are still alive
and are left will be caught up together with him
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
(21:50):
And so will we be with the Lord forever. Therefore
encourage one another with these words. It's speaking about the
return of Christ. Some people call it the rapture. What
would it be like if thousands and tens of thousands
upon people on earth suddenly disappeared, because they were taken
by the hand of God? There would be mass chaos
on Earth. Cars would go out of control. Airplanes would fall.
(22:14):
Executives would be taken. People in service, jobs would disappear. Uh,
a household would be there. A husband would go. A
wife would disappear. Two of one family would go. The
rest would be left behind. And the Bible says that
that ushers in, depending upon your view of the end times,
but that ushers in a time of great tribulation, that
(22:35):
those who are left behind, so to speak, will suddenly
have an opportunity also to realize that what was said
to them was true, and through much difficulty and tribulation
will have a time to turn back to God. But
it will be extremely hard for them to survive during
those difficult times. The coming of Christ. Not everybody who
(23:04):
claims to be a church going individual is necessarily someone
that's right with God. I believe churches will have tons
of people that are left behind because it's not about
joining a religion. It's not about attending a church. It's about,
are you someone that has given your life to Jesus Christ,
walking with him, filled with the Holy Spirit, and ready
(23:27):
for his return?
S1 (23:36):
Addressing the three key attitudes you need to have in
order to get ready for the Lord's return, you're listening
to Mark Jobe here on Bold Steps Weekend. You can
learn more about Mark and his ministry at Bold Steps.
Org when you get there, you'll also have a chance
to request your copy of this month's Bold Step gift.
Let's talk about that gift. Our world today seems more
(23:56):
chaotic and unpredictable than ever. But did you know that
throughout history, times of crisis have often preceded. Times of
spiritual awakening. In the book titled A Non-anxious Presence, Mark
Sayers reveals how. Today's challenges might actually be setting the
stage for tomorrow's renewal, as leaders and believers were often
trying to control what feels uncomfortable. But what if God
(24:19):
is using this season of uncertainty to shape something new
in your church, maybe your community, and even your relationship
with him? A Non-anxious presence offers a hopeful perspective on
leading through turbulent times, requests this bold step gift and
discover how to navigate change while maintaining spiritual steadiness. We'll
send you a copy when you make a generous donation
(24:41):
of any amount to Bold steps, just go online to
Bold Steps. Org or give us a call and make
your donation over the phone. You can dial 800 D.L. Moody.
That's (800)Â 356-6639. You can also send your gift and request
the book through the mail. Our address is bold. Steps
820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 606 ten. Once again,
(25:07):
820 North LaSalle, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. And then before
we close today's program, we want to remind you that
the best way to catch up on these messages while
you're out and about, or to simply listen at other times,
is by subscribing to the Bold Steps Weekend podcast. Open
up your favorite podcast app on your phone or smart device.
(25:28):
Search for Bold Steps Weekend with doctor Mark Jobe and
click the subscribe button. I'm Wayne Shepherd, inviting you to
join us again next weekend when Mark concludes today's lesson
in Matthew 24 titled How Ready Are You? That's next
time right here on Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe.
(25:49):
Bold Steps Weekend is a production of Moody Radio, a
ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
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