June 21, 2025 • 26 mins
Today on Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe, you'll learn what it means to be chosen. Last weekend began a new series called, When You Believe, Everything Changes and today Mark is going to show you how and why you've been chosen from the book of Ephesians chapter one.
Become a Bold Partner Today: https://www.moodyradio.org/donateto/boldsteps-weekend
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
what it means to be chosen.
S2 (00:06):
God's been working all your life to set you up
for his purposes. All. You fought him at times, but
God has been involved in bringing you to the place
that you would respond to him all of your life.
God has been involved way in advance.
S1 (00:36):
And welcome to Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe. Mark
is president of Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor
of New Life Community Church in Chicago. And I'm Wayne Shepherd.
Last weekend we began a new series called When You
Believe Everything Changes, and we've been learning about what it
means to take your place in the Kingdom of God.
Last time we learned what it means to be blessed,
(00:56):
and today Mark is going to show us how and
why we've been chosen. So if you have your Bible handy,
turn to Ephesians one to hear Mark job with today's
bold Steps weekend.
S2 (01:08):
In Christ Jesus. God has given you everything that you
need to be successful in the spiritual world. And when
you are successful in the spiritual world, the spiritual world
will influence the physical world. You need to understand that
I would rather be strong in the spiritual world than
(01:33):
strong in the physical world, and weaken the spirit. Because ultimately,
whoever's strong in the spirit will have greater influence than
who's strong in the physical world. So he has given
us every blessing in the spiritual world. Number two, write
(01:55):
this down. For he chose us in him before the
creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in
his sight. In love he predestined us. So not only
has he blessed us, and it talks about our position.
He's chosen us, and it talks about our destiny. For
(02:18):
he chose us in him before the creation of the
world to be holy and blameless. Hold on a second.
Did you just read what I. What I read? That
God chose you before the world was even created. Hold on,
(02:40):
hold on, hold on. What does that even mean? That
before you were even a glimmer in your father's eye,
God had chosen you. That God chose you before your
(03:00):
family name even existed. Before your grandfather or great grandfather,
or great great grandfather, or great great great grandfather before
your Aztec ancestor, or your Viking ancestor from Europe was
even around. God had already chosen you. Before there was
(03:28):
a world before Adam and Eve, before light was separated
from darkness. God, in his foreknowledge, already knew that you
would exist. God, in his foreknowledge, already knew your name. God,
in his foreknowledge, already knew what you would look like.
(03:50):
God knew how you would be. And God chose you before.
Way before there was even a you to be chosen
because God had a destiny and a purpose when he
chose you even before you existed. Wow. Now, I know
(04:15):
some people say in their testimony, they'll say, I found God,
and I know what you mean by that. But can
I tell you bad expression? First of all, God was
never lost. And you didn't find God before you ever
(04:37):
thought of finding God. He had already chosen you. Way before.
Before you ever decided to follow him. He had chosen
you and knew you would follow him way before. Oh,
I know that'll mess with your mind a little bit. Oh,
(04:58):
I know that's hard to think about, but it speaks
to our destiny. And it says, and he chose us
before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless.
He chose us to be separated unto himself and to
live a certain kind of life before we were ever born.
He had a purpose and a plan for our life.
And if that doesn't really stir you up, think about this,
(05:22):
he says. And in love he predestined us to be
adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with
his pleasure and his will. In love he predestined. To
predestined means that not only did he choose you, but
(05:45):
he predestined you in advance to live and walk for
him even when you didn't know him. You say, well, pastor,
I don't understand how God could do that. It. Well,
let me explain it this way. And the church is
divided at times by two thoughts. One is in those
(06:08):
of you that have been around the church, church at large,
what I'm talking about understand one is what's called Calvinism.
Have you heard of Calvinism? And the other is what's
called Arminianism. Calvinism emphasizes the sovereignty. And the grace of God.
Arminianism emphasizes the choice of man. And there's been a
(06:31):
debate down the last 500 years. Is it more that
we are choice to follow God, or is it more
God's choice to choose us and cause us to follow him?
And there's been entire denominations that have risen out of
those that believe. It's more the choice of man and
other denominations that believe that more. It's the choice of God.
(06:54):
I believe that it's both. God is all sovereign and
he chooses his in advance. Before we choose him, he
chooses us. But I believe that doesn't leave us from
the entire responsibility of choosing him as well. Let me
give you a crude illustration of this. Let's just suppose
(07:15):
that I knew the future. That I had a clear
insight into the future. I would know who is going
to win the Super Bowl this year. I would know
if I had that. And here's the thing. If I
knew who was winning the Super Bowl, then I would
(07:38):
choose the winning team. Always right? Because I know if
I was into horse racing, I would know what horse
the name of the horse that would win the race,
and I would choose the horse in advance. That would
win the race, because I know already who's going to
win that race, right? Because I'd have foreknowledge now, even
(08:02):
if I didn't know who was going to win the
Super Bowl when that team wins the Super Bowl. It
doesn't relieve them from the responsibility of hard work and
the training that they have to have to win. They
still have to work hard. They still have to do it.
Just because I know and choose them in advance doesn't
relieve them from the responsibility of working hard to win.
(08:26):
Are we clear on that? God has chosen you in advance,
and God knows that you'll be a son and daughter
of his in advance, but it doesn't relieve you from
the responsibility of responding to the voice of God and
the call of God when he calls you into salvation.
The Bible says that he desires that all men would
(08:47):
be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
But not all men will be saved and come to
the knowledge of the truth. But God already knows. The
fact that you're here in following Jesus does not surprise God.
He knew already. He connected you to a believer that
(09:09):
would invite you to hear the gospel. Already God's been
working on you way before you were aware that he
was working on you. Oh, you thought someone invited you
and you heard the gospel and a friend, and you
thought it just happened in the last few months. No,
no no no. God's been working all your life to
(09:30):
sets you up for his purposes. All your life, he's
been involved in working. Oh, you've resisted him at times. Oh,
you've fought him at times. Oh, you've pushed away from
his plans. But God has been involved in bringing you
to the place that you would respond to him all
of your life. God has been involved way in advance.
(09:55):
And then it says, listen, he's predestined us to be
adopted as sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with the
pleasure of his goodwill. Not just chosen us, but adopted us. Listen,
when you're adopted, you're given all the full rights of sonship.
(10:15):
All the inheritance of a son or a daughter has
been given to you. He sealed you with his name.
He said you are mine. I'm not ashamed of you.
All that is mine is yours. All my inheritance is yours.
That's what God has done for us. He's chosen us
before the foundation of the world to be adopted into
his sonship. And then it goes on to say, look
(10:39):
at what it tells us in the next verse. Listen.
It says in him you have redemption through his blood.
The fourth point is you are redeemed. That speaks to
your transformation. Listen to me well. To be redeemed means
that he's bought you with a price. He's removed a
debt from you, and he's released you to walk in freedom.
(11:01):
When God redeemed you, it means that when God redeemed you,
that God paid a price for you. God bought you. Bought,
bought us from whom? He bought you from the slavery
of sin. He bought you with the blood of Jesus Christ.
(11:22):
It was the blood of His Son that he paid
for your ransom, and he bought you. And with that
same blood he washed you and cleansed you. And now
he sets you free to live fully for him. That's
what redemption means. It says, and he redeemed us through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the richness
(11:46):
of God's grace that he lavished on us with all
wisdom and understanding.
S1 (11:58):
We're going to pause Mark job's message here for a
moment on Bold Steps weekend to say that we really
love to connect with you, and there are several ways
you can connect with us. You'll find us on social media, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube,
and TikTok. Or you can drop us a line through
our website. While you're there online, be sure to sign
up for Mark's email devotional. Start your week off right
(12:20):
with a bold step or weekly delivered to your inbox
each Monday morning, and it's free! Get to steppin in
your walk with Christ today when you go to Bold Steps.
All right, let's end this pause and get back to
today's lesson with Mark Jobe.
S2 (12:45):
Listen, God did not only choose you, but he cleans
you up and loved you enough when he chose you. Listen,
you weren't a sinner that chose God. God looked at
you in your sin and chose to love you and
clean you when you hated God, he still loved you.
When you sinned against God, he still reached out to
(13:05):
you when you were full of hatred and bitterness in
our sin. God still loved and reached out to us
the grace of God. And then lastly it says, And
he made you, and he made known to us the
(13:27):
mystery of his will according to the good pleasure which
he purposed in Christ to be put into effect, when
the times will have reached their fulfillment to bring all
things in heaven and earth together under one head, even Christ. Listen,
he has made known to us the mystery of his will.
For thousands of years before Jesus Christ came, people knew
(13:50):
that God had a plan, but they did not know
what we know today about the plan of God to
change us and save us. In the Old Testament, they
slaughtered lambs and took their blood and sprinkled it at
the altar. They did not know that this was symbolic
of the Lamb of God. That would be that would
shed his blood on a cross. They didn't know it.
(14:13):
When the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt for
400 years, 400 and God chose to set them free
out of slavery, he brought Moses and he sent plagues
against the Egyptians. And the final plague was that the
angel of death would go throughout the camp of Israel,
and the Egyptians and the firstborn of every family would
(14:37):
be slaughtered, except if they took a lamb the night before,
a lamb with no spot or wrinkle. And if they
killed the lamb and took the blood of the lamb,
and they put it on the doorpost of their house,
then when the angel of death came, the angel of
death would pass over their house, and the firstborn would
(15:00):
not die. What was that all about? That was just
symbolic of Jesus hundreds of years before Jesus came. He
was saying, there's a day that will come when a
lamb would be slaughtered. The wrath of God still falls
(15:20):
upon those that don't know him. But if you're able
to take the blood of Jesus Christ and sprinkle it
upon your life, then the wrath of God when it
comes to your house, the wrath of God will see
not your sin, but will see the blood of Jesus
Christ and will pass over your life. So judgment will
not come upon you. When Jesus sat with his disciples
(15:48):
to partake of communion, he took the bread and he
took the cup. He was celebrating the Passover. And he
said to them, this is my blood, and this is
my body that's given for you. Hundreds of years before.
People did not even understand and know what they were doing,
but it was all pointing. It was a mystery. It
was pointing to Jesus and the sacrifice of Jesus. It
(16:10):
was the mystery that's been revealed to us. You know
what Abraham did not know. You know what Moses did
not comprehend? You know what Jacob did not even fully understand.
You know what Adam and Eve could even just dream about?
(16:35):
You know what Noah only understood vaguely. We know now
what they only had a shadow of before. Because it's
been revealed to us. We've seen it. We have more
understanding than what they had. Listen to me. Well, I
(16:57):
want you to hear me. Really? Well, that means that today,
a prostitute from the streets of Chicago that's lived 35
years in prostitution could walk into this place, having been
a junkie and prostitute, having sold her body full of resentment,
(17:20):
having all her kids taken away by by by DCFS,
having the lines in her in her arm to indicate
where she has been. She could walk into a meeting
like this today. Like this today. And she could hear
(17:40):
the message of Jesus Christ. The message of hope that changes, delivers,
and cleanses. And she could respond to that message in
brokenness of heart. Raise her arms up to God and say, God,
I have sinned against you. I've sinned against, Your Holiness.
(18:01):
Today I need forgiveness. I need the blood of Jesus
to come and wash me. I receive him as my
Lord and Savior. Listen to me. Well, she could come
in after years and years and years, after years and
years and years, and she could experience the forgiveness and
the washing of the blood of Jesus. And if the
(18:23):
wrath of God came upon her, God would no longer
see her sins or her background. He would see only
the blood of Jesus Christ. That makes her a woman
of dignity, value, and beauty and purity before God Almighty.
(18:44):
And if that former prostitute were to walk out of
these doors, having lived 35 years that way, and only
lived an hour in her new saved position, and she
were to go to Archer Avenue and be struck by
a bus and die that day. After 35 years of
a prostitute and only one hour of knowing Christ, I
(19:07):
would not have a doubt in my mind where she
would go. She would go directly to the presence of
Jesus Christ. She would go directly to the presence of God. Why?
Because her salvation is not based on what she has
done or not done. Her salvation is based on what
Christ has done for her, washed and cleansed her. That's
(19:36):
why I love the gospel of Jesus. That's why I
love my Savior. That's why I love the message that
he brought, the good news that there is hope for all.
That's why it's about him and not about you. That's
(19:57):
why it's about grace and not about works. That's why
it's about hope and not about condemnation. That's what it's
about relationship and not religion. That's why it's about Jesus
and not about you. That's the gospel. The gospel of hope.
(20:24):
Now the gospel has gotten a hold of her life.
If that bus were not to hit her, I'm fully
confident that she would repent and turn around and begin
to live a different life and a different way because
of Jesus in her. That's why I preach Jesus. That's
(20:51):
why every chance I get. Some of you are hearing
the gospel presented maybe for the first time, or maybe
you've heard it, but you've never taken a step yourself.
Practically every Sunday I have the opportunity of sharing the
(21:13):
gospel with people. And this past Sunday, I prayed with
a young man who came forward with tears in his eyes,
living with his girlfriend for several years, three children. But
he finally understood the gospel and he said, I want
to give my life to Christ and soon get baptized.
S1 (21:33):
Beautiful. Yeah.
S2 (21:34):
Yeah, beautiful thing to see, uh, people coming to Christ
for the first time. And so if you're listening to
this message and you say, pastor Mark, I have never
made a commitment to follow Christ. I've been around the church,
or I feel like God has been drawing me and
pulling at me. I've seen signs. I've I've maybe had
(21:57):
dreams or had people speak to me, but I know
I need to make that decision. Then if you're ready
for that, I would like to pray with you right now.
Wherever you're at. And so if you're ready to give
your life to Christ, then I'd like for you to pause.
And I'd like you to pray with me. It's not
about the magic of a prayer. It's about the decision to,
(22:19):
in faith, surrender your life to Jesus. It's about a decision.
Pray with me. Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner.
I know that you've been drawing me, calling me, reaching
out to me. I'm tired of running. So today I stop.
(22:42):
And I finally surrender my life to you. I turn away,
repent from how I've been living. And today I say
that Jesus. Only you can save me. Come wash me,
cleanse me. Today I choose to follow you in Jesus name. Hey,
(23:03):
if you've made that decision and are serious about moving
forward in your walk with God, I'm going to encourage
you to do two things one. Jump on our website
at Bold Steps radio.com and click on my next steps
because I explain it a little bit more and give
you some material to get started. And I want to
challenge you. If you're not a part of a Bible
(23:26):
believing local church, find a church. Start attending. Get involved.
Get in a Bible study. Tell the pastor someone in
the church, hey, I just gave my life to Jesus.
I need to grow.
S1 (23:38):
It's vitally important to act on the step you just
took and that decision you just made.
S2 (23:42):
Yeah, you're just a baby, Christian, but you need to
plug in with other believers so that you can grow
in God. God bless you.
S1 (23:49):
Well, let me mention again Mark that the link is
on our website under the tab that says connect. It's
called my Next Step in Faith and the website is
Bold steps.org. Org. Now, before we close, I want to
tell you about an exclusive new resource. We have available
something special from the desk of doctor Mark Jobe. It's
a brand new 15 day devotional called More Than a
(24:09):
Label Discovering Who You Are in Christ. In this powerful study,
Mark takes you deep into God's Word to explore the
truth about your identity in Christ. You'll discover who God
created you to be and why your identity truly matters.
This devotional will help you uncover your purpose and calling
as you open God's Word and learn to live out
(24:29):
your true identity. And during this month, we're happy to
make this special offer available to you with a gift
of any size to support this ministry. Don't let the
world define you by labels. Step into the life and
purpose God has planned for you. Get a copy of
More Than a label today, and begin your journey toward
discovering the incredible person God created you to be. Simply
(24:50):
visit boldsystems.org to donate and request more than a label.
Or call us at 800 Moody. That's 803 003566639. Or
you can mail your donation and request for the devotional
to Bold Steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten.
(25:12):
We'd also like to invite you to listen to Mark's
daily program throughout the week by listening to Bold Steps
Radio and your local station. You can also download our
podcast by searching for Bold Steps with doctor Mark Jobe.
And of course, you can always listen to Bold Steps
directly from our website. Bold steps.org. That's all the time
we have today. I'm Jean Shepherd inviting you to join
(25:32):
us again next weekend, when Mark explains what it means
to be a true and authentic follower of Christ. It's
a message titled what you know will Change you. And
you'll hear it next time on Bold Steps Weekend with
Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio,
a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
Today on Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe. We're learning
what it means to be chosen.
S2 (00:06):
God's been working all your life to set you up
for his purposes. All. You fought him at times, but
God has been involved in bringing you to the place
that you would respond to him all of your life.
God has been involved way in advance.
S1 (00:36):
And welcome to Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe. Mark
is president of Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor
of New Life Community Church in Chicago. And I'm Wayne Shepherd.
Last weekend we began a new series called When You
Believe Everything Changes, and we've been learning about what it
means to take your place in the Kingdom of God.
Last time we learned what it means to be blessed,
(00:56):
and today Mark is going to show us how and
why we've been chosen. So if you have your Bible handy,
turn to Ephesians one to hear Mark job with today's
bold Steps weekend.
S2 (01:08):
In Christ Jesus. God has given you everything that you
need to be successful in the spiritual world. And when
you are successful in the spiritual world, the spiritual world
will influence the physical world. You need to understand that
I would rather be strong in the spiritual world than
(01:33):
strong in the physical world, and weaken the spirit. Because ultimately,
whoever's strong in the spirit will have greater influence than
who's strong in the physical world. So he has given
us every blessing in the spiritual world. Number two, write
(01:55):
this down. For he chose us in him before the
creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in
his sight. In love he predestined us. So not only
has he blessed us, and it talks about our position.
He's chosen us, and it talks about our destiny. For
(02:18):
he chose us in him before the creation of the
world to be holy and blameless. Hold on a second.
Did you just read what I. What I read? That
God chose you before the world was even created. Hold on,
(02:40):
hold on, hold on. What does that even mean? That
before you were even a glimmer in your father's eye,
God had chosen you. That God chose you before your
(03:00):
family name even existed. Before your grandfather or great grandfather,
or great great grandfather, or great great great grandfather before
your Aztec ancestor, or your Viking ancestor from Europe was
even around. God had already chosen you. Before there was
(03:28):
a world before Adam and Eve, before light was separated
from darkness. God, in his foreknowledge, already knew that you
would exist. God, in his foreknowledge, already knew your name. God,
in his foreknowledge, already knew what you would look like.
(03:50):
God knew how you would be. And God chose you before.
Way before there was even a you to be chosen
because God had a destiny and a purpose when he
chose you even before you existed. Wow. Now, I know
(04:15):
some people say in their testimony, they'll say, I found God,
and I know what you mean by that. But can
I tell you bad expression? First of all, God was
never lost. And you didn't find God before you ever
(04:37):
thought of finding God. He had already chosen you. Way before.
Before you ever decided to follow him. He had chosen
you and knew you would follow him way before. Oh,
I know that'll mess with your mind a little bit. Oh,
(04:58):
I know that's hard to think about, but it speaks
to our destiny. And it says, and he chose us
before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless.
He chose us to be separated unto himself and to
live a certain kind of life before we were ever born.
He had a purpose and a plan for our life.
And if that doesn't really stir you up, think about this,
(05:22):
he says. And in love he predestined us to be
adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with
his pleasure and his will. In love he predestined. To
predestined means that not only did he choose you, but
(05:45):
he predestined you in advance to live and walk for
him even when you didn't know him. You say, well, pastor,
I don't understand how God could do that. It. Well,
let me explain it this way. And the church is
divided at times by two thoughts. One is in those
(06:08):
of you that have been around the church, church at large,
what I'm talking about understand one is what's called Calvinism.
Have you heard of Calvinism? And the other is what's
called Arminianism. Calvinism emphasizes the sovereignty. And the grace of God.
Arminianism emphasizes the choice of man. And there's been a
(06:31):
debate down the last 500 years. Is it more that
we are choice to follow God, or is it more
God's choice to choose us and cause us to follow him?
And there's been entire denominations that have risen out of
those that believe. It's more the choice of man and
other denominations that believe that more. It's the choice of God.
(06:54):
I believe that it's both. God is all sovereign and
he chooses his in advance. Before we choose him, he
chooses us. But I believe that doesn't leave us from
the entire responsibility of choosing him as well. Let me
give you a crude illustration of this. Let's just suppose
(07:15):
that I knew the future. That I had a clear
insight into the future. I would know who is going
to win the Super Bowl this year. I would know
if I had that. And here's the thing. If I
knew who was winning the Super Bowl, then I would
(07:38):
choose the winning team. Always right? Because I know if
I was into horse racing, I would know what horse
the name of the horse that would win the race,
and I would choose the horse in advance. That would
win the race, because I know already who's going to
win that race, right? Because I'd have foreknowledge now, even
(08:02):
if I didn't know who was going to win the
Super Bowl when that team wins the Super Bowl. It
doesn't relieve them from the responsibility of hard work and
the training that they have to have to win. They
still have to work hard. They still have to do it.
Just because I know and choose them in advance doesn't
relieve them from the responsibility of working hard to win.
(08:26):
Are we clear on that? God has chosen you in advance,
and God knows that you'll be a son and daughter
of his in advance, but it doesn't relieve you from
the responsibility of responding to the voice of God and
the call of God when he calls you into salvation.
The Bible says that he desires that all men would
(08:47):
be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
But not all men will be saved and come to
the knowledge of the truth. But God already knows. The
fact that you're here in following Jesus does not surprise God.
He knew already. He connected you to a believer that
(09:09):
would invite you to hear the gospel. Already God's been
working on you way before you were aware that he
was working on you. Oh, you thought someone invited you
and you heard the gospel and a friend, and you
thought it just happened in the last few months. No,
no no no. God's been working all your life to
(09:30):
sets you up for his purposes. All your life, he's
been involved in working. Oh, you've resisted him at times. Oh,
you've fought him at times. Oh, you've pushed away from
his plans. But God has been involved in bringing you
to the place that you would respond to him all
of your life. God has been involved way in advance.
(09:55):
And then it says, listen, he's predestined us to be
adopted as sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with the
pleasure of his goodwill. Not just chosen us, but adopted us. Listen,
when you're adopted, you're given all the full rights of sonship.
(10:15):
All the inheritance of a son or a daughter has
been given to you. He sealed you with his name.
He said you are mine. I'm not ashamed of you.
All that is mine is yours. All my inheritance is yours.
That's what God has done for us. He's chosen us
before the foundation of the world to be adopted into
his sonship. And then it goes on to say, look
(10:39):
at what it tells us in the next verse. Listen.
It says in him you have redemption through his blood.
The fourth point is you are redeemed. That speaks to
your transformation. Listen to me well. To be redeemed means
that he's bought you with a price. He's removed a
debt from you, and he's released you to walk in freedom.
(11:01):
When God redeemed you, it means that when God redeemed you,
that God paid a price for you. God bought you. Bought,
bought us from whom? He bought you from the slavery
of sin. He bought you with the blood of Jesus Christ.
(11:22):
It was the blood of His Son that he paid
for your ransom, and he bought you. And with that
same blood he washed you and cleansed you. And now
he sets you free to live fully for him. That's
what redemption means. It says, and he redeemed us through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the richness
(11:46):
of God's grace that he lavished on us with all
wisdom and understanding.
S1 (11:58):
We're going to pause Mark job's message here for a
moment on Bold Steps weekend to say that we really
love to connect with you, and there are several ways
you can connect with us. You'll find us on social media, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube,
and TikTok. Or you can drop us a line through
our website. While you're there online, be sure to sign
up for Mark's email devotional. Start your week off right
(12:20):
with a bold step or weekly delivered to your inbox
each Monday morning, and it's free! Get to steppin in
your walk with Christ today when you go to Bold Steps.
All right, let's end this pause and get back to
today's lesson with Mark Jobe.
S2 (12:45):
Listen, God did not only choose you, but he cleans
you up and loved you enough when he chose you. Listen,
you weren't a sinner that chose God. God looked at
you in your sin and chose to love you and
clean you when you hated God, he still loved you.
When you sinned against God, he still reached out to
(13:05):
you when you were full of hatred and bitterness in
our sin. God still loved and reached out to us
the grace of God. And then lastly it says, And
he made you, and he made known to us the
(13:27):
mystery of his will according to the good pleasure which
he purposed in Christ to be put into effect, when
the times will have reached their fulfillment to bring all
things in heaven and earth together under one head, even Christ. Listen,
he has made known to us the mystery of his will.
For thousands of years before Jesus Christ came, people knew
(13:50):
that God had a plan, but they did not know
what we know today about the plan of God to
change us and save us. In the Old Testament, they
slaughtered lambs and took their blood and sprinkled it at
the altar. They did not know that this was symbolic
of the Lamb of God. That would be that would
shed his blood on a cross. They didn't know it.
(14:13):
When the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt for
400 years, 400 and God chose to set them free
out of slavery, he brought Moses and he sent plagues
against the Egyptians. And the final plague was that the
angel of death would go throughout the camp of Israel,
and the Egyptians and the firstborn of every family would
(14:37):
be slaughtered, except if they took a lamb the night before,
a lamb with no spot or wrinkle. And if they
killed the lamb and took the blood of the lamb,
and they put it on the doorpost of their house,
then when the angel of death came, the angel of
death would pass over their house, and the firstborn would
(15:00):
not die. What was that all about? That was just
symbolic of Jesus hundreds of years before Jesus came. He
was saying, there's a day that will come when a
lamb would be slaughtered. The wrath of God still falls
(15:20):
upon those that don't know him. But if you're able
to take the blood of Jesus Christ and sprinkle it
upon your life, then the wrath of God when it
comes to your house, the wrath of God will see
not your sin, but will see the blood of Jesus
Christ and will pass over your life. So judgment will
not come upon you. When Jesus sat with his disciples
(15:48):
to partake of communion, he took the bread and he
took the cup. He was celebrating the Passover. And he
said to them, this is my blood, and this is
my body that's given for you. Hundreds of years before.
People did not even understand and know what they were doing,
but it was all pointing. It was a mystery. It
was pointing to Jesus and the sacrifice of Jesus. It
(16:10):
was the mystery that's been revealed to us. You know
what Abraham did not know. You know what Moses did
not comprehend? You know what Jacob did not even fully understand.
You know what Adam and Eve could even just dream about?
(16:35):
You know what Noah only understood vaguely. We know now
what they only had a shadow of before. Because it's
been revealed to us. We've seen it. We have more
understanding than what they had. Listen to me. Well, I
(16:57):
want you to hear me. Really? Well, that means that today,
a prostitute from the streets of Chicago that's lived 35
years in prostitution could walk into this place, having been
a junkie and prostitute, having sold her body full of resentment,
(17:20):
having all her kids taken away by by by DCFS,
having the lines in her in her arm to indicate
where she has been. She could walk into a meeting
like this today. Like this today. And she could hear
(17:40):
the message of Jesus Christ. The message of hope that changes, delivers,
and cleanses. And she could respond to that message in
brokenness of heart. Raise her arms up to God and say, God,
I have sinned against you. I've sinned against, Your Holiness.
(18:01):
Today I need forgiveness. I need the blood of Jesus
to come and wash me. I receive him as my
Lord and Savior. Listen to me. Well, she could come
in after years and years and years, after years and
years and years, and she could experience the forgiveness and
the washing of the blood of Jesus. And if the
(18:23):
wrath of God came upon her, God would no longer
see her sins or her background. He would see only
the blood of Jesus Christ. That makes her a woman
of dignity, value, and beauty and purity before God Almighty.
(18:44):
And if that former prostitute were to walk out of
these doors, having lived 35 years that way, and only
lived an hour in her new saved position, and she
were to go to Archer Avenue and be struck by
a bus and die that day. After 35 years of
a prostitute and only one hour of knowing Christ, I
(19:07):
would not have a doubt in my mind where she
would go. She would go directly to the presence of
Jesus Christ. She would go directly to the presence of God. Why?
Because her salvation is not based on what she has
done or not done. Her salvation is based on what
Christ has done for her, washed and cleansed her. That's
(19:36):
why I love the gospel of Jesus. That's why I
love my Savior. That's why I love the message that
he brought, the good news that there is hope for all.
That's why it's about him and not about you. That's
(19:57):
why it's about grace and not about works. That's why
it's about hope and not about condemnation. That's what it's
about relationship and not religion. That's why it's about Jesus
and not about you. That's the gospel. The gospel of hope.
(20:24):
Now the gospel has gotten a hold of her life.
If that bus were not to hit her, I'm fully
confident that she would repent and turn around and begin
to live a different life and a different way because
of Jesus in her. That's why I preach Jesus. That's
(20:51):
why every chance I get. Some of you are hearing
the gospel presented maybe for the first time, or maybe
you've heard it, but you've never taken a step yourself.
Practically every Sunday I have the opportunity of sharing the
(21:13):
gospel with people. And this past Sunday, I prayed with
a young man who came forward with tears in his eyes,
living with his girlfriend for several years, three children. But
he finally understood the gospel and he said, I want
to give my life to Christ and soon get baptized.
S1 (21:33):
Beautiful. Yeah.
S2 (21:34):
Yeah, beautiful thing to see, uh, people coming to Christ
for the first time. And so if you're listening to
this message and you say, pastor Mark, I have never
made a commitment to follow Christ. I've been around the church,
or I feel like God has been drawing me and
pulling at me. I've seen signs. I've I've maybe had
(21:57):
dreams or had people speak to me, but I know
I need to make that decision. Then if you're ready
for that, I would like to pray with you right now.
Wherever you're at. And so if you're ready to give
your life to Christ, then I'd like for you to pause.
And I'd like you to pray with me. It's not
about the magic of a prayer. It's about the decision to,
(22:19):
in faith, surrender your life to Jesus. It's about a decision.
Pray with me. Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner.
I know that you've been drawing me, calling me, reaching
out to me. I'm tired of running. So today I stop.
(22:42):
And I finally surrender my life to you. I turn away,
repent from how I've been living. And today I say
that Jesus. Only you can save me. Come wash me,
cleanse me. Today I choose to follow you in Jesus name. Hey,
(23:03):
if you've made that decision and are serious about moving
forward in your walk with God, I'm going to encourage
you to do two things one. Jump on our website
at Bold Steps radio.com and click on my next steps
because I explain it a little bit more and give
you some material to get started. And I want to
challenge you. If you're not a part of a Bible
(23:26):
believing local church, find a church. Start attending. Get involved.
Get in a Bible study. Tell the pastor someone in
the church, hey, I just gave my life to Jesus.
I need to grow.
S1 (23:38):
It's vitally important to act on the step you just
took and that decision you just made.
S2 (23:42):
Yeah, you're just a baby, Christian, but you need to
plug in with other believers so that you can grow
in God. God bless you.
S1 (23:49):
Well, let me mention again Mark that the link is
on our website under the tab that says connect. It's
called my Next Step in Faith and the website is
Bold steps.org. Org. Now, before we close, I want to
tell you about an exclusive new resource. We have available
something special from the desk of doctor Mark Jobe. It's
a brand new 15 day devotional called More Than a
(24:09):
Label Discovering Who You Are in Christ. In this powerful study,
Mark takes you deep into God's Word to explore the
truth about your identity in Christ. You'll discover who God
created you to be and why your identity truly matters.
This devotional will help you uncover your purpose and calling
as you open God's Word and learn to live out
(24:29):
your true identity. And during this month, we're happy to
make this special offer available to you with a gift
of any size to support this ministry. Don't let the
world define you by labels. Step into the life and
purpose God has planned for you. Get a copy of
More Than a label today, and begin your journey toward
discovering the incredible person God created you to be. Simply
(24:50):
visit boldsystems.org to donate and request more than a label.
Or call us at 800 Moody. That's 803 003566639. Or
you can mail your donation and request for the devotional
to Bold Steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten.
(25:12):
We'd also like to invite you to listen to Mark's
daily program throughout the week by listening to Bold Steps
Radio and your local station. You can also download our
podcast by searching for Bold Steps with doctor Mark Jobe.
And of course, you can always listen to Bold Steps
directly from our website. Bold steps.org. That's all the time
we have today. I'm Jean Shepherd inviting you to join
(25:32):
us again next weekend, when Mark explains what it means
to be a true and authentic follower of Christ. It's
a message titled what you know will Change you. And
you'll hear it next time on Bold Steps Weekend with
Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio,
a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
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!
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