May 31, 2025 • 26 mins
Today on Bold Steps Weekend, Pastor Mark will help you to discover one of the ways the enemy attacks you is through anxiety and fear. Mark points out how God gives you strategies to overcome these spiritual attacks.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:00):
Today on Bold Steps weekend with Mark Jobe.
S2 (00:04):
You need to be alert, watching, looking around with a
sober mind because there is a real attack and there
is a real battle, and you need to be alert
and savvy in the spiritual world.
S1 (00:31):
Welcome to Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe. Mark is
senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and
president of Moody Bible Institute. I'm Wayne Shepherd. We're in
a message that Mark is titled How to Survive a
Spiritual Attack. And we're discovering one of the ways the
enemy attacks us is through anxiety and fear. Now, the
Greek word for anxiety means to divide. Anxiety divides our minds,
(00:55):
making it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything else. And
yet God gives us strategies to overcome these spiritual attacks. Now,
if you've missed any of the previous messages in this
engaging series designed to show you how to navigate life
in two worlds, visit us online at Bold Steps right now.
Here is Mark Jobe with the message.
S2 (01:17):
Philippians four eight through ten talks us very clearly about this.
Be anxious for nothing. It is not the will of
God for you to operate with the spirit of anxiety.
God has not given you a spirit of fear, but
of power, love, and of a sound mind. If you
are flowing in the spirit of anxiety, it is not.
You're flowing out of the will of God in your thinking.
(01:39):
And so basically what he says right here is, I
want you to take that anxiety, and I want you
to throw it away from you as quickly and as
powerfully as you can. You say, well, pastor, I try
to do that. You may have to do it over
and over in a day. You throw it away from
you and say, I'm going to focus on the promises
of God, and I'm not going to fixate on the
(02:00):
anxious thoughts that divide my focus. Why can you throw
your anxieties on God? Because he cares about you. I'm
talking to someone here this morning because the God of
the universe, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and
(02:20):
the end, the infinite God who is all knowing and
all sovereign, who's never had a beginning and will never
have an end. The God who exists above time and
space in infinity, that God who the angels fly around saying, Holy, holy,
holy is the Lord God Almighty, that God, that God
(02:42):
I'm talking about, that God, he actually cares for you.
Number three, I'm talking about surviving a spiritual attack here.
Then he goes on and he says, and number three,
not only does he tell us, embrace an attitude of humility,
throw off Life anxiety. But number three, he says, be
alert and clear minded. Be alert and clear minded. He
(03:07):
says in verse eight, be alert and sober minded. He
uses the word sober because it's the opposite of someone
that is, uh, non sober. In our society, they check
out your, uh, your alcohol level because we know that
(03:30):
the alcohol level in driving can impair your ability to
make judgments. And so the idea behind this is you
need to be alert. In other words, know your surroundings.
And then you need to be clear in your thinking
and not deluded in any way so that your judgment
is impaired. Why? Well, listen, because your enemy, the devil
(04:01):
Prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
devour because he says, hey, you need to be alert, watching,
looking around with a sober mind because there is a
real attack and there is a real battle. And you
need to be alert and savvy in the spiritual world. Uh,
(04:28):
he refers to Satan as a roaring lion. Now, I
want to be clear about this, by the way, because
I know that some people, when we talk about the enemy, Lucifer,
the devil, they conjure up these images, and there is
fear that may grip some people's heart. And let me
tell you, if you have an unhealthy fear of the enemy,
(04:51):
then that is not of God because you're playing into
basically what the enemy wants you to have is an
unhealthy fear of the devil. The Bible says Fear God.
And when I say fear God, I mean have a
healthy reverence for the power of God. In fact, in
Colossians chapter two, verse 15, talking about what Jesus did
(05:13):
on the cross, man, some of you are going to
be encouraged by this. You should be encouraged by this.
It says that Jesus on the cross, having disarmed the
powers and authorities. Having disarmed. You know what that means.
Having taken away their weapons, their ability to do damage,
(05:34):
the strength of their artillery. That when Jesus died on
the cross, he disarmed the enemy. The power that he
had of condemnation and judgment have been disarmed in the
power of the cross of Jesus Christ. Having disarmed the powers,
the powers, and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them,
(05:57):
triumphing over them by the cross. You see, what you
need to understand is that the cross disarmed the power
of the enemy, but the enemy still has a virtual
influence on your life, even though it may not be
a real influence on your life. He has a virtual
influence on your life via fear, deception, and I would add, discouragement.
(06:25):
It's like getting on the internet and saying someone, oh,
he's big, oh, he's scary, but he's only on the
internet and he lives in Siberia. And you look and say, oh,
I'm afraid he's going to come after me. Hey, he's
in Siberia. But the virtual influence on you. The sense
(06:46):
of it can affect your mind. And people get overcome
by fear, which is not of God, and deception, which
makes you think that doubt the Word of God and
these things. And discouragement Enrichment, which leads you to abandon
the things that God has called you to. So fear, deception,
(07:07):
and discouragement are weapons that the enemy uses. Even though
the lion has been defamed, he's got a roar that's scary.
His roar can cause us to, uh, be intimidated, to
hide in our houses, to, uh, be influenced by its behavior.
(07:28):
But ultimately, he has been defamed by the power of
the cross, who has defeated him already. And he lives
in a state of defeat. And ultimately it will be manifest.
But even now, there is no cosmic battle between good
and evil. The battle has already been won. And so
(07:54):
you need to understand the power that you've been given
in the cross of Jesus Christ, your position in Christ.
You need to understand your position in Christ, not in
your own ability and strength to fight off the enemy,
because that is weakness. But it tells us in second
Corinthians chapter two verse 11, so that Satan will not
outsmart us, for we are familiar with his evil schemes.
(08:18):
Now here's what I want to say about this as
I move on. Listen, I think some in some circles, uh,
the devil gets too much credit, and in other circles,
the devil doesn't get enough credit. In certain circles, everything's
the devil. I had a cigarette. It's the devil of nicotine.
(08:40):
I had a bad attitude. It's the devil. I had
a greasy hair day. It's the greasy. It's the demon
of greasy hair. I mean, everything's a devil, a demon.
And listen. Hear me? Well, I think if you grew
up in those circles, it takes away your personal responsibility.
Because it's easy to blame it on the devil when
(09:01):
it's really your own flesh. So stop blaming on the
devil what you should be taking responsibility for. You snapped
at your wife and yelled at her and called her
the B word. Don't blame it on the devil of
the B words. That is your plain old stupid flesh,
that God in the place and you're wanting to control
(09:22):
and manipulate. Don't blame it on the devil. I'm just
a victim of the devil of the B words. No,
no no no. That's your flesh. Take responsibility, repent and confess.
Because if it's the devil, it's like his. It's his fault.
I'm just a victim. No, no, no, you need to
take responsibility over your own sanctification. And then the other hand,
(09:43):
there are circles in which the spiritual world. We act
like it doesn't exist, that there is no spiritual world,
it's ignored completely. And we act like there is no
realm out there and kind of chalk it up to
superstition or religious superstition. There is a spiritual world out
(10:04):
there and we need to be aware of it, but
we need to be in a balanced middle of understand
what is the flesh and what is in the spiritual realm,
and have a balanced middle in which we know the
schemes of the enemy. But we also understand our own
flesh in this whole spiritual battle that we're facing.
S1 (10:32):
You're listening to Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe, who
will continue his lesson in just a moment. If you
haven't been to our website yet, we really encourage you
to visit and see all the faith building resources and
opportunities and sermon series we have available. Just go to
Bold steps.org and be sure to catch up on any
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(10:54):
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Open up your podcast app and search for Bold Steps
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(11:17):
and leave your message on a recorded line by dialing (312) 329-2011.
Leave your message at (312) 329-2011. All right, let's get back
to our message. Now here's Mark Jordan.
S2 (11:39):
So not only embrace humility, throw off anxiety, be alert
and clear minded. And fourthly he says resist. Resist by
standing firm in the faith. Resist who? Resist the attacks
of the enemy. Listen what it says in verse nine,
resist him. Who's he talking about? He's talking about the
enemy of our souls. Resist him. How? Standing firm in
(12:03):
the faith. Now he doesn't say. Standing firm in faith.
He says standing firm in the faith. I want you
to notice the difference. He's not saying have enough faith
to resist the devil. He's saying, stand firm in the
body of truth that lies in your faith. The only
(12:28):
way that you can resist the deception and fear of
the enemy is by knowing the truth. Are you hearing me?
Because some people just say, well, I have to have faith. Yeah,
but you have to have grounded faith. And this is
not about using your fleshly personality to achieve things through faith.
(12:52):
This is says, stand firm in the faith. You need
to know the word. Not just what some television preachers
telling you about the word. You need to understand the word.
Be grounded in the word and understand that sometimes God. Hey!
Later on he tells us that God's Word leads us
to suffering, and it's the faith of the Word of
(13:13):
God that leads us to stand strong, even in the
face of suffering. And so he's not saying, be grounded.
Let your faith be strong in attacking the and standing
against the enemy. He says, resist him. Standing firm in
the body of faith, the truth of the Word of God.
Your position in Christ. I have been washed and cleansed,
(13:35):
so nothing that I've done in my past can be
held against me because it's been under the blood of
Jesus Christ. I have the righteousness of Christ in me.
No weapon formed against me can prosper, not because of me,
but because of the what God has done for me.
I am sealed, washed, protected in God. I am cleansed
(13:56):
in God. My security is strong. I don't have to
worry about it. If I've grasped the truth of the
Word of God, be grounded in your faith. Stand firm
in the truth of the Word of God, because you
know that the family of believers throughout the world is
undergoing the same kind of suffering. And lastly, I close
(14:21):
with this. Let grace make you strong. Verse ten. And
the God of all grace, the God of what? All grace.
I love the label he puts on him, the God
of all grace. What does that mean? The God who
(14:45):
is full of grace. What does that mean? That means
that he gives us what we don't deserve. The favor
that we haven't earned. The good intention and merit that
you and I. We should deserve justice. But he gives
us grace. The power beyond description. The favor of God
(15:09):
that brought you to salvation is the same favor that
sustains you in times of difficulty, when you don't deserve
the hand of God. But yet he offers it because
he's full of grace. He looks at you, and the
Bible says that we are to approach the throne of
grace boldly, not because we're haughty and rude and proud,
(15:31):
boldly because who we are in Jesus and the God
of all grace. Who called you. By the way, can
I say this? If you are a believer in Jesus Christ,
you are called. Some people say, well, you know, pastor,
you're called. I'm not called. You know, some people say, well,
(15:52):
I was called into ministry, can I? Hello. We're all
called into ministry. Somebody he said, pastor, well, you know,
you know, I don't have to live like that because,
you know, you're called into ministry. Hello. You're a follower
of Jesus. You're called into ministry as well. It may
not be the preaching on a stage, but you're still
called into ministry. There is no such thing as a
(16:13):
believer called to Jesus that's not called into a purpose
and a calling into ministry. So if you are a
believer in Jesus Christ, you're called and you're called to ministry.
Now people say, well, you know, I remember the call
to ministry. Well, there is no like super extra high category.
(16:37):
It's just we're all called. So embrace it. It's not
the called and the non called. You're all called to
different things but called nonetheless. And he makes it clear
here he says, and the God of all grace who
called you to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus after
you have suffered a little while. After you have suffered
(17:02):
a little while, you don't want to hear this message.
I'm going to preach it anyways. After you have suffered
a little while, pastor, I don't want to hear about suffering.
You're going to suffer a little bit. In fact, part
of your calling as a follower of Jesus Christ and
has given unto us not only to follow him, but
also to suffer for his sake. Pastor, I don't want
(17:25):
to suffer. I just want gifts from heaven. I want
heavenly contacts. I want a man upstairs that can pull
me out of jams. I want all the blessings. Can
I tell you something? Following Jesus Christ, there will be
an element of suffering. Be ready for it. Don't view
(17:48):
it as this strange thing that you have to go
through a little suffering. If Jesus, the Messiah who called you,
had to suffer and die. Expect that there will be
an element of suffering for a little while. that purifies you,
it changes your character. It does something in you. There
is a price to pay in following Jesus, and I
(18:11):
know that's not a popular message, because people don't want
to hear about having to give up or suffer or.
That's not what we want to hear. But the Bible,
if you read the real Word of God, the real
Word of God tells you that following Jesus there is
a narrow path and few find it because most people
don't want that narrow path, they want the wide road
(18:33):
that leads to destruction. If you're a follower of Jesus,
it comes with the calling. But also the promise that
comes with the calling is that you have the grace
to endure in time of need. I know some of
(18:57):
you listening right now are in a.
S3 (18:59):
Place of difficulty, trials, suffering and some of you as
a direct result of your decision to follow Jesus. From
your family, from your work, from friends around you. And
I want to say thank you for being willing to
follow Jesus, even if it involves suffering. And so I
(19:23):
want to pray specifically for those of you that are
in a difficult situation because of the convictions, the stance
you've taken as a follower of Jesus the Christ. Father,
I pray for that person right now who is feeling
the pressure, who has had to forsake things, who's feeling
(19:47):
the abandonment, the pain of what it means to lose
a relationship, be ostracized, have to put up with mockery.
for following you, father, and I pray that you would
encourage them right now. I pray that they would sense
that they are not alone. I pray that they would
(20:07):
know that your strength and power and refreshing are there,
that it's worth it. It's worth it if we're suffering
in the name of Jesus. And so thank you for
these brothers and sisters right now, and I pray that
you would give them perseverance and joy in the midst
as they persevere. And I ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
S1 (20:29):
Amen. Well, thank you, Mark, and if you'd like to
take that first step to faith in Christ, please go
to our website, npr.org, and click on the link that
says my Next Step. Mark has put together an amazing video,
by the way, in both English and Spanish, to guide
you in your walk as a new believer. And when
you let us know that you've made this special commitment,
we'll send you a personalized letter from Mark and the
(20:51):
latest edition of our monthly newsletter. While you're also online,
be sure to check out our latest Bold Step gift
available for a limited time. Mark. Let's talk about it.
S3 (21:00):
You know, Wayne, today's young girls, they're just bombarded with
messages that shape their beliefs, affect their identity. That's why
I'm excited about this bold Steps gift this month. It's
called Lies Girls Believe by Dana Gresh.
S1 (21:18):
And Dana is with us right now.
S3 (21:19):
Absolutely. Dana, great to have you with us. Tell us
a little bit about why you wrote this book.
S4 (21:27):
Oh, well, my friend Nancy DeMoss, Wolgemuth wrote a book
called Lies, Women Believe. And over a million women read
that book, and it helped them to really identify where
they were in bondage to lies. And that was resulting
in emotions that weren't working, that weren't healthy. That was
one of the telltale signs, as well as sinful behaviors
(21:48):
that they just couldn't stop. And when they identified the lies,
they felt freedom. Well, those women said, these lies started
when I was in my teen years and in my
teen years. So Nancy and I worked work together to
write both lies. Young women believe for teens and then
lies girls believe for the 8 to 12 year old girls.
S3 (22:06):
So this is for 8 to 12 year olds specifically,
by the way, I just think this is so, so needed. Yes,
especially in today's culture where young girls more than ever
are bombarded about identity, lies about who they are, gender,
where they fit into the world. What would you say
are the top three lies? I know you have a
(22:30):
list of quite a few lies. Can you identify what
you'd say are the top say three lies.
S4 (22:36):
God is not enough. If we don't believe that God
is enough, then that dismantles and affects everything else around us.
And one of the ways that shows up is emotions,
which I just addressed. Emotions are one of the telltale
signs that we aren't believing God is who he says
he is, and he will be in our lives who
he says he will be. So we believe God isn't enough.
(22:58):
I need the car or the house or the job
or whatever. But as as tweens, they tend to really
believe the lie. God isn't enough. I need the friend.
And friends lead you down a road of believing all
kinds of other lies. Peer pressure is either a great
gift in our lives that leads us to Jesus, or
it is a great dismantling of our faith and leads
(23:22):
us away from Jesus to counterfeits. And so I think
that's probably one of the big lies. And you mentioned
identity so many times. If if that friend isn't from
a source of biblical truth, a home that's grounded in
biblical truth today, which of us feels good about ourselves?
Our emotions are healthy in our in our middle school
(23:42):
and pre-teen years, none of us. Well, today people are saying, okay,
the reason you don't feel good is because and they're
leading them down these really lethal, dangerous roads of lies
that lead to lots and lots of years of of
struggle and pain.
S1 (23:57):
Well, Dana, we are so happy to partner with you
in getting this book into the hands of our listeners lives.
Girls believe and the truth. Can't forget the subtitle Mark
the truth that Sets them free. Dana, thank you so much.
S4 (24:09):
My pleasure. Thanks, guys.
S1 (24:11):
This is such an important resource, and we'd be happy
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(24:33):
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(24:54):
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(25:16):
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search for Bold Steps Radio to become part of our
online family. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Join us again next weekend
when Mark begins a new series based on the book
of Ephesians. He'll be outlining some important and practical steps
(25:36):
to take if you want to maximize sharing your faith.
The message is part of our series. When you believe,
everything changes and you will hear it next time on
Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jones.
S5 (25:50):
Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry
of Moody Bible Institute.
Today on Bold Steps weekend with Mark Jobe.
S2 (00:04):
You need to be alert, watching, looking around with a
sober mind because there is a real attack and there
is a real battle, and you need to be alert
and savvy in the spiritual world.
S1 (00:31):
Welcome to Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe. Mark is
senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and
president of Moody Bible Institute. I'm Wayne Shepherd. We're in
a message that Mark is titled How to Survive a
Spiritual Attack. And we're discovering one of the ways the
enemy attacks us is through anxiety and fear. Now, the
Greek word for anxiety means to divide. Anxiety divides our minds,
(00:55):
making it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything else. And
yet God gives us strategies to overcome these spiritual attacks. Now,
if you've missed any of the previous messages in this
engaging series designed to show you how to navigate life
in two worlds, visit us online at Bold Steps right now.
Here is Mark Jobe with the message.
S2 (01:17):
Philippians four eight through ten talks us very clearly about this.
Be anxious for nothing. It is not the will of
God for you to operate with the spirit of anxiety.
God has not given you a spirit of fear, but
of power, love, and of a sound mind. If you
are flowing in the spirit of anxiety, it is not.
You're flowing out of the will of God in your thinking.
(01:39):
And so basically what he says right here is, I
want you to take that anxiety, and I want you
to throw it away from you as quickly and as
powerfully as you can. You say, well, pastor, I try
to do that. You may have to do it over
and over in a day. You throw it away from
you and say, I'm going to focus on the promises
of God, and I'm not going to fixate on the
(02:00):
anxious thoughts that divide my focus. Why can you throw
your anxieties on God? Because he cares about you. I'm
talking to someone here this morning because the God of
the universe, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and
(02:20):
the end, the infinite God who is all knowing and
all sovereign, who's never had a beginning and will never
have an end. The God who exists above time and
space in infinity, that God who the angels fly around saying, Holy, holy,
holy is the Lord God Almighty, that God, that God
(02:42):
I'm talking about, that God, he actually cares for you.
Number three, I'm talking about surviving a spiritual attack here.
Then he goes on and he says, and number three,
not only does he tell us, embrace an attitude of humility,
throw off Life anxiety. But number three, he says, be
alert and clear minded. Be alert and clear minded. He
(03:07):
says in verse eight, be alert and sober minded. He
uses the word sober because it's the opposite of someone
that is, uh, non sober. In our society, they check
out your, uh, your alcohol level because we know that
(03:30):
the alcohol level in driving can impair your ability to
make judgments. And so the idea behind this is you
need to be alert. In other words, know your surroundings.
And then you need to be clear in your thinking
and not deluded in any way so that your judgment
is impaired. Why? Well, listen, because your enemy, the devil
(04:01):
Prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
devour because he says, hey, you need to be alert, watching,
looking around with a sober mind because there is a
real attack and there is a real battle. And you
need to be alert and savvy in the spiritual world. Uh,
(04:28):
he refers to Satan as a roaring lion. Now, I
want to be clear about this, by the way, because
I know that some people, when we talk about the enemy, Lucifer,
the devil, they conjure up these images, and there is
fear that may grip some people's heart. And let me
tell you, if you have an unhealthy fear of the enemy,
(04:51):
then that is not of God because you're playing into
basically what the enemy wants you to have is an
unhealthy fear of the devil. The Bible says Fear God.
And when I say fear God, I mean have a
healthy reverence for the power of God. In fact, in
Colossians chapter two, verse 15, talking about what Jesus did
(05:13):
on the cross, man, some of you are going to
be encouraged by this. You should be encouraged by this.
It says that Jesus on the cross, having disarmed the
powers and authorities. Having disarmed. You know what that means.
Having taken away their weapons, their ability to do damage,
(05:34):
the strength of their artillery. That when Jesus died on
the cross, he disarmed the enemy. The power that he
had of condemnation and judgment have been disarmed in the
power of the cross of Jesus Christ. Having disarmed the powers,
the powers, and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them,
(05:57):
triumphing over them by the cross. You see, what you
need to understand is that the cross disarmed the power
of the enemy, but the enemy still has a virtual
influence on your life, even though it may not be
a real influence on your life. He has a virtual
influence on your life via fear, deception, and I would add, discouragement.
(06:25):
It's like getting on the internet and saying someone, oh,
he's big, oh, he's scary, but he's only on the
internet and he lives in Siberia. And you look and say, oh,
I'm afraid he's going to come after me. Hey, he's
in Siberia. But the virtual influence on you. The sense
(06:46):
of it can affect your mind. And people get overcome
by fear, which is not of God, and deception, which
makes you think that doubt the Word of God and
these things. And discouragement Enrichment, which leads you to abandon
the things that God has called you to. So fear, deception,
(07:07):
and discouragement are weapons that the enemy uses. Even though
the lion has been defamed, he's got a roar that's scary.
His roar can cause us to, uh, be intimidated, to
hide in our houses, to, uh, be influenced by its behavior.
(07:28):
But ultimately, he has been defamed by the power of
the cross, who has defeated him already. And he lives
in a state of defeat. And ultimately it will be manifest.
But even now, there is no cosmic battle between good
and evil. The battle has already been won. And so
(07:54):
you need to understand the power that you've been given
in the cross of Jesus Christ, your position in Christ.
You need to understand your position in Christ, not in
your own ability and strength to fight off the enemy,
because that is weakness. But it tells us in second
Corinthians chapter two verse 11, so that Satan will not
outsmart us, for we are familiar with his evil schemes.
(08:18):
Now here's what I want to say about this as
I move on. Listen, I think some in some circles, uh,
the devil gets too much credit, and in other circles,
the devil doesn't get enough credit. In certain circles, everything's
the devil. I had a cigarette. It's the devil of nicotine.
(08:40):
I had a bad attitude. It's the devil. I had
a greasy hair day. It's the greasy. It's the demon
of greasy hair. I mean, everything's a devil, a demon.
And listen. Hear me? Well, I think if you grew
up in those circles, it takes away your personal responsibility.
Because it's easy to blame it on the devil when
(09:01):
it's really your own flesh. So stop blaming on the
devil what you should be taking responsibility for. You snapped
at your wife and yelled at her and called her
the B word. Don't blame it on the devil of
the B words. That is your plain old stupid flesh,
that God in the place and you're wanting to control
(09:22):
and manipulate. Don't blame it on the devil. I'm just
a victim of the devil of the B words. No,
no no no. That's your flesh. Take responsibility, repent and confess.
Because if it's the devil, it's like his. It's his fault.
I'm just a victim. No, no, no, you need to
take responsibility over your own sanctification. And then the other hand,
(09:43):
there are circles in which the spiritual world. We act
like it doesn't exist, that there is no spiritual world,
it's ignored completely. And we act like there is no
realm out there and kind of chalk it up to
superstition or religious superstition. There is a spiritual world out
(10:04):
there and we need to be aware of it, but
we need to be in a balanced middle of understand
what is the flesh and what is in the spiritual realm,
and have a balanced middle in which we know the
schemes of the enemy. But we also understand our own
flesh in this whole spiritual battle that we're facing.
S1 (10:32):
You're listening to Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe, who
will continue his lesson in just a moment. If you
haven't been to our website yet, we really encourage you
to visit and see all the faith building resources and
opportunities and sermon series we have available. Just go to
Bold steps.org and be sure to catch up on any
message you might have missed on the radio. You can
even have these lessons downloaded automatically to your phone or
(10:54):
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. And if you'd like to
get even more connected with us, and perhaps tell us
a little about your testimony, and maybe how Bold Steps
has played a part in your spiritual growth, we'd love
to hear from you. You can send us a message
online at Bold Steps. Org or give us a call
(11:17):
and leave your message on a recorded line by dialing (312) 329-2011.
Leave your message at (312) 329-2011. All right, let's get back
to our message. Now here's Mark Jordan.
S2 (11:39):
So not only embrace humility, throw off anxiety, be alert
and clear minded. And fourthly he says resist. Resist by
standing firm in the faith. Resist who? Resist the attacks
of the enemy. Listen what it says in verse nine,
resist him. Who's he talking about? He's talking about the
enemy of our souls. Resist him. How? Standing firm in
(12:03):
the faith. Now he doesn't say. Standing firm in faith.
He says standing firm in the faith. I want you
to notice the difference. He's not saying have enough faith
to resist the devil. He's saying, stand firm in the
body of truth that lies in your faith. The only
(12:28):
way that you can resist the deception and fear of
the enemy is by knowing the truth. Are you hearing me?
Because some people just say, well, I have to have faith. Yeah,
but you have to have grounded faith. And this is
not about using your fleshly personality to achieve things through faith.
(12:52):
This is says, stand firm in the faith. You need
to know the word. Not just what some television preachers
telling you about the word. You need to understand the word.
Be grounded in the word and understand that sometimes God. Hey!
Later on he tells us that God's Word leads us
to suffering, and it's the faith of the Word of
(13:13):
God that leads us to stand strong, even in the
face of suffering. And so he's not saying, be grounded.
Let your faith be strong in attacking the and standing
against the enemy. He says, resist him. Standing firm in
the body of faith, the truth of the Word of God.
Your position in Christ. I have been washed and cleansed,
(13:35):
so nothing that I've done in my past can be
held against me because it's been under the blood of
Jesus Christ. I have the righteousness of Christ in me.
No weapon formed against me can prosper, not because of me,
but because of the what God has done for me.
I am sealed, washed, protected in God. I am cleansed
(13:56):
in God. My security is strong. I don't have to
worry about it. If I've grasped the truth of the
Word of God, be grounded in your faith. Stand firm
in the truth of the Word of God, because you
know that the family of believers throughout the world is
undergoing the same kind of suffering. And lastly, I close
(14:21):
with this. Let grace make you strong. Verse ten. And
the God of all grace, the God of what? All grace.
I love the label he puts on him, the God
of all grace. What does that mean? The God who
(14:45):
is full of grace. What does that mean? That means
that he gives us what we don't deserve. The favor
that we haven't earned. The good intention and merit that
you and I. We should deserve justice. But he gives
us grace. The power beyond description. The favor of God
(15:09):
that brought you to salvation is the same favor that
sustains you in times of difficulty, when you don't deserve
the hand of God. But yet he offers it because
he's full of grace. He looks at you, and the
Bible says that we are to approach the throne of
grace boldly, not because we're haughty and rude and proud,
(15:31):
boldly because who we are in Jesus and the God
of all grace. Who called you. By the way, can
I say this? If you are a believer in Jesus Christ,
you are called. Some people say, well, you know, pastor,
you're called. I'm not called. You know, some people say, well,
(15:52):
I was called into ministry, can I? Hello. We're all
called into ministry. Somebody he said, pastor, well, you know,
you know, I don't have to live like that because,
you know, you're called into ministry. Hello. You're a follower
of Jesus. You're called into ministry as well. It may
not be the preaching on a stage, but you're still
called into ministry. There is no such thing as a
(16:13):
believer called to Jesus that's not called into a purpose
and a calling into ministry. So if you are a
believer in Jesus Christ, you're called and you're called to ministry.
Now people say, well, you know, I remember the call
to ministry. Well, there is no like super extra high category.
(16:37):
It's just we're all called. So embrace it. It's not
the called and the non called. You're all called to
different things but called nonetheless. And he makes it clear
here he says, and the God of all grace who
called you to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus after
you have suffered a little while. After you have suffered
(17:02):
a little while, you don't want to hear this message.
I'm going to preach it anyways. After you have suffered
a little while, pastor, I don't want to hear about suffering.
You're going to suffer a little bit. In fact, part
of your calling as a follower of Jesus Christ and
has given unto us not only to follow him, but
also to suffer for his sake. Pastor, I don't want
(17:25):
to suffer. I just want gifts from heaven. I want
heavenly contacts. I want a man upstairs that can pull
me out of jams. I want all the blessings. Can
I tell you something? Following Jesus Christ, there will be
an element of suffering. Be ready for it. Don't view
(17:48):
it as this strange thing that you have to go
through a little suffering. If Jesus, the Messiah who called you,
had to suffer and die. Expect that there will be
an element of suffering for a little while. that purifies you,
it changes your character. It does something in you. There
is a price to pay in following Jesus, and I
(18:11):
know that's not a popular message, because people don't want
to hear about having to give up or suffer or.
That's not what we want to hear. But the Bible,
if you read the real Word of God, the real
Word of God tells you that following Jesus there is
a narrow path and few find it because most people
don't want that narrow path, they want the wide road
(18:33):
that leads to destruction. If you're a follower of Jesus,
it comes with the calling. But also the promise that
comes with the calling is that you have the grace
to endure in time of need. I know some of
(18:57):
you listening right now are in a.
S3 (18:59):
Place of difficulty, trials, suffering and some of you as
a direct result of your decision to follow Jesus. From
your family, from your work, from friends around you. And
I want to say thank you for being willing to
follow Jesus, even if it involves suffering. And so I
(19:23):
want to pray specifically for those of you that are
in a difficult situation because of the convictions, the stance
you've taken as a follower of Jesus the Christ. Father,
I pray for that person right now who is feeling
the pressure, who has had to forsake things, who's feeling
(19:47):
the abandonment, the pain of what it means to lose
a relationship, be ostracized, have to put up with mockery.
for following you, father, and I pray that you would
encourage them right now. I pray that they would sense
that they are not alone. I pray that they would
(20:07):
know that your strength and power and refreshing are there,
that it's worth it. It's worth it if we're suffering
in the name of Jesus. And so thank you for
these brothers and sisters right now, and I pray that
you would give them perseverance and joy in the midst
as they persevere. And I ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
S1 (20:29):
Amen. Well, thank you, Mark, and if you'd like to
take that first step to faith in Christ, please go
to our website, npr.org, and click on the link that
says my Next Step. Mark has put together an amazing video,
by the way, in both English and Spanish, to guide
you in your walk as a new believer. And when
you let us know that you've made this special commitment,
we'll send you a personalized letter from Mark and the
(20:51):
latest edition of our monthly newsletter. While you're also online,
be sure to check out our latest Bold Step gift
available for a limited time. Mark. Let's talk about it.
S3 (21:00):
You know, Wayne, today's young girls, they're just bombarded with
messages that shape their beliefs, affect their identity. That's why
I'm excited about this bold Steps gift this month. It's
called Lies Girls Believe by Dana Gresh.
S1 (21:18):
And Dana is with us right now.
S3 (21:19):
Absolutely. Dana, great to have you with us. Tell us
a little bit about why you wrote this book.
S4 (21:27):
Oh, well, my friend Nancy DeMoss, Wolgemuth wrote a book
called Lies, Women Believe. And over a million women read
that book, and it helped them to really identify where
they were in bondage to lies. And that was resulting
in emotions that weren't working, that weren't healthy. That was
one of the telltale signs, as well as sinful behaviors
(21:48):
that they just couldn't stop. And when they identified the lies,
they felt freedom. Well, those women said, these lies started
when I was in my teen years and in my
teen years. So Nancy and I worked work together to
write both lies. Young women believe for teens and then
lies girls believe for the 8 to 12 year old girls.
S3 (22:06):
So this is for 8 to 12 year olds specifically,
by the way, I just think this is so, so needed. Yes,
especially in today's culture where young girls more than ever
are bombarded about identity, lies about who they are, gender,
where they fit into the world. What would you say
are the top three lies? I know you have a
(22:30):
list of quite a few lies. Can you identify what
you'd say are the top say three lies.
S4 (22:36):
God is not enough. If we don't believe that God
is enough, then that dismantles and affects everything else around us.
And one of the ways that shows up is emotions,
which I just addressed. Emotions are one of the telltale
signs that we aren't believing God is who he says
he is, and he will be in our lives who
he says he will be. So we believe God isn't enough.
(22:58):
I need the car or the house or the job
or whatever. But as as tweens, they tend to really
believe the lie. God isn't enough. I need the friend.
And friends lead you down a road of believing all
kinds of other lies. Peer pressure is either a great
gift in our lives that leads us to Jesus, or
it is a great dismantling of our faith and leads
(23:22):
us away from Jesus to counterfeits. And so I think
that's probably one of the big lies. And you mentioned
identity so many times. If if that friend isn't from
a source of biblical truth, a home that's grounded in
biblical truth today, which of us feels good about ourselves?
Our emotions are healthy in our in our middle school
(23:42):
and pre-teen years, none of us. Well, today people are saying, okay,
the reason you don't feel good is because and they're
leading them down these really lethal, dangerous roads of lies
that lead to lots and lots of years of of
struggle and pain.
S1 (23:57):
Well, Dana, we are so happy to partner with you
in getting this book into the hands of our listeners lives.
Girls believe and the truth. Can't forget the subtitle Mark
the truth that Sets them free. Dana, thank you so much.
S4 (24:09):
My pleasure. Thanks, guys.
S1 (24:11):
This is such an important resource, and we'd be happy
to send you a copy right away. When you give
any amount to bold steps to send a check in
the mail, just write to us at bold steps. 820
North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60,006 ten. Or call us
at 800 Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. And of course, you can
(24:33):
also visit us online and give there at Bold steps.org.
And today, consider taking your support to the next level
by becoming a bold partner through monthly gifts of any amount.
These partners help us share God's truth with listeners worldwide.
When you make a monthly gift of any amount, we'll
send you some special bonuses like a signed copy of
(24:54):
Mark's book unstuck. There's access to our Bold Partner post
And when your gift is $30 or more each month,
there's a 50% discount on all items at the Moody
Publishers online store. Signing up a simple and easy when
you visit Bold steps. We also invite you to join
our vibrant and growing community of believers on social media.
(25:16):
You'll find encouraging content and meaningful conversations when you connect
with us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channel. Just
search for Bold Steps Radio to become part of our
online family. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Join us again next weekend
when Mark begins a new series based on the book
of Ephesians. He'll be outlining some important and practical steps
(25:36):
to take if you want to maximize sharing your faith.
The message is part of our series. When you believe,
everything changes and you will hear it next time on
Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jones.
S5 (25:50):
Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry
of Moody Bible Institute.
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